These are a sample of some of the most common questions our London personal trainers are asked concerning the use of food supplements and their specific impact upon fat loss. More in depth answers are available to our exclusive clients – contact us to find out more about becoming a part of the Ultimate Performance London Personal Training Experience. Supplements for fat loss are a vital part of much of our advisory work.
Do “fat burner” supplements really promote fat loss?
There are many effective fat burners on the market. However, it is vitally important that we appreciate that focusing on “supplement for fat loss” alone is not the best way to lose weight. To lose fat, you must eat fewer calories than you expend. Of course it can be far more complicated than this, but that is the most basic and fundamental rule you are ever going to need to follow.
If a supplement assists fat loss, then it supports appetite control, or causes the body to burn more calories by raising the metabolic rate. The use of fat burning supplements should be carefully monitored and used only periodically. As a minimum rule we recommend at least as much time not taken off using them, as when using them. They are certainly not a good idea for those that are unwilling to adopt sensible eating and exercise habits due to the high probability of weight rebound.
Furthermore, if you suffer adverse effects from stimulants, have high blood pressure, or other medical conditions it is important that you check with your doctor before using these products, as complications may arise.
I’ve seen commercials for something called a fat blocker. What is it and does it work?
These are horrible things. OK, let’s temper that view, in our opinion fat blockers are horrible things. They typically contain a derivative of shellfish known as chitosan. Here is the (literally) stomach churning bit- when ingested, chitosan turns to a viscous gel, binding with fat and preventing much of its absorption. While this may at first seem like the ideal scenario, the fact is that since the fat is not absorbed, it must find an alternate route out of the body. I will leave it to your own imagination to work out how this happens. Diaper anyone?
In addition to the gastro-intestinal distress, fat blockers can directly lead to the inhibited absorption of essential nutrients. There is no such thing in life as a free lunch, and so called fat blockers will make you pay a rather unsavoury and unhealthy price.
What are the best supplements for fat loss?
It would be no exaggeration to state that much of our reputation has been built around our ability to help our clients drop body fat at very rapid rates. So to deal with this question properly requires an incredibly detailed answer far beyond the scope of this article. We do have separate fat loss guides and supplement reviews that go into further detail, but fat loss is such an individual thing that is governed by numerous delicate metabolic and hormonal processes that we find individual assessments to be far and away the most effective ways to progress. We have integrated a world class offering known as Biosignature Modulation* into our services that can pinpoint your unique metabolic make up (allowing us to prescribe the most specific supplements for fat loss that work with your own individual biochemistry) and has already yielded genuinely outstanding results across the United States where it was first developed, and now with us here in the UK.
You can contact us to discuss how we guarantee super quick fat loss for all our clients (IF you do what we tell you!), and in the meantime here are a few of our favourite fat loss promoting / metabolism enhancing supplements.
The best supplements for fat loss:
- Fish Oil
- Essential Fatty Acids
- Sesame Oil
- L Carnitine
- Caffeine – yes, good old java helps mobilize fatty acids AND increases insulin sensitivity. Two hits for the price of one, and all at a price that doesn’t break the bank!
*Please note, these articles on BioSignature Modulation are maintained for historical interest and no longer reflect our current practices. We do not endorse BioSignature as a methodology.