Can fat burners help you lose weight?

Can fat burners help you lose weight? MF investigates thermogenics and their alternatives

If you’re looking to shed weight fast, fat burners are becoming an increasingly popular option. From the promises that most adverts make, you’d be forgiven for thinking fat burners are magic pills that melt away excess fat as you sit at your desk. In fact, they’re designed to speed up the rate you can lose weight when combined with a healthy diet and regular exercise.

Going off course on your diet is one of the biggest stumbling blocks for people who are trying to lose weight, especially thanks to the increased appetite that comes with frequent exercise. Though you’ll still need a healthy dose of willpower to combat bad food decisions, fat burners can help by suppressing your appetite and keeping up your energy levels even on a calorie-restricted diet – making it much easier to make healthier food choices.

Fat burners (or thermogenics as they’re otherwise known) aren’t for everyone, though. Their high caffeine content can play havoc with your sleep patterns, while some of the ingredients can have more serious, unwanted side effects if they’re not taken properly. Here, MF takes a closer look at the benefits and disadvantages of fat burners and how to use them safely, as well as offering some alternative fat-torching supplements for you to consider.

What are they?

Fat burners are blends of herbs and stimulants that slightly increase your body temperature, which can help you to burn more calories during exercise. Ephedrine, a synthetic version of the Chinese herb ephedra, used to be a key ingredient, but it’s now only available on prescription in the UK because of its harmful side effects and addictive qualities.

What do they do?

Some fat burners simply burn calories as heat. Others also claim to stimulate the release of adrenaline, increase your metabolic rate or act as appetite suppressants. The evidence for them working is limited, though. ‘A careful calorie intake and exercise are likely to produce better weight-loss results in the long term,’ says nutrition expert Anita Bean.

Who should take them?

‘Fat burners raise cortisol – a stress hormone – so if you suffer from anxiety it could make things worse,’ says strength coach Gregg Marsh. ‘If you think you need them, consult your doctor first.’

How much should I take?

Follow the instructions on the bottle, but be careful if you’re planning to use them over a long period of time. ‘Take them on a rotation cycle of 14 days on 14 days off for only two cycles every eight weeks,’ advises Marsh.

When should I take them?

Most fat burners contain caffeine and will make you jittery, so taking them in the morning is probably best. ‘Never take fat burners after 2pm because they affect sleep patterns,’ says Marsh. Other than that, go with the recommendation on the bottle.

Do they have any side effects?

‘Taking high doses of ephedrine can have serious effects, including palpitations, anxiety, insomnia, vomiting and dizziness,’ says Bean. ‘While herbal alternatives are generally safer, you may get side effects with high doses – some can raise blood pressure or cause heart disturbances.’

What are the alternatives?

If thermogenics aren't right for you, here are some of the best alternative fat-burning supplements on the market…

L-carnitine

If burning fat during a workout is your priority, first you need to mobilise it. L-carnitine is an amino acid that transports fatty acids into the mitochondria – our internal power plants – to produce energy. Take a single dose of 500-3000mg before your workout to ensure that you transport the maximum amount of available fat for fuel during exercise. It’s especially useful if you’re training fasted or on a low-carb diet where fat oxidation is already maximised.

Green tea

One of the best natural fat-burners around, green tea can give your metabolism a jolt. It’s also packed full of antioxidants and has been linked to the prevention of everything from heart disease to Alzheimer’s. Drink it instead of regular tea or diet soft drinks for a huge variety of health benefits.

Phosphatidylserine

Anyone training intensely is likely to be under some serious stress. The stress hormone cortisol, which is responsible for fat storage, is secreted in high amounts as a result, but phosphatidylserine blocks its secretion. This allows you to recover quicker, burn more fat and build more muscle. Take it after your workout or in the evening, especially if you’re training at high intensity or particularly prone to elevated stress levels.

5 of the best natural fat burners

Grapefruit

How they help to burn fat: Researchers at Scripps Clinic in California found that eating just half a grapefruit before each meal can help you to lose weight, up to half a KG per week, even if you keep your diet exactly how it is now (assuming that you don’t eat junk food 3 meals a day). The author of the study Ken Fujioka, says that there is a key compound in grapefruits that helps to regulate insulin, a fat-storage hormone. “Anything that helps lower insulin can help people lose weight,” he explains. “Grapefruit seems to be one of those foods.”

How to work them into your diet: Peeling and segmenting is the most obvious way to get the goodness out of a grapefruit. Try cutting it into chunks and adding to a spinach salad or simply grab a spoon and eat as is, if you can handle the bitterness.

Almonds

How they help to burn fat: Eating a handful of almonds each day, alongside a healthy diet plan is quick and simple way to burn fat according to research published in the US International Journal of Obesity. Participants in the study who ate almonds on a daily basis for a period of six months found that they lost 18% of their body fat. Those who followed a diet with the exact same amount of calories and protein but swapped out almonds for an equal number of calories in complex carbohydrates (like bread) only lost 11% of their body fat.

How to work them into your diet: The perfect at-your-desk snack, grab a handful of these if you fancy a little nibble, they can be quite addictive. Alternatively, chop them up and add them to your morning porridge.

Pears 

How they help to burn fat: A bit of a forgotten fruit. A study by the University of Rio de Janeiro revealed that people who ate three pears per day consumed less calories each day and also lost more weight than those who didn’t. They’re very rich in fibre (with one pear packing in 15% of your daily recommended amount), pears will help you to feel fuller for longer thus keeping you from overeating.

How to work them into your diet: Be sure to keep the skin on them as it holds most of the beneficial fibres. Pears make a great addition to a leafy salad, especially when combined with a bit of blue cheese.

Navy beans

How they help to burn fat: Loaded with resistant starch, the relatively unheard of navy beans are a very powerful fat burner (half a serving contains nearly 10 grams of resistant starch). Researchers at the University of Colorado found that if you eat navy beans or similar foods high in resistant starch levels just once per day you could burn 25% more fat than you would without them.

How to work them into your diet: Try sautéing some shallots and garlic in olive oil, throw in a couple of cans of drained navy beans, mixed it all up in a blender to puree and serve.

Chocolate

How they help to burn fat: Yes, chocolate. Hear us out. Dark chocolate, and other foods that are high in antioxidants have been proven to help prevent the build up of fat cells in the body, a precursor to obesity and heart disease, this is according to new research from the Taiwanese Journal of Food Chemistry and Agriculture.

How to work them into your diet: It’s chocolate. Do we need to tell you? Just try not to eat too much of it, kind of defeats the object.

Raspberry Ketones: Natural Weight Loss Support!

If you're a Dr. Oz fan, you've likely heard him discussing the health benefits of raspberry ketone. This supplement trend has spread quickly -- much like fascination with acai a few years ago. Raspberry ketone, however, isn't just a flash-in-the-pan movement. It seems to have enough science behind it to give it the official stamp of awesome.

Razzle-Dazzle

You like raspberries. And ketone sounds scientific and healthy. What more is there to know about raspberry ketone? A lot, as it turns out!

As the name suggests, raspberry ketone comes from the fruit and is, in fact, the primary compound responsible for a raspberry's sweet smell. In addition, raspberry ketone contains a substance that is very similar to synephrine. Synephrine is often marketed as a powerful weight loss support supplement; it brings the sword and shield to the battle of the bulge.

Synephrine has stimulatory effects that may help: promote increased metabolic rate, support a normal, healthy appetite, and support energy enhacement. With all three of these benefits working, you may eat less and burn more calories with regular exercise and a healthy, low-calorie diet.

Because raspberry ketone resembles synephrine, it has been suggested that it may help support a similar weight-loss effect. It's also natural, and may help your weight-loss progression without the harsh side effects of synthetic diet compounds.

Where Are You?

Raspberry Ketone, also known in scientific circles as 4-(4-hydroxylphenyl) butan-2-one, has already made its way onto the market.

As this ingredient becomes more popular, you can expect to see it in a number of fat-burning formulas.

How Does It Help?

In a recent study using mice, scientists suggested that raspberry ketone increased noradrenaline-induced fat-loss.

The researchers concluded that this weight-loss support substance works through the enzyme lipase, which is responsible for freeing fatty acids from the fat cell during the process of fat utilization. When raspberry ketone is present in your system, it has been surmised that levels of this enzyme increase and therefore ups the rate of fatty acid release.

For those who are already following a solid nutrition and training program, adding a raspberry ketone supplement may help because it can help your cells release fatty acid.

Another study noted that raspberry ketone is similar in structure to capsaicin. Capsaicin, which can help boost metabolism, is found in chilli peppers and cayenne peppers. Some people find that capsaicin doesn't react well in their systems, so raspberry ketone might be a good alternative.

Should you lose weight fast?

When you’re trying to lose weight, it’s tempting to want results as fast as possible. But remember, very rapid weight loss is unlikely to help you to maintain a healthy weight long-term. And it comes with health risks.

f you’re trying to lose weight, you’re probably keen to see, and feel, a difference quickly.

It can be tempting to put your trust in one of the countless schemes that promise rapid, easy weight loss.

Unfortunately, even if these fad diets do help you to lose weight, you’re unlikely to maintain a healthy weight in the months and years afterwards.

If you’re visualising a future in which you’ve shed your excess weight, the best choice is to make healthy changes to your diet and levels of physical activity that lead to a safe, steady rate of weight loss, and that last a lifetime.

Weight loss tends to plateau after a while and you may need to make further changes. If after six to nine months you haven’t achieved a healthy weight, talk to your GP for advice on the next steps.

Safe rates of weight loss

If you’re trying to lose weight, the safe weekly rate of weight loss is between 0.5kg and 1kg. That’s between around 1lb and 2lb a week.

Lose weight faster than this, and you are at risk of health problems that include malnutrition and gallstones, as well as feeling tired and unwell.

Fad diets (that involve simply changing your diet for a few weeks) associated with very rapid weight loss are also unlikely to lead you to a healthy weight in the long-term.

Take action

You can learn more about the diet and physical activity changes that can lead you to a healthy weight future in Lose Weight.

Remember: the goal is not overnight success. The secret is sticking to the changes you’ve made, and you can find useful tips from real-life slimmers in Weight loss motivation.

You can monitor your progress using our Healthy weight calculator. This interactive tool calculates your body mass index (BMI), which is a measure of whether you are a healthy weight for your height.