How do fat burners really work?

How do fat burners really work? Fat loss is ultimately achieved through a negative energy balance, whereby daily energy expenditure outweighs the energy consumed from our diet. This energy imbalance results in stored energy (e.g. body fat) being used to fuel the additional energy demands of the body and, over time, leads to a leaner physique.

Although changes in energy balance are primarily achieved through changes to the food we eat, the use of certain nutrition supplements are able to play a helping hand in this process by promoting short-term increases in metabolism and creating conditions that help the body burn more fat for fuel at rest and during exercise. Here we will take a look at a number of mainstay fat-burning compounds to support your fat loss goals.

Caffeine

Caffeine is commonly found in coffee, tea and cocoa beans and features in PhDs Lean Degree. Caffeine exerts its fat burning effects through a number of mechanisms that ultimately increase daily energy expenditure and help achieve a negative energy balance. Firstly, caffeine provides a thermogenic effect by temporarily increasing metabolism for a number of hours after ingestion. For example, consuming 200 mg caffeine has been shown to increase energy expenditure by up to 7% over a 3-hour period, whilst regular caffeine intake at 2-hour intervals throughout the day can increase total daily energy expenditure by up to 150 kcal. Furthermore, caffeine has also been shown to promote a shift towards the use of fat as a fuel, both at rest and during exercise.

Caffeine also alters the concentration of key neurotransmitters that increase feelings of alertness and motivation whilst reducing feelings of fatigue, allowing you to train harder for longer periods of time, thereby indirectly increasing the amount of energy expended during your training session.

Green Tea

Green tea is unique to other teas as it contains high amounts of catechin polyphenols which appear to play an important role in the utilisation of fat and features in PhD Sinetrol. Due to its high catechin content, green tea extract has been shown to increase daily energy expenditure by up to 4% and, when combined with caffeine, increases fat oxidation by 16%. When consumed long-term, green tea supplementation has also been reported to have positive effects on reducing body weight, with results from 11 independent studies demonstrating that those who supplemented with green tea lost an average of 1.3 kg more weight over a 12-week period.

CLA

CLA is a naturally occurring fatty acid commonly found within dairy products and is reported to have beneficial effects on body composition by reducing the size of our fat cells. Based upon the available scientific literature, a recent review evaluated the long-term effectiveness of fat loss and concluded that daily CLA supplementation reduced body fat by 1.3 kg when compared to a placebo. Importantly, grass-fed cows produce higher amounts of CLA compared with grain-fed counterparts, which is why we only use grass fed whey and milk protein here at PhD.

L-carnitine

L-carnitine plays an important role in the transport of fatty acids to the cell’s mitochondria, where they are used to produce energy, which over time may support reductions in body fat. Carnitine is stored within muscle and long-term supplementation of L-carnitine can increase the muscles carnitine stores by up to 20%. As a result, increased muscle carnitine stores reduce the reliance on carbohydrate which suggests a possible shift towards the use of fat as an alternative fuel source. Furthermore, an evaluation of available studies that have investigated the effects of L-carnitine supplementation indicate carnitine is an effective supplement for reducing total body fat.

Sinetrol

Sinetrol is developed from citrus fruits to provide a synergistic blend of bio-active polyphenols and is proposed to play a role in the reduction of body fat. Based upon this formulation, when combined with reductions in daily energy intake, 12 weeks of Sinetrol supplementation has been demonstrated to reduce waist and hip circumference by an additional 3-4% and reduce relative body fat by up to 10%.

Choosing PhD

As each compound works via different mechanisms, the mentioned supplements can all be taken simultaneously to target maximum fat loss. However, stimulant containing fat burners such as Lean Degree are more suited to morning consumption as they are likely to have a negative impact on sleep quality and overall recovery. Alternatively, if you prefer to train in the evening, stick to using the stimulant free version.