Fat Burner Supplements: The Unadulterated Truth
Fat burner supplements are advertised everywhere these days
- on the internet, in magazines and even on TV. The ads
almost always feature a very lean fitness model or
bodybuilder and claim that these products, usually pills,
are the secret to their six pack abs and very low body fat
levels. Some of these ads suggest that the only way to get
as lean as the "hot bodies" you see pictured is by taking
their "miracle pills" and that proper nutrition and
exercise alone is not enough.
While I won't dismiss the fact that there are ingredients
in some fat "burner" products that might help a little bit,
I take great displeasure in seeing misleading advertising
claims as well as the misleading use of models who are
often paid to endorse the product even though they may
never have even used it (they're just models!)
Many "fat burner" companies have been sued by the Federal
Trade Commission for false advertising, false claims and
falsifying before and after photos.
The best you get is a slight thermogenic effect and
possibly some slight appetite suppression. A few products
might work through other mechanisms like improving thyroid,
but if you forgive me the generalization, I consider the
effects of all these "fat burner" products to be minutia.
In one of my previous newsletters, I said that in my
opinion, 97% of your results come from nutrition and
training and maybe you get an extra 3% advantage from
supplements. Just so you know those numbers aren't
something I pulled out of thin air, here's an example:
I have reviewed scientific data that EGCG, the active
ingredient in green tea extract, if consumed in enough
quantity, could increase thermogenesis / metabolic rate by
an average of about 75 calories in 24 hours. Since
ephedrine was taken off the market, green tea extract
appears in many ephedra-free formulas these days. What is a
typical calorie expenditure for an active male in 24 hours?
lets say 2700 calories per day. 75/2700 = 2.7%.
That little extra doesnt hurt, especially when it's
delivered in a healthful package such as green tea (rather
than central nervous system stimulants), but it's minutia
in the bigger picture. Another way to put this into
perspective is to make a list of what other things would
burn 75 calories (for 150 lb person:)
* walk your dog for 15 minutes * walk for 5 minutes at
normal casual pace three times a day * 30 minutes of
ironing * bagging leaves and grass clippings for 14 minutes
* re arrange your furniture for 10 minutes * wash your car,
15 minutes * vacuuming for 15 minutes *7.2 minutes of
walking up stairs (could be spread throughout the day)
Of course, some people are probably wondering, "Why exert
yourself if you could take a pill and your metabolism
increases while you sit and watch TV?"
Here's what any good personal trainer will always tell you:
No amount of calorie restriction or pill-popping will ever
give you FITNESS. It will never give you STRENGTH. It will
never get you MUSCULARITY. It will never give you
FUNCTIONALITY. At best it will help you reduce your body
mass.
And how about for your health? A body that's not moved rots
away. Unlike a car which only has so many miles on it and
wears out from over-use, people are the only "machines" on
earth that fall apart from under-use.
On one hand, I'm tempted to say that everything counts and
that yes, 75 calories here and 75 calories there, it ALL
adds up, because it does. After you're exercising regularly
and all your fundamentals are in place, details and little
things do matter.
I'm simply asking you to put the benefits of any fat
burners in proper perspective and realize that (1) there is
no "need" for taking them and (2) the claims made in the
ads are often erroneous or exaggerated.
My advice on fat burners:
1. NEVER buy a fat burner unless you get independent
verification of the claims made for the product.
How do you know they really work? Are you seriously going
to take the advertisers word for it? Are you going to take
someone else's testimonial as fact? Get verification for
yourself by going to the pub med data base and looking for
the primary research.
2. Put it in perspective
With those products that work, such as those providing a
small thermogenic effect, put that in perspective as
compared to how easily you could burn that many calories
with even light exercise like walking or housework. Keep in
mind the additional fitness and strength benefits you will
obtain from exercise as opposed to doing nothing and
popping a pill.
3. See if there are any side effects or health warnings.
With all supplements and especially with prohormones or
stronger thermogenics like the ephedrine and caffeine
stack, (if you still have access to them), understand the
risk to benefit ratio, and be certain you know the dangers
and contraindications.
4. Read the label and see if the product contains enough
active ingredient to even work.
A classic scam is when a "fat burner" advertisement quotes
research that a certain inredient boosts metabolism, which
might be true. What they may not tell you is that all the
research with positive results used a large dosage of the
ingredient, which might not be cheap. So the supplement
company includes a "pinch" or "light dusting" of that
ingredient just so they can say it's in the bottle, even
though it's nothing more than "label decoration." Then they
have the audacity to invoke the research studies in their
advertisements when the amount of the ingredient in their
product is no where near what was used in the research!
5. Beware of the proprietary blend scam.
Some companies don't let you see how much ingredient is in
the product formula, because it contains multiple
ingredients and they say their formula is a "trade secret"
aka "proprietary", so they list what is in the product but
not how much. Well, if you don't know how much is in there
then how are you supposed to know whether it contains the
proper dosage? (answer: you don't!)
6. Make sure there is human research, not just rodent
research.
In many cases, advertisements cite studies on rats and mice
as "proof" under the assumption that the product will
produce the same results in humans. Animal research is an
important part of the scientific method, as it is often
used to help find areas of research where human study
should be pursued, or in the other direction, to trace back
the mechanism that makes something work. However, for
obesity research in particular, a positive finding in rats
does not mean the same thing will happen in humans.
7. Look for more than one human study.
Consider trying a supplement after it has human research
that has been replicated by different research groups which
are not industry-sponsored. My policy is that I will
usually only give a "buy" rating to a supplement when a
product has an initial well-designed human controlled trial
published and then similar research has been replicated by
another research group that is not supplement-industry
funded. Actually, I think it's a good thing that nutrition
and supplement companies fund and sponsor some of the
research. They should. They should not only back up their
claims with published clinical trials, they should share
some of the cost of this expensive research.
However, a basic principle of the scientific method is
replication. Other researchers should be able to duplicate
the findings. Therefore, while the funding source does not
necessarily prove bias, if there is only one study
available on a supplement and it is company or industry
sponsored, I usually take it with a grain of salt and put
an asterisk next to it while I wait for confirmation from
another study. (You might be surprised at how infrequently
this type of confirmation occurs).
Do you really need "more" than nutrition and exercise?
Now, when you weigh the fact that even the products with
research backing them only help a little, with the fact
that many of the ads lie to you about research, exaggerate
claims and hide vital information about ingredients, and
with the fact that you can do a few more minutes of
exercise per day and get the same results for free, how
enthusiastic are you about fat burners? Yeah, that's why
I'm not real excited about them either and based on the
fact that I use no drugs and no "fat burner" supplements
and I compete in bodybuilding - very successfully - I'd say
that the assertion, "it takes more than nutrition and
exercise to get six pack abs" is patently false.
----------------------------------------------------
Tom Venuto is a natural bodybuilder, certified personal
trainer, certified strength & conditioning specialist and
author of the best selling diet e-book, Burn The Fat, Feed
The Muscle. Tom teaches you how to lose fat without drugs
or supplements using secrets of the world's best
bodybuilders and fitness models. Learn how to get rid of
stubborn fat and increase your metabolism by visiting
http://www.BurnTheFat.com and
http://www.BurnTheFatInnerCircle.Com
