Fat Loss Supplements You're Wasting Your Money On

[FITCORPASIA]

Tons of things have been said on what supplements (drug?) to take in order to get the coveted beach body that's plastered pretty much everywhere nowadays.

The truth is, most of these magic tricks just don't work. Here are a few that you should steer clear from (if you take them for fat burning purposes that is)

1.) Green Tea Extract

Yes, it’s healthy, and yes, it certainly is the darling of the fat loss supplement world these days. After all, research shows it helps you burn 80 extra calories per day, it doesn’t have any side effects, it might even help prevent cancer, but the bottom line is that it won’t help you lose fat any faster.

By taking a look at this supplement more closely, we see a couple of dirty little secrets. First, while it helps you burn an extra 80 calories per day (as shown in one research study), that doesn’t add up to much in a week (1/7th of a pound of fat). And do you know

how easy it is to eat 80 calories? Why, all it takes are two tablespoons of non-dairy creamer, or a cup of juice, or as little as TWELVE potato chips, and you can say goodbye to the supposed benefits of the expensive daily Green Tea supplement. And finally, you shouldn’t expect to get that 80-calorie increase in metabolism everyday. It’s more likely that your body gets used to the Green Tea (just like it gets used to everything), and that it doesn’t increase your metabolism by 80 calories everyday.

So while it’s important to keep on drinking several cups of Green Tea per day for the health benefits, you can save some money by skipping the expensive supplements. When it comes to calorie burning, leave it to your interval and resistance workouts to take

care of that. Not only will you burn several hundred calories in each 45-minute training session, but you’ll also burn at least the same amount of calories in the 24-hour recovery period. More results in less time.

[FITCORPASIA]

2) Caffeine

Caffeine is the world’s most-popular drug, and some people justify their intake by saying that it helps burn fat. And while it might help burn fat in a test-tube, it just doesn’t hold up in the real world. Heck, take a look at the turnstile doors of your local Starbucks. If caffeine was the wonder fat-burner that it is claimed to be, everyone walking through there would be a cover model with ripped abs.

But it just isn’t so. Instead, caffeine gained its reputation the same way Green Tea did. A couple of studies showed that caffeine helped give a little boost to your metabolism – and everyone jumped on the fat loss-caffeine bandwagon. But the truth is, the metabolism

boost doesn’t last, and the increase is so small it’s practically irrelevant in the first place.Again, leave your calorie burning to your workout, and use caffeine in moderation. And above all, stay away from sugar-laden, caffeine-overdosed beverages like Red Bull/M-150/Shark... (100 calories from sugar and 80mg caffeine) and the drinks you can get at Starbucks (up to 400 calories and sometimes over 500mg of caffeine!!!). These drinks will sabotage your fat loss faster than you can get your caffeine buzz.

[FITCORPASIA]

3) Hoodia

Ah yes, the secret supplement of the African Bushmen and the fat-loss miracle pill that I hear about a dozen times each day thanks to SPAM e-mail. Well, if it were only true. Hoodia is one of those supplements where no one probably has true access to the real

ingredient, and if they do, they’ve added it to the product in such small amounts that it is worthless.

Doubt me? Take a look at your supplements. Why don’t they list the amount of Hoodia (or any other ingredient in there)? Instead, they list proprietary, trademarked laundry lists of ingredients to B.S. you into thinking that there is an effective amount of anything in

the product. The truth? The only thing effective about Hoodia is the marketing!

[FITCORPASIA]

4) Calcium

Calcium is like the boy next door, the average Joe that everyone wants to see do well. After all, Calcium is a healthy nutrient, everyone needs it, there are no side effects, and maybe, just maybe it helps burn fat too! Well, when something seems too good to be true, it generally is. While initial studies showed that calcium intake was associated with lower body weight, follow up research

(from different researchers) has shown that it’s not always true, and more importantly, that supplementing with calcium pills has no effect on fat loss.

[FITCORPASIA]

5) CLA (Conjugated linoleic acids)

I’ll give CLA credit, it has staying power. Despite the fact that most studies show it doesn’t work, it still sells and there are many salespeople out there hyping the benefits. But the research studies show that in most cases, and even with the highest doses, that

CLA does not help you lose fat. Now CLA is also recommended as a supplement to give you what are called “healthy fats”. Healthy fats are indeed exactly what they claim to be. Despite the popular opinion that all fats are bad, the truth is that everyone needs essential fatty acids in their diet for healthy bodily functions and healthy skin. But while CLA is one source of healthy fats,

the best source of healthy fats is fish oil.

[FITCORPASIA]

There it is. There are many other food products turned supplements, and supplements turned food products outthere that it'd be a little daunting to try listing them all, but if you have another "item" in mind that you'd like to discuss go ahead

[steelepulse]

My oh my.  We have a new user name fitcorpasia pitching the evils of supposed weight loss products.  You wouldn't happen to be in the fitness industry trolling for new customers/members would you?

Edited January 21, 2009 by steelepulse

[jumnien]

What about L-Carnitane? Is it a good supplement?

[FITCORPASIA]

Well steelepulse, we are sponsoring this forum and thought it'd be good to help people debunk some myths associated with fat loss supplements and food. Nothing else.

[Crushdepth]

My oh my. We have a new user name fitcorpasia pitching the evils of supposed weight loss products. You wouldn't happen to be in the fitness industry trolling for new customers/members would you?

Well maybe he is, but they are clearly marked as a sponsor, and he's right that most of these things won't help you lose weight.

My favourite magic weight loss treatment was 'thigh reduction cream'. The manufacturers claimed that rubbing it on your fat thighs would make them smaller. Sadly, this excellent product was removed from the shelves and the manufacturer prosecuted for false advertising after the consumer protection commission discovered that it was simply sorbelene cream in a nice box sold at an inflated price.

It didn't even have preservatives in it, so it tended to go mouldy after a while

Edited January 21, 2009 by Crushdepth

[FITCORPASIA]

My oh my. We have a new user name fitcorpasia pitching the evils of supposed weight loss products. You wouldn't happen to be in the fitness industry trolling for new customers/members would you?

Well maybe he is, but they are clearly marked as a sponsor, and he's right that most of these things won't help you lose weight.

My favourite magic weight loss treatment was 'thigh reduction cream'. The manufacturers claimed that rubbing it on your fat thighs would make them smaller. Sadly, this excellent product was removed from the shelves and the manufacturer prosecuted for false advertising after the consumer protection commission discovered that it was simply sorbelene cream in a nice box sold at an inflated price.

It didn't even have preservatives in it, so it tended to go mouldy after a while

Thank you Crushdepth!

As the forum is for open discussion, we are contributing to the start of new threads for exactly that, open discussion, and educate along the way.

Edited January 21, 2009 by FITCORPASIA

[steelepulse]

Sorry I missed the forum sponsorship thing.

My secret to weight loss is..................  burn more calories than you take in and eat well and exercise.

[Ritti]

Crazy comment about the starbucks but you get that from fitcorp.

"Heck, take a look at the turnstile doors of your local Starbucks. If caffeine was the wonder fat-burner that it is claimed to be, everyone walking through there would be a cover model with ripped abs"

A have a double shot of black coffee before workouts as do most athletes, sportsman even ultra marathoners have coffee beans during races. I would also take it before fights.

[dumball]

Just look at it this way , billions of dollars are spent on these fat reducing products every year in America and billions more on patent diets . What now is the end result of all this needless expenditure ? Something like 60% of Americans are OBESE OR OVERWEIGHT , aaahhh , but of course , you are going to be the exception to the rule , face it , by and large you are what you eat .

[FITCORPASIA]

Crazy comment about the starbucks but you get that from fitcorp.

"Heck, take a look at the turnstile doors of your local Starbucks. If caffeine was the wonder fat-burner that it is claimed to be, everyone walking through there would be a cover model with ripped abs"

A have a double shot of black coffee before workouts as do most athletes, sportsman even ultra marathoners have coffee beans during races. I would also take it before fights.

We are talking about fat loss supplements here Ritti, not sports performance... For the average Joe... People just dont know whats in the stuff they eat and drink, and those 400 calories from an 'innocent' coffee, might just be the reason they pack on an extra 10kgs at the end of the year! We are talking about whats added to the coffee, not the coffee itself.

We are putting some informative content for people to learn, discuss their views, opinions and experience. Content for reaction. Which you certainly have!!

Thanks for your contribution though. Keep the comments coming.

Edited January 21, 2009 by FITCORPASIA

[robblok]

So while it’s important to keep on drinking several cups of Green Tea per day for the health benefits, you can save some money by skipping the expensive supplements. When it comes to calorie burning, leave it to your interval and resistance workouts to take

care of that. Not only will you burn several hundred calories in each 45-minute training session, but you’ll also burn at least the same amount of calories in the 24-hour recovery period. More results in less time.

Recent studies show that the afterburn effect is much less then previous thought. It would be great if you burn at least the same again, sadly studies say it is not true.

Fitness Myth No. 3: An aerobic workout will boost your metabolism for hours after you stop working out.

This statement is actually true -- but the calorie burn is probably not nearly as much as you think!

Harr says that while your metabolism will continue to burn at a slightly higher rate after you finish an aerobic workout, the amount is not statistically significant. In fact, it allows you to burn only about 20 extra calories for the day. While there's a little bit more of a metabolic boost after strength training, he says, it's still marginal.

"It doesn't really count towards your caloric burn," he says.

So you could better drink that green tea then to count on the after burn. Still the exercise itself is good and burns calories.

[jumnien]

Any comment on experiences using L-Carnitane?

[FITCORPASIA]

So while it's important to keep on drinking several cups of Green Tea per day for the health benefits, you can save some money by skipping the expensive supplements. When it comes to calorie burning, leave it to your interval and resistance workouts to take

care of that. Not only will you burn several hundred calories in each 45-minute training session, but you'll also burn at least the same amount of calories in the 24-hour recovery period. More results in less time.

Recent studies show that the afterburn effect is much less then previous thought. It would be great if you burn at least the same again, sadly studies say it is not true.

Fitness Myth No. 3: An aerobic workout will boost your metabolism for hours after you stop working out.

This statement is actually true -- but the calorie burn is probably not nearly as much as you think!

Harr says that while your metabolism will continue to burn at a slightly higher rate after you finish an aerobic workout, the amount is not statistically significant. In fact, it allows you to burn only about 20 extra calories for the day. While there's a little bit more of a metabolic boost after strength training, he says, it's still marginal.

"It doesn't really count towards your caloric burn," he says.

So you could better drink that green tea then to count on the after burn. Still the exercise itself is good and burns calories.

The after burn, or post metabolic rate is determined by the intensity of the exercise.

http://www.chs.fsu.edu/college/pdf/abstrac...0Hornbuckle.pdf

What is known that additional calories are expended as much as 14-39 hours post activity.

From another post, EPOC is explained and shhows the interval strangeth training training is most effective for maximising the amount of calories burnt post activity.

You can learn more about EPOC here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Excess_post-e...gen_consumption

[robblok]

You claim that you burn as much after your exercise as with your exercise. Lets take your example for 45 minutes of training.

say 79kc in 10 min that makes 355 kc in 45 min. You state you also burn that after training.

Normally someone burns 2400 kc a day that would make it 14-15% higher metabolic rate. There are no studies that indicate that much. Not even in your example. I think you can count yourself lucky if you have half of it. I don't say there is none im saying your exaggerating.

[MaximumSecurity]

When I started working out again after a two year layoff, I also began taking supplements one or two at a time so I could gauge their efficacy. My body fat went from 16% to 9% in about eight months. I was 59 years old at the time and never an athlete. The change was visible enough that several people that I barely knew at the gym asked me to design workout programs for them.

These supps worked for me along with protein powder and creatine: amino acid combo (burns body fat); chitosan (prevents fat absorption); CLA (uses glucose to build muscle not fat); garcinia cambogia (prevents conversion of excess sugar into body fat; inositol (emulsifies fat); kelp (reduces already accumulated fat); L-Lysine (metabolizes carbs and fatty acids); taurine (regulates absorption of fat and controls cholesterol buildup)

[technocracy]

When I was into seriously into training and fitness .. .. the only supplement then mean anything was protein.

I tried basically every type of supposed supplement on the market - including Creatines and the slightly borderline supplements. Not of them did diddly squat other than a minimal short term gain (Creatines) - the reality is if you want to build muscle and shed fat you need to eat high protein meats with balanced level of carbs 5 - 6 times a day and excercise 3-4 times a week for a minimum of 30 minutes and upto 1 hour.

The training should be split between basic weights and cardio.

Spending several 30 minutes concentrated on you specific muscle groups will do you far more good than several hours over working muscles. Obviously training for endurance events is a whole different kettle of fish.

Excercise creates muscle burn which stimulates fat burn = less fat. In my opinion any supplements other than Protein are a complete waste of money (and in general taste like crap! ).

The six pack will arrive once you get your body fat down - no number of situps or crunches everyday will get you one - doing this will just over work your stomach muscles and they won't get any bigger! Mine is still there just about just nowhere near as defined as before.

As Fitcorp say Fat Loss supplements are total BS god knows how half the companies can get away advertising them I don't know! The weightloss coffees seem to be the one of the moment in Thailand there ads seem to be on the TV 24hrs a day and unfortunately Thais are lacking in any education about these matter and will just believe what they are told just like there 'whitening' creams.

[sensei]

Thanks for sharing that info about things that doesn't work. Great info.

So how can I shed fat? What are the best ways and techniques?

[MeetJohnDoe]

So how can I shed fat? What are the best ways and techniques?

There is only ONE way to loose excess body fat (weight)...burn up (use) more calories than you consume. It is really that simple but most people don't want to hear it!

A moderate aerobic exercise regime and a balanced diet will lead to loss of body fat. A balanced diet will keep it off. Adding in anaerobic exercises (resistance or weight-training) will increase lean body mass (muscle) and lead to a higher metabolic rate (fat burn rate) even when the body is at rest and therefore maintain optimum body mass (muscle tissue is "active, i.e. moves," and therefore consumes more energy/calories than fat tissue, which basically does nothing but sit around on the body). A corollary to this is that once lean body mass has increased due to anaerobic exercise, it takes more calories to maintain the increased lean body mass - meaning you can actually eat MORE food and maintain the same body weight

Edited January 25, 2009 by MeetJohnDoe

[loong]

If only I could manage to convince my lady that she keeps wasting her (my) money on these miracle weight loss pills. I tell her that they cannot be good for her health and they do not work.

Despite trying so many and none of them doing any good, she will still believe the next person that comes along selling this crap.

She's just paid 2000 Baht for a month supply of some pills with collagen - I thought that collagen plumps up the fat tissue, not reduce it.

[technocracy]

Thanks for sharing that info about things that doesn't work. Great info.

So how can I shed fat? What are the best ways and techniques?

There is only ONE way to loose excess body fat (weight)...burn up (use) more calories than you consume. It is really that simple but most people don't want to hear it!

Well that is sort of the answer - although not strictly true! The problem is with all dieting is the fact that many of them concentrate purely on the calorie content opposed to the nutritional content. The fact is to lose fat you need muscle and build muscle you need eat protein. Muscles when used burn fat. The problem with just dropping calorie levels is that the very first store that your body consumes when lacking substanance is muscle - it's the easiest tissue for the body to consume.

Fat on the other hand is the hardest so only when the muscle has been exhaust with you body start consuming the fat - this is why main people get into a contant ever shrinking circle of dieting because all they do is diet and there muscles waste. So when the eat normally there body's natural response is to store the food in fat deposits.

You need to make sure that you consume enough protein for your requirements to keep your muscles fill or more if you want to increase there size but then you need to cut back on fatty and sugary foods. Also don't just check your weight but check your fat levels as well - many people who excercise and there weight doesn't reduce don't realise they've probably gain muscle to replace what fat has been lost. So standing on a scale tells you just have the story.

Like I said before 5-6 small meals a day with plenty of protein with regular excercise and you will have no problem in shifting the fat. Oh also once you're in this routine don't think chocolate is off the menu you can eat a bar of chocolate as one of the meals - just not everytime and at night! Also if you are hungry before you sleep - EAT - the worst thing you can do is sleep on an empty stomach - you body will start consuming muscle again!

[FITCORPASIA]

You claim that you burn as much after your exercise as with your exercise. Lets take your example for 45 minutes of training.

say 79kc in 10 min that makes 355 kc in 45 min. You state you also burn that after training.

Normally someone burns 2400 kc a day that would make it 14-15% higher metabolic rate. There are no studies that indicate that much. Not even in your example. I think you can count yourself lucky if you have half of it. I don't say there is none im saying your exaggerating.

Robblok, fair comment. We are talking about Energy Expenditure POST Training, not the effect of BMR. Our clients burn 500-1000 calories an hour during training, there is no way that the body will continue to burn only 49 calories post training. That would mean that the body wouldimmediately return to resting periods, and include all other baseline such as body temperature.

Without hi-tech research based testing, the best form of measurement is a heart rate monitor. As far as Polar HRM's go, there is no better way to estimate caloric expenditure.

So overall total energy expenditure (calories burnt) are far greater post exercise from higher intensity training modalities.

[FITCORPASIA]

Thanks for sharing that info about things that doesn't work. Great info.

So how can I shed fat? What are the best ways and techniques?

There is only ONE way to loose excess body fat (weight)...burn up (use) more calories than you consume. It is really that simple but most people don't want to hear it!

Well that is sort of the answer - although not strictly true! The problem is with all dieting is the fact that many of them concentrate purely on the calorie content opposed to the nutritional content. The fact is to lose fat you need muscle and build muscle you need eat protein. Muscles when used burn fat. The problem with just dropping calorie levels is that the very first store that your body consumes when lacking substanance is muscle - it's the easiest tissue for the body to consume.

Fat on the other hand is the hardest so only when the muscle has been exhaust with you body start consuming the fat - this is why main people get into a contant ever shrinking circle of dieting because all they do is diet and there muscles waste. So when the eat normally there body's natural response is to store the food in fat deposits.

You need to make sure that you consume enough protein for your requirements to keep your muscles fill or more if you want to increase there size but then you need to cut back on fatty and sugary foods. Also don't just check your weight but check your fat levels as well - many people who excercise and there weight doesn't reduce don't realise they've probably gain muscle to replace what fat has been lost. So standing on a scale tells you just have the story.

Like I said before 5-6 small meals a day with plenty of protein with regular excercise and you will have no problem in shifting the fat. Oh also once you're in this routine don't think chocolate is off the menu you can eat a bar of chocolate as one of the meals - just not everytime and at night! Also if you are hungry before you sleep - EAT - the worst thing you can do is sleep on an empty stomach - you body will start consuming muscle again!

You got it tecnoracy, there is alot mor to it than simply calories in and calories out.

The quality of nutrient value is essential.

You can actually eat more calories and lose body fat (and should) with the right strength/interval cardio training and food plan.

Yes, protein is essential for muscle resynthesis and minimise lean muscle loss (excessive cardio can also contribute to this).

if youre going to ahve something sugary and sweet, make sure its post training! Youre muscle glycogen levels will need to be topped up. Then followed by carbs and protein.

5-6 meals are essential

Fat Loss is key, not weight loss. It is extremely difficult for women to pack on any amount of muscle. Strength training and protein is essential for them to maintain and preserve the muscle that they have.

Muscle is active tissue, which stores more water when youre not exercising/training. Hence less weight lost on the scales - whch again, is insignificant.

FYI. 1.5-2.0 grams of protein per KG of body weight is required for active individuals.

[Crushdepth]

I tried basically every type of supposed supplement on the market - including Creatines and the slightly borderline supplements. Not of them did diddly squat other than a minimal short term gain (Creatines) - the reality is if you want to build muscle and shed fat you need to eat high protein meats with balanced level of carbs 5 - 6 times a day and excercise 3-4 times a week for a minimum of 30 minutes and upto 1 hour.

Supplements are no substitute for a balanced diet. Supplements can *only* help you if your diet isn't balanced. To labour the point, if your diet is balanced then supplements are a total waste of time.

Muscle is largely made from protein, and proteins are built from amino acids. And not just any kind - to build muscle proteins you need need specific amino acids in specific proportions, aka a balanced diet. If you eat an excess of (say) one particular amino acid it is like 'spare parts', because you don't have enough of the other parts to build a complete protein. The body uses 'spare' amino acids for energy instead.

If your diet is deficient in particular amino acids, then supplements might help you achieve a better balance, but if you are eating a balanced diet already then they are of no use! But, there is money to be made in selling magic lotions and potions.

There is only ONE way to loose excess body fat (weight)...burn up (use) more calories than you consume. It is really that simple but most people don't want to hear it!

There are two ways: 1. Reduce your calorie intake (popularly known as 'eat less'), 2. exercise more (increase your energy expenditure, also known as 'excercise more'). Or you can do both.

So how can I shed fat? What are the best ways and techniques?

See above :-)

Edited January 25, 2009 by Crushdepth

[technocracy]

Supplements are no substitute for a balanced diet. Supplements can *only* help you if your diet isn't balanced. To labour the point, if your diet is balanced then supplements are a total waste of time.

Erm did you actually read my posts in entirety?

[Crushdepth]

Yeah, I wasn't having a go at your post. I was agreeing with most of it