One of the reasons fat burners sell so well is the moniker itself: when you are trying to lose fat as efficiently as possible, a fat burner sounds like a perfect addition to your regimen. Anything that burns fat is worth a go, no?
Mike Matthews
Fat burners are among the most expensive weight loss supplements on the weight loss market.
That being said, do fat burners work? Honestly, most of the fat burners are among the most useless weight loss supplements out there.
Now, do not get me wrong. There are some fat burners that work, no doubt.
Before we dive in, I highly recommend you to sign up for my FREE 14-DAY FAT LOSS FOR LIFE COURSE. In this fat loss course, I send you daily emails for 14 days that cover the best nutrition and exercise strategies I know of for losing fat and staying lean for life!
All you need to do is check at the end of the article or on your right (desktop)➡️
This page contains affiliate links. If you purchase through one of them, I will receive a commission (at no additional cost to you). I only ever endorse products that my clients and I have personally used and benefited from personally. Thank you for your support!
Fat Burners That Work (actually work)
Image Credit: Bodymedia
The ones that actually work will do for you one or a couple of these things:
- Increase the basal metabolic rate (daily energy expenditure)
- Reduce hunger and cravings
- Increase satiety
There are thousands of fat burners out there but only these, evidence shows, are actually worth spending your hard earned money on:
- Caffeine
- Synephrine
- 5-HTP
- Green Tea Extract
- Forskolin
- Yohimbine
- Spirulina
Fat Burners That…Suck
Now that we know what works, it is only fair to touch on fat burners that are a complete waste of money. Agree?
These are the fat burners you want to stay away from:
- Raspberry ketones – current evidence are insufficient to claim it as an effective fat burner supplement
- Garcinia cambogia – a meta-analysis of 12 clinical trials found it ineffective as a weight loss supplement
- Green coffee extract – research shows that it can only help burning fat if taken in high dosages
- Acai berry – there are no independent studies published that would show fat burning benefits
- L-Carnitine – it is the most abundant amino acid in our bodies. As a fat burner, it could help only if one has impaired fat oxidation by some type of disease. It can help with recovering after exercise, though.
So now we know do fat burners work. Most of them do not. Some of them do. Let’s take a closer look at ones that will help you lose fat faster and in a more enjoyable way.
1. How Caffeine will help you?
I am sure most of us know caffeine as an energy booster that we get with our morning coffee routine.
Well, caffeine is one of the best fat burners, actually.
Caffeine will help you to lose fat because it increases the body’s daily energy expenditure. In other words, just by taking caffeine as a fat burner your body will burn more calories throughout a day.
How should you use Caffeine to lose fat?
The biggest mistake I see with people taking caffeine is that they let their bodies to build a tolerance to caffeine. Once it happens, that increased daily energy expenditure goes down.
That being said, you need to prevent tolerance for caffeine. How, you wondering?
Do one or two low caffeine days per week (get half of the usual dosage). On top of that, have one day without caffeine.
2. How Synephrine will help you?
First of all, synephrine is a natural compound found in citrus fruits.
Synephrine will help you to lose more weight by increasing your body’s daily energy expenditure and breakdown of fats (known as lipolysis).
Moreover, there are such receptors that prevent fat burning. Synephrine inhibits these receptors.
How should you use Synephrine to lose fat?
Synephrine can be taken for up to three times per day. You should follow the dosage recommendations on the supplement label.
What if you could lose weight without following heaps of restrictive rules or give up all the foods you ACTUALLY like to eat?
Well, I’m here to tell you that those things are possible.
Pretty easy, actually. Once you KNOW what you’re doing.
Jump on board for my Online Coaching.
No more FAD diets. No more forcing down joyless, tasteless meals. No more struggling to drop fat
3. How 5-HTP will help you?
Not many of us even know what 5-HTP is. Well, 5-HTP is a totally natural compound found in milk, meat or green vegetables.
The main 5-HTP benefit is that it gives you that feeling of fullness. This will result in controlled food intake. Less food consumed = faster weight loss.
Many of us crave carbohydrates 24/7. 5-HTP has another cool thing which is reducing cravings for carbs.
How should you use 5-HTP to lose fat?
Take 5-HTP up to three times per day with your meals. The upper limit of the dosage is 500 milligrams.
4. How Green Tea Extract will help you?
I am sure you heard about green tea extract as being a great fat burner. And that is true. Green tea extract, a herbal compound derived from green tea leaves, holds up to this claim.
Research shows, that green tea extract reduces total fat mass. In particular, it reduces abdominal fat.
Now, the exact fat burning mechanism of green tea extract is still yet to be confirmed but it seems that it has something to do with increased levels of catecholamines (hormones).
How should you use Green Tea Extract to lose fat?
There is no best time to take green tea extract so it is up to you. Daily dosage should be anywhere between 400 and 600 milligrams.
5. How Forskolin will help you?
What the hell is Forskolin, right? It sounds like a Russian thing…
Well, Forskolin has been long used to treat heart disorders as Indian herbal.
However, it has some cool fat burning benefits to offer as well. It accelerates fat loss by initiating the fat burning process.
How should you use Forskolin to lose fat?
You will get the best results if Forskolin is taken once a day, 20 to 50 milligrams.
6. How Yohimbine will help you?
Yohimbine is a compound found in the youhimbine plant.
It will help you to lose weight by blocking a mechanism in fat cells that inhibit weight loss. That way you will have faster fat loss.
How should you use Yohimbine to lose fat?
You should remember the following if you want yohimbine to be effective:
it only helps to speed up fat burning when taken in the fasted state. Any insulin spike, caused by a meal or a drink, would completely shut all the benefits that this fat burner has to offer.
Use yohimbine sometime in the day when you did not have any meal for at least a couple of hours. 0.2 mg per kilogram of body weight would be an effective dosage.
Fed up with FAD diets?
Do You want to overcome a deep-rooted battle with your weight, end never-ending yo-yo dieting & learn how to keep the weight off for life?
I’ll help you to achieve these goals by coaching you!
Just click down below and fill out an application form.
7. How Spirulina will help you?
We all heard at least something about Spirulina. This, non-toxic compound, that is rich in various nutrients has an unbelievably wide range of benefits to offer:
- Increased strength
- Reduced blood pressure
- Blood sugar control
- Improved gym performance
- Improved insulin sensitivity
The last one, improved insulin sensitivity, is something that we are very interested in, right?
With improved insulin sensitivity, your body requires less insulin to be secreted in order to lower blood glucose levels.
Now, research shows, when the insulin level is low, your body moves from using glucose as a primary energy source to fat being primary.
So instead of burning glucose for energy, your body burns more fat with the help of spirulina.
How should you use Spirulina to lose fat?
Spirulina can be used at any time of the day. Daily dosage with additional benefits can be seen with up to 10 grams.
Bonus Fat burner – Fish Oil
I bet you did not even know about Fish Oil as a fat burner. But yes, it is a great tool to have when losing weight.
How Fish Oil will help you?
Fish oil has many more benefits but we are interested in two:
Improved insulin sensitivity and improved glucose uptake.
We already talked about insulin sensitivity.
What is up with glucose uptake? It is another important factor in fat loss.
You see, you want your body to be as efficient as possible in using glucose as an energy source so it could get on with fat burning as well.
How should you use Fish Oil to lose fat?
Studies show that for the optimal fat loss, 1.2 to 2.8 grams of omega-3 fatty acids per day is optimal.
Final Thoughts
I want to be honest here by saying that you can definitely lose fat without any supplements at all.
However, if you want to get the most out of the weight loss program and you are okay with spending a couple of dollars, then I highly recommend these fat burners.
Weight loss is already not that fun with all the hunger, satiety, cravings and late night snacking issues.
If there is something that science has proven to be effective, then why not using it, right?
Don’t know where to even begin? Macros? Protein? Calories???
Then jump on my online coaching where I’ll give you tools and strategies that allow you to effortlessly track your food intake, exercise, and fat loss to ensure you are constantly making progress.
I’ll be the one doing all the hassle, all the “behind the scenes” work so that you can focus on executing.
Just fill out the application form and I’ll get right back to ya😊
Egis R.
If you think you have crappy genetics, I tell you: SCREW YOU! You’ve no idea how many times I heard this. And yet, my clients managed to transform their lives with simple steps that I gave them!
Certificate in strength and conditioning, 2014. Lithuanian Sports University, Lithuania
Athletic Training, 2013. Masaryk University, Czech Republic
Certificate IV in fitness, 2017. The Eagle Academy, Australia
Is it safe to use all of these products at once?
There’s absolutely no reason to do that.
If you’re already in a calorie deficit and find yourself hungry all the time, pick one that can suppress hunger.
Struggling to get enough protein? – Just get yourself protein powder.
The bottom line is that none of them can make you lose weight just by themselves. They exist only to make your diet easier and more enjoyable so you could adhere to your diet long-term.