If you’ve been on a weight loss and fitness journey, then you’ve definitely heard of fat burners. The mythical supplement is meant to melt the fat right off you to help you lose more weight in a short time. Although, the reality of the fat burner is wildly different. While they can help you burn fat faster and more effectively, they don’t melt 10 pounds off a week. Instead, they’ll help you lose 1 to 3 pounds a week.
So, what’s all the hype about then?
What Is a Fat Burner?
If it’s not a mythical, magical weight loss pill – then what exactly are fat burners?
Well, they’re supplements that are meant to complement a healthy diet and regular exercise. They’re meant to improve the efficacy of your lifestyle choices and make your workout more fat-burning than average.
How Do They Work?
Now that it’s established that the fat burners are just supplements, how exactly does it work to promote weight loss?
It does so by stimulating hormonal reactions and encouraging the breakdown of fat in the body to be used as an energy and fuel source. Besides, caffeine is the main ingredient in most fat burners; and this is for several reasons:
- Increases metabolic rate.
- Encourages the use of fat as a fuel course.
- Provides more energy for exercise and calorie-burning activity.
- Promotes the breakdown of fatty acids and the burning of belly fat.
But, a fat burner won’t help if your diet isn’t healthy. So, unless you’re eating like you want to burn fat and lose weight, then no supplements can help you.
How to Make the Most of Fat Burners
Fat burners don’t work without a proper diet and exercise, and they also don’t work the way you want them to without these tricks:
- Set Realistic Expectations
Part of letting your fat burner work is actually setting realistic expectations for the supplement. Let your goals be week to week rather than month to month. Look past the weighing scale and move on to measuring your progress on other fronts as well.
Look more at how you feel and look rather than reaching a number on a scale. And it’ll help you check when the fat burners start losing their efficacy and is a more stable method of tracking progress.
- Cycle the Supplement
Much like any other substance, you’re going to get tolerant to your fat-burning supplement. It’ll stop being as effective after a point. So instead of increasing your dosage, stop taking the supplement for a few weeks. Also, beware of caffeine withdrawal!
- Start With a Low Dose
The dosage instructions on the box aren’t a suggestion. Hence, it’s best to stick to the recommended dosage and serving size provided on the box. After all, more of the supplement doesn’t equal more weight loss; it just makes you jittery.
- Muscle Over Weight Loss
While weight loss is an overall goal of the exercise, don’t let it be the main goal. If you want to maintain shape and remain to look fit, then you’ll need to focus more on your muscle tone rather than weight loss.
If you don’t focus on muscle tone and overall fitness, your body will look like a coat hanger. It will also cost you helpful lean muscle!
How Can You Tell If They’re Working?
Start tracking your progress 2 to 3 weeks after you’ve started taking the supplement. You can track using progress pictures or body measurements. As such, weight is only a part of it and isn’t the most reliable method.
With all this information about fat burners, you can start your journey with the supplement without unrealistic expectations! Nevertheless, these supplements are bound to make your fitness journey just a little easier and help you achieve the last 5% of all your exercise goals!
