First and foremost, my apologies for the long drought since my last post. I have been crazy busy lately with work, studying and working out which has zapped any extra motivation I would normally have to sit down and try to sound clever and not completely unintelligible.
This weeks topic, by popular demand: Fat Burners. They are everywhere we look, staring us right in the face with a sexy voice that says “I will make you look like a fucking champion and all you have to do is swallow me, I’m a tiny pill, what harm can I do.” That is exactly what Ecstasy said before you had a six hour trip that landed you naked in the middle of a forest with a red headed midget by your side. My point here is that popping pills can lead to the unknown, you never know how your body will react and sometimes the result is totally messed up.
Everyone is looking for the easy way out, that little nudge that will tip the scale in your favour. Spending hours working out and eating boiled chicken to shed fat is not what any of us want. What we want is to lose 5 – 10lbs of fat while also gaining strength and eating all of the cookies.
So the question is…is this possible? Do fat burners work and what side effects could occur?
Most fat burners on the market contain essentially the same ingredients:
- Stimulants (Ephedrine, Caffeine Anhydrous, Synephrine HCL, Bitter Orange, Guarana, ect.)
- Antioxidants/EFA’s (Green Tea Extract, Sesamin, CLA)
- Adrenoreceptor Blocker (Yohimbine HCL)
- Appetite Suppressors (Hoodia)
Since most fat burners are stimulants, they have the ability to increase your energy, giving you a greater “pump” and ability to burn more calories. Sounds legit right…wrong. Just like that ecstasy trip, what goes up must come down and fat burners can send you plummeting faster than Miley Cyrus’ career. Of course, its nice to get that extra boost pre-workout, but eventually your body will become accustomed to it and to maintain that burn you will have to increase your dosage to potentially unhealthy levels. Also, the more extreme the pump you get the harder it will be for your body to recover.
Other side effects include: increased blood pressure, heart rate, the shakes, anxiety, decreased energy and sleeplessness.
Females are particularly sensitive to high dosage caffeine, so my recommendations would be for the ladies to stay away from any burners containing a lot of stimulants. Men, who are usually larger and contain more muscle seem to respond better and can get away with a little bit more. #fuckyouboys #lifeiseasywhenyouradude
Fat burners are not all bad though, and some people can actually have some pretty good results…usually when combined with diet and exercise. That being said, it’s one of those chicken before the egg situations. Is it the diet and exercise that is working, or is it the fat burners? Maybe its a combo of both, but we really can’t say for sure!
I say…just hit the shake weight a couple times a week and you will be good to go.
All that being said, I don’t have a really strong opinion on fat burners. (Aww man, what a sad conclusion to a blog post you thought was going somewhere). I don’t think they are necessary, and I think you will waste more money than they are worth. Hard work can not be replaced with a pill…unless of course that pill is filled with HGH powder, and then, yes, yes it can.
My best advice would be to skip on the fb and spend your money on other supplements to aid in recovery and minimize inflammation such as a high quality fish oil, vitamin D, magnesium and zinc. Take these babies and I guarantee you will see some improvements in performance, recovery and maybe even body composition.
If you need a little boost just remember, “confidence is 10% hard work and 90% delusion” – Tina Fey.