1. Training and Diet are the Foundation
Don't shimmy your way up the beanstalk with your magic beans hoping to walk away with a movie star body. Fat burners, or any supplements, should only complement a consistent eating and training regimen. You can't take your fat burner and then not work out for 3 months while eating ding dongs and expect them to work. Used correctly with consistent exercise and clean eating, they can help you lose body fat more quickly.
2. Get Heated Up
Fat burners are generally thermogenic in nature, meaning they produce body heat. During the course of this process, they mimic the natural hormone epinephrine which takes fat and releases it from your tissues in the form of fatty acids. You also are benefited by an increased heart rate and metabolic rate. There is also a naturally occurring side effect of appetite suppression associated with thermogenics.
3. The Danger Signs
Ephedrine or it's herbal equivalent, ma huang, is in almost every effective fat burner. The NFL and various other athletic associations have banned ephedrine. In 2004, the FDA banned it completely and it was overturned a year later. Heart palpitations have been associated with ephedrine. Because it also affects the central nervous system, use can cause you to feel jittery, cranky or dehydrated. Hoodia and CLA (Conjugated Linoleic Acid) are also marketed as fat burners but have no thermogenic effect. They are safer but less effective.
4. Cycle it Like a Bodybuilder
Steroid free bodybuilders are probably the most avid users of thermogenic compounds and fat burners. It is largely due to this demographic that sales and development of products have flourished. Real bodybuilders use fat burners the right way. In the off season, a competitor will often gain 10 to 20 pounds of body fat while they are allowing their body to recover. Before an event, the bodybuilder will carbohydrate deplete, increase cardiovascular sessions and use a fat burner to skim fat off the top of the muscle. Off season, they are working to increase muscle by eating more and focusing on weight training. The lesson for the amateur is that cycling the fat burner will maintain it's effectiveness. Use them 6 weeks on with a 2 month break as a good rule to follow and this should also keep your body from developing a resistance.
5. The Label Tells the Story
You can usually buy thermogenics at your gym or any store front or online supplement store. They are also available at your local grocery store. You won't typically find them in a vitamin store or organic grocery store. Ephedra, ma huang, caffeine, guarana, aspirin, willow bark and green tea are found in most of the fat burners. Citrus aurantium and synephrine, a chemical cousin of ephedrine may also be listed.
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