As a personal trainer who gives fitness coaching, I know that my clients usually have a question (or 2, or 3 or more!) about fat loss. Here is one of the questions that was recently asked by one of my clients. Variations of this question are all over the internet and are often asked by many people who's fitness goals include weight loss or fat loss.
"What fat burning pill or fat burner product should I be taking?"
\"Fat Burners\"
In Singapore where I live and in muscle and fitness magazines all over the world, Scorch, Hot Rox, Hydroxycut, and pretty much any other thermogenic product all have convincing "ads". To cut a long story short, the answer is yes they do work.
BUT beware...
They only work in the short term, and there are side effects.
You need to ask yourself how these fat burners work.
The below systems are stimulated...
1. Nervous system stimulation (caffeine and other stimulants)
2. Thyroid (metabolic) stimulation
Does it work short term... yes. BUT no better than another 2 -4 weeks of healthy clean eating.
Long term, just like anything else, it hurts your bodies natural production and regulation of these factors. So its BAD.
Fat burners - if you are a fitness competitor/bodybuilder/going for a photo shoot, sure use them for 3-4 weeks then STOP. And do this only 1or 2 times per year.
If you are anybody else, eat natural food like meat, vegetables, nuts and eggs as well as lots of fish oil and add in some energetic nutrients like L-carnitine. Train hard and let the fat drop by itself.
Everybody can get great results without any fat burning pills. It may just take a little longer.
You need to ask yourself, what do you want? A quick fix? Or a lifetime of healthy and lean living?
Just beware especially in the online fitness forums... the desire to lose fat NOW makes people lose a sense of perspective.
All the reasonable answers which talk about the consequences of fat burning stimulants are often totally ignored and people just continue discussing about where to get the best stimulants and the best prices despite the warnings and side effects.
There is a Chinese saying. "You can bring the horse to the water but you cannot force him to drink". That is the state of almost all fitness forums online when it comes to the topic of fat burning pills and weight loss supplements.
Do Fat Burners and Weight Loss Pills Really Work?
Coach Jonathan Wong, is a sought after Singapore personal trainer and performance expert who has helped hundreds of clients in Singapore achieve their fitness, fat loss and sports performance goals. He Is also a fitness author and a member of Singapore Men's Health Advisory Panel. Visit his website for a free 1500 page e-book, blog, newsletter and constant updates. http://www.coachjon.com