Here's the thing, when it comes to fat loss supplements are not the answer. There aren't three supplements out there that will immediately remove your stomach fat or tone up your legs and arms. There may have been a couple of products in the past that came close (ephedrine before it got banned for being dangerous), but even they were supposed to be taken in combination with exercise and a calorie controlled diet. The chances are that a lot of people reading this are looking for a magic bullet solution to their problems, if this is you then sadly no supplement (that's legal) can do this. However, if you are looking for a supplement that can upgrade your current training program and get you better results, then this is the article for you. Another distinction that should be made here, there are supplements that are designed to work as fat burners and there are supplements that are designed to improve performance, recovery, and health. We won't be looking at fat burners in this article. This is for the simple reason that they are not particularly effective. So the top three supplements for fat loss is more of a review of supplements that can help you train harder, help you recover from training, and help you improve your diet. When combined with a decent training program and excellent nutrition they will provide that extra 5% that gives you an advantage over the non-supplement users.
Supplement One. Whey Protein
This supplement is probably the most common supplement there is, but it is usually seen as a muscle building supplement. The effects of whey protein on fat loss are less well known. A study in 2015 by Hulmi
et al <1> found that when combined with resistance exercise (free weights, machine weights etc) whey protein led to greater fat loss than exercise alone. Another study in 2013 looked at
how whey protein specifically helped to combat obesity and type II Diabetes
<2>. It did this by increasing satiety - that feeling of fullness you get after a meal. It also increases thermogenesis (which raises your metabolism). Now other protein sources will also do this, but as a supplement whey protein is particularly effective. Protein is also very good at helping you to recover after exercise, and rebuild your damaged muscle fibres, it does this through a process known as Muscle Protein Synthesis. Whey or Casein protein are very good at increasing MPS after a workout, particularly if taken before bed
<3>.
Supplement Two. Caffeine
Everyone loves a good pre-workout supplement but they usually cost the earth, if only there were a way to recreate the results for the cost of a cup of coffee! Well, there is, get a cup of coffee. Almost every pre-workout out there is made up of caffeine with a few other minor ingredients thrown in. Taking caffeine alone will give you all the results you desire - if done right. You see caffeine is a bit of a double-edged sword. On the one hand, the right dosage of caffeine can increase your metabolism
<4>, increase fat oxidation (fat burning)
<5>, improve gym performance
<6> and lower the rate of perceived exertion
<7>. Meaning that it can make exercise appear easier than it actually is. To get these results you have to be using quite a high dose of caffeine, most studies seem to use around 3-4mg/kg. In other words, 4mg of caffeine per kg of bodyweight, if you are a 100kg man you would need to consume 400mg of caffeine pre-workout to get the excellent results that many studies have found. However doing so can lead to an increase in caffeine tolerance, what happens is that the more that you consume the less effective it is on the body. Having a high tolerance to caffeine can prevent you from seeing any results, and can lead to disrupted sleep, raised cortisol, and even fat gain (as a result of the lack of sleep and increased stress). To prevent this you need to cycle your caffeine, take it for a few weeks to improve your gym performance but then cut down for a few weeks (you don't need to give up completely) until your tolerance has lowered back down.
Supplement Three. Creatine
This third choice might seem odd as unlike Whey protein and Caffeine, Creatine does not have any effect on body fat. However, Creatine is one of the most effective supplements for improving gym performance there is. Better gym performance means bigger and stronger muscles, and also means more calories burned per session. Which leads to fat loss. Simple enough huh? Creatine, when combined with whey protein has been shown to increase strength and hypertrophy
<8> and to also increase fat-free mass
<9>. Fat-Free Mass is muscle, and by increasing your FFM you would be automatically lowering your body fat
percentage even if you didn't lose any body fat, as the percentage of FFM would increase. Creatine will help increase the amount of energy you can utilise during a workout. You'll find that you can crank out a couple extra reps, or lift a little more weight. You might find that you can train a little bit longer, or that your rest periods can be shorter than before. Whilst not having anything to do with the oxidation of fat, Creatine may, in fact, be the best supplement for fat loss. Just because it will massively improve your workout performance. Just make sure you stay hydrated throughout the day.
Conclusion
When you are looking to lose fat, the number one method should always be dietary changes. Increase protein (this is where whey protein can be effective) as this will prevent muscle loss whilst dieting
<10>. Lower your calories - as this is the best way to burn body fat, and increase your activity. You can do this through exercise, through increased step count, or even through little things like taking the stairs rather than the elevator. Obviously, if you have a lot of fat to lose then you'll want to get the most out of your brand new gym membership and here is where these 3 supplements can help you. Taking relatively high doses of caffeine before a workout, followed by post-workout whey protein and creatine supplementation will make huge differences to your performance. Remember without exercise and diet, no supplement will help, but add everything together and you'll get some amazing results.
