Hands off Fatburners!

Take the pill and your body will burn all that bloody fat that you have stocked around your waistline, thighs and butt. That’s the promise given to the teenage girl or the young woman who just gave birth. And for the ones who are into sports, the promises are: mental focus, increased performance and fat burning which will lead to the shredded look, you opt for. The willingness of people to try that kind of supplements really scares me. The other day I overheard a conversation of a girl and her trainer at the gym. It went like this:

Girl: “I am going to use fatburners!”

Trainer: “You don’t need that, you are slim. We just need to build up muscle and get you toned.”

Girl: “But I want to use fat burners. Which one is the best one?”

Trainer: “There is no fatburner without side effects. This is nothing I can recommend.”

Girl: “You don’t understand, I want to get rid off this fat!”

I had to leave because I could hardly hold myself back. SHE is the one who doesn’t understand for God’s sake. If you want to get rid off your love handles, you need to move that ass. This is the only healthy way to go from fat to fit and from there to shredded. And let me repeat it one more time: Your workout lasts for one hour, what you do in the remaining 23 hours of the day is important: if you eat the wrong food, you will all blow it.

But let’s go back to the fat burners and why you should keep your hands off them. The most important reason is very simple: you may die!

Most of the effective fat burners contain ephedrine or synephrine. In combination with high doses of caffeine(also included in fat burners), the body reacts with increased heart rate, blood pressure and metabolism. People who do sports after having popped the pill or/and suffer from a health issue that they may not even know about, put their health at serious risk. The inability of your body to get sufficient rest can cause extreme fatigue and weaken your immune system, making you more susceptible to illnesses or accidents. Fat burners can also have negative side effects on a mental and emotional level. Vanderbilt University researchers stated that fat burner pills can cause nervousness, anxiety, aggressive behavior or emotional mood swings. In extreme cases, people suffering these side effects are at heightened risk of causing self-harm. And in the worst scenarios, fat burner pills have been linked to death.

Even if not combined, caffeine alone can be dangerous in high concentration because it can provoke dehydration, particularly during hot weather or when you are performing exercise. Dehydration can cause headaches and, in severe cases, lead to you collapsing if performing intensive exercise.

You can also find iodine in fat burners. Apparently, the substance shall enhance the hormonal production in the thyroid glands which is supposed to speed up the metabolism and burn the fat reserves. However, this theory doesn’t work in real life. If the glands are drowned with iodine the body is unable to cope with its decomposition and will react with hyperthyroidism which may lead to deadly heart rhythm disturbance.

Another substance used in fat burners are growth hormones which cut down the fat on a limited scale. A risky addition, because externally supplied somatotrophin disrupts the natural control mechanism of the brain which regulates the amount needed. Excess supply may lead to extremely large hands and feet and will make jaw and forehead grow. The inner organs will suffer, diabetes and heart failure may occur. Doctors even warn that growth hormones may trigger cancer.

Another very popular ingredient is L-carnitine which is naturally produced in our liver, kidneys and brain. Our body can also extract this amino acid from protein-rich foods, in particular from meat. L-carnitine transports the fats into the mitochondria of the cells where they are burned in form of energy. Of course it would be fantastic if an increase of L-carnitine would mean that your body gets rid of all the extra fat. But according to experts, that doesn’t work: there is no evidence that taking L-carnitine supplements will improve exercise performance or endurance, even in trained athletes. “Our body stores sufficient amounts of L-carnitine in the muscles, so when ever he needs it, he will take it from there. Increased supply just doesn’t make any sense”, so the argumentation. “Unless your L-carnitine levels are too low because you have a genetic disorder, are taking certain drugs or are a strict vegetarian.” L-carnitine is relatively safe but can cause side effects such as nausea, vomiting, stomach ache, heartburn, diarrhea, and seizures. It can also cause the urine, breath, and sweat to have a “fishy” odor.

I don’t think anyone who actually carefully reads the label and all its warnings would still want to use this fat burner.

So to sum it up: DON’T USE FAT BURNERS! There are healthy ways to get rid off that pouch:

1. Daily exercise. It is essential to exercise most days of the week in order to shed excess body weight.

2. Interval training is particularly effective at burning off stored body fat. Try to increase intensity towards the end of your training so your body will burn more fat even long after the workout is over.

3. Weightlifting works to build muscle. Muscle burns fat. Therefore, incorporating a few days a week of resistance training into your workout routine will help you burn more fat and lose weight faster. Resistance training is also a great way to lose inches and shape your body.

Eat clean and healthy. Check my Healthy Foods List before you go to the grocery store next time.