The weather is getting better and there are a lot of products on the market that promise fast fat loss.  One of those are Fat Burners. But are they all that they are cracked up to be?  What do they do?  Are they all the same? Or are they really Money Burners?

What are fat burners?

Fat burners are the common name for a thermogenic.  As the name suggests, they are designed to increase your body’s temperature so it is able to burn calories as heat.

What ingredients are in fat burners and what do they do?

The primary ingredient in all fat burners is caffeine.  Caffeine is a well-known stimulant and also has a diuretic effect on the body.  Anything that is a diuretic will help to rid the body of excess water in your system.  This may look good on the scales, but you need to make sure that your body is kept properly hydrated so that it can function efficiently.

When you compare the normal serving of a fat burner with your average cup of coffee, fat burners have 4 times the amount of caffeine in them. This high dosage of caffeine is designed to help you to stay more mentally alert so that you can train harder or you can do that additional cardio that you might need to do to help you get leaner.  Whilst it is great to be able to push yourself harder to do more and trainer harder, using artificial stimulants to keep you awake can have a detrimental effect on your results.  Without proper sleep, your body is not able to repair itself and build valuable fat burning muscle.

If you are a profuse coffee drinker, (ie. you drink more than 4 cups of coffee per day, less if you drink espresso coffee) then fat burners will have very little effect on you as your brain’s receptors will be accustomed to having high levels of caffeine in its system.  On the other hand, if you do not drink coffee at all, then you will need to be careful as the caffeine content can lead to a nervous, jittery feeling and heart palpitations which can be very dangerous.

Other ingredients that you will find in fat burners include: Guarana Extract (another form of caffeine), Green Tea Extract (an antioxidant and fat metaboliser) and White Willow Bark (a natural form of aspirin which helps with pain relief).

Who should use fat burners?

Despite the marketing hype, fat burners should really only used by people who are already quite lean and have exhausted all avenues of fat loss through regular exercise and eating well.  All of these products state on their labels, “for best results, use as part of a calorie controlled diet and regular exercise.”  If you are not already lean, then it will be the change in eating as well as the regular exercise that will have given you the results and not the fat burner.

In short, unless you are already quite lean and looking to lose those few extra kilos so that you can look ripped like Anne and Bruce when they step on stage to compete, then fat burners are a waste of money.  Save your money and spend it on getting a personal trainer or joining a group training class instead.  You will have longer lasting results and feel better for it!