All The Answers to Your Fat Burning FAQs!

What is a fat burner?

The term ‘fat burner’ is used to describe nutritional supplements designed to help burn fat. Many fat burning supplements claim to increase fat metabolism or energy expenditure, stop fat absorption, and increase weight loss.

Often fat burning supplements contain ingredients that are also linked to the capacity to burn fat – more on that later!

Fat burners come in several forms, including powders and capsules.

What does fat burner do?

Wondering what fat burners do to your body? They can have several benefits depending on the type of fat burner you take and what it is consumed with. Benefits of fat burners can include the following:

How does fat burner work?

How a fat burner works depends on its ingredients and when it’s taken, however fat burners in general work by elevating your blood pressure and increasing your overall energy expenditure, leading to weight loss over time. The extra boost of energy they give can help speed up your metabolism and encourage your body to use fat stores as energy while you’re working out, while some fat burners also have the capacity to help suppress your appetite.

Will a fat burner help me lose weight? Why take a fat burner?

A fat burner alone may not contribute much to your weight loss journey, but if you’re using it combined with a healthy routine a fat burner can help you lose weight and achieve your body composition goals.

Fat burners are a terrific way to enhance the results you’ll experience from well-structured healthy plan to lose weight.

Will fat burners work without a controlled diet and exercise?

The short answer is no, and there is no such thing as a fat burner that will allow you to burn fat by simply taking it without a healthy plan to lose weight. Therefore, it would be best to be wary of anyone who claims there is such a thing, or a product that claims to do so.

Fat burners have little to no effects if they are not part of a healthy calorie-controlled diet and regular exercise. They are intended as a weight loss aid and not as a substitute for controlled diet and exercise.

The best way to maximise the use of a fat burner is using it alongside a controlled diet and exercise to enhance the result you will experience.

When should I take a fat burner?

In general, it is recommended that fat burners are taken either first thing in the morning or just before your workout.

The rationale behind taking it in the morning is that your metabolism is at its slowest when you first wake up. Taking a fat burner can help stimulate your metabolism and get you burning more calories throughout the day.

The other option is taking it before your workout, which will allow you to burn more calories during your training session.

These are two of the most common times users choose to take a fat burner; however, other times may suit you better depending on your schedule and goals.

When are fat burners most effective?

This question is not as straightforward as it may seem because there are strategic times a fat burner supplement can be taken to maximise its effectiveness. It’s important to understand the ingredients in the product you are using as well as how the product can best support you in achieving your body composition goals. So, let’s go through a few examples of optimal times you could take a fat burner supplement.

Most fat burners contain ingredients like caffeine that give you a hit of energy. Hence, taking a fat burner first thing in the morning can help raise your energy levels and get your metabolism firing on all cylinders. This is important because your metabolism slows right down as you sleep and is at its slowest first thing in the morning.

Additionally, if you perform fasted workouts in the morning (working out before you eat breakfast), then taking your fat burner 30 minutes before you work out will help keep your energy levels high as you would a pre workout improve your workout quality.

Many users also choose to use a fat burner as a coffee substitute in the morning to give them a similar caffeine hit and the additional benefits of the other thermogenic ingredients.

Does this sound like how you would choose to take your fat burner? In that case, we recommend Bulk Nutrients AM Burner. It contains caffeine and 12 other thermogenic ingredients, including Acetyl L-Carnitine (ALCAR) and Green Tea Extract, to aid weight control and will even assist with recovering from a workout.

The other property that many fat burners possess is the ability to suppress your appetite. This can be a powerful dieting weapon against an equally powerful dieting destroyer, also known as cravings. If you have dieted in the past and found a common time throughout the day that your cravings start, then taking a fat burner 30 minutes before the cravings hit can help keep cravings in check. This strategy can help you to stay on track with your diet.

Furthermore, if you are getting hungry between planned meals, then taking a fat burner after eating can help you see you through to the next meal.

Another strategy is to take it 30 minutes before a meal, so you feel more satiated while you eat. This option can be a diet saver if you plan to go out for dinner and want to avoid a blow-out. For more tips on dining out on a diet, check out Your guide to eating out at a restaurant without sacrificing your fitness goals.

Note that in the previous few examples related to appetite suppression, the fat burner has been used to help you stay on track and maintain your diet, which is often an underrated and overlooked aspect of what a fat burner can offer.

The last example here is extremely product specific. At Bulk Nutrients, we offer a night-time fat burner called PM Burner that contains no active stimulants and won’t affect your sleep. This product is intended to be taken at night, preferably before bed, and as such, this is the most optimal time to take this product.

It is important to note that our AM & PM Burner can be used in combination for a 24hr weight control effect. However, it is also important not to exceed any fat burner supplements recommended dosage. Make sure you read and follow those instructions on the product, if the product says only one dosage per day, then find the time that works best for you and circumstances and get the most out of your dosage.

Can fat burners be used as pre workout?

A fat burner can be used as a pre workout; however, this is not its intended purpose.

Ingredients like caffeine are present in some fat burners to help boost energy levels and increase fatty acid oxidation. Caffeine is professionally researched, and a powerful supplement used to enhance both physical and mental performance. These benefits are great in a fat burner and pre workout.

That being said, a fat burner also lacks many ingredients that you would typically find in a good pre workout. Pre workouts are specifically designed to improve gym performance, while a fat burner formula is designed to help target fat.

If you are looking to train harder with a greater pump and increased recovery, use a pre workout rather than a fat burner. On the other hand, if you want a product that can assist with weight control and can give you a minor caffeine hit to train harder, a fat burner may be sufficient.

What fat burner should I use? What’s the difference between fat burners?

When looking for a fat burner, it’s important to look at the ingredients and firstly make sure it won’t interfere with any medication you’re taking. You want to ensure you’re helping to nourish your body while working towards making it the best it can be.

While many supplements can help with weight loss to varying degrees, the title of fat burner isn’t always accurate as all have different ways in which they work – only a few actually assist the body to ‘burn fat’.

Acetyl L-Carnitine

Perhaps the most popular and well known, Acetyl L-Carnitine (ALCAR) is an amino acid that has been used for weight loss for decades. ALCAR, which is a modified (and more effective) version of L-Carnitine, is a fat metaboliser. This means that it will assist the body in utilising fat stores for energy, in addition, it may have mild effects on boosting metabolism.

Given its method of action, Acetyl L-Carnitine will work best for those on Carbohydrate (or Keto) restricted diets. The less available glycogen available for the body, the more effective the body will be – with the aid of Acetyl L-Carnitine, at using fat for energy.

Green Tea Extract

Green Tea Extract’s action is somewhat debatable. As Green Tea Extract contains Caffeine much of its action in increasing metabolic action (increasing heart rate and thermogenesis) can be attributed to its caffeine content.

Studies using Green Tea have shown it to be more effective than Caffeine alone though and reliable results have been shown from using De Caffeinated Green Tea Extract. Apart from being useful for weight loss, Green Tea Extract is particularly good for general health, being very high in antioxidants.

Sesamin

Sesamin is a lignan isolated from Sesame Seeds. The active compound then binds to and activates a receptor called Peroxisome Proliferator-Activator Receptor Alpha (PPAR)-alpha. This receptor is particularly important for weight loss as it is active in muscle, liver, kidney, and heart cells, increasing fatty acid oxidisation, like the action of HCA. Sesamin also increases the mitochondrial enzyme CPT, which is considered rate-limiting for fat oxidisation.

Sesamin has also been reported to reduce lipogenesis by reducing the enzymes, which are responsible for fat storage in the liver. This gives it a dual effect in assisting fat burning while reducing fat storage.

Caffeine

Caffeine is a very well-known central nervous stimulant and has secondary thermogenic actions. By increasing the heart rate as well as general stimulatory action (your body will produce more heat), the result is that your body burns more calories. Caffeine has another effect of reducing appetite, which can be a positive factor for weight loss. It is usually advised to use caution when using caffeine for weight loss purposes though as its side effects can be quite severe, especially in large doses.

What is the best fat burner?

As you can see from a brief summary of products popularly used for weight loss, many have different methods of action. Given that, it is advised by many to utilise a combination of products, to ensure a multi-faceted approach.

Here at Bulk Nutrients, we sell a great range of fat burner supplements online that can help you reach your goals!