Let’s face it: you’ve probably procrastinated the minute after you swore to get that fit summer body, and fat burners now seem the last minute Hail Mary to shedding off a few pounds. It’s easy to turn to these for speedy weight loss—that is until you learn about the side effects. Yes, fat burners are hands down pros for fast weight loss, and a jar of supplements is far cheaper than getting a membership at a gym. If you’ve done your research, however, you might end up actually taking a step back from purchasing those weight loss pills. Loss of sleep and possibilities of a heart attack don’t seem worth skipping the gym for.
Still, worry not—there are better fat burner options, especially if you don’t have time for or can’t afford to invest in a gym membership. There are actually two kinds of fat burners: stimulant and non-stimulant. Most of the time, those side effects that you may have read about are caused by stimulant fat burners, which have huge amounts of caffeine, resulting in sleep loss and high blood pressure.
Genetic mutations in the catechol-o-methyltransferase (COMT) enzyme can result in an improper breakdown of catecholamines. People with these conditions (aka slow metabolism) can become easily triggered by stimulants, resulting in panic attacks, palpitations, and increased heart rate and anxiety and stress level. Doesn’t sound like a fun ride, does it? This is all the more reason to opt for non-stimulating fat burners, which take a longer time to take effect but without the dangerous side effects.
While there are several stimulant-free fat burners out there, make sure to look for these ingredients:
- Carnitine
Fat burners supplemented with carnitine burn fat by using it as a fuel, boosting the metabolism of fat and promoting it as the fuel of the muscle mitochondria.
- Conjugated Linoleic Acid
This is helpful in losing fat and building muscle by reducing appetites, as well as using fat for energy fuel. It boosts levels of testosterone to add.
- Sesamin
Sesamin’s high amounts of sesame seeds enable it to activate liver enzymes that are a big help in fat metabolism. Free fatty acids become burnt as fuel once they enter the mitochondria, instead of dumping down on your hips, thighs and belly.
- Seaweed
Seaweeds are a hit especially in the fat burning food department, primarily because of their amounts of siphonaxanthin and fucoxanthin. Fucoxanthin increases metabolism because of its high iodine content that maintains a high metabolic rate, and siphoxanthin, while not having a direct effect on weight loss, is rich in antioxidants—foods rich in antioxidants are also the ones recommended for weight loss.
- Exogenous ketones
A ketogenic diet includes adapting the body to utilize fat for fuel (producing ketones), which means counting your carb and calorie count per day and restricting it to a certain amount. This improves brain function and provides less agitation to the circulatory and heart system. A calorie deficit results in a considerable increase in energy resources, and the body needs less oxygen to run. There are ketogenic supplements that provide exogenous ketones which improve the weight loss effects of the ketogenic diet.
- Cordyceps
This is a parasitic fungus, but it’s still safe for human consumption. It promotes fat loss by improving stress response and sensitivity to insulin. As a stress reducer, it lowers cortisol levels, which is responsible for fat accumulation, and because it increases insulin sensitivity, it helps the glucose get into the muscle cells instead of accumulating as fat cells in the liver.
