A Magical Fat Burner? Really?

I cringe when I see things like this.

Something in a bottle sold as a fat burner just makes me shudder.  

I,too, partook of supplements back in the day, many years pre Paleo when I could never seem to find that balance between eating enough to feel energized and focused and dialing in the lean body weight I wanted.  I was healthy and fit, but a good 15-20 pounds more than I weigh now, which, by the way, is what I have weighed with ease for the past seven after shedding some excess body fat slowly but surely over the course of my first year of being Paleo.

(Nice side effect for following a way of eating due to GI issues, if I do say so myself!)

Anyway, from the days in high school where I was all about low fat or fat free, to the years I spent as a vegan, or my bouts dabbling with the Zone and Atkins, nothing really ever felt like it was doing anything different in terms of body fat percentage, weight or energy (leave the stomach stuff aside, as it’s obvious that all of the above did nothing to help with the leaky gut I was developing!).  

So, I opted to try some fat burners.  I recall taking something called Ripped Fuel for a while, as well as another equally potent and chemical laden ‘fat burner’ which really just resulted in heart palpitations and a nervous, synthetic energy level.

Neither ‘burned fat’.

The latest thing seems to be taking a formula made from green coffee extract.  One product’s website reads:

“They key ingredient in the green coffee bean is a very important natural active compound called chlorogenic acid. Chlorogenic acid works by inhibiting the release of glucose in the body, while at the same time boosting the metabolism or the “burning” of fat in the liver. These two mechanisms work together to inhibit the absorption of fat and eliminate weight gain.”

OK, maybe so… but the typical consumer may take this supplement and do absolutely nothing else to make positive changes in their eating and moving.   As if to say that simply taking a pill will counter the fast food, the ice cream, the milkshake coffee drinks and the lack of activity.

Not so.

Look… it’s simple.  If you go Paleo, you don’t need to buy any extras like supplements, powders, bars, mixes or pills.  Yes, you need to buy food, but wouldn’t you rather buy something that you can identify as something to eat and not wonder what’s actually inside or, or whether it will have side effects?

Save your cash and have a cup of fair trade, organic black coffee if you want a dose of chlorogenic acid.  

Follow Paleo, in the way it’s meant to be followed and you won’t be in a situation in the first place where you’re futilely trying to change natural metabolic pathways by taking a pill.   If you provide your body with clean proteins, loads of veggies and fruit and natural fats, you’re not going to be on a blood sugar roller coaster in the first place.