Fat Burning Pills, Powders and Potions… Really?

“I lost ten pounds in one week simply by adding ‘Brand X’ to my daily regime!“, claimed a happy customer on the website of one of the (unfortunately) popular fat-burning supplement companies.

Not only does this statement reinforce a popular misconception, that we can easily get a quick fix for weight loss, it perpetuates what can prove to be a dangerous approach to it.

Years ago, when I was first getting into the gym scene, around the time I’ve written about when my workouts were all about the Stairmaster and Nautilus selectorized equipment, I gave supplements like this a try.  I wanted to be a bit more lean, and thought they’d be a good addition to my workouts and my super health low-fat, low-calorie diet that were both so typical of the early 90s.

The brand I tried was, indeed, quite effective. Effective, that is, in driving my heart rate through the roof and making me feel a bit dizzy and yes, suppressing my appetite.  I recall taking the pills one day, feeling ‘super energized’ in a very synthetic way, and then later, feeling the strong desire to go home and go to sleep at 2pm.

There was no way I was going to continue doing something like that indefinitely… or at all.

Look, here’s the bottom line.  We have to stop looking for quick fixes.  They’re not going to work.  If you’re fifty pounds over where you should be and you got that way over the last five years, how on Earth do you suppose it’s rational to expect to shed all that weight in a month?  Or two?

Patience.  Slow but steady is the way to go.  Don’t rely on chemicals that you’re hoping will ‘speed up your metabolism’.  Yes, they’ll speed up your heart rate, but an increased heart rate does not equal a faster metabolism.

The safe and effective approach is to change what you eat, train your body to become efficient at using fat as its fuel, rather than inundating it with sugar all day long and move.  Often.

True Paleo to the rescue!   No risks; all reward.

Get a move on!