The right fat burner can help you transform from the hungry, sluggish, donut-craving version of yourself into the focused, Energizer-Bunny-powered superhero of your quest to lose fat.

When you combine the slimming powers of diet and exercise with a good fat burner, the results can be highly effective. Washboard abs? Bikini-sculpted glutes? Yes, please.

So, there is a way to navigate the consumer-hell of weight loss supplements. You've got to arm yourself with fat-burner know-how. But don't fret; you don't have to hunt down the elusive and under-trained retail employee to get the answers.

You can just follow these simple tips and tricks to help you choose the right fat burner and learn how to use it for maximum effectiveness.


Fat Burners:

These products will help you get the results you've always wanted - lean and shredded. Many of these products contain caffeine and other powerful stimulants to give you that extra boost in the gym.

Tip 1: Choose Your Fat Burner Wisely

Different fat burners serve different purposes. Obvious? Hardly. The excessive advertising hype surrounding diet pills usually tells you one thing: this pill will help you melt fat like butter on a hot skillet. But the hype doesn't help you distinguish between different fat burners.

For example, if you're primarily looking for hunger control, select a fat burner that contains Hoodia as one of the ingredients. Hoodia is one of the most common supplements used to support appetite control.

On the other hand, if it's energy you're after, you'll want to choose a fat burner that has ingredients like caffeine, Synephrine, or Yohimbe. These are stimulants that are supposed to give you a boost of energy to carry you through the day.


Yohimbe:

Yohimbe has been one of the most popular supplements for men and women for years.

A key word for this group of fat burners is "thermogenic," which literally means "heat producing" and refers to the fact that your core body temperature might rise, allowing you to possibly burn more calories throughout the day.

Finally, if you want to go the thermogenic route, you may be interested in stimulant-free fat burners. Ingredients like green tea extract, Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA), L-Carnitine, ginger extract, and cayenne pepper extract may help your body use stored fat as fuel, essentially burning fat without jolting your energy levels.

Tip 2: Plan Your Fat Burners With Your Meals

If you aren't just using fat burners for the energy boosting benefits they provide before your workout session, then make sure that you're also timing them with the rest of the meals you're eating throughout the day.

Since fat burners will have appetite reducing effects, try and take one of your dosages when you don't have a meal planned for a few hours.

This way you won't have to battle with hunger immediately after taking the fat burner and as it wears off and feelings of hunger may begin to creep in, you'll have your next meal to get to shortly afterwards.

With many fat burners you will take two dosages per day so this leaves one dose for just before your workout and another at your hungriest point during the day when you tend to struggle.


Make sure that you're also timing your fat burners with the rest of
the meals you're eating throughout the day.


Tip 3: Stop Your Fat Burners After 6 P.M.

Another important tip that you should follow is to stop taking your stimulant or thermogenic fat burner after 6pm. If you're fat burner has ingredients that give you an energy boost, taking it after 6pm may result in a night of tossing of turning in bed.

Unless you're doing an evening workout session or you know your body's response to stimulants won't affect your sleep, you should take your last serving of a fat burner in the afternoon.

Getting a good night's sleep is imperative if you want to reach your fat loss goals, because sleep is essential for maintaining a high metabolic rate, improving the recovery you experience between your workout sessions, and helping to improve your appetite the next day.

Most product labels will include a note about dosing times, so squint up those eyes and read carefully.

If you're not sure how your body reacts to stimulants, just remember to start with the lowest recommended dose and gauge it from there.


Tip 4: Cycle Your Fat Burners During "Off" Phases Of Your Diet

Due to the fact that most fat burners contain stimulants as just mentioned, this makes it a good idea to cycle them over time. Why cycle stimulant products? Because overtime your body will adapt to the energy-boosting effects of stimulants, making them less effective.

When used for very long periods of time you may find that you have to take a larger serving size in order to get that same energized feeling that you used to.

Plus, you risk feeling overly drained and possibly overtraining, forcing you to take an unwanted break from training and diet altogether.

Initially you'll feel great while starting a fat burner, but over time this constant CNS stimulation without any let-up will wear you down and could prove to drain your energy more than enhance it.

Just as you should be taking a break from your calorie-restricted diet in order to prevent a metabolic slow down, you should also use this time to take a break from your fat burners.

Even just 1-2 weeks off can make a big difference in terms of how effective fat burners are for energy boosting purposes.


With stimulants you risk you risk feeling overly drained and possibly overtraining.


Tip 5: Get Sufficient Protein With All Fat Burners

Finally, the last tip for using fat burners to make sure that you see the absolute best results possible is to make sure that you're also taking in enough protein to maintain lean muscle mass.

Many of the fat burner products on the market will really reduce your appetite, and if they do cause you to lower your calorie intake and you don't get sufficient protein, muscle mass loss could begin to occur.

You simply should not take your protein intake any lower than one gram per pound when aiming for fat loss. So, while you can cut back on carbs and fats, even if you're not hungry you have to eat your protein regardless.

Getting sufficient protein will make or break your results. Imagine the physique that you want to have. Is your body sculpted or flat? Is it sexy and shapely? Or do you look like a victim of a famine?


Protein Powders:

Protein powders are formulated to be the perfect meal in a quick and easy shake. It is easy to take them with you to work or school or anywhere that you need.

You might be hungry when you're on a diet, but you shouldn't go hungry. To get the fitness model or bodybuilder look, you have to keep a high protein intake to spare those physique-forming muscles.

So now you should be armed and ready to navigate the labyrinth of fat burner supplements. Fat burners can be the next step to losing weight if you're already sticking to a diet and exercise plan.

Climb your fat loss plateau and blow past it on your way to the top with help from the right fat burner and the right plan of action.

Reference:

McCarty, M. (2002). Pre-exercise administration of yohimbine may enhance the efficacy of exercise training as a fat loss strategy by boosting lipolysis. Medical Hypotheses. Vol. 58, Issue 6. Pp. 491-495.