It is no big secret that many people in the U.S. are overweight. The prevalence of fast food, too many entertainment options that involve sitting on one’s rear end , and busy schedules. These factors have conspired to turn many modern nations into the land of the free and home of the fat. The rapid weight gain by many in society has caused many people to look for a quick solution, which may also be a cause of the weight problems faced by so many. Invariably, “quick solution” means something that can be taken by mouth, followed by a drink of water. Weather due to compressed schedules or a product of our instant gratification societies, the pill and powder solution is becoming how people choose to lose weight .
There are two main classifications of weight loss and diet supplements; fat burners, more accurately called thermogenics, and appetite suppressants. Some do both , causing a decrease in appetite, while also helping users to burn fat.
Fat Burners
Thermogenics are substances that cause the body to literally burn fat. As the name suggests, they increase the body’s metabolic rate and generate heat. This rise in basal (resting) metabolic rate and attendant heat is means that more calories are being burned. This is good news indeed, because it means that more calories are being burned off 24 hours a day, weather you’re watching TV, sleeping, or working out.
The best thermogenic fat burner is a combination of many ingredients. There used to be a family of thermogenics that was extremely effective and enjoyed wide-spread popularity. Unfortunately, these contained ephedra . Ephedra was very effective, but was ultimately proven to be unsafe , and consequently was banned for good in 2006, after an initial ban was overturned in 2005.
The FDA decision left supplement manufacturers scrambling for a new, but highly effective fat burning ingredient to fill ephedra’s shoes. Most have used a combination of different ingredients. The most common ingredients used in the fat burning supplements you’ll find on store shelves include caffeine, bitter orange , green tea extract, yohimbe, and CLA -(Conjugated Linoleic Acid).
Because of their effects on the body , some of these ingredients are also found in weight lifting supplements as well , although such supplements will contain other ingredients specifically to increase muscle mass or aid recovery from hard training sessions .
The ingredients listeed above are typically used with some proprietary compounds to form what in some cases are highly effective products. Don’t be fooled by outrageous claims however, as diet supplement marketers are well known for the propensity to embellish and exaggerate, if not outright lie.
Because some of these products are marketed with more than embellishment than a politician in an election year, that does not mean that there aren’t any good supplements. Some are quite effective however, which causes many millions of dollars worth of these to be sold every year.
Appetite Suppressants
Although many of the fat burning supplements will also help you feel less hungry, there are supplements that are dedicated to that as their sole function . Some of these are not really supplements at all, but powerful prescription drugs, such as Symphathomimetics. They act on the body’s sympathetic central nervous system to take away appetite.
Other substances are available over the counter, and are found in many supplements, such as Hoodia Gardonii. Hoodia has become very popular in recent years, and can be found in dozens of different appetite suppressant supplements. It has been clinically tested to be effective at promoting weight loss, which accounts for it’s rapid rise in popularity.
When anything gets a popular as some of the recent “gotta have it” type of supplements, as Hoodia and acai berry have done, there is the very real chance that someone will try to make a quick buck by selling products that contain little or none of the purported ingredient. Unfortunately, many people won’t be able to tell the difference until they’ve spent a pile of their hard earned cash on the bad stuff . The supplement industry largely eludes the scrutiny of many regularoty agencies, so the bad apples continue to get away with htis type of behavior.
There are actually 3 basic kinds of appetite suppressant supplements. Some appetite suppressants are merely herbal stimulants and while they may take away the cravings for food, they may also leave you feeling jittery and downright grungy, others work on you physiologically, and trick your body into thinking that you don’t need to eat, because you aren’t hungry. There still are others that work by purely physical means. They actually swell up when they come into contact with stomach fluids, causing you to feel full.
Weather you want to lose weight by sweating away in a gym and just need a little extra help to maximize your efforts, or you want to be able to lose weight by parking your can on the couch, there is doubtlessly some form of pill, tablet, or powder that will help you do just that. You may be looking for a supplement that will help you lose fat to show off those abs you’ve been sculpting all winter, or get ready for an event such as a wedding, graduation, or reunion. Just make sure that what you’re taking is safe, and the real thing, then watch the fat melt away!