Supplements and fat loss

June 7, 2010 No Comments

I have discovered that most exercisers have little clue as to why they are taking supplements. Most people seem to think that whatever they are taking speeds up their metabolism or burns more fat in some miraculous way. In most cases, this is simply not true.

The first issue to cover is ‘Do we actually need supplements?’ When dealing with supplements, I have two different types of people who I cater for. The first is fat loss and health related, the second is sports performance. Both require very different attention and I will attempt to justify how I go about dealing with both areas.

Let’s start with Fat Loss and health. So you want to get leaner and improve your health with the use of supplements? Is this possible? The answer is yes! If you are thinking along the lines of buying ‘fat burners’ from your local supplement store, you are about as far away from achieving lasting fat loss and health as you could possibly be. If this is you, you will learn a lot in the next few minutes.

Obviously, step one to getting leaner is to clean up your diet with quality proteins, vegetables and fruits whilst avoiding starchy carbohydrates and sugars. You will get little benefit from a supplement programme if you have a bad diet. Due to the quality of the food in this country, I often recommend supplements which will help your body digest food more efficiently and provide you with essential nutrients, both of which will allow your body to shift more fat.

Poor digestion is a major problem when it comes to losing fat. The first step to a healthy fat loss supplement programme is to increase your body’s ability to break down food (particularly proteins and minerals) in the stomach. Low levels of stomach acid is often the reason why people get bloated after eating, have low levels of energy, have hormonal imbalances and have a problem shifting fat from the stomach area. If you have low levels of stomach acid, your body will not breakdown/absorb food or other supplements properly. Most people I deal with do not have a strong enough digestive track to take any supplements other than digestive ones.

An effective supplement programme starts here. You need to take supplements which will improve your digestion and stomach acid levels. This alone is often the key to having more energy and shifting fat around your abdominals. Having addressed your digestion first, I often recommend other supplements to my clients on an individual basis. Some of these include fish oils, zinc, multivitamins and magnesium. Once again, due to the quality of the food in this country, I value good quality supplements as a key part to a healthy lifestyle.

When dealing with our female clients, body fat around the buttocks and back of arms can be hard to shift. These areas on the body are strongly related to oestrogen imbalances. To successfully deal with this, I often recommend some herbal based supplements which will help your liver to naturally and safely neutralise unwanted oestrogens within your body. Doing 1000 squats and tricep extensions is not the answer Ð believe me! To reduce body fat in these areas, you need to address the issue from a hormonal point of view. Once you have done this, you will get much more benefit from an exercise programme.

When dealing with men, my assessment once again will highlight hormonal imbalances which quite often are the reason why people struggle to get lean. For men in the UK, a low level of natural testosterone is a problem. Two of the main culprits for this include alcohol and poor quality proteins. I often recommend a course of natural supplements alongside an exercise programme and nutrition plan to overcome these imbalances and reduce body fat levels.

When working with Sports Performance clients, I place equal value in improving digestion first. Depending on the physical demands of your sport, we will design a supplement programme to maximise your performance, some of which include L-carniteen, creatine, glutamine, amino acids and whey protein. After a training session, I strongly encourage my athletes to consume protein shakes which include many of the supplements named above. Personalised protein shakes are a great way to reduce levels of insulin and cortisol (post training) aswell as ensuring you maintain high levels of amino acids and creatine which are both essential for optimum recovery and performance.

I hope this has been a useful introduction into how I approach supplementation with my clients.