The most important thing to remember before starting any supplement regiment is that a supplement is only as good as your diet. It can’t replace nutritious foods. If you aren’t already eating a well-balanced variety of foods with plenty of protein, healthy fats, and vitamins and minerals, they won’t have much of an effect.
"What we've shown in research is that when combined with reduced [food] calories and exercise, fat burners help you lose more weight than just diet and exercise alone," exercise and sports scientist Dr. Krissy Kendall, from Edith Cowan University, told Coach.
It’s equally as important to keep your expectations realistic when it comes to fat-burning supplements. If a pill promises to help you drop 20 pounds in two weeks, take a hard pass — it’s either making claims it can’t keep or relying on dangerous ingredients to spur water weight loss and decrease your appetite to an unhealthy degree.
According to Kendall, supplements are “only about the equivalent of burning 150 calories over a 24-hour period, and one study showed that those using a fat burner supplement lost an extra 1.2kg over 12 weeks compared to the control group. It's a small but nonetheless significant amount of weight."
So, which fat-burning supplement is among the best to take in the morning to encourage fat loss? Green tea extract is the clear winner. A green tea supplement contains antioxidants that fight free radicals in the body that can cause illnesses like cancer, and it’s also a gem when it comes to fat burning.
"The benefit of using green tea extract is that you get caffeine to boost your metabolism and a compound called EGCG [epigallocatechin gallate], which may increase your metabolic rate, suppress appetite and help your body use more fat for energy," Kendall told Coach.
Sure, you could just drink green tea, but it would be difficult to mimic the effects of a green tea supplement.
"You'd have to have about 10 cups of green tea to get the same dosage,” Kendall says.
Green tea supplements vary in terms of how much caffeine they contain, so it’s crucial to read and compare labels if you are sensitive to caffeine (and if you’re pregnant, take a hard pass on these supplements). Dr. Kendall says many fat-burning supplements contain as much caffeine as two cups of coffee (between 200 and 250mg). But you can find green tea supplements with as little as 35mg of caffeine.
Bottom line though: take green tea supplements in the morning. Even if yours contains a trace of caffeine, it’s still a stimulant that can keep you awake, so it’s better not to take chances.
Another factor to consider when you start taking green tea supplements: are you taking them at the right time during your weight loss journey?
Dr. Kendall suggests taking fat-burning supplements when you have reached a weight loss plateau, which typically happens four to six weeks after you’ve started your weight loss plan.
"You might notice that you see quite a bit of weight loss in the first few weeks, then you hit a plateau and the numbers on the scale aren't moving, and that's where it might be time to try something different," Kendall told Coach. "It could be changing the amount of calories you're eating; the amount of protein you're having; the type of exercise you are doing; or taking a fat burner, provided you follow the directions, to see if it will give you an extra boost."
If you use them correctly, and in conjunction with a healthy diet and exercise plan, green tea supplements can provide a burst of fat-burning power that augments your weight loss efforts. Be sure to take them in the morning and always ask your doctor before starting any supplement regimen.