Fat Burners...to use or not to use?

I'm curious too! Bump!

I'm not too sure about the answers to your questions.. I tend to stay away from the pills because they are usually expensive and not really worth the money you spend on them. Try looking up the info online if you don't get a lot of feedback here. Good luck on your journey.. And just keep going

They are not a diet pill but they will increase your heart rate so that whether you are working out or not, your heart feels like you are working out. I suggest you call your doctor and ask them first. It seems that if you have high blood pressure or a heart issue fat burners could spell big trouble.

And if you decide to take them, follow the directions. Some of them you take on an empty stomach and some of them you have to take with food. I know someone who took one on an empty stomach when she was supposed to eat something with the fat burner. When she worked out an hour or so later she got extremely sick and ended up throwing up in the middle of her workout. Luckily her workout was outside that day.

I enjoy a good boost to my workout every now and then, I choose buzzerk shakes though and not pills......some fat burners are thermogenics, some are all caffeine, guess it depends what's in it exactly and how you normally are with caffeine? If you're concerned, don't do it! If you don't feel like you need it, don't do it!! I say as long as you're not eating 12 pills a day and trying to live off them and have them lose the weight for you, they couldn't hurt........unless there's something in them you're sensitive to! and then there's all the variables like do you have high blood pressure, blah blah blah.......hmmmm.....might not be worth the trouble?

A good clue would be to find out if the personal trainer or his gym is selling them. Often times advice like that might be motivated by commissions.

My trainer actually suggested some too and I took them for awhile but they didn't seem to make a difference for me plus the amount of caffeine in them caused me to have sleeping problems. I rarely put caffeine in my body so when I do it affects me. The caffeine in the pill is suppose to boost your metabolism.

I've tried them before and literally felt that my heart was going to come out of my chest. If it wasn't that, it was horrible headaches. And that's without consuming a lot of caffine. If you choose to take the pills, please check with your doctor first, especially if you have any heart issues. I also have high blood pressure that is regulated by pills. I can't afford to take any pill that is going to speed up my heart when I'm working to keep it at a normal rate.

If your trainer suggested it, I wonder if they sell it at your gym or if he truly thinks it will speed up your weight loss results.

Personally, I'd stay away from them. Now that I've been on MFP, my results have been slow, but they're MINE! I didn't get those results from a bottle or a magic pill, it was all my sweat and clean eating that made that happen. But, that's how I feel.

I wouldn't take both at once. Try either one if you like. They can make you jittery and feel warmer and make you sweat more and things like that. And you can't take them in the evening too close to bedtime because they can keep you up. It really is up to you. Some people get good results. Just monitor how you feel on them closely. There are some more natural things you can try too. Like green tea, ginseng and cayenne to mention a few. Not so many jittery side effects with these but maybe not quite as stunning of results. Good luck!

I enjoy a good boost to my workout every now and then, I choose buzzerk shakes though and not pills......some fat burners are thermogenics, some are all caffeine, guess it depends what's in it exactly and how you normally are with caffeine? If you're concerned, don't do it! If you don't feel like you need it, don't do it!! I say as long as you're not eating 12 pills a day and trying to live off them and have them lose the weight for you, they couldn't hurt........unless there's something in them you're sensitive to! and then there's all the variables like do you have high blood pressure, blah blah blah.......hmmmm.....might not be worth the trouble?

He said they were a form of a thermogenic...he said it would heat up my body temperature which would in turn burn more energy

You could "naturally" heat up your body tempature...try wearing a sweatshirt while you workout. I have good things baout your body needing to be warm to burn optimal calories, but I think naturally doing it would be a ton better! I wear a aweatshirt sometimes to Zumba and burn 33% more calories than my normal tank-top. I also have tried drinking hot green tea before working out and have burned up to 25% more calories...

I would take them only if you want to increase the speed of burning fat. Some weeks u may only burn 1 lbs.. some weeks u may burn 2.. If you take a fat burner.. u would always burn the maximum amount of fat ur body can burn. (which is 2.) If you trying to lose 8 pounds in a month.. U actually increase the chances of doing so with a fat burner boost. I recommend these for ppl who are actually training for an event or something short term.. not a long term goal. Me personally I will be using fat burners once I get closer to my goal just to speed things up. But they are not needed and u will not lose no more than 2 lbs a week if u take a fat burner. And yes.. they are really expensive.