Fat Burners

My wife is a big fan of the movie “A few Good Men” with Jack Nicholson and Tom Cruise.  One of my favorite parts of the movie is when Tom Cruise’s character has Jack Nicholson on the stand and Nicholson is being questioned about how the Marines incorporate Code Reds at Guantonomo Bay.  Cruise is pushing Nicholoson to answer a question about what happened to a private who was accidentally killed by fellow Marines using a Code Red.  Cruise’s character is attempting to corner Nicholoson into admitting that he knew about the Code Red and, in fact, ordered it against a sub-par Marine.  As the scene progresses, the exchange between the two characters becomes very heated and at one point Cruise’s Characted says “I want the truth”.  To which, Nicholson’s character says, “You can’t handle the truth”.  Nicholson’s character proceeds to explain about the grotesque nature of what is involved with guarding the wall at Guantonomo Bay and the life or death challenges that Marines face there each day.  He describes how these Marines do a job that not many hear about or want to know about.

When it comes to utilization of fat burners for bodybuilding or for anyone trying to get in shape, I feel like Jack Nicholson.  Most people just can’t handle the truth.  The bottom line is that burning fat, in broad terms, is fairly simple.  Take in fewer calories than you expend over an extended period of time and you will burn fat.  As simple as this sounds, we tend to try and complicate it for ourselves and seek quick fixes with the utilization of some sort of fat burner. 

Before considering utilizing fat burners, consider this: take in 500 fewer calories than you burn each day and you will lose body fat.  If you are not creating a calorie deficit, no fat burner in the world will help you burn fat.  The hard part about creating a calorie defecit is that you are going to be hungry.  There is no way around it.  If you do it right and do it for any length of time, you will hear your stomach growl, you may have lower energy levels, and you may just be grumpy sometimes.  And, if you plan to make a noticeable change, you will be in this state for months at a time.  That’s not to say that you are starving.  If you are doing it correctly, you are eating 6-8 small meals per day.  The hard part about this, though, is that you never seem to be satisfied at the end of the meal.  You always feel like you could eat more.  You have to have the self-discipline to stop yourself and stay on your plan.  The greater the calorie deficit you create, the greater the challenge.  95% of burning fat is diet.  That’s the truth about fat burning.  Can you handle the truth?

With that said, if you get this part of things in check and can do this on your own without any type of fat burner, you can get some great benefits from a good over the counter fat burner.  I use Biotest Hot Rox religiously.  I find it very helpful when I am trying to burn fat before a show.  I would warn beginners that it has Yohimbe HCL in it and this will heat you up.  Use it as directed and assess your tolerance.  I have friends who do not like how it makes them sweat.  If you use it, I would suggest drinking a lot of extra water and doing 20-30 minutes of cardio first thing in the morning on an empty stomach for best results.  You will also notice a reduction in appetite which will make it easier to create that calorie deficit.  There are probably other over the counter fat burners that may be effective, but this is the one that I use.