It isn’t unusual for me to see a question on a forum that goes something like this:
“I’m wanting to lose fat. Here’s my workout. I was also wondering what supplements may help.”
My response will have an over-used cliche: “You will never out train a bad diet.” Maybe this truth should not have to be repeated so often. But many trainees (including yours truly) have made the mistake of trying to lose fat with a primary focus on exercise and/or supplements.
Yes, exercise is important. Weight training helps maintain or build lean mass while on a calorie deficit. Adding cardio exercise burns additional calories.
But the first thing you have to do for weight loss/fat loss is to get your diet in order. You simply can’t exercise hard enough to burn a high calorie diet (maybe there are a few exceptions, like triathletes–but that’s why we call them exceptions).
I’ll give you one simple example:
An intense weight training session will burn about 500-550 calories. Let’s just say you go to the coffee shop and have a large mocha drink after this kind of workout. There’s a good chance you just consumed all the 500 calories you worked so hard to burn.
Here’s another idea to consider: “You will never out supplement a bad diet.”
I’m afraid many trainees put more thought into which “fat burner” they plan to use than how their diet plan.
There are a few supplements (such as the ECA Stack and Yohimbine) can be helpful. But the won’t do anything for you if you are consuming more calories than you are using (the ECA stack’s primary effect is, in fact, appetite suppression).
I now prefer intermittent fasting, but any diet strategy will “work” as long as you consistently achieve negative calorie balance.
Just remember that at least 90% of your weight loss/fat loss results will come directly from your diet.
