Luke Stanaway
Registered Nutritionist
Key Takeways
BCAAs (Branch chain amino acids) are essential amino acids that play a role in protein synthesis and help in workout recovery and reducing muscle loss.
L-Carnitine is important in metabolizing fat as energy, providing an energy boost, and improving heart health.
Caffeine raises resting metabolic rate and increases energy, making it beneficial for fat loss. Green tea and black coffee are also good sources of caffeine.
BCAA's
BCAAs (Branch chain amino acids) are protein building blocks that contain three essential amino acids: leucine, isoleucine, and valine, all of which are highly correlated with protein synthesis (especially leucine). So, why are these important when trying to lose fat? When losing fat, you want your body to be in a calorie deficit (consuming less than you burn), because recovery is slowed and muscle loss can occur. BCAAs aid in workout recovery, allowing you to continue training hard to burn more fat, and they stimulate protein synthesis, which helps reduce muscle loss. The more muscle you have, the more calories you will burn at rest, resulting in greater fat loss. Pure BCAAs by Reactiv Supplements are my favourite product.
L-Carnitine
L-Carnitine is a component of the transport system that transports fatty acids from the cytosol of cells into the mitochondria for use as energy. As a result, it is necessary to metabolise fat as energy, which helps burn more energy as fat. It also provides an energy boost, which is always beneficial when on a low calorie diet, and is therefore ideal as part of your pre-workout routine. L-carnitine also has numerous other advantages, including improved heart health. L-Carnitine by Reactv supplements is my favourite product that I use.
Caffeine
Caffeine is beneficial to fat loss because it raises your resting metabolic rate, causing you to burn more calories at rest. It also gives you more energy to work out harder and for longer periods of time, increasing your calorie expenditure and keeping you alive when your food intake is restricted. My go-to sources are green tea and black coffee.