This time it’s green tea. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Less than 100 days or about 3 months until summer and I have a few more weight loss supplements to bring you closer to the home stretch and closer to summer strip down shape. Â If you missed the first few, check last weeks blog, http://valeriegoldstein.wordpress.com/2013/03/03/3-secrets-to-shape-up-and-strip-down-for-the-summer-supplements-1/.
It is important to work with a trained medical professional. Supplements interact can interact with each other, with medications or recreational drugs, or medical conditions. Before you add supplements as part of a nutrition package, check with your doctor to ensure these work with and not against you. Taking excessive doses of these supplements will not get you better or faster results and can cause negative side effects.
More fat burning supplements:
5. Glutamine can help obliterate cravings. It is an amino acid so take it on an empty stomach or before a work out. Try 2-3 grams after your exercise routine to help boost fat loss or before cravings take over.
6. Capsaicin is the ingredient in chilli peppers that makes them hot and fuels fat loss. If you can tolerate them add some to your meals, studies have shown these peppers also increase energy expenditure.
7. Calcium/Vit. D (these two micronutrients are linked because so many people are vitamin D deficient and vitamin D helps calcium absorption). Alisa Bowman wrote a comprehensive article in Men’s Health, http://www.menshealth.com/weight-loss/burn-fat-fast, on the various roles vitamin D plays in weight loss. So, read it, you will enjoy. Use 5000 IU, if you are deficient you may need more to bring up the level and then reduce the dose.
Check vitamin D levels and check safety data for vitamin D, if you take too much you may actually deplete calcium and increase risk of heart disease, http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/vitamin-d/NS_patient-vitamind/DSECTION=safety.
Interesting news for calcium, it has recently been shown to lower body weight by converting a portion of dietary energy to heat rather than stored body fat. Ensure you get 1000-1200 mg/day.
Rosenbaum et al., found that in combination calcium and vit.D supplementation reduced belly fat, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22170363.
8. Green tea not only helps reduce body fat but it can reduce cardiovascular risk at the same time, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3501173/, volunteers who used approximately 400 mg of green tea extract for 3 months” decreased body mass index, waist circumference, and levels of total cholesterol, low-density cholesterol, and triglycerides.”
Caution in drinking too much tea or high doses of supplements as it may reduce iron absorption and raise caffeine intake for those who are sensitive.
Drinking 3-4 cups of unprocessed green tea each day is ideal.
Thyroid need a boost? Then add selenium and zinc to assist in maximizing hormones that will boost your metabolism. Boosting metabolic rate will increase fat burning too.
9. Selenium in the amount of 200-400 mcg works to convert T4 to T3 keeping your metabolic furnace burning.
10. Zinc like selenium works on the T4/T3 conversion. It also works along with leptin to help suppress appetite. Use 30 mg of zinc at bedtime and  balance that with 1-2 mg copper.
Diet & exercise and supplementation are 2 steps to get you to  summer slim. Next week I attack the last secret to “Shape Up and Strip Down for Summer”.
