Slayer's Den

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Get Shredded Without the Jitters​

Want to speed up the fat-loss process and avoid the racing heart and sleepless nights? Try one or two of these jitter-free supplements.​

Your mother or grandmother, bless her heart, was probably a junkie in her younger years. See, when a woman wanted to lose weight in the 1950s and 60s, she'd go to her doctor and ask for an appetite suppressant. Then she'd come home, pop her "slimming" pill, and vacuum the whole damn house... twice.

What caused this cleaning frenzy? Well, her appetite suppressant was an amphetamine. Yep, Granny was a speed freak. Those drugs really did suppress the appetite and boost the metabolism, but they were also addictive and had cardiovascular side effects.

Ephedrine/ephedra came along later and had many of the same benefits and drawbacks, but it was banned in 2004. Then, the market changed. Most customers became wary of stimulant-containing fat burners. They wanted to lose fat faster but didn't want irregular heartbeats, anxiety, and high blood pressure.

Those jitter-free supplements do exist. Most aren't widely known for their fat-loss benefits, but they work very well. You don't really feel them working though because they don't stimulate the central nervous system. Here are some lesser-known, but highly effective "slimmers."


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Fat Loss Supplements Without the Jitters​

1. Forskolin Carbonate​

What It's Known For: Muscling building, testosterone boosting, thyroid support

How It Helps with Fat Loss: Forskolin – particularly forskolin carbonate, the most absorbable and longest-lasting form – activates hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL), an enzyme in adipose tissue. HSL plays a key role in fat metabolism, particularly in lipolysis or fat breakdown. Basically, it converts stored fat into usable energy, a process called lipid oxidation.

Forskolin also activates adenylyl cyclase, an enzyme that raises intracellular levels of cAMP (cyclic adenosine monophosphate). Higher cAMP levels boost the production of thyroid hormones by stimulating the thyroid cells to release T4 and T3. These hormones accelerate metabolism (basal metabolic rate or BMR) which helps in burning more calories at rest. Boosting cAMP also promotes thermogenesis, the process by which the body burns calories to produce heat.

Thyroid hormones also have a direct effect on lipolysis. By boosting thyroid function, forskolin mobilizes fat stores, making it easier for the body to burn fat as an energy source.

2. Fish Oil​

What It's Known For: Heart, brain, and mental health, inflammation reduction, eye health

How It Helps with Fat Loss: If you take enough, studies show that omega-3-rich fish oil has several fat-burning benefits, including:

• Increased Fat Oxidation – The body burns fat more efficiently for energy during exercise and at rest.
• Improved Metabolism – Partly due to its ability to increase carnitine palmitoyltransferase (CPT) activity, which is involved in fat metabolism, fish oil improves metabolic rate, leading to more calories burned throughout the day.
• Reduction of Fat Storage – Omega-3s (DHA and EPA) reduce the activity of enzymes involved in fat storage, like lipoprotein lipase. This leads to less fat being stored in adipose tissue.
• Improved Insulin Sensitivity – Fish oil helps the body manage blood sugar levels. Better insulin sensitivity reduces fat accumulation, particularly in the belly area, and prevents insulin resistance.
• Reduced Inflammation – Besides shortening your life, chronic inflammation interferes with fat metabolism and encourages fat storage. The anti-inflammatory properties of omega-3s reduce inflammation, improving your ability to burn fat efficiently.
• Appetite Regulation – Fish oil regulates appetite by increasing the production of hormones like leptin, which control hunger and promote feelings of fullness.

Most of these benefits are seen with high dosages of fish oil. A capsule or two of standard grocery-store fish won't cut it. Use a highly concentrated fish oil supplement containing caprylocaproyl polyoxyl-8 glyceride, which makes it more bioavailable.

3. Beta Glucan Fiber​

What It's Known For: Immunity-boosting

How It Helps with Fat Loss: We know that most overweight people consume a low-fiber diet, and when they increase their fiber intake, they lose some body fat. It makes sense: fiber in general helps keep you full.

But when researchers studied the effects of different kinds of fiber, beta glucan stood tall above the rest. Most of these fat-loss benefits came from the fiber's influence on gut microbiota or flora. Subjects consuming beta glucan experienced:

• More fat loss or the cessation of weight gain
• Improved overall metabolic health
• Improved insulin sensitivity and stabilized blood glucose levels

The scientists concluded: "These findings demonstrate that beta glucan consumption is a promising dietary strategy for metabolic disease, possibly via increased energy expenditure through alterations in the gut microbiota and bacterial metabolites."

Algal beta glucan is the best source. It's more concentrated and absorbable, and other sources like yeast are common allergens.

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4. Protein Powder​

What It's Known For: Muscle building

How It Helps with Fat Loss: Protein powder might just be the best "fat burner" but not via the traditional mechanisms of action. Protein…

• Suppresses the appetite. Protein reduces your level of ghrelin, the hunger hormone. It also boosts the levels of peptide YY, a hormone that makes you feel full. Also, certain amino acids trigger the feeling of being full. These aminos basically "tell" certain brain cells (tanycytes) to control your appetite.
• Regulates cravings. If you don't meet your daily protein threshold, your body triggers cravings to get more protein. It's "asking" for protein, but most people attempt to tamp down the cravings with more carbs and fats. Studies show this threshold is between 85 to 138 grams daily.
• Is thermogenic. Protein has a much higher thermic effect than other macros. Digesting and assimilating protein generates more heat and burns more calories than eating carbs or fats. Consuming a large amount of protein in one sitting furthers this thermogenic effect. In one study, men and women consuming 50 grams of protein in a meal experienced a powerful boost in metabolic rate. The thermic effect was 34% higher than that of the subjects eating just 30 grams of protein.

Not all protein powders are created equally. A whey-only protein powder won't do the trick. Look for one containing micellar casein. Micellar casein is digested slowly, releasing amino acids into the bloodstream over an extended period (7-8 hours). This slow release keeps you feeling fuller for longer. Micellar casein also increases your ability to utilize stored fat for energy.