4 Effective Fat-fighting Combos

These champion tag-team supplement pairings will take your fat-loss journey into overdrive and provide you with the edge you need to get lean this summer.

1. Calcium and zinc

Calcium can aid fat loss and even prevent its build-up in your body. It regulates a hormone that causes fat production, and it can also inhibit fat regain. In fact, a diet consisting mainly of high-calcium foods resulted in an average weight loss of 24.6lb in 16 weeks, found a study published  in the International Journal of Obesity & Related Metabolic Disorders.

Elsewhere, a study by the University of Massachusetts, US, found subjects with a low-zinc diet had significantly slower metabolic rates, but after supplementing with 25mg of zinc for 20 days their metabolisms jumped to higher levels. This is the easy way to get leaner using all natural minerals your body needs to survive.

2. Glutamine and arginine

Amino acids are the building blocks for your protein intake and a potent fat burning weapon. A study by Sapienza University, Italy, found glutamine is safe and effective in promoting weight loss and enhancing glucose metabolism.

What’s more, scientists at the University of North Carolina, US, found female athletes who supplemented with arginine for four weeks lost body fat. The nitric oxide can increase fat-burning and the freed fat is more likely to be burned as fuel, thanks to the greater metabolic burn from glutamine, helping you to get swimsuit-ready.

3. Caffeine and green tea

There are many fat burners on the market these days with complicated compounds that many people can hardly read, but caffeine and green tea have been around for a long time and can be used as a low budget fat burner by all.

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic suggest caffeine stimulates the central nervous system and increases thermogenisis and fat oxidisation. Green tea contains compounds called catchins, which help to regulate your metabolic rate. Research in the International Journal of Obesity found there were significant positive effects on weight loss and weight maintenance as a result of the green tea compounds.

It’s cheap and effective, so what’s your excuse? You can activate fat burning by sitting in front of the television.

4. Casein and whey protein

Casein and whey proteins should be the staples of your supplementation because they aid fat loss, recovery, performance and muscle gain.

Females experienced an increase in performance and a decrease in body fat when they increased their whey protein and casein consumption after resistance training, found a study published in the Journal of Sports Science & Medicine.

The difference between the pair is their absorption rate – casein being the slower of the two, which means it’s better to take it before bed; that way your fat-loss and muscle building ambitions are fuelled all night long.

Find weight loss information and more in every issue of TRAIN for HER magazine.