Q: I’ve been going to the gym for about a year now and heard from a male friend that I should look into taking supplements.  I have no idea where to begin or what to look for (neither did he, as far as women go)!!  I’ve been taking a fat burner to lose body fat but have found that after a few days of usage, I crash really hard and feel really tired.  I want to lose body fat and build muscle.  Can you please recommend what supplements I should look into?  I’m already doing the obvious (i.e., diet, cardio, weight training, protein shakes, etc.) but I feel like I need an extra boost to obtain the body I want.

A: When you say you are already doing the obvious I am assuming that you are, in fact, already doing the obvious.  You are separating your cardio from your resistance weight training, you are eating 5+ small meals per day, you are staying away from high carb meals (especially in the late evening), and you are getting plenty of rest. 

To address your question: Certainly taking a fat burner is a way to induce fat loss but you have to be sure that you aren’t trying to do too many things at once.  Everyone wants to lose body fat and build muscle, but if you are trying to do both at once, you will probably find that that can be very counterproductive.  When it comes to women, short of suggesting a pro-hormone regimen, I usually offer the same advice I would give a man.  The supplements I would recommend are a well-balanced MRP (not necessarily a “protein shake”), Creatine, Glutamine, and a good multi vitamin.  These are a good place to start. Once you have this supplement base, you can progress by adding a true, or proven fat burning supplement that work by creating a thyroidal response like TriaTherm, supplements like this are legally available thankfully because the process in which they work are more “natural” or rather, enhance aspects of your body to naturally help burn body fat