Fat Loss Stack By Austinite: Why it Works and How to Make it Better
When it comes to weight loss, making your own supplement stack can be difficult, especially if you aren’t sure what works, when to take it, and other tricky factors. There is also considerably more to weight loss than merely popping some pills and calling it a day.
To clarify the weight loss process for you, we’re going to cover a popular fat burning stack and tell you what’s in it, why it works, and what else you need to do to ensure that your weight loss journey is a successful one.
Fat Never Goes Away
That’s right. All of the fat cells that you have right now will always be with you. They won’t vanish into the void, melt away, or otherwise take a vacation from your mid-section. There are two phases during your life when you accumulate these fat cells: in the womb and during puberty. Wherever you develop fat cells is where they will always be.
So when you hear that someone is bulking up so he or she can shred fat later, this is technically inaccurate. During a shred, the fat cells inside of your body are shrinking in size rather than vanishing. While you cannot rid your body of fat cells, you can certainly change the amount of space they take up in your body.
Fat Loss Stack Ingredients
This fat loss regimen is the brain child of Austinite, a well known user on online health and fitness forums.
To build this fat burner stack you will need the following supplements:
- Chromium Picolinate
- Synephrine HCL
- EGCG (Green Tea Extract)
You can get the complete Fat Burner Stack here for $11.39.
Chromium Picolinate
A surprising number of individuals are actually chromium deficient. This is a problem when it comes to fat loss because chromium helps balance insulin levels. When left unchecked, insulin levels rise. Elevated insulin levels will lead to cravings for sweets and starches, which everybody knows are two ways to pack on the fat.
So, by taking chromium you help balance your insulin and redirect your appetite away from junk food to help you stay on course for your weight loss goals. However, because chromium can affect insulin, individuals with diabetes should consult with their doctor first before supplementing.
Chromium deficiency also leads to fatigue, so by taking supplements you can boost your energy as well. Individuals should take around 200-1000mcg per day. This specific stack calls for 800mcg.
Synephrine HCL
Sometimes considered a safe alternative to ephedrine, you still need to take care when using Synephrine HCL. Because synephrine is so powerful, it requires a very small dose of 10-20mg. To ensure accurate dosing, individuals should invest in a digital milligram scale accurate to 0.001g (1mg). For this stack, start with 10mg at first to see how you fare, and only increase to 20mg after a few days.
Synephrine is fast acting and boosts your metabolic rate by breaking down lipids in a process called lipolysis. Synephrine is also known as Bitter Orange and Orange Extract. As the name implies, it is commonly extracted from oranges and other citrus plants.
EGCG Green Tea Extract
If you ever drink green tea, then you’ve consumed Epigallocetchin Gallate (EGCG) before, albeit in minute amounts. To experience EGCG’s maximum benefits, you will need to consume much more than you can get from tea alone.
EGCG is a popular fat-loss aid in that it affects your daily energy expenditure, burning more calories than you would otherwise, even when you aren’t exercising.
When it comes to this supplement, you will need to pay attention to the EGCG percentage to get an accurate dose. This stack calls for 600mg of EGCG. Our Green Tea Extract is 45% EGCG so to get 600mg, you will need 1.33g of Green Tea Extract.
Fat Loss Stack Dosages
The final dosages stand as follows:
- 800mcg Chromium Picolinate
- 10mg Synephrine HCL (can increase up to 20mg after a few days)
- 1.33g Green Tea Extract 45% EGCG (600mg EGCG)
Individuals only need to take this stack once per day, directly before a workout due to synephrine’s fast acting properties.
When it comes to side effects, chromium picolinate and EGCG should not cause any disturbances in these doses. Synephrine, however, must be dosed properly. If you take too large of a dosage you may become jittery and nervous. This experience is unpleasant so start low and only increase your dose if 10mg is not effective for you.
For maximum results, you will want to eat below your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE). However, individuals have experienced results with this fat burner stack while maintaining their TDEE levels, so reducing your calorie intake may not be necessary. So how do you determine your TDEE?
Fat Loss Stack Additional Information
Now that you have this stack locked and loaded, you still aren’t quite ready to turn into a fat-loss super star. You still have a few things to learn about TDEE, BMR, and other fat cell reducing methods.
When it comes to weight loss, many individuals choose to reduce calories to improve their results. However, how do you know how much is too much to cut? To determine this, you will need to determine your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE).
Your TDEE is determined by your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) + total energy expenditure. Your BMR is simply how many calories you need for your body to survive and your total energy expenditure is how many calories you burn from exercise and other activities.
Determining how many calories you burn from your workouts is easy if you have a heart rate monitor. However, do not rely on what the treadmills and elliptical machines tell you about calories burned. They are almost always incorrect and overestimate your calories burned to an extreme.
There is one calories burned calculator in particular that I have found to be decently accurate. It includes an extensive list of exercises to choose from and requires that you enter your gender, age, weight, and number of minutes of an exercise you performed. After these parameters are set, it will give you a rough estimate of how many calories you burned.
Calculating your BMR
(CC BY 2.0)
There are a few formulas for calculating your BMR, two of which require a simple equation.
While the American Dietetic Association feels this is the most accurate method for determining TDEE, this only holds true for athletes or individuals with very low body fat. Overweight individuals should not use this method.
Although this is considered the antiquated method, the results work well for overweight individuals.
If you don’t want to do the math yourself, there is a tool here that will calculate it for you. Be aware if you use imperial instead of metric, it will round your weight and height to the nearest kg and cm respectively.
Using my own stats as an example following the Mifflin-St Jeor method, my BMR is 1318.
(10 x 54.8847kg) + (6.25 x 168.91cm) – (5 x 25yo) -161
548.847 + 1055.6875 – 125 – 161 = 1318
There is one last equation for calculating your BMR and TDEE: the Katch-McCardle method. However, you will need to know your body fat percentage.
These are the equations you will need:
Using my own stats with this method, my BMR is 1306.
370 + (21.6 x [54.8847 x (100-21)])/100 = 1306
Calculating your TDEE
Assuming I never exercise, I need to eat 1306 calories a day to maintain my weight. However, this is not the case. I work out 5 days a week for 30 minutes to an hour and burn anywhere from 200-600 calories depending on the activity and intensity level. You also burn calories doing other activities as well (cooking, sleeping, housework, etc).
Now you need to calculate your TEE (Total Energy Expenditure). This includes all activity, not just the time you spend in the gym. To simplify this, you need to multiply your BMR by the one of the following variables:
- 1.2 = Sedentary (Desk job, and Little Formal Exercise)
- 1.3-1.4 = Lightly Active (Light daily activity AND light exercise 1-3 days a week)
- 1.5-1.6 = Moderately Active (Moderately daily Activity & Moderate exercise 3-5 days a week)
- 1.7-1.8 = Very Active (Physically demanding lifestyle & Hard exercise 6-7 days a week)
- 1.9-2.2 = Extremely Active (Athlete in ENDURANCE training or VERY HARD physical job)
Because I exercise 5 days a week, but I have a sedentary job with light daily activity, I tend to go with 1.45 as my multiplying factor. Using my stats once more, this results in a TDEE of 1894. bear in mind, these are rough estimates and you will need to experiment to see what your true TDEE is. Use your estimated TDEE for 2-4 weeks. If your weight remains stable, then you’ve likely found your maintenance.
So How Do I Lose Weight?
To lose one pound, you will need to burn 3500 calories. This is fairly common knowledge. However, what many people don’t realize is that that one pound is not pure fat. Some of it is fat, of course, but some of that weight is water loss, tissue loss, etc.
When you burn calories to lose weight,
some of it is fat but some of it is also water and tissue.
Regardless, to lose one pound per week, you will need to cut 500 calories a day from your TDEE (500 calories x 7 days = 3500 calorie deficit). To lose two pounds per week (the maximum suggested amount of weight loss), you will need to cut 1000 calories.
However, this is not always strictly true. For instance, my example TDEE above less 1000 calories is only 894 calories. This is extremely low and not recommended. A better method for weight loss would be to decrease your TDEE by 10-20% (or increase if you are looking to gain).
By this point, many of you are probably wondering about the 1200 calorie diet limit. This myth is wide spread across the internet and can do more harm than good.
What is the 1200 Calorie Myth?
I would really like for the 1200 calorie myth to disappear once and for all. Anyone who has researched weight loss has likely come across it. Women need 1200 calories, men need 1800.
“Eat 1200 calories a day for maximum weight loss!”
“You need 1200 calories per day or else your body will go into starvation mode!”
So where did it come from? Numerous websites claim that the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine (AMSSM) came up with the 1200 calorie limit. After an in-depth search of their site, however, I turned up no such evidence.
After turning to the almighty Google, I unearthed one article by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) that suggests a 1200 calorie diet. However, it has no sources or authors given. So with no science or qualified professionals to back up its claim, I wrote it off as inaccurate.
I returned to Google and finally found the source of the 1200 calorie myth. Here is a direct quote:
So where did the 1200 and 1800 calorie floor numbers come from? Those are generalizations based on average caloric maintenance levels (TDEE), as determined by exercise physiologists. According to Victor Katch and Frank Mcardle, the average female between the ages of 23 and 50 has a maintenance level of about 2100 calories per day and the average male about 2800 calories per day.
Based on the maximum recommendation of two pounds of weight loss per week given by organizations like the American College of Sports Medicine, these “calorie floors” are based on 1000 calories below the average person’s TDEE (2800 calories per day average for men, minus 1000 calories equals calorie floor of 1800 calories per day. 2100 calories per day average for women, minus 1000 calories equals a calorie floor of 1100 calories, and most health organizations round up that number to 1200 since 1000 calories under maintenance is a larger relative deficit compared to men.)
Now here is the catch. Yes, they clearly state 1200 calories and 1800 calories. However, you need to base this on your TDEE. Individuals often pair these 1200 calorie diet plans with an exercise regimen. What people do not realize, is even if they want a net of 1200 calories, they need to take their exercise, sleep habits, and more into consideration. Only eating 1200 calories in combination with an exercise regimen will yield a much lower net for that day’s calories.
Plus, if you are only eating 1200 calories per day, but your TDEE is 2400, then you are cutting more than the recommended maximum of 1000 calories. Losing too much weight too quickly or restricting calories to an extreme can have unwanted negative effects. Remember, 1200 calories in the minimum for the average female and 1800 for the average male. You need to calculate your TDEE as accurately as possible to determine what your minimum maintenance truly is.
Using the Fat Burning Stack with TDEE
Once you know your TDEE, you need to decide if you are looking to lose weight and fat or if you are focusing on fat loss alone. Individuals who have excess body weight will want to eat below their TDEE while using the fat loss stack until they reach their ideal weight. Individuals who are already at their ideal weight but have stubborn areas of fat may not actually need to eat below their TDEE. Austinite’s experience with this stack resulted in fat loss while eating at maintenance.
Another way you can improve your weight loss and fat loss is to incorporate exercise and a healthy diet. If you are new to the fitness scene and unsure where to start, check out our workouts that require little to no equipment to get you started. We also have a variety of healthy meal ideas to keep you on track.
