The Hazards of Combining Low Carbs & Stimulants

By Luis Olivares

If you were to ask people these days how to lose weight and stay in shape, you’d certainly hear a variety of different answers. But chances are two of the most popular responses you’d hear again and again would be low-carb dieting and fat burners. Particularly among the fitness community, the effectiveness of reducing or eliminating carbohydrate consumption as a means to lower body fat has been well-established. Likewise, faith in the efficacy of stimulant-based fat burning supplements has fueled a thriving industry. Either of these two strategies, if implemented properly, can be reasonably expected to produce results. Therefore, it might seem natural that some particularly ambitious fitness enthusiasts would look to combine the two in search of even greater or quicker results. However, what these people fail to recognize is that “more” doesn’t necessarily equal “better” – and in this case, it could actually prove to be a whole lot worse.

The benefit of a low-carb diet is that blood glucose levels are kept to a minimum, forcing the body to turn to fat stores as a source of energy. This is, of course, provided that enough protein is being consumed to offset the potential for increased muscle catabolism. Because carbohydrates are the body’s preferred energy substrate, withholding them forces the body to look elsewhere for energy. The ideal situation is for the body to turn to fat oxidation; this leads to the fat loss we want, and also provides far more energy than either glycolysis (glycogen breakdown) or gluconeogenesis (protein breakdown) – nine units of ATP per gram from fat versus four from either glycogen or protein. The catch is that fat oxidation is a relatively time-consuming process, so often the body will prefer to break down protein for immediate energy when carbohydrates are not an option. This is why a low-carb diet must be counterbalanced with high protein intake. Otherwise, you run the risk of losing a substantial amount of lean muscle along with the desired fat loss, which is undesirable in itself and also counterproductive in the long run, as decreased muscle mass will lead to a decreased metabolism.

As for fat burners, since the government ban on ephedra-based dietary supplements, the majority of these products have substituted legal stimulants as the primary ingredient, usually some form of caffeine. Stimulants such as caffeine can have a positive effect on fat metabolism. By stimulating hormone-sensitive lipase, they increase the amount of free fatty acids in the bloodstream that are available to be used as fuel, resulting in increased fat oxidation. Aside from this direct metabolic effect, caffeine of course increases alertness and energy levels, which for some people might lead to better and more productive workout habits. Coupling better workouts with a heightened state of fat oxidation, it’s easy to see how stimulants can be a useful tool for reducing body fat.

However, there is a downside to prolonged stimulant use. Over time, stimulants can increase the amount of cortisol produced by the body. Cortisol is a hormone produced as a response to stress, helping the body produce energy to facilitate the fight-or-flight response. In this regard it is functionally a catabolic hormone, promoting the breakdown of muscle protein for energy production. For anyone looking to build muscle, elevated levels of cortisol are clearly a bad thing. But this remains the case even if your primary goal is fat loss, since your metabolism is so closely tied to the amount of muscle on your frame. Any decrease in muscle mass will only serve to slow your fat-shedding progress.

Fortunately for most people using high doses of caffeine or other stimulants, the potential increase in cortisol levels is largely mediated by a stable blood glucose level. When you consume a reasonable amount of carbohydrates (focusing mainly on low-glycemic carbs) and avoid overeating, your blood glucose and insulin levels are kept stable, providing readily available energy and a buffer against the potential negative effects of increased cortisol levels. Where cortisol starts to become a problem is in situations where your blood glucose is low. In this case, cortisol will respond to the perceived energy shortage by stimulating gluconeogenesis, which, as we’ve seen, is pretty much the last thing you want if long-term fat burning is your goal.

Now recall that keeping blood glucose low is the primary function of a low-carb diet. In this scenario, you’re already consuming high amounts of protein to protect against your body’s tendency towards muscle catabolism. Clearly, adding large doses of a stimulant into this equation has the potential to be disastrous. Unchecked by a healthy blood glucose level, the resulting increase in cortisol would effect a high degree of muscle catabolism, drastically reducing your metabolic rate and pushing you further from your goals. This is why it makes little sense to take a stimulant-based fat burner while on a low-carb diet. Though effective on their own, these two approaches to weight loss do not work synergistically, and instead will likely hamper your progress when combined.

Now for the good news: there is a fat burner that will work just as well whether you’re on a low-carb diet or not. The innovators at BSN have done it again, taking a comprehensive and original approach to the problem of fat loss that resulted in the development of ATRO-PHEX®, the energy and weight management breakthrough product. Though it contains some caffeine, due to its usefulness in stimulating lipolysis, the amount is relatively low and ATRO-PHEX® is not a primarily stimulant-based supplement. Instead it attacks fat stores from several angles, including working to boost metabolism by stimulating the thyroid gland. It also contains a remarkable ingredient called 7-Keto™, which promotes increased thermogenesis by uncoupling oxidative phosphorylation. Essentially what this means for your body is decreased production of ATP in favor of increased heat production. The body responds to this ATP deficit by metabolizing fat, since it is the most efficient energy source available. Thus fat is shed while lean muscle is spared, exactly the combination we are looking for.

This multifaceted approach to fat loss makes ATRO-PHEX® a next-generation fat burning supplement, exactly what you’d expect from BSN, the world leaders in cutting-edge physique and performance products. Its unique fat-targeting, muscle-sparing properties make it ideal for low-carb dieters and muscle-builders alike, working to strip away unwanted body fat without the risk of muscle catabolism or increased cortisol levels. So if you’re looking to kick your diet into high gear, try the fat burner that provides results as well as peace of mind, and get ATRO-PHEX®.

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