Nutrition for weight loss

Asad Boomgaard, body transformation specialist and fitness trainer at Gold’s Gym South Africa, has helped many people transform their bodies and is a proud ambassador of PharmaFreak who strongly recommends their Ripped Freak® patented fat-shredding technology. “Not only is it the perfect go-to supplement that provides more energy and focus during your high-intensity workouts and daily lifestyle routine, but also helps to increase lean muscle mass while burning fat rapidly with state-of-the-art scientifically researched fat-fighting ingredients.”

Asad Boomgaard weighs in: “Ripped Freak 2.0 and Ripped Freak Hybrid fat burners work best when you’re following a healthy diet and consume fewer calories. They help tremendously to keep you from getting too hungry throughout the day which contributes to a lower calorie intake. A typical low-calorie diet refers to one where you're eating fewer calories than you're burning, but most importantly, one that is whole foods-based and that focuses on eating enough protein to maintain as much muscle mass as possible while still providing a satiating effect.”

In several research studies, subjects that included more protein in their diets burned more fat and more calories throughout the day than subjects that included less protein in their diets. Why is this? The body simply works much harder to digest protein, and thus it has a much greater calorie-burning effect. Protein intake also causes the brain to receive lower levels of appetite-stimulating hormones, thus helping with craving control.

Once you create a calorie deficit, it’s important to account for diet-friendly and nutritious foods while doing so. Macronutrients to focus on include nutrient-dense foods such as beans, whole grains, fruits, vegetables, leans meats and fish. Consume high-protein animal-based foods like eggs, poultry, fish or plant-based foods like soy, lentils, beans and whole grains. Limit fat and high-carb foods like doughnuts, cookies, processed snacks and others. Asad also recommends any low-calorie diet to consist of enough fat to keep your hormone function stable.

• Raspberry ketone is a key fat-loss ingredient and can inhibit fat absorption, enhance calorie expenditure, and increase fat breakdown.
• CH-19 sweet red pepper contains three known capsaicinoid-like substances that can affect fat loss, capsiate, dihydrocapsiate, and nordihydrocapsiate. It helps promote uncoupling proteins (UPCs) which results in an increase in oxygen consumption and dispersion of energy as heat during exercise, contributing to more efficient metabolism and fat-burning during physical activity.
• Caffeine boosts energy levels, mental awareness, and performance. When taken prior to exercise it allows fat oxidation, enabling your body to use stored fat as fuel during workouts. Studies show that when combined with green tea, caffeine’s thermogenic properties are even greater. Caffeine also gives a great energy kick and will increase mental alertness, cognition, and overall physical performance.

Exercise for weight loss

According to Boomgaard, “When you’re using a fat burner like the Ripped Freak Hybrid or Ripped Freak 2.0 to lose weight, you need to focus on strength training and then ideally end your exercise regime with cardio exercises.”

Weight training will burn off stored carbs as energy as the body prefers carbs as a source of fuel for weight training. Once the end of the weight-training session is reached, the body is either very low on carbs or has already run out. At this point, the body has no choice but to switch to its second fuel source, fat. Cardio after weight training will primarily use only fat as its fuel source and this works to effectively decrease body fat levels at a much higher rate.

Other options include high-intensity interval training (HIIT) that involves alternating between intense bursts of activity and low-intensity rest (or active rest) periods. HIIT exercise burns much more calories than low-intensity/steady-state cardio exercise and cranks up the ‘after burn’ and increases your body’s energy expenditure for several hours after you stop exercising. HIIT is therefore also great for bodybuilders and athletes that want to maintain their muscle mass, as HIIT training doesn’t burn muscle, but primarily fat.

Cardio training in the morning is also a tactic that many competitive fitness athletes use as a means of decreasing body fat. Cardio in the morning forces the body to burn greater amounts of fat because there is a lower amount of stored carbohydrates available in the morning. Cardio at the end of the day makes it much more difficult to burn through all stored carbohydrates because many meals have been consumed by this time, and the body has more carbohydrates to burn off before tapping into fat stores.

“If you want to build lean muscle, I recommend the same exercise regime as that of losing weight, but increase the resistance component, with the difference to be how one eats following your exercise,” Asad advises. Resistance training 3 to 4 days a week burns significantly more calories and continues to tap into fat loss long after the workout is done. After your cardio session is over, your body returns to its ‘regular’ metabolic rate rather quickly, whereas a weight-training session keeps your body’s metabolism at elevated levels for several hours after the workout is completed, resulting in greater overall fat loss.

Ripped Freak® fat burners include high caffeine contents that help to maintain energy and focus throughout your workouts, helping you to perform better and gain lean muscle mass while supporting your body to burn even more calories. Other caffeine intakes should be limited when using Ripped Freak® fat burners. Ensure to drink plenty of water and take your daily dose with a meal should you be sensitive to caffeine.

PharmaFreak Ripped Freak 2.0 Freakmode Series 60 capsules – (R649.00)

targets abdominal fat with patented Sinetrol® fat-shredding technology, a natural ingredient and safe solution to reduce excess body weight and target abdominal fat. Its fat-burning effect is derived from increasing whole-body energy expenditure (calorie burning) and decreasing visceral fat, suppressing appetite and increasing energy levels. It also helps provide essential nutrients needed for a healthy lifestyle! Boost your energy levels, and mental alertness, and enhance your training performance, and allow fat oxidation which helps your body use stored fat as fuel, as published in a study by the Journal of Applied Physiology. It includes Grains of Paradise (Guinea Pepper) native to West Africa and traditionally used to treat digestive and intestinal issues helping your body to burn non-activity related calories. Contains 189mg of caffeine per serving.

PharmFreak Ripped Freak Hybrid Fat Burner 30 Capsules – (R399)

a powerful fat burner available, with a hybrid combination of fat-burning capabilities to target belly fat, love handles, hips and thighs. Nothing is stronger* – one pill offers the maximum strength of a fat burner and includes clinically validated dosages of each ingredient proven to work effectively in the human body. One capsule is all you need. It is ideal for high-intensity athletes and features a powerhouse of natural compounds such as green tea extract, 400mg caffeine for more energy and endurance, olive leaf extract, sweet red pepper extract and raspberry ketones.