There are boat loads of supplements and other products on the market that are boasting extreme claims of expediting the process of weight loss. Unfortunately, many of these products are ultimately scams to get your money based on questionable research. Some products even come with dangerous side effects. Even though Dr. Oz might be touting garbage products like garcinia cambogia, the research does not back these up. (2)
I’ve personally tried a medley of supplements on the market in hopes of burning stubborn body fat. Most of them made me feel like I was going to have a heart attack and failed to elicit any favorable changes in my body composition.
After doing a good bit of research on the topic, I have only managed to find a small handful of
supplements that actually work for me. The one fat burning product that I use with great success, and recommend to my clients is yohimbine.
What is Yohimbine?
Yohimbine is an alkaloid that is sourced from Pausinystalia yohimbe trees in the lowland forests of west and central Africa. The substance has been found to improve thermogenesis (the metabolic process that creates heat in the body).
There are several speculations of how Yohimbine results in fat loss, though it is not fully understood. The principal hypothesis is that it may work by facilitating the secretion of adrenaline by inhibiting adrenergic receptors—this ultimately results in an increase in heart rate which will stimulate metabolic function.
What does the research say?
A study done on male soccer players who were already quite lean (<11% body fat) found that Yohimbine supplementation decreased fat mass in a 21 day period. (4) All of the participants (control and experimental subjects) were placed on a standardized diet of 55% of their daily calories coming from carbohydrates, 25% from fat, and 20% from protein.
The group taking yohimbine lost an average of 2.2% body fat, whereas the men in the placebo group actually gained an average of 0.3% body fat during the study.
What’s fascinating is that the population in this study had a very low amount of body fat to start, and many of the research studies on different fat burning supplements are only done on obese populations. If you’re looking to lose that last bit of stubborn body fat to get better definition, Yohimbine may be a great option for you.Another study tested for the efficacy of topical cream to spot reduce body fat from the thigh in female participants. (1) Every participant received a topical yohimbine cream on one thigh and a placebo cream on the other thigh to measure differences between one side and the other. The researchers hypothesized that the yohimbine cream would counteract the alpha2-adrenergic activity and thus result in regional fat loss. Their results seemed to affirm that hypothesis as all 4 women lost more girl in the thigh that was treated with the yohimbine cream compared with the thigh that received the placebo cream. The population size was obviously quite small, but these findings suggest that topical use of yohimbine may be effective in facilitating spot reduction (even though the currently accepted literature shuns the concept of spot reducing fat). Surely more research needs to be done in this area, but the potential implications are quite fascinating.
How much should you take?
The dosage can vary, like with anything else. I suggest taking a smaller dose of only 2.5 mg to 5 mg initially to see how you respond to it. Once you’ve gotten an understanding of how your
body reacts to Yohimbine, you can increase the dosage gradually. Many of the studies done on Yohimbine have used ~0.2 mg per kg of bodyweight. This means that someone like me who weighs about 58 kg should consume about 11-12 mg of Yohimbine. In the previously mentioned study on soccer players the men took 20 mg daily.
Precautions
I don’t recommend taking Yohimbine before aerobic exercise, as it can elevate your heart rate
significantly. I made that mistake originally where I took it about an hour before exercise and
struggled to catch my breath. After that, I started taking it in the morning (about 3-4 hours prior to training) and had no issues with managing my heart rate.
If you have any type of anxiety disorder, you may also want to be careful in taking Yohimbine as it can exacerbate feelings of anxiety. As with any supplement, make sure that you consult with a physician before using Yohimbine, especially if you have a heart condition or take other medications to make sure you won’t have any adverse reactions.
If you have any type of anxiety disorder, you may also want to be careful in taking Yohimbine as it can exacerbate feelings of anxiety. As with any supplement, make sure that you consult with a physician before using Yohimbine, especially if you have a heart condition or take other medications to make sure you won’t have any adverse reactions.
- Greenway, Frank L., and George A. Bray. "Regional fat loss from the thigh in obese women after adrenergic modulation." Clin Ther 9.6 (1987): 663-9.
Heymsfield, Steven B., et al. "Garcinia cambogia (hydroxycitric acid) as a potential antiobesity agent: a randomized controlled trial." Jama 280.18 (1998): 1596-1600. - McCarty, Mark F. "Pre-exercise administration of yohimbine may enhance the efficacy of exercise training as a fat loss strategy by boosting lipolysis." Medical hypotheses 58.6 (2002): 491-495.
- Ostojic, Sergej M. "Yohimbine: the effects on body composition and exercise performance in soccer players." Research in Sports Medicine 14.4 (2006): 289-299.
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