Want to ignite your inner fat-burning furnace and melt off extra pounds? The best fat burner supplements (along with diet and exercise) can support your weight loss efforts, whether it’s for health reasons or to get shredded, sliced and diced.
Here’s the challenge: There are tons of fat burner products, including many that have risky ingredients, side effects, or simply aren’t that good. There are many fat burner formula strategies too, some of which might work better for you than others. Fat burners are complicated, and it’s hard to pick a winner.
Best 5 is here to help. This guide details how fat burners work, and what to look for when you buy. We also cover our 5 top-ranked fat burner formulas of all time. You can’t go wrong with these picks — all are quality formulas with great value and no funny business. Let’s start with summaries of our Best 5 fat burners:
1. Instant Knockout
- Punching Power: MMA-geared fat burner designed to shred athletes.
- Hefty dose of glucomannan, a reliable, well-researched fat-loss fiber.
- Whole Body Burn: spikes energy, alertness, & thermogenesis.
- Read our full Instant Knockout review
- Visit the Official Instant Knockout website
2. LeanMode
- 5 Modes of Action with a potential X-factor benefit: Positive Mood.
- Potent Purity: LeanMode opts for standardized herbal fat burns.
- Stim-Free: No tweaked-out side effects or cheap, excess stimulation.
- Read our full LeanMode Review
- Visit the Official LeanMode Website
3. Shred JYM
- 3-Step Pathway: 1) Releases, 2) transports, and 3) incinerates fat.
- Potent, packed ingredients poured into a substantial 4-capsule serving.
- Formulated by the unstoppable Jim Stoppani, Ph.D
- Read our full Shred JYM Review
- Visit the Official Shred JYM Website
4. INCINER-8
- Brands on Brands: INCINER-8 flashes a lot of ® signs in its formula.
- Burns excess fat, promotes healthy appetite, & enhances energy & motivation.
- Premium, potent ingredients locked away in proprietary blends.
- Read our full INCINER-8 Review
- Visit the Official INCINER-8 Website
5. Jet Fuel Superburn
- Brings the burrrrn with fast-acting stimulants on stimulants on stimulants.
- Multi-layered cognitive enhancement, invigoration, & adaptogenesis.
- 100% Transparency: Clean label & ingredients.
- Read our full Jetfuel Superburn Review
- Visit the Official Jetfuel Superburn Website
Quick Fat Burner Guide
What are Fat Burners?
Until recently, there were only three ways to burn fat:
- Exercise.
- A healthy diet.
- Gasoline.
While the first two methods still stand as essentials to fat loss (we’re discounting the third method simply because have you seen gas prices these days??), there is a supplementary option available to us to make the task of burning fat much easier & quicker: Fat Burner Supplements.
Fat burner supplements are a class of natural supplements intended to, well… burn body fat through the body’s natural fat-burning pathways. Although the term “fat burner” implies that these supplements only burn fat, that’s not all they do, as they deliver a number of bodily benefits related to body weight, metabolism, & composition.
This means that you don’t have to be quote-unquote “fat” to find value in fat burners — for example, many athletes & bodybuilders enjoy fat burners for their nutrient balance & bodily fat distribution benefits. Nor does it mean that any-&-all fat is self-evidently bad for you, given that not all fat is equal.
What is Fat?

Triglyceride molecule. By Wolfgang Schaefer, via Wikimedia Commons
Carbohydrates, Protein, Fat — these are the three essential macronutrients required to build & maintain a fully functional human body. So why burn one? Fats, or triglycerides (tri = three, glyceride = fatty acid) serve various structural & metabolic functions, however fat is best known for its role as an energy reserve. During long bouts of fasting, the body gets along by “burning,” or oxidizing, fat into energy. In this sense, fat operates as a safety net for conditions of food deprivation & malnutrition, keeping the body fueled at all times. Yet, too much fuel weighs the body down, which is why it’s important to stay within a healthy body fat percentage threshold. By age & gender, this threshold changes:
- Age 20 – 39: 8-20% men; 21-33% women.
- Age 40 – 59: 11-22% men; 23-34% women.
- Age 60 – 79: 13-25% men; 24-36% women.
It’s important to note that we need fat. So you don’t want to burn all of it — just enough to stay within a healthy body fat percentage, which, in this day-&-age of drive-thrus & triple-stacked bacon burgers, is an intense struggle of willpower & self-regulation, given that our bodies still think they’re in a hunting & gathering universe.
How Do Fat Burners Work?
“Weight loss” is an ironic movement in fat burning. Unlike traditional weight loss supplements (although much of fat burning overlaps this category), fat burners incite “weight loss” often under the overarching goal of weight gain. Which requires us to be specific on which weight is lost and which weight is gained:
- Weight Loss – Pertains to a loss & redistribution of fat & fat composition.
- Weight Gain – Pertains to a gain in muscle mass, which, yes, muscle mass weighs more than an equal volume of fat mass.
Healthy Weight Loss vs. Bodybuilder Shredding
Another way to think of this is “losing weight” versus “shredding” — the former involving a target weight goal, usually undertaken by overweight or obese individuals, whereas the latter involves a target body fat percentage. Granted, losing weight inherently requires a slimmer body fat percentage, however reducing your body fat percentage doesn’t always necessitate losing weight. In fact, once you’ve achieved a quote-unquote “healthy weight,” it’s probably best that you toss the whole healthy weight idea as the weight scale number may distract from the ultimate health goal: healthy body fat percentage & distribution.
This helps illustrate the Bodybuilder’s Paradox: The more weight (muscle) you gain, the more weight (fat) you lose — or rather the more muscle you have, the easier it is to lose fat. And the fat that you do have obtains a sexier distribution across your body, particularly if you’re supplementing fat burners. But how exactly does this work?
Fat burners are believed to work by improving:
Fat oxidation: “Oxidation” is simply another word for “burning,” as per the metabolic fat burning process that happens in mitochondria. While carbohydrates are the primary source of mitochondrial ATP energy output, fatty acids operate as the secondary source, converting to ATP in the mitochondria through oxidation of the fatty compounds. Overall fat loss occurs when the fat oxidation rate is higher than the rate at which fat is stored. Some ingredients (e.g., caffeine) may improve fat loss by improving fat oxidation.
What about Thermogenesis?

Fiyah!!!
Essentially, fat oxidation is a chemical form of thermogenesis, which is defined as: “the process of heat production in organisms.” Shivering is another form of thermogenesis, when the body resists a cold environment by producing heat (i.e., burning energy) via muscle twitching to keep warm. This underlies the “Cold Shower” theory, a practice that involves daily cold showers to promote the formation of “brown fat” (which readily burns energy) over “white fat” (which readily stores energy) — additionally, cold shower thermogenesis bolsters cognitive willpower because, as we all know, cold showers really, really suck.

I DON’T HAVE AN EATING PROBLEM. I could stop eating if I wanted to …I just don’t want to.
Appetite control: So not eating reduces fat? Yeah, sure, but strictly “not eating” isn’t the best way to go about burning fat — especially if you’re a big, burly bodybuilder who needs to eat a lot to maintain all that massive muscle. This is why appetite control is the better way to conceptualize this bio-activity rather than appetite suppressing — even though we use these terms interchangeably on Best5. By increasing control over one’s diet, men & women may better monitor & control their intake and have a better go at diets that require regulated fast/feed times, such as Intermittent Fasting (for example).
Nutrient absorption: Green tea extract is our favorite fat burner for this reason. Ingredients such as green tea are so great at promoting fat loss for their inhibition of certain digestive enzymes, proteins that increase uptake of fatty acids & carbohydrates. Limiting the amount of fat building compounds that your body absorbs while still uptaking healthy nutrients is key to maintaining an adequate fat burning diet.
Adipogenesis inhibition: Adipogenesis is the essentially the smart way to describe the complex process in which certain cells generate into adipocytes, or fat cells. Of course, a buildup of adipocytes leads to a buildup of adipose tissue. Ingredients that prevent the formation of the basic building blocks of fat are key to burning fat. TAKE NOTE: Lipogenesis, the creation of fatty acids & triglycerides from glucose & other similar compounds, is similar to adipogenesis — however, lipogenesis doesn’t seem to be a significant contributor to body fat. Products that claim to inhibit lipogenesis in the name of fat burning might be blowing smoke up your ass.
What are the Best Fat Burner Supplements?
Thanks to the likes of Dr. Oz and other “critically acclaimed and nationally syndicated” TV personalities and so-called experts, the fat burner genre is shrouded in myth and skepticism. Not every hot selling ingredient touted as a “fat burner” actually burns fat — actually many don’t — but there are ingredients that do seem to help, including:
- Green Tea Extract: Taken from Camellia sinensis, the herbal source of green, black, & white teas, suppliers of catechin antioxidant EGCG (epigallocatechin) and caffeine, compounds that boost resting metabolism. It is the highest rated fat burner on our Big List of Fat Burners.
- Cayenne: The active compound capsaicin triggers the release of epinephrine & norepinephrine for enhanced thermogenesis & appetite control.
- Garcinia Cambogia: Indonesian superfruit of Dr. Oz fame (that turned out to be the real deal), carries bioactive hydroxycitric acid (HCA), which inhibits the conversion of carbohydrates into stored fat.
- Green Coffee Bean Extract: Another Dr. Oz trend-favorite, delivering chlorogenic acids (CGA) that assist with fat loss by: A) increasing thermogenesis, B) regulating energy metabolism, and C) balancing blood sugar.
- Caffeine: You know what it iiissss — straight caffeine is not as reliable as, say, its intact or extracted tea sources, but it is a reliable, well-researched compound, believed to boost cAMP & norepinephrine activity, signalling for the conversion of fat to energy.
- Black Pepper Extract: Significantly improves nutrient absorption, thermogenesis, & insulin resistance. Often sold as BioPerine®, a standardized 95% piperine extract.
- Glucomannan: Not a true fat burner but rather a “fat-loss fiber,” assisting with appetite control by helping you feel fuller longer.
- Conjugated Linoleic Acids (CLA): Comprises at least 28 linoleic acid isomers, theorized to spark thermogenesis in fatty tissue — although the evidence is weak. Tetradecyl Thioacetic Acid (TTA) seems to hold more promise with similar mechanisms to CLA.
- Alpha Lipoic Acid: Nicknamed the “Universal Antioxidant” for its well-demonstrated antioxidant benefits, several of which assist fat loss by inhibiting AMPK in the brain, reducing lipogenesis, and curbing oxidative stress.
- Raspberry Ketones: Hot topic item for the suggestion that raspberry ketones specifically target visceral fat, i.e., belly fat — however eating natural raspberries doesn’t provide enough ketones for fat-burning effects.
- 7-Keto® (DHEA): Not quite the bodybuilding prohormone but rather a “DHEA Lite” supplement, isolating the weight-loss metabolite variant of DHEA.
- Ginger: Zingerone, or vanillylacetone, the pungent component of ginger, seems to increase neurotransmitter norepinephrine, but may also increase appetite.
- Yohimbe Bark: Traditional aphrodisiac & performance enhancer for its epinephrine/norepinephrine activation. Take it easy with this one: yohimbine is a stimulant that boosts heart rate.
- Bitter Orange Extract (Synephrine): Speaking of stimulation, synephrine (often sold as bitter orange extract) seems to promote energizing metabolism-boosting effects that charge exercise performance as well as fat burning. Viewed as the legal substitute for ephedra (Ma Huang).
- Coleus forskohlii (Forskolin): Found in fat burners, nootropics, & pre-workouts for its wildcard status in mental & physical performance enhancers, forskolin seems to activate cAMP while also boosting thyroid hormone production for increased fat metabolism.
- Lepticore®: A proprietary combination of various ingredients demonstrated in placebo-controlled research to improve body weight, triglyceride, & blood glucose at both low & high dosages, with higher dosages resulting in greater benefits.
- Chromium Picolinate: Particular form of the trace mineral believed to optimize fat burning & energy production by serving as a cofactor to certain metabolic enzymes.
- Guarana: Natural caffeine source with higher caffeine concentrations than coffee & tea, in addition to vitalizing alkaloids. Taken with yerba mate & damiana, guarana may assist with appetite control.
- L-Carnitine: Taken either as ALCAR or L-Carnitine L-Tartrate, this amino acids may accelerate fat burning by improving fatty acid delivery to mitochondria. LCLT seems to be the preferred form for leaner bodybuilding muscle.
- Guggul: Guggulsterones, the active compounds of this myrrh tree sap resin, are known for their thyroid benefits, possibly increasing hormone levels linked to increased metabolic performance.
- Kola Seed: You know: Cola — the bone-killing beverage? This is the natural source & inspiration of the modern day soda drink, prized for its caffeine content that may assist with fat loss.
- Yerba Mate: Similar to guarana & kola seed for its prized possession of caffeine, however also valued for its chlorogenic acids (like green coffee bean) and antioxidants.
- 5-HTP: The organic precursor to neurotransmitter serotonin and thus of particular interest re: mood disorders, 5-HTP’s serotonergic effect may also reduce hunger for a healthier appetite.
- Grapefruit (Naringin): The grapefruit-for-weight-loss myth dates back to the ’30s, despite little evidence of grapefruit doing much for fat or weight loss. Although, the grapefruit compound naringin (and nootkatone) may boost metabolism by interacting with AMPK.
- CoQ10: Coenzyme Q10 facilitates ATP production in mitochondria, potentially stimulating AMPK activity — however, most research focuses on the “energy boost” aspect of this bioeffect more so than the “fat loss” angle.
Read about more leading fat burners on our BIG List of Fat Burners
What Can Fat Burners Help With?
Body Composition
In terms of health & well-being, fat content is almost less important than fat distribution, i.e., where the fat resides in the body. The “apple” body carries fat around the abs, a signifier of unhealthy fat distribution. Some fat burners help prevent buildup in the midsection for a healthier “pear” body.
Weight Control
We already touched upon the bodybuilder’s paradox that lies within the “gain weight to lose weight” paradigm among athletes. However, adding control to this dynamic may help men & women with specific weight goals, namely in sports with weight class categories.
Blood Sugar Balance
Some of the fat burners we recommend are often recommended to diabetics or people with insulin/blood sugar imbalance issues. Assistance with blood sugar balance may contribute to a cascade of metabolic health benefits for an all-around improved life experience.
Energy Levels
Stimulants are a major component of the fat burner market, arguably more so than the nootropic class of supplements for the well-demonstrated benefits of stimulants on weight loss & exercise performance. Other fat burners support literal energy chemical levels simply through promoting fat oxidation.
Testosterone:Estrogen Balance
Adipose tissue carries high concentrations of aromatase, the enzyme responsible for converting testosterone to estrogen. This partially explains why women possess higher body fat percentages than men, yet for both genders too much aromatization may contribute to sex hormone imbalance.
Athletic Mobility
With less matter in the way, touching right hand to left foot, left hand to right foot becomes much, much easier. By ridding the body of all that extra carry-on, the body is able to go much harder & faster without tiring itself out too early.
Joint Strain
For the record, the same applies to BIG muscle weight, which is why massive, lean bodybuilders often experience knee problems: Heavy weight, be it fat or muscle, is hard on the joints. Fat burners only help with reducing one of the contributing factors to joint strain.
Cardio Conditioning
Extra weight weakens mobility, strains joints, and impairs cardiovascular health, forcing the heart to pump harder & faster to meet the heavy fitness demands of heavy body. Ironically, cardio exercise is great for fat loss.
Training on an Empty Stomach
Let’s quickly dispel a couple myths: skipping breakfast doesn’t dismantle your metabolism (hence, the popularity of intermittent fasting) and training on an empty stomach won’t destroy your strength gains. Quite the contrary in fact, as the fasted body state has been shown to support anabolic bodybuilder gains through the following bio-pathways:
- Improved insulin sensitivity – Eating provokes insulin activity, which nullifies insulin receptor sensitivity. Improving this also leads to an improvement in energy, muscular circulation, & fat loss.
- Increased growth hormone activity – No muscle gains without growth hormone. There’s no way around this. Training itself boosts GH, but fasting further boosts the hormone.
- Enhanced post-workout absorption – After working out, it’s protein & post-workout time. Fasting prior to a workout helps the body absorb post-workout nutrition faster & efficiently.
Not to say that exercising during a feed state nullifies the benefits of working out — in fact, certain Pre-workout nutrients may enhance your athletic strength performance. Nor should you necessarily starve yourself before exercising (no passing out on the squat rack!), however fasting for a reasonable length of time may do wonders for the shredding bodybuilders & athletes.
Are fat burners safe?
When it comes to supplementing fat burners, there are two things to look out for:
- Stimulants – Ingredients that elevate blood pressure, heart rate, etc.
- Bad Interactions – Supplements that combine too many ingredients.
And even in the latter case the supplements that are especially risky are the ones that combine too many stimulants or even too many ingredients that react poorly with stimulants. However, on the whole, the answer to this question is: Yes, fat burners are safe — especially if you’re exercising, dieting, & hydrating well, which is pretty much necessary to get the most out of these supplements.
Do Fat Burners have Side Effects?
In the cases of excess stimulation and/or bad ingredient interactions, the side effects of fat burners tend to be mild, erring on the side of headaches, upset stomach, irritability, light-headedness, insomnia, inattention, and so on. Not that these side effects are so mild that they don’t warrant your attention. Taken to their limits these side effects may product significantly adverse effects, particularly for users who are sensitive to stimulants and/or unaware of how much stimulation they’re getting in a day (as is usually the case with coffee & soda drinkers). Consistently increasing your heart rate, blood pressure, fight-or-flight pathways, etc. may take a lasting toll on your health & fitness.
Are Fat Burners Legal?
Today, most fat burners on the market are legal, but there are a few that are banned — most notably: ephedra or ephedrine-like substances. One of the most popular iterations of ephedra supplementation is the ECA stack: ephedra + caffeine + aspirin. Due to cases of heart attack, stroke, & death, ECA popularity has lead to the illegalization of ephedra. Other synthetics such as 2,4-dinitrophenol (DNP) are also illegal due to safety concerns — although this hasn’t stopped manufacturers from continually finding the next best legal/soon-to-be-illegal thing, forever winning a losing battle.
How Best 5 Picks the Best Fat Burner Supplements
To learn how to buy the best quality supplements in general — fat burners, test boosters, nootropics, preworkouts, etc. — check out the Best5 How to Buy a Good Supplement guide.
For fat burners in particular, we have a particular list of criteria we abide by in reviewing & determining the worth of fat burner supplements. Here is a quick bulletin point list on our Best5 rating system for fat burners:
- Design – Do we know what the formula is intended for?
- Combinations – Ingredients that synergy & multiply each other’s effects
- Versatility – Variety of ingredients for multiple fat burning pathways
- Healthy — Fat burners should only burn fat, nothing else
- Quality – Premium, potent, & clean formulas for fast, effective delivery
- Research – Amateur reviews rest on placebo; we rely on research
- Tolerability – Not everyone can/should handle fat burning stimulants
- Service – Good customer service, shipping, & money-back guarantees
- Value – We’re looking for a positive fat-burn:price ratio
- Cleanliness – Clean fat burns come free of fake flavors & fillers
Caffeine content (& other fat burning stimulants) marks another important criteria in determining who should take a fat burner and how. Plenty of research backs the use of stimulants for fat loss, yet not everyone is safe to take them. We don’t disqualify products that use stimulants but do make note of it to warn consumers of highly stimulating and thus potentially risky fat burner supplements.
Best Fat Burner Product Details
#1: Instant Knockout by Roar Ambition
Winner of back-to-back Best5 yearly Best Fat Burner Supplements reviews (for 2016 and our current year 2017 #1-ranked champ), Instant Knockout has held the top spot for awhile now, burning pounds & pounds of fat with its heavy-hitting, high quality fat burner ingredients. And the ingredients aren’t even the best part of this supplement: Check out that awesome, in-your-face bottle design!
Fat Burner Effects
- Punch to the Gut: Herbal extracts demonstrated to improve fat loss & composition.
- Brain & Body: Metabolic benefits for cognition & fat loss.
- Fat-Loss Fiber: Take with water to maximize glucomannan’s “filling” fibers.
- Blood sugar balance to maintain hunger pangs and well-fueled performance.
- Designed with MMA fighters in mind, gearing towards the lean but mean athletes.
Instant Knockout Ingredients
- Green Tea Extract (Leaf): Our favorite fat burner brought to us in a solid 500 mg dosage, packing the 2nd heaviest punch in this formula.
- Green Coffee Extract (Bean): Helps regulate glucose absorption & metabolism, blocking unnecessary fat build-up while stabilizing blood sugar.
- Cayenne Powder (Fruit): Supa hot addition of cayenne powder for the thermogenesis aspect of fat burning, potentially providing a stimulating neurotransmitter effect as well.
- Glucomannan (Konjac Root): The heaviest punch in this formula, sitting on 1800 mg, complementing Instant Knockout’s other fat burners with its appetite control.
- Caffeine Anhydrous: 300 mg caffeine — that’s a serious blow to the head. Think: 95 mg equals about 1 cup (8 oz) of coffee… Step off, Starbucks.
- Black Pepper Extract: Not only improves fat burning but enhances Instant Knockout’s nutrient absorption power, increasing the product’s bioavailability.
- Vitamin B6 (as Pyridoxine HCl): Accompanies the next ingredient (B12) for B vitamin-energized cognition & metabolism.
- Vitamin B12 (as Cyanocobalamin): Ditto.
- Zinc (as Zinc Oxide): Great for the sweaty athletes, replenishing mineral zinc reserves, which are essential to healthy testosterone levels.
- GTF Chromium (as Picolinate): Chromium delivered in the correct GTF (glucose tolerance factor) picolinate form.
Instant Knockout Formula Features
- The Big Three: Green Tea Extract, Cayenne, & Glucomannan.
- Heavy-hitting 300 mg caffeine, roughly equal to 3.16 cups of coffee.
- Large dosage of unique fat burner X-factor Glucomannan for appetite control.
- Black pepper extract for enhanced nutrient absorption.
- 90-day “Iron Clad” money-back guarantee.
- One of the coolest bottles on the market.
Any Drawbacks?
While the actual fat burner ingredients are spot-on, the auxiliary items, the vitamins & mineral — Vitamin B6, B12, & Zinc — could use improvement, e.g., Zinc Oxide upgraded to Zinc Citrate or Picolinate (as Instant Knockout does with Chromium Picolinate). Not that these improvements would improve Instant Knockout’s fat burns …but it’s the only drawback we could find to take up this space.
Summary
Instant Knockout is our favorite fat burner going on two years straight for its no-BS, non-proprietary, get-to-the-damn-point design. MMA fighters: Here’s the fat burner & cognitive enhancer you’ve been looking for. Everyone else: Yeah, you too — so long as you can handle the extreme-o caffeine content.
#2: LeanMode by EVLUTION NUTRITION
LeanMode Engaged. The name says it all: LeanMode is a supplement that puts you in lean mode, burning off the flab so you’re also ready for BeachMode, PartyMode, and all the other fun SocialModes out there. EVLUTION NUTRITION has a knack for delivering powerful, potent bro-supps of exceptional quality & quantity, and LeanMode is no exception: The serving sizes are large, the extracts are standardized, and the price is super affordable.
Fat Burner Effects
- 1-2-3 Bio-activity: Burn Fat, Boost Metabolism, Suppress Appetite.
- Stimulant-Free: No caffeine, synephrine, or chemical stimulation.
- Potential “Positive Mood” effect via Garcinia Cambogia.
- Antioxidant fat-burning activity and free radical protection.
LeanMode Ingredients
- Garcinia Cambogia Extract: Multi-powered fat burner, targeting multiple metabolic pathways: fat storage enzyme inhibition, fat breakdown, appetite control. Best taken before meals.
- Green Coffee Bean Extract: Standardized to a potent 50% chlorogenic acids, compounds believed to regulate fat metabolism & blood sugar. For best results, take GCBE while exercising.
- CLA (Conjugated Linoleic Acid): When combined with exercise, CLA seems to support a lean & manly body composition, promoting muscle gains that are free from flabby fat.
- Acetyl-L-Carnitine: Furthers LeanMode’s body composition advantage, transporting fatty acids for mitochondrial energy production, creating a two-in-one fat-to-muscle benefit.
- Green Tea Extract: LeanMode’s green tea extract looks awesome, standardized to a minimum 60% EGCG on a sizable 250 mg dosage.
LeanMode Formula Features
- Quality, potent herbal extracts standardized to their bioactive constituents.
- Non-proprietary formula of hefty individual ingredient dosages.
- 3 capsule servings, up to 2 servings daily.
- Reasonable pricing, typically under $20 for either size.
Any Drawbacks?
The “Stimulant Free” feature is polarizing as stimulants encompass a key feature of weight loss supplements, due to the well-demonstrated fat burning benefits of stimulants. Having said that, fat burners often overdo it on the stimulation, so this drawback may be only so bad as having to stack LeanMode with a side of coffee.
Summary
LeanMode stokes the fire without revving up the engine, engaging a “slow burn” that won’t have you bouncing off the walls all morning, crashing hard by mid-afternoon. The clean, transparent design is nearly out-of-place for a product of this price, which we take as further evidence of EVLUTION NUTRITION being the real deal.
#3: Shred JYM by Jym Supplement Science
Formulated by the one-&-only Jim Stoppani, the most ripped man with a Ph.D attached to his name, Shred JYM is a get-shredded fat burner aimed at fat loss with a bitter orange stimulant flavor. Topping a fat dose of ALCAR (we’re talking 1,500 mg), Shred JYM mixes in an exciting, controversial caffeine + synephrine stimulant duo for quick, potent bursts of energy — so take with caution.
Fat Burner Effects
- 3-Step Pathway: Releases stored fat, transports fat to mitochondria, boosts metabolism for faster fat burns.
- Double dose of stimulation in the forms of caffeine & synephrine, the bitter orange replacement for ephedra.
- Patented, potent extracts: Capsimax® cayenne pepper and Advantra-Z® bitter orange.
- CAUTION: The aforementioned caffeine + synephrine is controversial and a potentially risky combination.
Shred JYM Ingredients
- Acetyl-L-Carnitine: Helps transport fatty acids to mitochondria, where they are burned for fuel. ALCAR doubles as a nootropic for elderly cognition as well.
- L-Tyrosine: Included for cognitive effect with slight fat burning potential, as L-tyrosine acts as a precursor to norepinephrine & dopamine.
- Green Tea Leaf Extract: The Best5 favorite back at it again, standardized to 98% polyphenols, 75% catechins, & 45% EGCG.
- Caffeine Anhydrous: Looking at a reasonable 200 mg here — not so much to have you vacuuming the curtains but enough to get you stimulated.
- Cayenne Pepper Extract (as Capsimax®): Quality patented brand of cayenne pepper extract, standardized to a potent concentrate of capsaicin.
- Synephrine (as Advantra-Z®): The active ingredient of bitter orange, delivered as another quality patented brand. Boosts metabolism and breaks down fat.
Shred JYM Formula Features
- Brands-on-brands: Capsimax® (cayenne extract) & Advantra-Z (bitter orange extract).
- High quality, high quantity green tea extract, stacked & standardized.
- 4-capsule servings, up to 3 times daily — or 600 mg caffeine daily.
- Availability only through Bodybuilding.com.
Any Drawbacks?
We’ve already mentioned it twice but we’ll bring it up just one more time: The caffeine + synephrine duo is not for the faint of heart, literally — this 1-2 stimulative punch is risky for users with high stimulant sensitivity and/or cardio issues. While Shred JYM delivers a mild dosage of synephrine, the extract may still take a toll if supplemented 2-3 times daily.
Summary
Shred JYM is a well-formulated, highly credible fat burner that missed our best of 2016 list only to end up at the #3 spot on our 2017 edition. The formula stands out with its short, sweet, science-backed stack of clearly displayed ingredients & dosages, allowing us (& our readers) to buy this product with confidence.
#4: INCINER-8 by Bodybuilding.com
Manufactured & sold by Bodybuilding.com, INCINER-8 is an 8-Stage Fat Burning Matrix — each of those 8 stages belonging respectively to each of INCINER-8’s 8 ingredients. It’s sort of like the Hateful Eight, minus the hate. Let’s call it the Loveful Eight, as in we love the 8 ingredients in this super hot fat burner.
Fat Burner Effects
- 8-Angled Attack: INCINER-8 stacks 8 ingredients for 8 stages of fat burning, with all dosages shown.
- 7-Keto & 5-HTP combine for increases in natural chemicals DHEA & serotonin, a unique pathway to fat burner supplements.
- INCINER-8 carries 100 mg caffeine, a reasonable amount in an otherwise caffeine-saturated market.
- Miracle Fruit: Gymnema sylvestre offers considerable appetite & blood sugar control.
INCINER-8 Ingredients
- DHEA Acetate-7-One (as 7-Keto®): Known as “DHEA Lite,” this patented prohormone supplies the DHEA metabolite associated with fat loss.
- L-Carnitine Tartrate (as Carnipure®): The preferred form (LCLT) for bodybuilders, demonstrated to support lean muscle gains.
- Capsicum Extract (as Capsimax®): Cayenne pepper extract is back as Capsimax, a potent extract standardized for fat burning capsaicin.
- GreenSelect® Phytosome™ Proprietary Extract: Bioavailable standardized green tea extract brought to us by Phytosome (who is brought by INCINER-8).
- Caffeine Anhydrous: Caffeine powder delivered at a mild, manageable 100 mg, which roughly equals a single cup of coffee (8 fl oz).
- 5-HTP: Precursor compound to serotonin and a potential appetite suppressant, making that two precursor compounds in this formula (the other being 7-Keto).
- Chromium Picolinate: The correct form of chromium for cholesterol balance & thermogenic fat burning.
- Gymnema Sylvestre Leaf Extract: Unique herbal ingredient standardized to 25% gymnemic acid, believed to help balance blood sugar & control appetite.
INCINER-8 Formula Features
- Non-proprietary display of individual ingredient dosages.
- Premium powered ingredients, stacking up at least 4 different brands.
- Reasonably priced with the added benefit its company being its retailer.
- Exclusive availability through Bodybuilding.com, this supp’s manufacturers.
Any Drawbacks?
The soy and FD&C #40. INCINER-8 may have an impressive ensemble of fat burning ingredients, but the other ingredients (as in literally the “Other Ingredients”) could use some cleaning up. We like the product’s overall design, but with regards to the pills this pretty design seems to come at the cost of unnecessary additives.
Summary
If anyone has insider knowledge on supplement manufacturing, it’s the guys/gals who sell the stuff. Bodybuilding.com hits it out of the park with INCINER-8, with a fat burning formula that’s clearly effective & confident in its efficacy, as revealed by the formula’s non-proprietary stance. Everything in this supplement is shown on the Supplement Facts, and everything shown in the Supplement Facts looks good.
#5: Jet Fuel Superburn by GAT
Team GAT, one of the industry leaders in sports nutrition and a favorite among bodybuilders, delivers an industrial-strength and instant bodybuilding classic with Jet Fuel Superburn, a High Impact Metabolic Intensifier that earns this descriptor with stimulants on stimulants on stimulants: The Superburn Stimulant blend is one of the hottest we’ve seen, amplifying energy & fat burns for elite-grade athletes & meat heads.
Fat Burner Effects
- Steel-Melting Burns: Caffeine + Synephrine + Yohimbine amps up energy & heart-rate (take with CAUTION).
- Triple-Tea Sources: Provides a fuller antioxidant spectrum than just one type of tea (theoretically speaking).
- Cognitive Enhancement: Nootropic adaptogens make an appearance in this formula to smooth out the stimulation.
Jet Fuel Superburn Ingredients
- Caffeine Anhydrous: Not quite the massive 300 mg found in Instant Knockout but close, sitting on a hefty 275 mg.
- Bitter Orange Extract (as AdvantraZ®): Advantra-Z back at it again, notching in a much higher 150 mg that’s sure to get your heart pumping.
- Cayenne Pepper Extract: Standardized to 40,000 SHU, a potent concentrate to make up for a mild dosage.
- Yohimbe Bark Extract: More heart-racing stimulation. Believed to “free” up epinephrine & norepinephrine to enhance the body’s natural fat-burning potential.
- Triple-Tea Antioxidant Blend: Stacks black, green, & white tea extracts to theoretically supply a comprehensive composite of fat burning antioxidant tea compounds.
- Olive Leaf Extract: Potentially enhances synephrine’s fat burning effect, while containing antioxidants & immune boosting bioactivities.
- Ashwagandha Root Extract: Common to testosterone boosters & nootropics, ashwagandha is an anti-stress adaptogen with calming, strengthening bio-effects.
- Lemon Balm 4:1 Extract: Well-demonstrated anxiolytic & mood balancing ingredient. Potent calm balm at a 4:1 concentration.
- L-Theanine: More calming anxiolysis, in the form of a Best5 BIG List Nootropic favorite. L-theanine maintains calm thinking in the face of heavy stimulation.
- Evodia rutaecarpa 4:1 Extract: May further even out the stimulatory edge of Jet Fuel for its impairment on caffeine. Some thermogenic activity present.
- Medium Chain Triglycerides: Just simple, smart nutrition — MCT that aids nutrient metabolism and the high-fat/low-carb diet.
- Black Pepper Extract (as Bioperine®): Our dear friend BioPerine, a smart addition to any supplement, but especially smart for fat burners due to its nutrient absorption benefit.
Jet Fuel Superburn Formula Features
- Long ingredient list, yet with mostly adequate dosages. A rare feat in the supp game.
- Ingredient blends categorized by bio-activity, kept non-proprietary for product-to-consumer transparency. Noice.
- 3-capsule servings, taken up to 2 times daily — or up to 550 mg caffeine/day.
- Higher-end pricing, available through various online & retail stores.
Any Drawbacks?
Perhaps the most stimulating product on this review, Jet Fuel Superburn proves that in fact jet fuel does melt steel beams, mixing an exciting, excessive? trio of stimulants: Caffeine, Synephrine, & Yohimbine. This isn’t a supplement to sit on: Take Jet Fuel, then get off your ass and get to the gym.
Summary
Jet Fuel Superburn clearly isn’t for everyone. It isn’t a beginner stack intended to kickstart your fat burning endeavors but rather an advanced formula for the fat burning, bodybuilding veterans. You’ll need some major mass to handle this stimulation, so consider this stack the next-level of fat burning after you’ve already accomplished significant muscle gains.
Conclusion
The fat burner supplement genre is riddled with snake oil and snake oil salesmen. It’s a HUGE market full of various ingredients & supplements, and when you get caught up in the noise & the phenomena of each and every “miracle weight loss fruit” and “this secret pill will melt off tummy fat in MINUTES,” then it becomes very difficult & confusing to discern not only which fat burner actually works but do fat burners work?
The answer is Yes — even though there is no such thing as a miracle weight loss fruit or tummy fat-targeting pill. There are plenty of fat burners that work. And there are plenty of fat burners that are complete bogus.
That’s why we have Best5: To filter through the bogus & BS to get to the supplements that work. A great way to join us in that journey is to check out our constantly updated category of fat burner product reviews, in which we’ve reviewed the most popular supplements sold by various sellers, e.g., Amazon, Walmart, GNC and even the little guys — as well as the unpopular supplements that you should still take a look at. Our goal is to trim the fat on the fat burner market to get to the core supplements that are actually worth your time & money.