Best Vegan Fat Burner 2020

Now, wait one, hot minute: vegans can get fat?? But I thought that only non-vegans are the fatties!

While the “vegan lifestyle” brand almost always seems to be associated with being slim, hot and shrink-wrapped in skin-tight Lululemon attire, the truth is that most vegans outside of Instagram are still human.

This means that vegans endure many of the same human problems as other humans, including getting fat.

Because “vegan” doesn’t 100% translate to “healthy.”

Though it’s undoubtedly healthier in many aspects of nutrition and fitness.

So, what’s a fat vegan to do?

Well, more or less the same things that fat non-vegans do…

…except with a few vegan-friendly adjustments:

exercise
eat better
maybe adopt an intermittent fasting schedule
and, yes, look into taking a fat burner supplement. One that’s actually safe and healthy for long-term use (many can cause side effects).

But what does a safe, healthy, vegan fat burner look like? And what’s the best vegan fat burner out there?

Well, be patient, because we’re about to tell you!

Table of Contents

Vegan’s Fat Burner Guide

Before tackling the best vegan fat burner ingredients and supplement to buy in 2020, we should briefly recap how fat burners do what they do. Or at least how the best vegan fat burners work, lest we mistake an ineffective or unsafe fat burning supplement for the real deal.

Because we only deal in real here, baby.

How Do They Work?

Fat burners don’t “miraculously melt away” fat, as so many TV personalities and phony ads claim. Any supplements that make these claims are off-the-bat unreliable, because that’s not how any fat burner work.

Maybe if you literally set yourself on fire, miraculous fat loss may occur. Otherwise, the bio-mechanisms of the best vegan fat burners are much healthier and safe.

Fat burner supplements work by addressing the following:

Energy Expenditure (Thermogenesis)

We don’t lose fat the way we lose our keys. Fat doesn’t simply disappear but rather chemically alters into energy by a process called thermogenesis.

In a fat burning context, calories, as units of energy, measure how much fat is converted into energy, typically the type of energy used during high-intensity activities, such as exercise.

However, simply maintaining a baseline healthy body requires rigor upkeep in the form of energy expenditure, and more so with increased muscle mass. The more meat, the more heat.

Fat burner supplements may improve fat loss by increasing your body’s calorie-burning potential through the encouraged preference and release of stored fat as energy.

Fat Breakdown (Lipolysis)

The enzyme lipase supports fat loss and thermogenesis by catalyzing lipolysis, which is the breakdown of triglycerides, the basic building blocks of fat, into glycerol and three fatty acids. This process allows for the mobilization of stored fat during fasting and exercise to be used for the creation of cellular ATP energy.

Fat burners accomplish this by promoting the activity of catecholamines (e.g., norepinephrine, epinephrine), a class of excitatory neurochemicals, and cAMP (cyclic adenosine monophosphate), a compound associated with fat loss and muscle growth.

Adipogenesis (Fat Cell Formation)

You drink your gluten-free, vegan, Oreo milkshake under the pretense that “vegan milkshake” is somehow healthy for you, you go to sleep. And—*BWAM!*—now you’re fat!

No, fortunately and unfortunately, this is not the case.

I say “fortunately” because that means you can have your occasional milkshake without drastically changing your body shape overnight. I say “unfortunately” because that also means that not having a milkshake won’t suddenly give you a lean, mean bod overnight.

This is because adipogenesis, the formation of fat cells gradually builds up fat tissue in such a subtle way that once you notice the jiggle, you’ve accumulated a significant enough amount of fat that will take a significant amount of time to lose. However, some fat burner ingredients may help reduce the formation of new fat cells by inhibiting processes involved in adipogenesis.

Appetite and Craving Control

The occasional milkshake doesn’t hurt. The daily milkshake does.

However, the daily milkshake only becomes a thing when your cravings go uncontrolled. Fat burners may help provide some appetite and craving control to your life.

Compared to stimulants which neutralize appetite altogether, to such an healthy degree that your body completely fails to register hunger when it’s truly starving for nutrition, fat burners simply neutralize excessive food cravings. Meaning that animal-like desire to continue eating beyond the point of satiation.

That part of you that hears of cake and ice cream and, even though you just had a fat dinner, tells your brain: Feed me the cake!

Fat burners tell that part of you to please STFU.

Which Ingredients Should Vegans Look for in a Fat Burner Supplement

Frankly, both vegans and non-vegans should look for more or less the same fat burning ingredients.

What helps a vegan burn fat also helps non-vegans burn fat. Having said that, there’s a difference between natural fat burners and synthetic fat burners (namely stimulants) that may be of particular interest to those following a more natural vegan lifestyle.

All the following fat burners are natural and vegan-friendly—and, most importantly, they work. Check ‘em out:

Coleus Forskohlii Extract

Plant fat burners, baby. Er, not plant fat, as in fat on a plant, but a plant that burns our fat. Human fat… you get what I mean. And that plant is Coleus forskohlii, a popular botanical used in several types of supplements, such as testosterone boosters, sex enhancers, and, yes, fat burners.

But don’t go for any ol’ Coleus forskohlii. Instead, look for a Coleus forskohlii extract that supplies a standardized minimum 10% forskolin, the bio-active constituent of this fat burning plant. Plain powder won’t cut it. But a potent extract of forskolin may help us burn fat by:

Increasing activity of cAMP, an organic compound that helps regulate metabolism, thermogenesis, anabolic hormones, and thyroid hormones;
Promoting activity of lipase, the enzyme responsible for catalyzing the breakdown of triglycerides, the basic units of body fat.

The combined efforts of fat loss and lean muscle gains makes forskolin more of a bodybuilding compound than a straight-up, quote-unquote “weight loss” ingredient. It promotes weight redistribution to prioritize muscle over fat gains. Groovy!

HMB (β-Hydroxy β-Methylbutyrate)

A naturally produced substance in the body, HMB is the real deal when it comes to sculpting the bod. This is perhaps more aptly described as a muscle gains booster than simply as a fat burner, but the benefits do overlap.

Ever heard of branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs)?

Of course, you have: they’re awesome aminos that assist with muscle recovery and all that jazz.

Well, HMB is a BCAA metabolite, one whose bio-activities benefit muscle growth (and fat loss) in ways that are particularly useful during fasting conditions. For the intermittent faster seeking the fat loss benefits of fasted training, HMB may help sustain muscle gains by blocking muscle-damaging enzymes and acids associated with fasting.

We want to lose fat weight, not necessarily muscle weight, right?

What’s more, HMB also encourages the body to prioritize stored fat as exercise fuel rather than muscle protein. This both protects muscle gains and ramps up fat loss for those exercising on an empty stomach.

Cayenne Pepper Extract

Cayenne burns fat?? Yes, but before you start guzzling mouthfuls of cayenne pepper (that’s right, put the shaker down!), realize that cayenne pepper extract provides this pepper’s fat burning benefits—not just standalone cayenne pepper, the stuff you cook with.

By condensing the pepper’s capsaicinoid content, the bio-active constituents of cayenne, a good cayenne pepper extract supplies capsaicinoids’ thermogenic properties into a more potent, packed delivery format. Once activated inside your body, these capsaicinoids help melt fat by increasing your calorie-burning potential while also mitigating appetite and cravings.

These effects seem to compound and work particularly well with the next fat burner ingredient.

Black Pepper Extract (as BioPerine®)

A little pepper can go a long way. In tiny doses, BioPerine® can significantly improve the value of a formula, fat burner or otherwise.

As a fat burner, black pepper extract supplies piperine, the spicy component of …well, black pepper—a spice that seems to significantly improve the body’s calorie-burning potential. Altogether, the fat loss benefits of this bad boi include:

Increasing energy expenditure (thermogenesis);
Promoting food digestion and metabolism;
Inhibiting the formation of fat cells.

The second listed benefit (promoting food digestion and metabolism) is what makes BioPerine® so effective at increasing a supplement formula’s value. By enhancing nutrient absorption, black pepper extract increases the bio-availability of its fellow ingredients, thereby allowing more of its formula’s bio-active ingredients to enter the body.

Essential Vitamins and Minerals

It’s difficult to achieve any of your metabolic health goals without sufficient nutrient levels. The body simply fails to function properly while deficient in all of the essential micronutrients that co-facilitate your body’s bio-pathways. Taking a comprehensive multivitamin complex may significantly assist with your fat loss goals—and more.

The most common micronutrient deficiencies among vegans and vegetarians involve the likes of vitamin B12, vitamin D, and zinc.

Yes, many plants are zinc-heavy. However, the phytic acid found in plants may impair zinc absorption, increasing the necessity of zinc supplementation, especially among men who require zinc for testosterone synthesis.

Ensuring adequate vitamin and mineral levels is perhaps the first place to start when considering supplements to lose fat. For more on vegan multivitamin supplements, check out our Best Vegan Multivitamin guide: link here.

What About Caffeine and Other Stimulants?

Caffeine and other stimulants do help with fat loss. And they are, for the most part, vegan; although there’s much controversy around the environmental impact of today’s coffee bean farming practices. Nonetheless… caffeine and stimulants, such as synephrine, do qualify as vegan, and they do help burn fat.

So, why then do we view a “non-stim” fat burner as such a positive? Well, there are a few reasons for this, namely:

The modern diet isn’t exactly caffeine-deficient.
Stimulants can adversely impact heart and cardio health.
Overstimulation may have counterproductive metabolic effects.

If you can lose weight without the stimulation, best you try that route first. (Plus, you still have the option to down a stim-free supplement with a cup of coffee, if you feel so inclined.) With that in mind, aside from non-stimulant, what other criteria makes for the best vegan fat burner that money can buy in 2020?

Best 5 Supplement’s Criteria for the Best Vegan Fat Burner 2020

In our How to Buy a Good Supplement guide, we go through the ins and outs of buying a good supplement. Briefly, and particularly for vegan fat burners, we’re looking for:

Synergy: does the ingredient combination make sense?
Potency: are the ingredients top quality and effective?
Safety: can we take the supplement daily without side effects?
Clean: are there any junky, harmful additives?
Well-Studied: is there any research to back the ingredients up?
Pricing: is there an actual return on investment in terms of fat loss?
Company Reputation: do the manufacturers seem shady or nah?

And of course: are there any animal products, byproducts, etc. in the formula? Is the supplement actually vegan inside and out, or is the stack only brandishing the organic “O” for marketing purposes?

Here’s a fat burner supplement that meets all these standards.

Best Vegan Fat Burner 2020: Performance Lab SPORT Fat Burner

*To Buy or Learn More, Visit: www.performancelab.com

Here it is, the best vegan fat burner that money can buy in 2020: Performance Lab Fat Burner, an all-natural, all-vegan, eco-friendly, non-GMO, non-stim, non-caffeinated, uhm… no-prisoners, no-mercy, hard-working, safe, as-seen-on-TV, really-good fat burning supplement.

Actually, I don’t know about the TV part because I don’t really watch TV anymore, but this fat burner should be on TV because it’s great.

What makes Performance Lab SPORT Fat Burner so great is that, in addition to burning fat, this supplement promotes lean muscle growth as well.

Fasted training, exercising on an empty stomach is one of the best methods of losing fat mass while also building body (i.e., muscle).

By encouraging the body to use fat as energy instead of muscle protein, this supplement provides significant advantages to the muscle-toning, fat-burning bodybuilder.

Let’s take a closer look:

Performance Lab Fat Burner Supplement Facts

*To Buy or Learn More, Visit: www.performancelab.com

Only four ingredients encapsulated in the one and only (and obviously vegan) Plantcaps® capsules. Nothing more, nothing less—and, most importantly, no sneaky insertions of animal byproducts, like gelatin, or stimulants, like a bunch of cheap caffeine. Only a few, fiery fat burners made of plants n’ stuff.

This is one of the cleanest, greenest, meanest fat burner supplements on the market. It’s an awesome fat burner supplement for vegans and non-vegans alike, qualifying it as perhaps the best (and healthiest) fat burner supplement period.

Bonus Vegan Point: Plantcaps® Capsules

Of course, for a supplement to qualify as vegan, all the formula’s ingredients must avoid animal products and byproducts while ideally having no indirect impact on the quality of animal lives. Basically, no animal stuff in the formula. Plants are A-Okay.

Performance Lab SPORT Fat Burner qualifies as vegan on that front: no animal stuff in the formula. However, the supplement also avoids animal stuff in the delivery of the formula as well—i.e., in the capsules and additives. Which, actually, the capsule is the only additive here: no artificial colorants, flavors, dyes, lubricants, etc. Only Plantcaps® capsules, a plant-based cap constructed out of fermented tapioca (pullulan).

Why is this important? Well, for one, because this means the supplement is vegan inside and out. And, for two, these capsules aren’t only plant-based but eco-friendly, too. So, we’re not seeing anything here having any indirectly negative consequences on the environment.

And that’s so effing dope, doods.

Final Thoughts

Does burning fat provide any substantial barriers to vegans, as compared to non-vegans? Not really. If anything, the vegan lifestyle seems more conducive to not attaining fat at all in the first place. However, when it comes to bodybuilding and building lean muscle mass, there are some metabolic concerns worth addressing, especially if your vegan lifestyle involves calorie restrictions.

Because you need calories to build lean muscle mass.

And odds are you don’t want your calorie intake to involve a bunch of unnaturally sweetened, artificially enhanced proteins. Performance Lab SPORT Fat Burner may help sustain muscle growth under such conditions. However, to take it to the next level, there are also other vegan sport supplements worth considering that ensure better anabolic muscle gains in the face of fat loss.

To learn more about these, head to Performance Lab’s list of SPORT supplements here—and see for yourself which of these plant-based sport stacks (which include BCAA, Pre and Post Workout, may help you with your fitness and physique goals.

To learn more about Performance Lab Fat Burner, click here.

Vegan’s Fat Burner Guide