Getting ripped means dropping your body fat to at least below the 8 percent mark for men and 12 percent for women. Now, we can all diet, but the real trick isn’t losing weight; it’s losing fat and keeping the muscle. Unfortunately, when you diet by just cutting back on calories, your plasma T3 (the active thyroid hormone) decreases. This drop in T3 is a survival mechanism in that it decreases metabolic rate and fat utilization to preserve energy. The body thinks you’re starving and tries to conserve energy by decreasing your metabolic rate. The end result is your fat losses decrease dramatically. To counteract this drop in thyroid hormone, athletes sometimes use thyroid drugs such as Cytomel and Triacana. Unfortunately, these drugs signal the body to reduce your own natural thyroid production, which leaves you thyroid-deficient for varying periods of time and thus more likely to pack the fat back on in record time. But the good news is, you may be able to get lean and mean with branchedchain amino acids (BCAAs). Researchers have shown that BCAAs may be useful in maintaining lean body mass and losing body fat while dieting. In this study, 25 competitive athletes restricted their calorie intakes for 19 days to determine the effects on body composition and performance versus a normal calorie-control diet. They used one of four diet plans; A low-calorie “control” diet, A low-calorie, high-protein diet, A low-calorie, high-BCAA diet, A low-calorie, low-protein diet.
Measurements were taken by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) obtained before and after dieting. The largest body weight loss and decrease in body fat percentage were observed in subjects of the low-calorie, high BCAA group (0.4 grams per pound of body weight per day—in other words, a 180-pound athlete was eating 72 grams of BCAAs per day). Subjects in this group exhibited a significant reduction in intra-abdominal adipose tissue. There was no change in aerobic (VO2 max) and anaerobic performance or in muscular strength. The authors concluded that under their experimental conditions, the combination of moderate energy restriction and BCAA supplementation induced significant and preferential losses of intra-abdominal fat and allowed maintenance of a high level However, there are also terriffic BCAA supplements available on the of performance. Bottom line: The use of BCAA supplements may help you retain muscle mass, lose body fat, and maintain strength when you’re dieting. One of the best sources of BCAAs is whey protein—a 50-gram serving contains over 12 grams market worth using.