Amino Acids for Weight Loss – Do Supplements Work?

[samgraves82]

What Are Amino Acids and Essential Amino Acids?
Amino acids are small molecules that link together to make larger protein molecules. They are often referred to as the building blocks of proteins. There are 20 amino acids the human body needs to grow and function. Eleven of these we can metabolize, but nine must be consumed. These nine are the essential amino acids, or EAAs:

Histidine
Isoleucine
Leucine
Lysine
Methionine
Phenylalanine
Threonine
Tryptophan
Valine
All animal products—meat, poultry, fish, dairy, eggs—contain the essential amino acids. To get all the EAAs in a plant-based diet it is important to eat a variety of foods that contain some number of the nine: whole grains, legumes, vegetables, seeds, and nuts. Soy, quinoa, and buckwheat are the only plants that have all of the EAAs and make a complete protein.

Amino acids play a number of important roles in the body and for good health, not least of which is in the building and maintenance of proteins and muscle tissue. Other reasons we need these molecules in our diets include:

Synthesizing hormones
Synthesizing neurotransmitters
Regulating immune function
Producing and regulating energy
Building structural proteins for connective tissue in joints and skin
Absorbing essential minerals
Regulating blood sugar
Protecting nerve cells
It isn’t difficult for most people to get enough amino acids through their diet. But, many choose to supplement protein or even specific amino acids. You can find supplements for specific single amino acids or for groups of amino acids, such as the EAAs.

Check out this essential guide for your female clients: everything you need to know about women and protein.

How Do Amino Acids Work for Weight Loss?
There are many studies that have investigated the potential for amino acid supplementation to support muscle development and weight loss. How these molecules fuel greater weight loss is complicated, but there are a few possible answers:

Amino Acid Supplements May Boost Performance
One way supplementing with amino acids may help you lose more weight is through a boost in exercise performance. If these supplements can give you more energy, relieve fatigue, and improve recovery times, you can maximize workouts to burn more calories and lose weight.

There is some evidence from research that amino acid supplements do just that. A study of 16 athletes found that supplementing with amino acids improved strength training performance, improved recovery after workouts, and reduced soreness in muscles post-workout. (1)

Increasing the Fat Burn
Multiple studies have shown that there may be a boost in fat burning when you supplement with amino acids. An increase in metabolizing fat will definitely lead to greater weight loss if it truly works. One study showed that daily amino acid supplementation decreased the percentage of body fat in men already heavily involved in strength training. The decrease was significant compared to men who used whey protein or just sports drinks after workouts. (2)

Unfortunately, there have been other studies looking to find out if amino acid supplementation can burn more fat, but with mixed results. There needs to be more work and better studies to find out if it is really the supplement that promotes fat loss or if there are other factors involved.

Help your clients learn how to burn fat, not muscle as they lose weight. Check out this ISSA blog post on the subject.

Using Amino Acids for Weight Loss May Promote Muscle Building
The potential ability of amino acid supplements to increase fat burn may be related to muscle growth. The more muscle mass you have, the greater the potential you have for losing fat and burning calories. Muscle tissue uses more energy than fat tissue, so as you build up muscle, your metabolism revs up and you burn more calories.

So, if amino acid supplementation can help you build more muscle, it can potentially boost weight loss. The key here may be to supplement with BCAAs, or branched-chain amino acids. Of the nine essential amino acids, three have a structure with branched chains: isoleucine, leucine, and valine. Leucine may be the most important of them all in terms of muscle growth.

There is evidence that these three amino acids play a bigger role in muscle building than the others, which is why BCAA supplements have become so popular in the weight room. Studies have shown that these amino acids may improve muscle development by activating certain enzymes after a workout. (3)

Researchers have also shown that BCAAs can help you maintain muscle mass even while restricting your diet. (4) This may mean these supplements are especially helpful in weight loss programs.

Stimulating Growth Hormone
Somatotropin, or STH, is a growth hormone that the body produces mostly at night, during sleep. It stimulates the building of protein from amino acids and the oxidation of fat. One way to burn fat and lose weight is to have more of this growth hormone. But you can’t just get a supplement or injection of it. What you may be able to do is supplement with the amino acids that stimulate the secretion of STH.

The essential amino acid methionine, and the non-essential amino acids arginine and glutamine, may be able to do this and promote weight loss. There is some evidence that taking these amino acid supplements on an empty stomach before bed can increase STH secretion and fat loss.

Blocking Fat Storage with Glutamine
There may be another reason to supplement with glutamine for greater weight loss. Glutamine can actually be converted to glucose, the sugar that provides the body’s main source of energy, and do so without impacting the hormones that stimulate fat storage.

This means that glutamine can provide energy without pushing the body to store extra energy as fat. It may also reduce cravings for some of the foods that tend to make us fat in the first place, namely sugar and alcohol.

The Limitations of BCAAs – Supplementing with EAAs
The evidence supporting the role of BCAAs in muscle development is strong, and this is already a popular supplement with weightlifters. But there is also proof that these three amino acids alone are not enough. What you really need to build muscle to support weight loss is all of the nine essential amino acids.

A study from 2017 supplemented participants with BCAA or a placebo after strength training workouts. The researchers concluded that BCAA supplementation does improve muscle growth, but that it has a limit. The better way to maximize gains in muscle tissue after working out, according to this study, is to supplement with all of the essential amino acids, not just BCAAs. (5)

A better choice, if you want to supplement with amino acids, is to find a product that includes all the EAAs, not just the BCAAs. There may be some added benefit to choosing an EAA supplement that includes extra BCAAs, especially leucine.

The Case for Reducing BCAAs
As if weight loss research and advice weren’t already confusing, now there is new evidence showing that a diet that restricts BCAAs may actually improve weight loss. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin found that a diet lower in BCAAs improved symptoms in patients with metabolic syndrome, a condition that includes high blood sugar, high cholesterol, and excessive abdominal fat. The diet with fewer BCAAs helped patients get leaner and regulate blood sugar. (6)

It’s important to realize that this study was conducted on lab mice, and results with lab animals don’t always translate to humans. Also, the mice in the study were obese, so the use of BCAAs in this way may only apply to people who are obese or have metabolic syndrome.

ISSA

REFERENCES

Waldron, M., Whelan, K., Jeffries, O., Burt, D., Howe, L., and Patterson, S.D. (2017). The Effects of Acute Branched-Chain Amino Acid Supplementation on Recovery from a Single Bout of Hypertrophy Exercise in Resistance-Trained Athletes. Appl. Physiol. Nutr. Metab. 42(6), 630-6. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28177706
Stoppani, J., Scheett, T., Pena, J., Rudolph, C., and Charlesbois, D. (2009). Consuming a Supplement Containing Branched-Chain Amino Acids During a Resistance-Training Program Increases Lean Mass, Muscle Strength, and Fat Loss. J. Int. Soc. Sports Nutr. 6(Suppl 1). Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3313152/
Blomstrand, E., Eliasson, J., Karlsson, H.K.R., and Kohnke, R. (2006). Branched-Chain Amino Acids Activate Key Enzymes in Protein Synthesis after Physical Exercise. The Journal of Nutrition. 136(1), 269S-73S. Retrieved from https://academic.oup.com/jn/article/136/1/269S/4664134
Dudgeon, W.D., Kelley, E.P., and Scheett, T.P. (2016). In a Single-Bind, Matched Group Design: Branched-Chain Amino Acid Supplementation and Training Maintains Lean Body Mass During a Caloric Restricted Diet. J. Int. Soc. Sports Nutr. 13(1). Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26733764
Jackman, S.R., Witard, O.C., Philp, A., Wallis, G.A., Baar, K., and Tipton, K.D. (2017). Branched-Chain Amino Acid Ingestion Stimulates Muscle Myofibrillar Protein Synthesis Following Resistance Exercise in Humans. Front. Physiol. Retrieved from https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10 ... 00390/full
University of Wisconsin-Madison, School of Medicine and Public Health. (2017, December 21). Study: Diet Limiting Specific Amino Acids May Be Key to Weight Loss. Retrieved from https://www.med.wisc.edu/news-and-event ... ight-loss/

[MONSTRO]

Probably the best or at least one of the best supplements for us athletes is EAA , is a must intra workout. Is the most pure protein source you can use ( perfect absortion , no fats, no carbs and also no lactose )

[DarrenW29]

Good posting and as we know monstro said too
Protein doesn’t store as fat here is a study

George Bray's study is causing a commotion in the web world. Will Brink [brinkzone.com] and Colin Champ [cavemandoctor.com] have blogged about it, and the abstract of the study has shown up on just about all forums on fitness, bodybuilding, strength training, weight loss and the paleodiet.
The researchers took 25 women aged between 18 and 35, with a BMI between 19 and 30, and determined how many calories a day they needed to keep their weight stable. Then they gave the women 954 calories a day more than they burned for eight weeks, so the women gained weight.
The researchers divided the women into three groups. The low protein diet group were given 5 percent protein; the normal protein diet group got 15 percent protein in their diet; and the high protein group 25 percent.
At the end of the eight weeks it looked as though the low protein diet group had done best. They had 'only' put on 3.6 kg. The normal protein diet subjects had put on 6.1 kg and the high protein diet subjects had put on 6.5 kg. But when the researchers looked at the changes in body composition, the picture changed.
The women in all three groups had gained 3.5 kg body fat. But when it came to lean body mass, the women in the low-protein diet group had lost 0.7 kg; the women in the normal protein diet group had gained 3.2 kg and the women in the high protein diet group had gained 4.0 kg.






Weight gain from eating more protein: more lean body mass, not more fat


Weight gain from eating more protein: more lean body mass, not more fat


Weight gain from eating more protein: more lean body mass, not more fat


Weight gain from eating more protein: more lean body mass, not more fat


Weight gain from eating more protein: more lean body mass, not more fat



The amount of energy that the women in the low protein diet group burned remained stable; in the other two groups the amount rose.
The study shows that the motto 'a calorie is a calorie' is not the case. Of course the total number of calories determined how much fat the subjects gained. But if you look at the protein intake you don't see this relationship. A higher protein intake resulted in more lean body mass build up, and did not correlate with the growth in fat mass.



Weight gain from eating more protein: more lean body mass, not more fat



The subjects in the experiment did no exercise. If they had done weight training, the results may have been even better. And if the study had gone on for longer the researchers may have seen that the fat mass of the high protein diet group actually decreased.
This is the first time that researchers have looked at subjects who have put on weight and looked at the effect of different concentrations of protein.

[MONSTRO]

This post is another proof that protein is the macro more hard to be stored as fat on body . I have more than proof this is true because i did something that most people will never do for sure . Be 1 year eating just protein

[DarrenW29]

With over 700g protein from chicken only
Now I supplement eaa intra and through out the day to support full recovery with l glutamine we need constant supply drinking eating

Many pro don’t eat this much protein but they go by what the coach says there’s always something someone who changes the sport and nutrition and all studies prove protein is the best macro can’t be stored and if using anabolics hgh insulin etc then your breakdown demand is high

Many pro look bloated off-season on cheatmeals then need to suffer during a cut not if you stay lean eat very high protein you grow lean and big

Only known pro is Samson his intake is 650 or so and Kai was at 700-1000

Any kidney issues then different story
But you want lean tissue no bloat thick skin protein eaa are essential and none of this bullshit carbohydrates are protein sparing

[MONSTRO]

What do you think about bloated gut from protein ? some coaches use very low protein and high carbs claiming that protein is more hard to digest . We see that on contest prep carb loading , if i use just rice is soft and easy to digest but if i use protein source i got more bloated . What i see right now using only protein is i pie alot

[DarrenW29]

What do you think about bloated gut from protein ? some coaches use very low protein and high carbs claiming that protein is more hard to digest . We see that on contest prep carb loading , if i use just rice is soft and easy to digest but if i use protein source i got more bloated . What i see right now using only protein is i pie alot

I think if we use rice products cream of rice white rice this digest the best with very minimal gut issues which is ideal here and no red meat anything high in fat make things slow down to much and digestion slow causing food to sit in stomach and with how much protein we consume fats would make this worse and further the issues and possibly leading to inflammation and undigested food issues

Lean meat chicken fish we digest easy quick and no issues

[MONSTRO]

What do you think about bloated gut from protein ? some coaches use very low protein and high carbs claiming that protein is more hard to digest . We see that on contest prep carb loading , if i use just rice is soft and easy to digest but if i use protein source i got more bloated . What i see right now using only protein is i pie alot

I think if we use rice products cream of rice white rice this digest the best with very minimal gut issues which is ideal here and no red meat anything high in fat make things slow down to much and digestion slow causing food to sit in stomach and with how much protein we consume fats would make this worse and further the issues and possibly leading to inflammation and undigested food issues

Lean meat chicken fish we digest easy quick and no issues

Yes. When i touch red meat or any fat like peanut butter , olive oil my digestion is very hard probably because my intestine problems . I see i only work well with chicken , fish and rice . Time to fix my gut

[DarrenW29]

What do you think about bloated gut from protein ? some coaches use very low protein and high carbs claiming that protein is more hard to digest . We see that on contest prep carb loading , if i use just rice is soft and easy to digest but if i use protein source i got more bloated . What i see right now using only protein is i pie alot

I think if we use rice products cream of rice white rice this digest the best with very minimal gut issues which is ideal here and no red meat anything high in fat make things slow down to much and digestion slow causing food to sit in stomach and with how much protein we consume fats would make this worse and further the issues and possibly leading to inflammation and undigested food issues

Lean meat chicken fish we digest easy quick and no issues

Yes. When i touch red meat or any fat like peanut butter , olive oil my digestion is very hard probably because my intestine problems . I see i only work well with chicken , fish and rice . Time to fix my gut

Yess you are getting that pro card it’s monstro time