Trusted Reviews, News,and Diet Advice.
Trusted Reviews, News,Your metabolism is the rate at which your body burns calories for energy. So when you are trying to lose weight it plays a vital role. We have all noticed that some people seem to eat whatever they like and never put on weight, and often this is explained as having a fast metabolism. Likewise, many people blame weight gain on having a slow metabolism.
Can you increase the speed of your metabolism with a supplement? And will doing so help you lose weight as fast as many supplement manufacturers claim? Let’s find out everything you need to know about metabolism boosters.
A metabolism booster is a diet pill that claims to increase the speed of the metabolism so that you can lose weight faster and more easily than otherwise possible.
When it comes to supplements, the terms fat burner and metabolism booster are pretty interchangeable. Both claim to do much the same thing, the difference being that a diet pill described as a metabolism booster is usually stronger in stimulants and amino acids, and is aimed at athletes and bodybuilders.
The metabolism is the term to describe all the chemical reactions in the body that keep you alive and moving. Breathing, sleeping, resting, and repairing cells all need energy; your basal metabolic rate (BMR) is the amount of calories your body needs in order to carry out these basic functions.
When your metabolism is working at a faster rate calories are processed faster, so increasing the speed of the metabolism helps with weight loss. Because your metabolic rate is closely associated with diet, a metabolism booster that contains certain natural ingredients can increase this speed.
Natural ingredients such as green tea, caffeine and other stimulants, and spices such as cayenne and green coffee bean extract are all proven to increase the metabolism. Some amino acids, vitamins, and minerals can also be effective.
Certain metabolism boosters also look to affect thyroid hormones in order to increase the speed of the metabolism. The thyroid gland is the largest gland in the body’s endocrine (hormonal) system and produces thyroid hormones (T3 and T4), which play an important role in the metabolism and the rate at which your body burns energy. Metabolism boosters that target thyroid hormones are called often T5 supplements.
Aimed at active users, a metabolism booster can work when combined with exercise. It is no use taking a supplement and just sitting back and waiting for it to work.
They are generally high in stimulants such as caffeine. Green tea is another popular ingredient, and there is evidence that it increases the metabolism far more when combined with caffeine than either ingredient used alone.
Many metabolism boosters contain amino acids. These are the building blocks of protein and are important for muscle, mental energy, and all bodily functions.
Amino acids such as L carnitine or beta-alanine help improve muscle-building, and evidence shows that beta-alanine in particular can modestly improve exercise performance and delay muscle fatigue.
A good quality supplement will address all these issues and have an ingredient profile that looks safe and healthy, along with some stimulant ingredients for improved mental and physical focus.
As ever in the world of diet pills, some metabolism boosters are not as effective as others, containing little more than stimulants. Although stimulants do increase the metabolism temporarily, there are no long-lasting benefits, and side effects can be an issue.
Increasing the speed of your metabolism does affect weight loss. Your metabolism is closely linked to your general health, and people who are fit and active generally have a faster metabolism.
You can’t always control this. Age, sex – men generally have a faster metabolism on average, your thyroid gland – which controls the metabolism, and your genes will all determine the speed of your metabolism and how fast you put on weight.
The good news is that you can always improve upon these factors with some simple lifestyle choices. The most important factor is exercise. Activity not only burns off calories at the time you are working out (followed by the act of sweating, which burns off more), it increases your metabolism afterwards in an effect that some people call afterburn.
Your body can continue burning calories at an increased rate for as much as 24 hours after exercising. It depends upon your fitness levels, but any type of aerobic exercise, such as running or dancing, can help. Resistance training with weights is also effective.
Taking a metabolism booster will provide a boost to your exercise. If you have a lot of weight to lose it can be hard to kick your body into calorie-burning mode, so a supplement can certainly help. If you are fit but looking to go that extra mile, you may also find a metabolism improves results and performance.
Always check that a metabolism booster is safe for you to use. If you have a medical condition you will need to check with your doctor first, especially if it is high in stimulants. Always read through the ingredients list and keep an eye on our website for up to date information about supplements.
If you are struggling to lose weight, a metabolism booster can help you shift those extra pounds, but no supplement is a replacement for diet and exercise. To lose weight you need to consume less food and increase your exercise levels. It really does come down to “move more, eat less”, and you need to stick to it. Weight gain does not happen overnight; it creeps up gradually over a period of months or even years. Sadly, there is no quick fix to losing it either.
One simple benefit of a metabolism booster is that a supplement can give you the boost you need to get started. Or if you are already hitting the gym and exercising, it may improve your results.
If you are working out in the gym, you might find that a metabolism booster helps you train for longer. This is mainly due to stimulants, but when combined with amino acids that support muscle growth, and other ingredients such as beta-alanine, which can help recovery, a metabolism booster can provide support in a variety of ways. Green tea, caffeine, and capsaicin – the chemical that causes the burn in chilli peppers, can all have a metabolism-boosting effect too.
Some people find that after a while their weight loss slows down as the body becomes accustomed to the new way of living on a different diet and increased exercise. When weight loss plateaus, a metabolism booster may help get things moving again.
Although a metabolism booster can support your weight loss, there are thousands of diet pills out there. Check out the Diet Pills Watchdog reviews to keep safe and to avoid spending money on low quality or ineffective products.
It is always worth remembering that the supplements industry is unregulated; there is no governing body overseeing the safety of supplements or checking that they work as described. So, as with most supplements, some metabolism boosters can be safe, others can be dangerous.
There are lots of metabolism boosters that are extremely high in stimulants. These will not suit you if you have underlying medical conditions, such as heart or blood pressure issues or are sensitive to caffeine. Stimulants can increase your heart rate and blood pressure, increasing the risk of a stroke or heart attack.
Some of the stronger metabolism boosters are marketed as T5 – this means a diet pill that is supposed to boost thyroid hormones. Doctors do not recommend taking these iodine-based supplements, as it can cause problems with the thyroid gland. There is not much evidence that other ingredients will really improve thyroid function as claimed either. In most cases a T5 Metabolism booster does not really contain thyroid specific ingredients beyond a range of stimulants.
If you are considering a supplement that contains a lot of stimulants, try reducing the serving size when you first try it. That way if your metabolism booster does cause side effects, they will be minimised by the lower dose.
A metabolism booster should not be a waste of money. When you buy a diet pill it should help support your body in the way as advertised. You should notice the metabolism booster working, feel improved weight loss benefits, find it easier to shift those stubborn pounds, and benefit from increased energy. Notice the key word here: should. But like with any supplement, there are bad metabolism boosters as well as good ones.
You will not lose weight simply by taking a metabolism booster and doing nothing else. First, you need to give the supplement time to work. In addition, you do need to make some effort yourself, especially with a metabolism booster or fat burner.
Whilst a metabolism booster makes it easier to lose weight, it will not do all the work for you. If you do not change your diet and increase the amount of exercise you do, preferably with an organised training program, this type of supplement will not be suitable and probably will be a waste of money.
This is why a metabolism booster is most effective for active gym users who are looking to increase energy and muscle growth. It may also help with other forms of exercise – for people looking to lose weight by running, for example. The key fact is that a metabolism booster is to be used alongside exercise, so it will be a waste of money if you don’t do this as well.
If a metabolism booster simply does not work or it causes unpleasant side effects, you want to be able to claim a refund. Most reputable online supplement companies offer a money-back guarantee if you are not satisfied. This means that even if you have wasted your time trying out a supplement, you will not have wasted your money. Don’t bother with a product that doesn’t offer a money-back guarantee.
You can boost your metabolism with several simple lifestyle changes:
The best way to speed up your metabolism quickly is to switch to a healthy diet. In general, green vegetables, fruits, and whole grains are great for the metabolism. Common sense health tips like drinking plenty of water instead of sodas, eating your greens, and doing some exercise will all lead to metabolism-boosting effects too.
There are some foods and drinks that seem to increase the metabolism faster than others, so including more of these into your daily routine will give you a metabolism-boosting edge.
Speeding up your metabolism does help you lose weight. An increase in weight is caused by consuming too many calories and not doing enough exercise. So changing your diet and getting moving will certainly improve your health and increase weight loss.
In fact, the best way to increase the speed of the metabolism is through exercise. Increased muscle mass equals increased metabolism, so getting fit and adding some muscle not only improves your health, it helps you lose fat as well.
The more you move, the better it is for your health and your metabolism. According to fitness experts, you can burn off 500 calories a day simply by exercising and eating properly. Do this and you can lose 10lbs in 2 months.
Of course it is crucial to eat healthily, but losing weight and increasing your metabolism does not mean you need to go hungry. Switching to healthy foods like whole grains, increasing your protein intake, and consuming plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables are all important for staying fit and healthy.
Taking a metabolism booster may help speed up the process as well. If you have made the decision to lose weight and exercise is going to play a major role, a metabolism booster can give you the kick start you need.
It is important to cycle off any metabolism or fat burner. If you take a diet pill that contains caffeine for too long without a break you will find that effects decrease as you grow accustomed to it. Giving yourself a break will improve results and is better for your health.
The common belief is that as we get older our metabolism slows down, so we put on weight; that as we get past 40, weight gain increases and we tend to get wistful and look back on our younger days. Back then it seemed we could eat and drink just we liked and never put on weight.
Although the metabolism does slow down with age, an increase in weight is not necessarily to do with some mysterious metabolic process.
One reason is that as we get older we become less active. It is this inactivity that causes the metabolism to decrease. We can then become caught in a cycle of inactivity, a slow metabolism, and weight gain. Although this may sound bad, it is actually good news if you are trying to lose weight: there are no more excuses! Increasing your activity levels will help increase the metabolism too.
The metabolism is the chemical process that describes the thousands of reactions and processes that go on in your body just to keep you alive, such as breathing, digestion, and cellular health. All these tiny functions require energy, and the minimum amount you need to just stay alive is called the basal metabolic rate, which uses up between 40% and 70% of your energy requirements. A slow metabolism is also described as a low BMR.
Although many people blame a slow metabolism for weight gain, sometimes this is not strictly true. In many cases you are simply eating and drinking more calories than you need. But crash dieting is not the answer. A very low calorie diet weakens muscle and slows the metabolism, making continued weight loss even harder.
T5 is an advertising term. It was dreamed up by an unknown advertising executive as a way to describe a diet pill that affects thyroid hormones and therefore helps weight loss.
The thyroid gland is an endocrine gland situated in your neck and shaped like a butterfly. The endocrine system produces stores and releases hormones into the bloodstream. The thyroid gland releases two hormones that help control the metabolism; these are triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4). So the idea of T5 is that it plays the same role as a thyroid hormone.
Some metabolism boosters claim to contain thyroid hormone-boosting ingredients but there is very little evidence that these supplements will affect thyroid hormones. Certain minerals such as zinc, selenium, and iodine may increase thyroid hormones, but doctors advise caution when it comes to supplements in this area. The thyroid gland is very delicately balanced, so you should not meddle with trying to bring about changes.
In most cases, a T5 supplement has nothing at all to do with the thyroid gland. T5 has come to mean a strong supplement that contains lots of stimulants to increase the speed of the metabolism and energy levels. As a result, many metabolism-boosters are described as T5, but we have also seen T6. Undoubtedly, T7, T8, and T9 will soon follow.
T5 doesn’t actually mean anything at all, but it does give a hint that a supplement may be strong and cause side effects. So always check out the ingredients list before you buy a T5 supplement. Here at Watchdog we provide up to date information about the best and the worst T5 supplements on the market.
Hopefully this has given you a good idea about what metabolism boosters are all about and what T5 means. Now let’s look at some actual products that are out there on the market and see if they are any good.
eBody T5 Hardcore is a metabolism booster aimed at bodybuilders. It is strong in stimulants, including different types of caffeine, and also contains green tea, green coffee bean extract, cayenne pepper, and amino acids.
According to the advertising, this supplement increases energy levels and the metabolism within an hour of working. You are advised to use it to power your workouts and exercise regimes. Despite the T5 description, there is nothing here that really affects the thyroid hormones.
Due to the high levels of caffeine, you may notice increased energy and other caffeine-related effects. However, there is a high amount of negative feedback from customers who say this supplement just does not work.
eBody T5 Hardcore is on sale from the official eBody website. It costs £29.95 for 180 capsules (one month’s supply). You can also buy it via Amazon for £24.95 including delivery. There is no money-back guarantee.
To find out more about eBody T5 Hardcore: https://www.dietpillswatchdog.com/ebody-t5-hardcore/
Wellbeing Pro T5 Black Ultimate is a unisex fat burner that is marketed as a way to boost thyroid hormones and increase the metabolism for added weight loss.
The formula is a blend of caffeine, green tea, and amino acids such as L-tyrosine, which can increase energy levels. It also contains iodine, a chemical element that is present in sea salt. According to medical opinion, taking iodine does not have any effect upon the thyroid hormones, although many supplement manufacturers claim it increases the metabolism.
Customer feedback is not impressive. Despite the claims that this supplement is strong, many people have noticed no differences between taking it and not taking it. Although some have mentioned side effects such as increased heart rate, bad headaches, or similar.
You can buy T5 Black Ultimate from the WPB website. It is inexpensively priced at 30 capsules for £7.99 or 120 capsules for £20.92. It is also on sale via Amazon. Buy from the official website and you are covered by a money-back guarantee.
To find out more about WellBeing Pro T5 Black Ultimate: https://www.dietpillswatchdog.com/wellbeing-pro-t5-black-ultimate/
Thermoraw Raw One is the same supplement as the product previously known as Bioking Labs T5 Fat Burner. Despite the changes to the company and product name, this supplement has not undergone any ingredient changes.
While it is not a strong supplement, Raw One contains caffeine, amino acids including L-tyrosine and acetyl-L-carnitine, plus general weight loss ingredients. The serving sizes are generally pretty low. There is also seaweed extract, which may contain iodine, but this information is not available. The main ingredient is glucomannan, an effective appetite suppressant, but it has zero effects upon the metabolism.
We can’t see this supplement really having much effect upon metabolism or weight loss.
Many customers left feedback on Amazon when Thermoraw was called Bioking Labs T5 Fat Burner and opinion was mainly negative. Perhaps this explains the recent name change.
You can buy Thermoraw Raw One from Amazon and eBay. It costs around £19.00 for 90 capsules (one month’s supply). There is no money-back guarantee.
To find out more about Thermoraw Raw One (Bioking Labs T5 Fat Burner): https://www.dietpillswatchdog.com/thermoraw-raw-one-bioking-labs-t5-fat-burner/
Bodyfit T5 Black Fat Burner promises to make you burn fat and not store it, but this diet pill actually looks dangerous.
The ingredients include caffeine and orange powder. Although orange powder can be dangerous because it contains a stimulant called synephrine, the serving size is low here.
Of more concern is tryptophan. This is dangerous when taken in supplement form and is linked to causing neurological disorders. Naringin is also a worry.
Many people have reported side effects including heart palpitations, panic attacks, and increased heart rate and blood pressure. Some have been forced to go to hospital after using this diet pill.
You can buy Bodyfit T5 Black Fat Burner via the official website. It costs £20.00 for 60 capsules (30 day’s use). There is no money-back guarantee on offer, but there are discounts on larger orders.
To find out more about Bodyfit T5 Black Fat Burner: https://www.dietpillswatchdog.com/bodyfit-t5-black-fat-burner/
Somatox T5 claims to stimulate the thyroid gland in order to increase the speed of the metabolism and improve weight loss.
The principle ingredient is bitter orange peel extract. This contains a powerful stimulant called synephrine, which affects the nervous system in a similar way to amphetamines. According to recent medical research, amphetamines used with a thyroid condition can increase behavioural problems in children with ADHD; whether this mood-changing effect will also happen when using this supplement is unknown.
https://www.cchrflorida.org/medical-scientist-find-link-between-adhd-and-thyroid-conditions/
There is also 300mg of caffeine (equivalent of three cups of coffee), acetyl-L-carnitine, and green tea extract.
Customer feedback is mixed, with many users mentioning side effects like mood swings, rapid heart rate, and more. However, some people are satisfied by this supplement.
You can buy Somatox T5 via the Somatox website where it costs £19.99 for 90 capsules (one month’s supply). There is no money-back guarantee on offer.
To find out more about Somatox T5: https://www.dietpillswatchdog.com/somatox-t5/
T5 Rapid Fat Burner promises to burn fat and improve mood and energy fast. It contains a range of stimulants and amino acids.
The caffeine, citrus aurentium, and green tea extract in the formula may help increase the speed of the metabolism. However, the caffeine, in the form of caffeine anhydrous, is unpredictably strong, and citrus aurentium can contain synephrine. The serving size of citrus aurentium is low here though, so this may not be an issue.
Other ingredients include the grapefruit extract naringin, and tryptophan, an amino acid that is important for the brain chemical serotonin. Although this sounds good, there are risks associated with taking tryptophan, including mental disorders.
You can buy T5 Rapid Fat Burner from the official website for £45.00 for 120 capsules (one month’s supply), but there is no money-back guarantee.
To find out more about T5 Rapid Fat Burner: https://www.dietpillswatchdog.com/t5-rapid-fat-burner/
Matrix T5 XT Extreme is a metabolism booster that contains dangerous stimulants. One is Sida cordifolia, a plant extract that contains ephedrine, a powerful stimulant similar to amphetamines. Ephedra is banned in most countries because it causes high blood pressure, seizures, and heart attacks. In the UK it seems to be legal in some forms.
Other ingredients include caffeine anhydrous – a form of caffeine that can be 28 times stronger than natural caffeine, guarana – a plant extract with more caffeine, and the principle ingredient, bitter orange extract – which contains the stimulant synephrine (another one similar to amphetamines).
Overall, Matrix T5 XT Extreme looks dangerous and could potentially cause heart attacks or strokes. One young fit customer was admitted to hospital after taking for just two days. She was told by the doctor that she may as well have taken speed!
Matrix have denied all knowledge of risks and provide no safety information.
You can only buy Matrix T5 XT via the Matrix Nutrition website. It costs £19.95 for 60 capsules or £29.99 for 120 capsules. There is no-money back guarantee.
To find out more about Matrix T5 XT Extreme: https://www.dietpillswatchdog.com/matrix-t5-xt-extreme/
Slightly different to most T5 products, this one is a patch that you stick on your skin. According to the advertising, this will increase fat-burning for 12 hours without any effort. The product information also mentions magnets and nanotechnology, although this is never fully explained.
T5 Fat Burner Patch contains a variety of herbal ingredients, including elatrin – a sea cucumber, honeysuckle, cassia seed, and ginseng. Most of these are not proven to do anything at all.
Delivering ingredients through the skin is unreliable. Although some substances can be absorbed through the skin, such as nicotine and vitamins, there is zero evidence that any of these herbs are suitable for this type of delivery.
T5 Fat Burner Patch is unlikely to cause any positive effects at all. You may find the patches cause skin irritation though.
You can buy T5 Fat Burner Patch only from the Biogen website, where it costs £18.49 for a pack of 28 patches (28 day’s supply).
To find out more about T5 Fat Burner Patch: https://www.dietpillswatchdog.com/t5-fat-burner-patch/
LEAN Nutrition Fat Metaboliser seems like a reasonably good quality supplement that looks pretty safe.
The principle ingredients are green tea and caffeine, a combination with strong clinical evidence for increasing the metabolism and aiding weight loss. So it looks fairly effective.
The overall caffeine content is 212mg (about the same as two cups of coffee). Other ingredients include amino acids, and vitamins and minerals, including chromium and zinc. There is also cayenne pepper, which is known for its thermogenic effect.
Side effects are most likely to relate to the caffeine content, such as jitteriness and insomnia. Taking vitamin B3 can also cause redness and facial flushing.
Customer feedback is questionable. Some positive reviews look dodgy and the most recent feedback comments are negative, with one customer complaining of vomiting.
You can buy LEAN Nutrition Fat Metaboliser via Amazon UK. It is very inexpensive at only £9.44 for a bottle of 60 capsules (30 day’s servings). There is no money-back guarantee though.
To find out more about LEAN Metaboliser Fat Burner: https://www.dietpillswatchdog.com/lean-nutrition-fat-metaboliser/
Simply Slim T6 Xplosion Fat Burner is a UK supplement that must be one of the cheapest diet pills on the market. Despite this, it looks pretty strong and side effects may be an issue.
The principle component of T6 Xplosion Fat Burner is 200mg of an amino acid called L-tyrosine. This is present naturally in cheese and is known to boost alertness. It may boost brain chemicals serotonin and dopamine too.
T6 Xplosion also contains caffeine, vitamins, and choline bitartrate. The caffeine is the equivalent of just under two cups of coffee, but the vitamins and choline levels are extremely low.
Worryingly, T6 Xplosion also contains tryptophan – an amino acid that is supposed to boost mood, but comes with some serious health concerns, including mood swings and manic episodes.
T6 Xplosion has generated many customer reviews, including a high level of complaints. Some customers have experienced side effects such as headaches and feelings of stress.
You can buy T6 Xplosion via the product website and it is also on sale via Amazon, where it costs £6.95 for a pack of 30 capsules. There is no money-back guarantee, but that hardly seems like an issue when the price is this low.
To find out more about Simply Slim T6 Xplosion Fat Burner: https://www.dietpillswatchdog.com/simply-slim-t6-xplosion-fat-burners/
Forza T5 Super Strength is a pre-workout supplement that you take for an energy boost. It looks effective, although the stimulants may not suit everyone.
There are some decent ingredients included in the formula. Green tea and caffeine is a good combination for boosting the metabolism and serving sizes are generous. It contains 300mg of caffeine (the equivalent of three cups of coffee) and 200mg of green tea extract. There are also vitamins, minerals, and herbal extracts, including Panax ginseng for improving mood and the ability to manage stress.
Because this supplement is strong, you might want to start cautiously with a reduced serving, rather than the recommended three capsules.
Feedback is generally positive, but, unsurprisingly, some people have mentioned caffeine-related side effects like jitteriness.
There is no money-back guarantee available, but Forza T5 is very reasonably priced at £14.00 for 90 capsules.
To find out more about Forza T5 Super Strength: https://www.dietpillswatchdog.com/forza-t5-super-strength/
A metabolism booster is basically a more powerful version of a fat burner. They generally contain strong stimulants, as well as ingredients like amino acids, vitamins, and minerals that are designed to improve muscle-building, exercise performance, and recovery.
Metabolism boosters are designed for athletes and bodybuilders, so if you are looking for a stimulant buzz as a way to boost your metabolism, this type of supplement may help. Many metabolism boosters contain a range of stimulants, typically based on caffeine, and effects will largely depend upon your own physical makeup and tolerance to caffeine.
Be wary though, as many of these supplements contain potentially dangerous ingredients, such as synephrine. So they won’t suit you if you have underlying health conditions, especially if related to heart and blood pressure.
Some metabolism boosters are marketed as being T5 fat burners. In most cases, this just means they are strong. Originally, T5 fat burners contained ingredients to affect the thyroid hormones with the aim of further boosting the metabolism. But this is no longer the case.
It is just as well that this is not an effect of a T5 supplement anymore, as the thyroid gland and endocrine system is complex and delicately balanced. Doctors actually tend to warn against taking iodine or any other so-called thyroid-boosting ingredients.
Finally, a metabolism booster will not help you if you do not use it in combination with exercise. This type of supplement can be quite “hardcore”, and taking stimulants without using them for some type of activity is likely to lead to you feeling strung out and wired.