Want to lose weight, increase energy, and improve mental clarity? The key is to get your body to burn more fat for fuel. When your metabolism is working properly, your liver will feed your cells a constant supply of sugar. When the sugar runs out, your body will burn fat. That’s one reason why eating 3 meals per day with no snacks per The Leptin Diet is so important.

Nutritional supplements are very helpful tools that, along with a healthy diet and exercise, help to make weight loss easier, enhance fat burning, and prevent plateaus as you work towards your goal weight. These five nutrients are shown to safely enhance fat burning and support a healthy metabolism.

1. Green Tea Extract

Green tea extract is one of the best nutrients to enhance fat burning in the liver. The active catechin called EGCG in green tea is a proven fat metabolizer. EGCG turns on a signaling cascade called the WNT/β-catenin pathway that enables signals to cross through a cell membrane and accumulate within the cell to the point that they trigger gene activity. The net result of this gene signaling activity is that fat particles do not accumulate in fat cells. Additionally, green tea that is naturally caffeinated enhances thermogenesis, which means “the creation of heat”. This helps you burn more calories and reduce waist circumference, BMI, and weight.

2. Acetyl-L-Carnitine

Acetyl-L-carnitine (ALC) plays a very important role in the process of fat metabolism. Animal studies show that acetyl-L-carnitine actually helps increase muscle mass and reduce leptin resistance. This creates a positive environment for burning calories more efficiently, as the more muscle you have the more calories you can burn. By improving leptin resistance your metabolism improves its ability to signal fat burning in the liver.

3. Guggul

Guggul is an Ayurvedic herb that has been used for thousands of years to help support healthy thyroid function and weight management. Guggul has a supreme ability to help metabolize fat that also makes it a helpful nutrient for normal clearing of LDL cholesterol and triglycerides. Your thyroid gland helps set the pace of your metabolic rate. One common symptom of an underactive thyroid is weight gain. If you have trouble losing weight even when exercising and eating fewer calories it is possible your thyroid is not running at the optimal pace. Other nutrient deficiencies that can cause the thyroid to struggle include iodine, tyrosine, selenium, iron, and zinc.

4. Whey Protein

All macronutrients are not burned equally. Protein is an important signaling molecule for activating metabolism and weight loss. Eating a protein at breakfast is essential. A high protein breakfast can increase your metabolism by 30% for up to 12 hours, the calorie burning equivalent of a 3-5 mile jog. Aim to get at least half of your ideal body weight in grams of protein per day for maximum metabolic benefits. Furthermore, the branched-chain amino acid leucine is particularly important for building and maintaining muscle mass. Whey protein is naturally high in leucine and is especially helpful for improving lean muscle mass when used as part of a high protein diet.

5. Curcumin

Curcumin (the biologically active component in turmeric) helps remodel white fat cells into brown fat cells. The ability to turn your fat cells from white to brown is at the forefront of obesity research. When you activate brown fat, you can actually turn unfit white adipose tissue into brown adipose tissue for improved fat burning and weight loss.

Curcumin also improves fat burning through activation of AMPK (AMP-activated protein kinase), a pivotal cell enzyme required to orchestrate the burning of fat and sugar. Research shows that supplementing with curcumin supplements activates AMPK and improves fat burning in addition to reducing inflammation in fat cells which may support healthy leptin communication. Curcumin is an excellent nutrient to add to any person's weight management plan.

Following the Five Rules of the Leptin Diet, eating a healthy diet, and exercising regularly are essential for all of us, but these five fat-burning nutrients can help you see better results from a weight loss program and get beyond a weight loss plateau. If you have struggled with your weight for years and you want to get your body into a more efficient fat burning state, consider adding these safe and effective nutrients to your healthy supplement routine.