In order to carry through a successful weight reduction process, your over-weight must be attacked from several angles at the same time. Among other measures, you also have to increase your burning of fat and sugar. This burning is also of two kinds. The body are steadily burning fat and sugar and thereby producing heat, and it burns these nutrients to get energy for the daily activities you perform. The aim in a slimming process is to increase both these burning processes. In the terminology often used about slimming, this is often called "increasing your energy levels".

A. THE FAT AND SUGAR BURNING PROCESS

The burning of fat and sugar is composed of many chemical steps. Fat is first broken apart yielding free fatty acids. The fatty acids are then broken further down to pieces called acetyl. The sugar is also broken down to acetyl in a process called glycolysis, and the energy thus released is used to produce an energy-rich compound called ATP. The acetyl formed from the braking down of fat and sugar is then further combined with oxygen yielding carbon dioxide and water, and even more ATP is produced. The ATP produced is then used to release heat and to give energy for the bodily work.

B. GET ALL THE NUTRIENTS YOU REQUIRE

The process of braking down and burning fat and sugar uses vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids as working tools. Therefore your diet has to contain all these nutrients in the needed amount. Including vegetables or fruit in a natural form in every meal will help you get these nutrients.

Even though your generally shall reduce your fat consume, some types of food containing essential fatty acids should be a part of your daily diet, for example nuts, almonds, sunflower seeds, olives, olive oil and fat fish.

Extra supplements of vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids and lecithin can also be of help.

C. PHYSICAL EXERCISE

You should do some physical exercise at least every second day. Condition training like running, swimming, cycling or ball play consumes energy and thereby helps burn fat and sugar. The burning process even continues some hours after the training session.

Weight lifting or other muscle building activities are also of value. They help convert fat in your body to muscle mass and muscles are always burning some sugar and fat, even when they are not active.

D. USE OF DRUGS OF THE AMPHETAMINE GROUP

Amphetamine and related substances stimulate the activity of the central nervous system and thereby give impulses to increased external activity that consumes fat and sugar. These compounds also increase the metabolic activities that produce heat by consume of fat and sugar. These compounds can also reduce the appetite. All these effects can together help to reduce an excessive weight.

However, these compounds also may give many unpleasant or dangerous effects, like addiction, insomnia, agitation, manic reactions, hypertension, stroke, heart valve damage and heart rhythm disturbances. Therefore amphetamine itself and many related compounds are by now banned in most societies as a means to reduce weight. Amphetamine was early banned and classified as an illegal narcotic. By now also these compounds has been banned after having been on the market for some time: aminorex, fenfluramine, phenylpropanolamine and ephedrine.

Substances of this group available on the market today as weight reduction aids are: Phentermine, diethylpropion, phenidmetrazine, benzphetamine, sibutramine, rimonabant, oxyntomodulin and fluoxetine hydrochloride (Prozac).

E. USE OF CAFFEINE AND SIMILAR COMPOUNDS

Caffeine and similar compounds also increase the mental alertness, the feeling of energy and the impulses to external action, and thereby they also increase the burning of fat and sugar. They also increase the fat and sugar burning by accelerating the basic heat production metabolism.

A simple way of taking caffeine or the related compound teofylline is drinking a few cups of coffee or tea each day. A cup of coffee in the morning can and another cup in the afternoon can often give you the impulse you need to do an effective daily exercise session.

The tropical plants Yerba Mate and Guarana contain caffeine variants with a much greater effect on the fat and sugar burning than ordinary caffeine. On the market you can find sport drinks and slimming aids containing extracts of these plants.

F. SUPPLEMENTS STIMULATING THE THYROID GLAND

The hormones produced by the thyroid gland increase the basic metabolism and the burning of fat and sugar. A sluggish production of thyroid hormones can therefore contribute to developing over-weight.

Vitamins and minerals that the thyroid gland use as tools to produce its hormones can help to effectivize the thyroid hormone production, for example vitamin B1, vitamin B2, Vitamin B6, magnesium, manganese, potassium and zinc. Compounds being raw material for this production can also help the thyroid gland to effectivize its hormone production, for example L-thyrosine and iodine. These compounds are found in many supplements to aid slimming.