Can steroids be used for weight loss?
You might think that steroids are only good for helping you to build up muscle during a bulking cycle. However, the clever thing about steroids – if you want to risk calling them ‘clever’ – is that they do have to potential to burn belly fat.
In fact, steroids are often utilized during cutting cycles to help protect lean muscle mass and increase fat burn (by reducing stored body fat) – leaving you looking lean, cut and defined.
And should you choose to stack them? Well… with the right combo, you can turbocharge your fat loss and achieve a ripped body in as little as 30 days.
What are the benefits of using steroids for weight loss?
The theory behind this is not that unrealistic. Yes, anabolic steroids are primarily used to help you build up more muscle. However, this is only achieved by increasing the amount of fat your body burns. And the less body fat you have, the lighter you will be – bingo.
Yet this is not the only benefit you can experience from using steroids to shift those excess pounds:
- Steroids can boost the presence of red blood cells in your body, ensuring your organs receive extra oxygen and nutrients. This combination can help to not only improve your energy and stamina, but also your strength. And this is important, as the more weight you are able to lift, the more calories you’ll burn. And the more calories you burn, the more weight you’ll lose.
- Some steroids can boost water weight loss – which is perfect if you suffer from water retention.
- Steroids can increase your rate of metabolism, encouraging a higher rate of fat loss.
- Some steroids encourage belly fat loss – something even non-gym goers/ regular-Joe’s will love – as no one wants a wobbly belly.
Now, you might think that the biggest benefactors for this type of weight loss are bodybuilders who are trying to cut. And it’s true – the fact that these steroids can protect the muscles you’ve acquired during bulking means you can confidently enter into a calorie deficient, burn fat and walk away with lean, rock hard abs.
Yet they are not the only individuals who can benefit…
In fact, steroids could arguably help ANYONE to lose weight.
Admittedly, not all dieters will want to build muscle whilst losing weight. However, where this extra lean muscle mass goes is entirely up to YOU.
Think about it…
There is a reason why you see so many bodybuilders with thick upper arms and stick thin legs! They have spent so much time bulking their arms, but they’ve skipped/forgotten about their leg days. And this lack of exercise shows! Namely, in the appearance of unattractive twiglet legs that look incapable of carrying their bodies. Ridiculous!
However, it doesn’t have to be this way…
Depending on your body type and workout regimen, with the right steroid combo it is possible to control the distribution of this muscle, avoid gaining bodybuilder type muscles – and achieve an athletically slim, lean frame that isn’t overly muscled.
Even more importantly, do it right and you can benefit from a significant amount of fat/weight loss in a matter of weeks.
3 weight loss steroids
Whilst you might now be thinking – ‘can’t all steroids encourage weight loss?’ The truth is, the title for the ‘best steroid for weight loss’ belongs to the following three:
1 – Anavar
Also known as Oxandrolone, this ‘mild-mannered’ steroid is suitable for both men and women.
Admittedly, it has got a high anabolic rating – so you would think that it is better for bulking – however, the truth is, it can produce promising cutting results. This is because this same heightened anabolic activity can protect your body from muscle loss, whilst still allowing you to lose weight.
But that is not all:
- It can impede stress hormones which are renowned for encouraging increased fat build and sabotaging lean muscle tissues.
- As a dry steroid it can boost water weight loss.
- It can raise your metabolism which is great for improving your fat burning capabilities.
- It encourages belly fat loss – studies have found that compared to testosterone and other natural weight loss techniques; Anavar can cause a greater increase in subcutaneous and visceral abdominal fat. In fact, it is considered to be the best steroid for losing belly fat!
- It can boost the presence of red blood cells in your body, ensuring extra oxygen and nutrients are delivered straight to your muscles. This helps to enhance your stamina and endurance, and ultimately your strength (and the more you can lift, the more calories you will burn).
- It is considered to be the safest weight loss steroid on the market as it helps to reduce thyroid-binding globulin, whilst raising thyroxine-binding prealbumin.
- It can help you to lose weight without causing muscle loss.
- Anavar can inhibit glucocorticoid hormone (like Cortisol) which is responsible for encouraging body fat.
And the results from this steroid are subtle, meaning you can use this steroid for weight loss, and won’t look excessively muscular. Instead, it can help you to achieve a toned, athletic appearance and a body that is covered in lean muscle.
2 – Winstrol
Commonly known as Stanozolol, this steroid is great for promoting weight loss AND muscle gain. By increasing nitrogen retention and protein synthesis; together they can help you to build muscle as well as protect it once you’ve finished bulking/enter a cutting cycle.
In addition to building muscle, Winstrol can also:
- Raise your metabolic rate – as your muscle mass increases, this will cause your metabolism to rise and burn fat faster.
- Encourage more free testosterone to circulate around your body and create extra protein for muscle development – and as your muscles grow, so will your strength, resulting in increased calorie burn, fat and weight loss.
- Spur the loss of extra water weight i.e. water retention – this ensures your body isn’t carrying any unnecessary weight.
- Encourage rock hard, lean muscles.
- Preserve bone mass (which is great for patients with osteoporosis) enabling you to heal faster from bone fractures.
- Studies have shown Winstrol to be a helpful addition for those struggling with hormone related obesity (when used as part of a treatment plan).
- Be used by men AND women – for women they can use it to maintain lean muscle tissue and benefit from greater fat loss.
Winstrol has the added advantage of being good for both bulking and cutting. However, thanks to its ability to boost weight loss whilst protecting your muscles, we feel its strengths lie more with dealing with calorie deficient.
3 – Clenbuterol
Of the three steroids in this collection, Clenbuterol differs from the rest because technically it isn’t a steroid. Yep, that’s right – it’s not a real steroid.
The truth is, this little performance enhancer is actually a stimulant and potent thermogenic fat burner that works by triggering thermogenesis (increasing your body’s core temperature). As your inner temperature rises, this helps to boost your metabolism leading to successful weight and body fat loss.
Clenbuterol is also a beta-2 agonist, meaning it is designed to encourage the breakdown of fat cells to be used for fuel. And this is good news for your body as this combination of a faster metabolism with a greater amount of fuel (to use), will enable you to burn fat quicker.
But, that is not all. Clenbuterol can also:
- Suppress your appetite – this allows you to curb calories and stop you from eating too much.
- Utilize its stimulant potentials to give you an added energy boost – this will help you to work out harder and achieve maximum weight loss.
- Produce rapid results – combined with a proper diet and physical exercise, you can witness a significant drop in body fat, fast.
- Preserve lean muscle mass.
Side effects of steroids
Now whilst each of these may claim to cause minimal to no side effects, the truth is – they aren’t completely innocent.
Sure, they aren’t as bad as some of the other anabolic steroids on the market. However, taken in too high of a dose and they CAN cause the following:
- Acne
- Hair loss
- Abnormal body hair growth (more common in women)
- Joint pain (Winstrol)
- Increased bad cholesterol levels/falls in good cholesterol
- Liver damage (hepatotoxic) – NOTE: all of the above are tablets; however, you can also buy them as injections which usually makes them less toxic to your liver. This isn’t true of Winstrol. Its tablets and injections are made the same way, meaning they will both irritate/damage your liver.
- Unless combined with PCT, they can hold back natural testosterone production (leading to testosterone suppression)
Now, given that Clenbuterol isn’t actually a steroid, you would hope that its side effects were fewer. Sadly, this isn’t the case. Clenbuterol has been known to cause the following adverse reactions:
- Insomnia/disturbed sleep
- Excessive sweating
- Headaches
- Tremors
- Muscle cramps
- Nausea
- Anxiety
- Erratic heartbeats
- High blood pressure
- Suppresses taurine and electrolytes
What are the best options for females – Should women use steroids for weight loss?
As a rule, women should avoid steroids like the plague as most can cause virilization e.g. the appearance of facial hair, voice drops and patterned baldness.
This is even truer if women are wanting to use steroids to lose weight, as steroids are basically based around male sex hormones i.e. they imitate testosterone. This means the risk of developing man-like features is even greater.
And what woman wants to experience breast reduction, irregular menstrual cycles, excessive facial and body hair, clitoral enlargement and a deeper voice? None!
Even if their goal isn’t just to lose weight, but also build up lean muscle mass; we doubt there are any who’d want to endure any of the above side effects. No thanks.
Yet, not all hope is lost…
All three of the above ‘steroid’ supplements can safely and legally be used by women to lose weight.
But what are the best weight loss steroids for females?
Of the three, we have to say Anavar. Not only is it the mildest steroid of the bunch, its side effects are the smallest, and it is the best at burning belly fat – which let’s face it is the bane of every woman’s life.
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