• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Generation Iron

Generation Iron Fitness & Strength Sports Network

  • Movies
  • Original Content
  • Reviews
    • Supplements
      • Pre-Workout
      • Fat Burners
      • Testosterone Boosters
      • Creatine
      • Protein
      • BCAAs
      • Multivitamins
      • Omega-3
      • Joint Supplements
      • Super Greens
      • Meal Replacement
    • Recovery
      • Best Cold Plunges
      • Best Saunas
      • Best Foam Rollers
      • Best Massage Guns
    • Programs
      • Best Online Workout Programs
      • Best Workout Streaming Services
      • Best Home Workout Programs
  • Equipment
    • Cardio
      • Treadmills
      • Best Exercise Bikes
      • Best Stair Climbers
    • Fitness Accessories
      • Best Apparel
      • Best Gym Bags
      • Weightlifting Shoes
    • Strength
      • Best Dumbbells
      • Best Barbells
      • Best Kettlebells
      • Best Squat Racks
      • Best Weightlifting Belts
      • Best Home Gym Equipment
      • Complete Home Gyms
    • Training
      • Best Knee Sleeves
      • Best Wrist Wraps
      • Best Weightlifting Wraps
      • Best Weightlifting Gloves
  • More
    • About Us
      • Our Team
      • Our Experts
    • Advertise
    • Franchise With Us
    • Exercise Guides
    • Athlete Profiles
    • Podcasts
    • Power 30
    • Bodybuilding Awards
    • Supplement Awards
  • Shop
Reviews Supplements

Best Supplements to Cut Fat and Gain Muscle to Change Body Composition

by GI Team Updated by Austin Letorney on Jan 11, 2021 Fact checked by Dr. Jacob Wilson

This post may contain affiliate links (disclosure policy).

Body recomposition requires the best supplements to cut fat and gain muscle to see great change.

It’s the perfect balance of nutrition and exercise that leads to an athlete seeing marked improvements in strength and physique, whilst burning away unwanted fat and gaining muscle mass. We’re looking at the best supplements to cut fat and gain muscle, ones that can really make or break your chances at achieving body recomposition.

We’re not talking general fat burner supplements as they don’t do much for muscle mass, but what we want to do is look at products that will benefit muscle, not just cut away fat. As such, conventional fat burners you see touted aren’t on this list. Instead we’ve looked at the products which are more designed for athletes, and so are grounded in a bit of science.

Who Should Use Supplements for Retaining Muscle and Losing Fat

Remember, in order to effectively cut unwanted fat and keep hold of muscle and strength, you need to be ensuring you are eating a good amount of protein and activating muscle groups twice a week.

If you’re not training and eating well, then don’t buy these products. You need to get your training and diet on point and then come back and use these supplements. They’re not a shortcut, they’re a way to speed up progress!

Naturally Occurring Ingredients to Cut Fat and Keep Muscle:

  • Chromium Picolinate – An insulin regulating mineral, helping your body stop storing excess fat. Chromium could also help reduce your appetite and provide you extra energy (1).
  • Calcium HMB – An exciting ingredient known for its ability to help athletes preserve muscle mass. HMB or Beta-hydroxy beta-methylbutyrate boosts protein synthesis and can reduce the breakdown of muscle during fasted workout sessions.
  • Coleus Forskholii- This ingredient has the potential to signal the breakdown of fat by aiding a release of kinase. Coleus Forskholii also plays a key role in hormone signaling, which can promote healthy and balanced testosterone (for muscle) and thyroid (for weight) hormones.
  • Green Tea – Green tea isn’t just packed with antioxidants, but also with fat burning catechins, which make the extract an amazing tool for a fat burner. Some studies have even found that green tea can boost metabolic rate by as much as 35% (2).
  • Teacrine – Very similar to caffeine, except with an added ability to help alleviate some physical symptoms of a hard gym session. Reducing pain and swelling, teacrine also gives you a clean, jitter free boost and can help increase metabolic rate.
  • Caffeine – Caffeine is a fool proof ingredient in a fat burner, especially one for athletes as it can increase energy levels, improve focus, and reduce hunger (3). Fighters Core uses caffeine to help promote a full daily calorie burn, and to make itself a complete fat burner for athletes. The dose in Fighters Core isn’t huge, but combined with teacrine, these stimulants should give you more than a boost.

#1 Fighters Core – Best Supplement to Cut Fat and Gain Muscle

Fat Burners

A product that has left behind conventional fat burners and taken an approach around muscle preservation to cut fat more efficiently, this supplement is great for fat loss. Fighters Core is an impressive formulation and has some great elements you wouldn’t find combined into a supplement for cutting fat and gaining muscle mass.

We’re not blown away by the brand, and it’s still new, but because of it’s novel formula and simple yet highly effective set of ingredients, we’re happy to put this as #1 for muscle sparing cutting supplements.

The Good

  • Caffeine and L-Theanine for energy, focus and performance
  • Potential for muscle building and strength increases
  • Metabolism boosters that can help calorie burn
  • Research backed and minimal risk
  • 3 capsules per serving

The Bad

  • Newer product on the market – Only available from fighterscore.com
  • Premium pricing due to “adaptive formulation” (We’re not sure what this means)
  • Stim content can put people off
  • Need to exercise at least 3 times a week for full benefits

Fighters Core Ingredients

The formula here has a big focus on stopping your body storing more fat and actually can offer some anabolic and muscle building benefits. Not to mention the conventional effects of other fat burners, like a boosted metabolic rate, more energy, and muscle growth.

It doesn’t have as big a dose as some ingredients in Performance Lab Burn, but is more suited for athletes due to the fact it uses stimulants and contains green tea to help boost antioxidants and performance.

We like nearly every element of this formula, and it is one of the best fat burners for bodybuilders in our eyes.

-Visit Fighters Core-

See Fighters Core Here


#2 Burn Lab Pro

fat burner

Burn Lab Pro is the second in line for best supplement to cut fat and gain muscle mass. Just like Fighters Core, it contains a good blend for metabolism boosting and fat loss through herbs and minerals. The difference? It’s low stim, so if you’re looking for a bit more of a daily punch through the day, you’re better off with Fighters Core.

The Good

  • Non stim, avoid energy boosts
  • Muscle sparing
  • Science based
  • Big brand with other products and multi buy offers

The Bad

  • Smaller doses and more focused ingredients profile
  • Only available direct
  • Lower stim levels may be off putting for athletes

Burn Lab Pro Ingredients

Burn Lab Pro contains some higher doses of the muscle sparing ingredients we listed above, like HMB and Forslean. However, it doesn’t contain as many naturally occurring fat burning ingredients.

It’s a good formula and even includes trademarked chromium and coleus forskoholii, making it an extremely safe option.

See Burn Lab Pro Here


Nutrition for Cutting Fat and Sparing Muscle

In order for these products to work, you need to make sure you have your diet locked in. Calories need to be below maintenance and you need to up your protein intake to ensure synthesis is occurring and your fueling muscles correctly for muscle growth.

Depending on your sport, you should ideally be looking up fairly specific information on how to make sure you land inside the golden zone of body re-composition.

Try and make sure you are running a good strength routine twice per week with the aim of activating as much muscle as possible.

Rough Protein Intake for Body Recomposition:

0.73 grams per llb or 1.6 g/kg of body weight

testosterone

Why Some Fat Burners Can Damage Muscle and Performance

To understand why some fat burners work better than others to burn fat and spare lean muscle we need to get our science hats on. We’re keeping it fairly simple here, obviously external factors can impact this. But…

Your body has 3 ways it can get its energy: carbohydrates, fat, and muscle. Normally your body will always go for carbohydrates. It’s quick and easy to break down. After this you’ll generally use up stored glucose within muscles for energy, then your body will generally choose fat for fuel.

If fat is depleted or not accessible, your body will start to break up the amino acids in your muscle, essentially breaking down your hard won muscle tissue. Not what you want if you’ve spent a long few months building it up.

As you are in a fasted state and under a calorie maintenance level when you cut fat, generally you can end up training fasted or with low glycogen for muscles and can experience a decline in strength and muscle loss. This is natural.

Wrap Up

With the right diet and balanced amount of protein and calories you can create an environment where your body will preserve and potentially build muscle in these states. This is where supplements that cut fat but retain muscle come in. By supplementing the right product, you’re not just increasing your energy expenditure, but you can promote your body to actually break down fat, before muscle, even if glycogen levels are low. Work to cut fat and gain muscle with these great supplements to change your body composition today.

Checkout our Best Supplement to Cut Fat and Gain Muscle

Let us know what you think in the comments below. Also, be sure to follow Generation Iron on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. 

References

  1. Yazaki, Yuka; Faridi, Zubaida; Ma, Yingying; Ali, Ather; Northrup, Veronika; Njiike, Valentine Y.; Liberti, Lauren; Katz, David L. (2010). “A pilot study of chromium picolinate for weight loss”. (source)
  2. Hursel, R.; Veichtbauer, W.; Westerterp-Plantenga, M. S. (2009). “The effects of green tea on weight loss and weight maintenance: a meta-analysis”. (source)
  3. Tabrizi, Reza; Saneei, Parvane; Lankarani, Lamran B.; Akbari, Maryam; Kolahdooz, Fariba; Esmaillzadeh, Ahmad; Nadi-Ravandi, Somayyeh; Mazoochi, Majid; Asemi, Zatollah (2019). “The effects of caffeine intake on weight loss: a systematic review and dos-response meta-analysis of randomzied controlled trials”. (source)

About GI Team

The GI Team is here to provide top news and original content for the new generation. The generation of bodybuilders who are pushing the sport to bigger and better places. Join The Movement. Become a part of Generation Iron!

View All Articles

Primary Sidebar

Get the Latest

Stay informed with the latest news, product reviews, & expert advice.

Popular Reviews

  • best protein powders

    The Best Protein Powder Supplements of 2025 (Tried and Tested)

  • Best Creatine Supplements For Bulking & Muscle Growth of 2025 (Personally Tested)

  • top x pre workout

    The 14 Best Pre-Workout Supplements of 2025 (MD Reviewed)

  • Performance Lab SPORT BCAA

    The Best BCAA For Bodybuilding Health & Performance Goals

Trending Articles

  • female fitness models

    18 Best Butts On The Internet (Updated 2024)

  • ronnie coleman the king workout

    Ronnie “The King” Coleman’s Complete Bodybuilding Workout

  • Chris bumstead's 2024 workout and diet plan

    Chris Bumstead’s 2025 Complete Bodybuilding Workout & Diet Plan

  • The Ultimate Mike Mentzer Workout and Diet

Popular Now

  • best protein powders

    The Best Protein Powder Supplements of 2025 (Tried and Tested)

  • Best Creatine Supplements For Bulking & Muscle Growth of 2025 (Personally Tested)

  • top x pre workout

    The 14 Best Pre-Workout Supplements of 2025 (MD Reviewed)

  • female fitness models

    18 Best Butts On The Internet (Updated 2024)

  • best citrulline supplements

    The Best Citrulline Malate Supplements for Performance and Pump

  • ronnie coleman the king workout

    Ronnie “The King” Coleman’s Complete Bodybuilding Workout

Generation Iron

Generation Iron is the first and only digital network delivering health, fitness, bodybuilding, and strength sports content. We deliver premium content with the biggest names in fitness and provide expert coverage, reviews on top brands, workout tips and trends in the worlds of fitness, health and strength sports.

Strongman Corporation
Vladar

Sections

  • Trending News
  • Original Movies
  • Original Content
  • Supplement Reviews
  • Equipment Reviews
  • Exercise Guides
  • Nutrition Guides
  • Athlete Profiles

More

  • About Us
  • Our Team
  • Our Experts
  • Advertise
  • Franchise With Us
  • Podcasts
  • Power 30
  • Shop

CONTACT

Generation Iron Brands LLC
134 West 29th Street Suite 902
New York, NY 10001
Email: [email protected]

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • X / Twitter
  • YouTube

© 2025 · Generation Iron · Disclaimers · Privacy Policy · Accessibility