What is CLA?

Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is an omega-6 fatty acid found in naturally fed beef and dairy products.

How does CLA work?

In the bodybuilding industry, CLA has become known as a dietary supplement that helps you lose subcutaneous fat and gain lean muscle mass.

It sounds too good to be true.

And it’s not true.

The facts are that if you are on a calorie-restrictive diet and exercise with weights in combination with cardio training, you will lose subcutaneous fat as well as a certain percentage of lean muscle mass. It is impossible to lose subcutaneous fat without losing some of your lean muscle unless you are taking anabolics.

People who take Growth Hormone in combination with several other substances can expect to lose subcutaneous fat and gain lean muscle mass, but that’s another story.

Such an effect cannot be expected from CLA.

CLA’s mechanism of action was said to boost metabolism by increasing the amount and rate at which the body burns fat. That larger amount of released and burned fat gives you more energy, so you can exercise harder.

CLA in combination with weight training, cardio training and a diet in which the intake of carbohydrates is reduced can give satisfactory results in the process of melting subcutaneous fat tissue.

Example of a person weighing 90 kg:

A person weighing 90 kg in a normal bodybuilding diet should use 2g of protein per kilogram of body weight and 4g of carbohydrates. That’s 180g of protein and 360g of carbohydrates. When we started the training process, I reduced carbohydrates from 360g to 180g and we did four training sessions a week. 30 minutes with weights and 40 minutes of cardio training. We used 3g of CLA per day. The person lost 4 kilograms in 4 weeks.

 It is difficult to assess what exactly influenced the weight loss without specific measurements (CLA action, reduced carbohydrate intake, weight training or cardio training), but a satisfactory result in the loss of subcutaneous fat tissue was definitely achieved.