Cutting Supplements
The supplement industry markets dozens of products to people cutting. Most are useless. Here's what the evidence actually supports — and what to skip.
The Supplement Hierarchy
Whey Protein
Not magic — just a convenient, high-quality protein source. Rapidly digested, high leucine content. Use it to hit your 2.2g/kg LBM protein target, not as a replacement for whole food protein.
Casein protein before bed is useful for overnight muscle protein synthesis.
Creatine Monohydrate
Does NOT directly burn fat, but is one of the most important supplements for a cut. Creatine maintains strength output under caloric restriction, helping you retain training intensity — which is essential for muscle preservation. Multiple meta-analyses confirm creatine reduces muscle loss during cutting.
Will add 1–2 kg of water weight initially. This is not fat. Do not stop creatine on a cut.
Caffeine
Caffeine increases fat oxidation during exercise, suppresses appetite, and improves training performance when calorie-restricted. The energy and performance benefits during a calorie deficit are well-documented. Cycle off every 6–8 weeks to avoid tolerance.
Get it from coffee or straight caffeine anhydrous — not overpriced pre-workouts.
Soluble Fiber (Psyllium Husk)
Soluble fiber forms a gel in the gut, slowing gastric emptying and increasing satiety. On a cut, managing hunger is a legitimate performance challenge. 10g of psyllium husk before a meal meaningfully reduces hunger and calorie intake at that meal.
Also improves insulin sensitivity and gut health. Start with 5g and increase gradually.
Vitamin D3 + K2
Most athletes in northern latitudes are deficient. Low Vitamin D is associated with reduced testosterone, impaired recovery, and reduced training performance. On a calorie-restricted diet, micronutrient deficiencies are more likely.
Get blood levels tested. Optimal serum levels: 40–60 ng/mL.
Magnesium Glycinate
Magnesium is depleted through sweat. Deficiency reduces sleep quality, increases cortisol, and impairs recovery. On a cut with reduced food volume, getting adequate dietary magnesium is harder.
Use glycinate form — better absorbed, less digestive distress than oxide.
Fat Burners / Thermogenics
Proprietary blends of stimulants, herbs, and marketing. The few ingredients with any evidence (caffeine, green tea extract) are more cheaply obtained separately and dosed identically. Most "fat burner" effects come entirely from caffeine, which you can buy for $0.05/dose.
Save your money. The deficit does the work.
CLA (Conjugated Linoleic Acid)
Minor effects in rodent studies, consistently fails to replicate in human trials at practical doses. Not worth the cost or the calorie addition (it's a fat source).
Save your money.
Raspberry Ketones / Garcinia
No human evidence of meaningful effect. Pure marketing supplements with no plausible mechanism at real-world doses.
Waste of money.
The Bottom Line on Cutting Supplements
Supplements are exactly what the name says — supplemental. They marginally improve results on top of a solid foundation. They cannot compensate for a bad diet, inaccurate tracking, or lack of training consistency.
The four supplements worth using during a cut: whey protein (to hit your protein target), creatine monohydrate (to maintain training performance), caffeine (for performance and fat oxidation during training), and fiber (to manage hunger).
Total cost: under $1.50 per day. Anyone selling you a $60 "shredding stack" is selling you marketing, not science.
Tracking what you eat matters more than any supplement
PlateLens AI photo tracking gives you the precision your diet needs. Available on iOS and Android.