Q: I wrote question 711. I am on a low fat, low cal diet and I do cardio 3 times a week and resistance training and light weights 3 times a week. My husband insists taking amino acids will help me to burn more fat.??

A: Amino acids are just protein broken down into its building blocks (same thing as your body does when you eat meat, fish, etc). Taking them separately will almost certainly have zero impact on your fat loss unless your diet is woefully low in protein (in which case you should just have a better diet).

I would encourage you to switch to a lower-carb, medium-fat diet -- keep the total calories the same but subsitute veggies (other than potato or corn) for your starchy foods (breads, pasta, rice) AND add some healthy fats like some olive oil or fatty fish (salmon) into your diet.

For training, don't be afraid to use heavier weights -- as long as you're losing weight overall you won't gain muscle, but heavier weight training will help you burn more fat.