The Fat Burner That Actually Works ... and it's not a commercial product
Aug 05 '02
The Bottom Line All fat burning products must contain a form of ephedrine and caffeine to be effective. These two chemicals can be bought in non-commercial form, cheaply, by the smart consumer.
Introduction
Hello all,
I'm going to let you in on a little secret. If you're buying a commercial fat burning supplement you are likely doing one of the following:
A) Buying something that is ineffective
or
B) Spending more money than you have to.
You see, the reason for this is that there are only 2 components in any fat-burning supplement that actually burn fat. One is ephedrine, the other is caffeine.
What you should also be aware of is that these two chemicals are available in non-commercial form, at a very low cost, without any form of commercial overhead or extra added ingredients that drive up the cost.
So are there commercial products that work? Definitely! The ones that contain some form of ephedrine and caffeine are definitely effective, but why waste your money paying a company's advertising bills?
Who are you to tell me what works and what doesn't ?
My name is Chris Myden, and I'm just your average, every-day, computer genius bent on world-domination. I'm a Canadian, an avid weightlifter, and someone who does thorough research on everything before jumping into something.
I was curious about fat-burning chemicals and decided to do some research. Using newsgroups & search engines I found a bunch of info on the positive effects ephedrine & caffeine can have on stripping away bodyfat while retaining muscle mass.
What is ephedrine? Is it safe?
- Ephedrine is a chemical derivative of the herb Ephedra sinica and several other species of Ephedra, and was first isolated and used pharmaceutically about 100 years ago.
- It has been described as a really mild form of speed, which temporarily increases heart rate, core body temperature, and temporarily raises blood pressure.
- Ephedrine is extremely safe, providing you do not have a heart condition, and are not some idiot that tries to down 20X the maximum daily allowance. Ephedrine is found in pharmaceutical products such as nasal decongestants.
- The reason some places, especially in the U.S., have banned the sale of ephedrine is because A) There have been a few morons who tried consuming EXTREMELY large quantities of ephedrine at once and hurt themselves, and B) It can be used as a precursor for certain illegal drugs.
- It's funny how a drug that's abused by millions, ie: alcohol, which causes countless cases of pain, suffering and death every day is allowed to be sold legally without question, and yet ephedrine comes under attack because it's such an easy target for politicians. (Sorry, went off on a rant there, a la Dennis Miller)
- Canada used to allow ephedrine pills to be sold in 25mg form, but just recently, they have changed it to 8mg. When buying ephedrine, make sure you know how much is in each pill.
What are the side effects of taking this ephedrine & caffeine combo?
- During the first week, you will experience a loss of appetite. You will also feel a little bit jittery and wired. Personally I was expecting the 'wired' feeling to be a little more intense, it really wasn't much of anything. I just felt really alert and had more energy.
- After a few weeks your body will adjust, and you won't really notice any side effects other than fat loss. The interesting thing about this chemical combo is that the fat-burning effects continue, even once the 'wired' feeling has subsided.
- Some people really enjoy the energetic feeling you get during the first week, and they attempt to recreate this feeling by giving themselves higher doses. This is NOT a good idea, and my advice to you is to consider the 'energy week' as a bonus and don't depend on it for a workout boost after that. After the first week just sit back and enjoy the fat-burning ride.
I see ads touting their product as 'ephedrine-free' diet pills, why not use them?
Well to put it bluntly, because they won't do ANYTHING for you. The ads claim 'you won't feel any of the side effects of ephedrine with our diet pills' and they're absolutely right. You won't feel a darn thing, because they're not doing a darn thing for you except emptying your bank account and proving P.T. Barnum right once again.
I see ads claiming their product contains over 30 fat-burning chemicals, wouldn't they be better?
Snake oil diet pill companies realize that the sheep, er I mean public, have this misconception that more is better. They don't want to be seen as a company with 'less fat-burning chemicals' than their competitor and they realize that very few people ever actually do enough homework to discover that the products they insert will do absolutely, positively, NOTHING for you whatsoever.
Please be clear about this, if there's one thing I want you to take from this information, it's the fact that the only two proven thermogenics that actually work are caffeine & ephedrine when combined with each other. Everything else is a complete waste of your time, money, and intellectual pride.
So you're telling me every commercial product is bogus?
Absolutely not! In fact, there are many commercial fat burning products that contain the proper amount of ephedrine (or ma huang, which is a form of ephedrine) and caffeine. Here's a list of some of the good ones:
- Extreme Ripped Force
- Kwikburn
- Metabolift
- Norexin
- Ripped Fuel
- Thermo Cuts
However, these companies will add useless ingredients, which drives the price up, and obviously they have to pay to advertise their product, which of course is passed along to you, the consumer.
Smart people simply buy ephedrine and caffeine pills in their pure form and use the money they saved to buy smaller jeans.
What about pseudo-ephedrine, is that the same thing as ephedrine?
No, they're similar, but pseudo-ephedrine is much, much weaker, don't waste your time with it. Ephedrine is what you want
How long will my supply last?
For about $13 U.S., you can buy enough ephedrine and caffeine pills to last you approximately one month. (Based on how much you should take, and how often, which will be explained in a moment.
As far as supplements go, this is one of the cheapest you'll find, and what I find fascinating is that it's likely one of the most effective.
When do I take the ephedrine & caffeine? How often? How much?
Dosage & Usage
Right off the bat, let's get one definition straight:
One Dose Is Equal To:
- 24mg of ephderine
- 200mg of caffeine
- half a tablet of aspirin
I'll explain the aspirin in a minute. If you were paying attention, you'll remember that I mentioned the Canadian government used to allow the sale of 25mg ephedrine pills. This made it really easy for us to use, one ephedrine pill per dose!
From now on, the ephedrine you see for sale will likely be in 8mg form. Obviously though, you should always check the bottle first to see what you're buying. It really affects nothing, other than convenience, it's just that now I have to take 3 ephedrine pills (3x8mg) to equal the one pill I was taking before.
Aspirin? Where did that come from?
This combination of drugs, used by those 'in the know', is referred to as the ECA stack. ECA stands for: ephedrine, caffeine, aspirin.
The inclusion of aspirin has been debated by some, as there is no real scientific evidence that it adds to the fat-burning effect. Some have claimed that only obese people require the aspirin, which helps the stack to be more efficiently distributed into the body.
I personally do not take the aspirin, but if you want to, go ahead.
OK, now when do I take this 'ECA' dose?
About 30-45 minutes before each meal, take one dose. Some people like to take one dose before a workout as well, but the latest you should take a dose is 7-8pm, as it can be hard to fall asleep before the dose wears off.
There is no need to take larger quantities of the caffeine or ephedrine, as it will not help you burn fat any faster.
Your maximum should be 3-4 doses per day, any more is just a waste of perfectly good ephedrine and caffeine pills.
Should I take the full dose right away when starting this ECA program?
No. Perhaps there is one advantage to the Canadian government dividing our ephedrine pills into 8mg size. At least now it will be easier for people starting off to regulate their intake.
For the first 1-2 days I would recommend you take:
- one 8mg ephedrine pill
- half a caffeine pill (200mg)
For the next 3-4 days I would recommend you take:
- 2 x 8mg ephedrine pill
- one caffeine pill (200mg)
After that, if you find your body is handling it fine, go for the full dosage. This process will allow your body to ease into the side effects of ephedrine & caffine.
Personally, I found my body responded to ephedrine & caffeine really well, and I went to the full dosage pretty quickly, but everyone is different.
How long before I see results? How can I monitor my progress?
From my experience, I lost about 1.5-2lbs per week, and it seemed to be almost entirely fat that I lost (my chest and arm size stayed about the same, while my waist went from 36" to 30.5").
I've lost about 25-30lbs of fat thus far, while retaining nearly all my muscle mass (one of the effects of the ECA stack is retention of muscle mass)
If you want to be accurate, I would recommend:
- measuring your weight once a week, at the same time of day, right when you wake up (and after you've taken a leak, and with the same item(s) of clothing.
- measuring your waist line, once a week, at the same time of day, right when you wake up (and after you've taken a leak), and with the same item(s) of clothing
The key here is consistency of variables. Your weight can fluctuate by a few pounds based on water weight, food you've eaten, your clothes, etc.
The easiest way to gauge is by your clothes. If they fit better, something's working :)
Don't measure your progress every day, once a week at most. After a month you should definitely notice the difference.
Other Things You Should Do
Go on a calorie-restricted diet
No, don't starve yourself. But to lose weight, you do need to consume less calories than you exert. The ECA dose will help greatly, since it curbs appetite. Also, when you normally go on a calorie-restricted diet your body thinks it's starving and tries to preserve itself by slowing your metabolism down.
With the ECA dose, your metabolism will continue to rev along and burn fat for fuel instead of muscle.
Do some resistance training
Cardio is for suckaz. Ok, that's not entirely true, but you'll get much more benefit out of resistance training. (ie: lifting weights). You'll build muscle, instead of burning it (like cardio does), and the more muscle you have the more efficient your body runs (more calories burned)
Drink lots of water
'nuff said
Eat more protein, less carbs
Chicken, turkey, lean beef, egg whites, are the kinds of things you should be eating. Protein builds muscle. Carbohydrates are good for energy (spaghetti, cheeses, bread, sugars) but excess carbohydrates are stored as fat.
No carbohydrates after 8pm
Your body won't have enough time to burn 'em off, and they'll be stored as fat. (See above)
My pictures! Results!
I took some pictures of myself at various stages of progress when I started, because I wanted to see if there would be visible changes.
I took accurate pictures, wearing the same clothing each time, same lighting, same distance from the camera, and same body pose, etc.
http://www.chrismyden.com/fatloss/progress.html
You can watch me shrink from a 208 lb lardball to a ripped 183 lbs.
Awesome, unbiased, informative links about the ECA Stack:
[An amazing FAQ that I found while perusing the newsgroups, I have it hosted on my site, and formatted for easy reading]
http://www.ChrisMyden.com/fatloss/faq.html
[Questions people have asked me about the ECA stack, definitely check these out!]
http://www.chrismyden.com/fatloss/questions.html
[Thermogenic Weight Loss Products: FAQ and Price Guide]
http://www.drumlib.com/dp/000006.htm
[Commercial Products That Will Work Because They Contain A Form Of Ephedrine & Caffeine]
http://www.drumlib.com/dp/000006P.htm
[Health Canada's Information Site About Ephedrine]
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/english/protection/warnings/2002/2002_01ebk2.htm
[All of the information contained here, hosted on my site (good url to bookmark]
http://www.ChrisMyden.com/fatloss/
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