T Nation

Considering Ephedra/Ephedrine

Supplements and Nutrition
#1

Hi!
I’m considering taking an ephedra/ephedrine supplement to help me with weight loss, as I really want to get that six-pack… I do know a lot about training and nutrition, and I know what to do to diet - but I feel like ephedra could help me get there faster, and probably also help me a bit with my workouts, especially with my cardio training.

That said, my health is very important to me, and I will not take anything that’s really unhealthy… But it seems like many of the potential side effects from ephedra is overestimated, and most of the side effects people list seems like they are not side effects at all, but rather the effect that we wan’t from the supplement, and from what I’ve read It doesn’t seem like it is that much more dangerous then caffeine.

But what do you guys think, and what are your experience with ephedra/ephedrine and/or ECA stacks?

I’m not thinking about taking it long-term, anyway, just a couple of months while I diet down to the fat % that I want to stay at, and then I’m planning on going back to ephedra-free supps.

#2

I still use Ephedra and love it. I just take it in moderation with caffiene and aspirin and it works wonders for me. Just make sure that you are healty and hydrated.

#3

If you do make the decision to take Ephedra make sure not to take excessive amounts of caffeine, that can make it dangerous. And like stated above, stay hydrated.

#4

Thanks… I always drink a lot of water so that should be no problems… Have you experienced any side effects? and I read some people complaining about getting a very high hart rate, is this something that could make me get less results from high intensity cardio training? I do MAX-OT cardio (google it) and always get up to about 180 in hart rate… Will I get there (pretty close to max) faster when taking ephedra, and therefore not be able to train as hard?

#5

Fred you’ll be fine 200mg caffiene, 25mg ephedra, and the 80mg asprin(normally used daily to treat high BP/ the asprin not the caf & eph). Anyways morning/noon/night should do ya. I usually take my CNS stim. right before meals(stomach reasons) and the last dose not after 4 or 5 p.m. for sleep reasons.

#6

Where can you get ephedrine? I thought it was illegal in the U.S…

#7

Don’t take ephedra. Take pure, pharmaceutical grade ephedrine-HCl.

Most ephedra is made in china and is pure shit, full of chemical solvents and random amounts of “ephedrine alkaloids” that aren’t even ephedrine.

Look up all of the deaths and critical incidents regarding “ephedra/ephedrine” and you’ll find that every last one of them involved the person using ephedra, not ephedrine.

Sometimes the drug form of a substance IS BETTER than the herbal form. That’s why they attached an acetyl group to salisylic acid. It’s why they just make ephedrine in a lab rather than extracting it from plants. The drug form is so much better – and safer.

ElbowStrike

#8

[quote]ElbowStrike wrote:
Don’t take ephedra. Take pure, pharmaceutical grade ephedrine-HCl.

ElbowStrike[/quote]

Any websites with pure, pharma grade that you know of?

#9

[quote]titopuente wrote:
Where can you get ephedrine? I thought it was illegal in the U.S…[/quote]

It’s illegal to sell as a dietary aid. Not illegal to sell as a bronchodialator. Vasopro or Bronchaid are what most people use.

#10

I’ve had great success with EC while doing 2 cycles of Lyle McDonald’s Rapid Fat Loss. It wakes me up in the morning and really helps me grind through the days with very few calories by blunting my appetite. I take 25mg Bronkaid + 200 mg caffeine 2x per day, but will bump it to 3x per day if I’m really fighting cravings.

It makes me a little jittery and my mind races shortly after each dose, especially if I’ve had other caffeine that day. But overall, the benefits far outweigh the costs. It’s cheap and very effective.

Beware of quitting cold turkey. I think I get withdrawal symptoms when I go off suddenly. Also, don’t take it on days where you eat a shitload of carbs.

#11

I got a dose and split it 3 ways with two of my buddys that lift, they loved it I didn’t. Ended up giving them half my share in the end. Didn’t enjoy the kinda on edge feeling really, plus I like to take caffeine before a workout and taking it with the ephedrine throughout the day definately made me less tolerant to it and I didn’t get the same benefit.
But it’s cheap and fairly safe if your smart with it so try it I guess.

#12

Caffeine and ephedrine have a great synergistic effect on fat loss as well as sports performance. Caffeine boosts sports performance and has an effect on yellow adipose tissue and ephedine has an added effect on brown adipose tissue(the hard to get rid of stuff).

#13

Ephedrine essentially makes your body work harder, so i wouldn’t recommend taking prior to hard cardio training unless you want to feel like you’re having a heart attack.