Does anyone have a positive experience with increased fat loss do to the use of a thermogenic supplement?
Nope. Nothing that can be seen outside the lab. Even clen does not do too much.
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Ephedrine sure helped when I was wrestling, but I’m pretty sure it did my heart no favors
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fat loss = calorie deficit 
come on guys. I came in here for a magic pill.
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larryb1 here. I also had good results using ephedrine in the past,combined with caffeine and aspirin. I think it was called the E.C.T. stack back then. I’ve lost 12 lbs of fat in the last 2 weeks due to calorie deficent. Thanks for all replies to my post !
I had good results with ephedrine,caffeine, and aspirin 20 years ago. I lost 95 lbs. in a year and did no exercise except walking 3 or 4 miles daily, and did not really diet. I’m afraid that I’m too old to risk using ephedrine now
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You’ve lost 12lbs in 2 weeks and you’re asking for a thermo too…?
If this is actually true, you are 3k calories deficit daily, which most likely means you are either incorrect in your numbers, or you still have a significant amount of weight left to lose (not judging either way). Regardless, you need to understand what a maintainable deficit is, and be honest with yourself regarding progress. I do this with daily weigh-ins and weekly progress pictures but some people can do this with the mirror alone.
Can I ask what your height, weight, age, macros/calories and training regimen look like?
As others have said, most thermos have a very small effect. In the scenario that you have diabetes and a significant amount of weight to lose, I suggest speaking with your doctor about GLP-1 medications like Semaglutide. All this said, there is nothing you can take that will correct a bad diet and/or lack of exercise.
I’ve been thinking about taking them to cut off a little extra fat. If you have taken thermogens before are currently taking them, whats your experience been? Have you had any side effects? Have you had to plan your workouts and meals around them https://showbox.bio/https://showbox.bio/?
Are you already in a deficit?
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The thermogenics that worked definitely had side effects: elevated heart rate and blood pressure, insomnia, etc. I’m sure they didn’t do my long-term health any favors, and I wasn’t as abusive as some of the other guys.
In terms of planning workouts/ meals around them, I don’t really know what you mean. I wouldn’t use them until there’s nowhere else to go with your workouts and meals.
Just to be clear, I’m talking from ephedrine use; I don’t have any experience with what’s being legally sold today.
I have taken perhaps a dozen of the most popular name brand thermogenics like Lipozene and they do not work. I have also researched many purported thermogenic herbs and their constituents like ECGC found in green tea, and curcuminoids found in curcumin, I have found no noticeable results with them either. The only thermogenic that I have ever tried that definitely worked was ephedrine, in combination with caffeine. 25 mgs., ephedrine plus 200 mgs., of caffeine taken 3 times per day helped me lose 95 lbs, at the rate of 5 lbs per week. I was not dieting using calorie restriction. I was only exercising b y walking a couple of miles a day at a moderate pace. Following the diet that I consumed and doing my walking, I was struggling to lose a pound per week.
Back when I did this, there were available legally, many supplement formulations based upon this combination. However, they were greatly overpriced, usually containing ot her ingredients which had no proof behind them. I took the ephedrine by using Bronkaid or Primatine tablets, used for asthma. THey contained the right amount of ephedrine(25mgs) and a harmless expectorant(guafenesen). The caffeine, I purchased was cheap generic NoDose tablets(200mgs). Back then, the Bronkaid and Primatine were over the counter, stocked on shelves at Walmart and all drug stores. Since the high dollar ephedrine supplements(ECA Stack) were pulled off of the shelves, all retailers have either stopped selling Bronkaid and Primatine, or they have moved them b ehind the counter at their pharmacies. You can still purchase them at Walmart and most big drug stores. I believe that some retailers, if not all, will limit you to w boxes at a time.
If you decide to try your own ECA Stack like I did, make sure that you hydrate well, and be careful working out when it’s very hot. There were some deaths that the ECA Stack was supposedly implicated in. Some were high profile cases involving high level sports. Every time I heard about one of these incidents happening, high temperatures and or lack of hydration was also involved. To use this “stack”, one should be in good health, despite being overweight. I would suggest that one would monitor their blood pressure and heart rate. It doesn 't matter if you take it on an empty stomach or a full stomach. Remember that caffeine is a diuretic, so you will pee more frequently, one more reason to be well hydrated.
I am no expert on anything, but I do my research on anything that I consume, and I do it well. One takeaway here about supplements is this : Almost every name brand supplement FORMULA using multiple ingredients can be duplicated on the cheap with ingredients that are just as high a quality as the FORMULA. A good example is the T Boosting formula, highly advertised to increase total testosterone and free testosterone in men. THe FORMULA works. However, it contains extra ingredients that DO NOT work, like some unheard of apple peel extract.
The main ingredient is Testofen. It has very good research behind it. It’s the main ingredient in nearly all T boosting FORMULAS out there. It also has Boron Glycinate. It also has very good research behind it, and it is a mineral that is essential to life, and that almost no one really gets enough from their diet. The third ingredient that works is Bioperine. This is a patented extract of black pepper(Testofen is also patented). Bioperine increases the absorption and bioavailability of all supplements that have been tested with it. Increased absorption and bioavailability ranged from 40% to 2000%. Also, it has been shown to increase testosterone in it’s own way. Nugenix costs $69.99 plus $4.99 for shipping and handling. They are also deceptive in running their business. They will send you a “free” sample for shipping and handling, but before you can get through half of the 2 week supply, you will find out that you have already been charged $69.99 for the next month’s supply. SURPRISE ! You are now auto enrolled for a monthly charge to your account.
I get many supplements from Swansons Vitamins. They are a fine company. I have many years of experience with them. They have good quality products,good prices, and excellent customer service where you actually talk to a real person on the first try. If you purchase from Swansons Vitamins : Fenugreek Extract featuring Testofen and take the recommended 600mgs per day, it will cost you $12.50 per month. If you buy their Boron Glycinate and take 12mgs per day as recommended, you will spend $1.88 per month. If you buy their Bioperine, and take 1 capsule with the Testofen and the Boron you will spend $1.53 per month. That figures out to $15.51 per month instead of $69.99 paid for Nugenix. My testosterone level is almost 100% higher after 2 months of supplementation in this manner. I feel better, with more energy, improving muscle to fat ratio and my libido is GREATLY improved.
That’s my feelings on thermogenics, supplement formulas, saving money on them and probably more than you wanted to here, but I had the time to kill, and I hope that I helped some make a wise decision. However, I cannot take any responsibility for the results that you get. It seems that everything boils down to what works for you. What I have stated here is my own experience and my own opinion.
I wish all good luck in your efforts to improve your health…Larry
I mean no disrespect by this, but you were using calorie restriction, just not the way you think of it. If you ate at maintenence for that weight, factoring in activity level, you still would not lose weight.
You can generate a deficit by increasing activity and increasing food consumption, so long as Calories In < Calories Out (see G-Flux)
This is the utter foundation of weight loss.
You were generating a 17,500 calorie deficit weekly.
Most thermogenics dont work for shit. The idea of burning more calories by increasing internal body temp isn’t bad, but our bodies just so happen to be really good at temperature regulation. The audacity.
Things like phentermine and ozempic have strong literature to work though. Of course, both are expensive and need prescriptions, but there’s probably ways around that.
Not sure about the TRT part but entertaining video with a potent (pun intended) message about the actual worth of most T boosting supplements.
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I believe there is some mileage in this claim. I have heard from folks in the carnivore community who have boosted T levels through 6mg a day. I personally take it because (a) it is difficult to get naturally, and (b) it is very inexpensive.
I would urge caution about any substance that assists with absorption. Why? Because, according to your liver, that same substance is toxic and needs to be removed.
You were correct to say that I WAS using calorie restriction, however, my main point is that I was still not losing weight. The old ephedrine- caffeine-aspirin stack DID WORK. I t was later shown that aspirin did not make much difference one way or the other. I .agree with you that all other thermogenics are shit. I don’t know about the prescription drugs that you mention. I’ll have to check into them with the PubMed website to see if there are any good human studies out there that show positive results. The “weight loss through the use of thermogenics by way of an increased metabolic rate” is sound. It just remains to find chemicals, whether natural or synthetic that will produce the desired effect without undo side effects. The E.C.A stack did and does do this for healthy people who want to have better results losing weight. This as long as they hydrate properly, and take caution exercising in hot weather. I hope that my advice on properly researching all supplements that one may be considering taking is helpful to someone. I also hope that people will wake up to the fact that many of the multi ingredient “formulas” out there can be duplicated at a savings in the range of 30%-40%.
I appreciate your comments and information on the topic of thermogenics and weight loss. I will look for further posts from you. I enjoy getting healthy give and take on forums. Many times my posts have gotten no notice. Often I have asked questions on forums that received no notice or replies. This forum seens to be a good one to engage in. I will be posting more in the future, and asking questions. I am certainly no expert on any subject. When I post some info for others to consider, it should always be understood that it is still just my opinion. I will try to always make this clear. Thanks again for your reply, and best wishes in your efforts to stay strong, healthy, and muscular.
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DNP works but it’s not for the faint of heart
wanna_be. Thanks for your reply. 2,4-dinitrophenol IS NOT for the faint of heart. It is extremely toxic(pesticide,herbicide). It is also illegal. I will do some more research on it before I can comment on whether it is effective or not for weight loss. However, at my age, I wouldn’t consider using it even IF I could get my hands on it. If you use it, I hope that you are VERY careful in doing so. You may consider going to the PUBMED database and read some of the research that has been done on it for any number of purposes. That’s where I get most of my information. Some of it is over my head, but I get the “drift” about most things that I research. Just Googling things like DNP can give one tons of bad advice. THanks again for your reply, and I hope you have a “good one” Larry.
P.S. PUBMED is the database of the National Institutes of Health. There is no bias there, just pure research done from all over the world.
We know all about Pubmed. Heck. We’ve had neuroscientists, pharmacokinetic specialists, and cardio thoracic surgeons reference Pubmed here quite a bit, across an incredible range of subjects.
Sometimes all in the same post!
(Just to be clear, I’m being facetious.)
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