Caffeine and Ephedra

[BeefMan]

Ok I lead an extremely busy lifestyle, I get up every morning at 7 head to the gym for an hour or so. Then proceed to run my restuarant till 9 pm, at which point I head to the gym again for a light cardio and Sauna. The only days I dont go to the gym at night is Sat and Sun. Now I hear a lot of bad things about caffeine and atkins, but I dont get it. Now I understand how 6-7 cups of coffee a day can be bad, but in moderation to get yourself started in the morning and then keep yourself going thru the mid day into night. I dont drink coffee, I take the "REAL" stacker 3 w/ about the caffeine of 2 cups of coffee and enough ephedra to keep me going thru the day. Now even though they recommend taking it 3 times a day, I only take it once in the morning. If I need a lil boost to finish the day I drink cold tea. Most of what I have read says that caffeine is good in small doses. I spoke to my Dr about the ephedra and he feels the same. In small doses it is completely safe. Not to mention it is by FAR the best hunger suppresent I have seen. I eat about 7 small high fat/ high protein meals a day and I somtimes have to force myself to eat. But I make sure I eat at least 1200 cal a day, and I NEVER eat after 8 pm. So why all this NO caffeine??? I have no problem staying in ketosis and I am losing weight. Would I lose faster without taking these suppliments???? I do also take Chromium, Cider Viniger, Essential oils, and a good Multi Vit. Maybe after I get under 250 I wont need the stacker to keep my schedule going, but for now it is very necessary.

[Brook]

Re: Caffeine and Ephedra

The answer to your caffeine question is this: caffeine spikes blood sugar - which is the exact thing we work to avoid.

and.. Dr. Atkins said so.

Honestly, you're depending on artificial things for your energy. You're depending on drugs. The problem with this is that it's a never ending cycle. You take them, your body then develops a tolerance for them and it requires more to do the same darn thing. This is exactly the type of thing we're supposed to be avoiding. Caffeine is a stimulant - so is exercise - AND exercise is a stress reducer. Trumps caffeine every time. Ephedrine is an appetite suppresant - so is ketosis....and again, ketosis will trump ephedrine every time. Besides, 2 of those are artificial substances and two of them are completely natural. Seems like a fairly straight forward thing to me.

Here's what I can tell you from my own personal experience - having at one time been an ephedra/speed/caffeine devotee. Cleaning my system out, detoxifying made for a long two weeks - but the benefits have FAR outweighed the artificial energy I had while using those things. Now I have REAL energy and REAL appetite suppression - and all it costs me is my grocery bill.

Dump the junk, Beefman. It's not real and it's not healthy. You can get the same benefits by detoxifying your system and eating the way we were intended to eat. Frankly, your schedule isn't much different from many, many people around here - myself included. You CAN do it without the crap. There really is a fine line between the mental need for it (hello addictive behavior!) and the physical desire. It's false, and there's no magic to be had at any given number - 250, 230, 220, etc. You'll find reasons/excuses to continue to use the stuff then too if you don't make an effort to drop it now.

I wish you success.
~Brook

[not2late]

Re: Caffeine and Ephedra

Caffeine is a stimulant - so is exercise - AND exercise is a stress reducer. Trumps caffeine every time. Ephedrine is an appetite suppresant - so is ketosis....and again, ketosis will trump ephedrine every time.

Brook is correct. Exercise is a stimulant. I get up every morning at 5 AM and bike 10 miles around a track or I bike for 1.5 hours on a stationary bike. I admit when I wake up I'm a bit sleepy. But once I start my miles, I'm wide awake and I stay that way throughout the day. Also alot of people get an energy boost from being on Atkins.

As for appetite suppression, Brook is correct again. One of the side effects of the Atkins diet is lack of appetite. It's kind of funny because when Dr. Atkins testified about his diet to Congress in the 1970s, one of the charges he had to answer was the appetite suppression thing. Apparently, his critics thought because Atkins dieters don't feel hungry it was a a bad thing. I guess for them a good weight loss diet meant you were hungry 24/7.

So if you are taking caffeine and ephedra for it's stimulant and appetite suppression, you're really wasting your money and exposing your body to unnecessay chemicals because Atkins and exercise will do it for you.

[BeefMan]

Re: Caffeine and Ephedra

Ok guys......a lil more background info......Back in 2000 I was 339. I got down to around 220. Kept it off for years, got back to around 240-245 and stayed there till about a year and a half ago when I was hurt bad (back injury) any way I blew up to 300+ up till about 3 weeks ago. Also I have had a LOT of other injurys , 2 acl's replaced, 2 shoulder surg, 3 back surg's, 2 scopes to the other knee. So I understand what your saying and I know all about the good stuff keytosis does. But my concerns were more about it stopping weight loss. (caffeine). I know ephedra works. Not sure about ephedrine which is fake ehpedra I believe.

[Brook]

Re: Caffeine and Ephedra

Again, Beefman- caffeine can and does stall weight removal for some because of the blood sugar spikes. You're not going to know unless ya ditch the stuff.

Sounds as though you're already convinced of the need for the ephedrine garbage - - so not sure what to tell you there.

None of it is necessary. All of it effects your body and health.

[not2late]

Re: Caffeine and Ephedra

Ephredra has an additive effect on caffeine's affect. That is, it kind of amplifies the effect caffeine has on the body.

[Evermind]

Re: Caffeine and Ephedra

I have absolutely no problem at all with your taking ephedra and large quantities of caffeine.

Just don't claim you are doing the Atkins woe.

[grovemonkey]

Re: Caffeine and Ephedra

Beefman,

Another point to remember is that Coffee contains not only caffeine but also a number of trace minerals and products that interact with the caffeine. All of experience and research on coffee seems to indicate that coffee doesn't affect the body in the same way as diet coke or other refined products with caffeine added..

I say drink your coffee and see how it affects your weight loss. I'm of the personal opinion that Dr. Atkin's didn't look closely enough at coffee vs. other caffeinated products like green tea and chocolate. If you search the forum, there is a previous post that I did on the subject with a link but you can search caffeine and coffee on the internet and get some good information.

Also, consider the fact that a cup of tea with caffeine has about the same amount of caffeine as 1 oz of bakers chocolate or about 1/4 a cup of coffee. Another point about chocolate (and tea for that matter) is that it contains another substance called Theobromine which has a relaxing affect that actually increases the affect of caffeine on the body, more so than coffee which doesn't contain Theobromine. Just a bit of information to consider about those who are doing the Atkins but making low-carb chocolate deserts.

[jengeesh]

Re: Caffeine and Ephedra

i drink real caffine coffee EVERYDAY. I had cut it out till about 2 months ago. I did have to stop using half and half i think it was causing a stall. I drink 2 8oz mugs each mug with one pack of splenda. It seems to be fine and YES there is some evidence coffee has health benifits..not sure about just caffine.

Want a drug that could lower your risk of diabetes, Parkinson's disease, and colon cancer? That could lift your mood and treat headaches? That could lower your risk of cavities?

If it sounds too good to be true, think again.

Coffee, the much maligned but undoubtedly beloved beverage, just made headlines for possibly cutting the risk of the latest disease epidemic, type 2 diabetes. And the real news seems to be that the more you drink, the better http://men.webmd.com/features/coffee-new-health-food
one of several pro coffe articles.

[How Riveting]

Re: Caffeine and Ephedra

I drink coffee everyday and I feel fine. If anything, it helps with my weight loss. It gets me going in the mornings and gives me energy. I usually have an espresso in the afternoons too which gives me a second wind. If you have never been a coffee drinker, it's easy to criticize those who are. Lemme just say though, that if you've been drinking coffee every morning for years, it's really hard to give it up. Also, coffee basically causes no health problems. If anything, it's good for you. That being the case, I've never understood why anyone should give it up. The reason Dr. Atkins does not want you to drink coffee is because he thinks it lowers your blood sugar and thus makes to crave carbs. For me, it never makes me crave carbs, so I don't see a problem with it.

The one big problem I do have with coffee is the popularity of those disgusting drinks at Starbucks. They're loaded with high fructose corn syrup. People who drink those daily are bound to get fat.

[Brook]

Re: Caffeine and Ephedra

As an avid coffee drinker/lover (just to get that out of the way!) - I will say this:

Coffee has a carb content. Burning up a solid percentage of your daily allotted carbs on coffee just isn't the smartest way to go.

While coffee causes no health problems, the same can not be said for the caffiene it contains. It is a drug. Period.

People who drink those daily are bound to get fat.

I think the same can be said for people who choose to stay in their comfort zone, defending their addictions.

I'm not sayin..... I'm just sayin.

But hey...we all gotta do what works for us. If picking and choosing the parts of the book that we want to listen to is what works, fair enough. However, if/when the stall monster hits and it occurrs to people that they're going against Atkins' advice, drinking a fair share of their carbs rather than eating them, etc.....a solid arguement can be made for us not doing what works for us.

In truth, you won't truly know if it's affecting you or not until you give it up.

As with everything though, YMMV.

Continued success!
~Brook

[not2late]

Re: Caffeine and Ephedra

I don't know how this thread turned into a "drink your coffee" thread, considering Beefman stated in his op " I dont drink coffee, I take the "REAL" stacker 3 w/ about the caffeine of 2 cups of coffee and enough ephedra to keep me going thru the day."

[Brook]

Re: Caffeine and Ephedra

LOL Megs- Fair enough

I digress.

[BeefMan]

Re: Caffeine and Ephedra

Ok I went 3 days without my STACKER 3......First I am still deep in ketosis..Now let me tell you this w/o my stacker 3 at my current weight there is NO WAY ON EARTH I can keep up. I am sleepy by lunch time!!! I am always wanting to eat, No energy at the gym and FORGET about the night workout!!!! I dont believe DR Atkins EVER EVER did research on ephedra, I have spent a lot of time reading and speaking to my Dr (who by the way got me started on Atkins) about it. And the bottom line is and I'll quote him "the small risks of ephedra vs the major risks of being overweight are not even close" So tommorow I'll be back on my stacker 3 I tried to do without it and till I get down under 250 it is ABSOLUTELY necessary!!!

[Laurenfra]

Re: Caffeine and Ephedra

Beefman if you have gone 3 days with out, give it 2 more day 3 is hard as your body detoxes from the carbs. By 7 days in I have such a rush of energy.