Does Hydroxycut work?

[Squatch]

I'm trying to take off a couple pounds and wanted to know if people have success with Hydroxycut or other supplements. I'm moderately active, but will be ramping up my cardio workouts.

Any info would be great!

S

[Bassic]

1. Pills don't work in the long run.

If you want to take off weight for good, I suggest a program such as weight watchers, where you actually have to change you living habits in order to gradually lose weight. It's working pretty good for me.

[NewWaveChick1981]

2. Taking pills can be dangerous.

If at all possible, it's better to lose weight by following a healthy food plan (like Weight Watchers or South Beach) and increasing your exercise. It's hard to do but very worthwhile. Short-term solutions don't work because you usually gain the weight back (and then some) once you stop it.

[idgiehkt]

3. yes, it works for some people

It contains ephedra, which can be very dangerous for people with any kind of heart condition, including hypertension. You should talk to your doctor about using it...this is one OTC supplement that can mess you up if you have contraindications. But those kinds of supplements (the ones that contain ephedra) do work, some people have success with them. They are expensive, and I don't know what happens if you go off of them, probably you gain the weight back. There also might be cheaper kinds than Hydroxycut and Xenadrine out there, like I think the GNC brands are cheaper. You also might not like the way it feels since it does affect your central nervous system.

I can't use it because of my heart, but I worked in a store where we sold a good bit of it and for the people who didn't have heart problems (definitely get yourself checked out for hypertension) some of them had success with it.

[flvegan]

5. Since the ephedra "ban" they don't include it as an ingredient anymore.

Anything over 10mg of ephedra is "banned" from production, and most companies won't touch any ephedra at all as their insurance companies won't cover them.

However, you are dead right about the potential dangers of ephedra for those with heart, blood pressure and/or thyroid conditions.

[flvegan]

4. Does Hydroxycut work? In one word: yes.

The old Hydroxycut worked very well, thanks to ephedra. The new stuff, specifically, Hydroxycut Hardcore relies on a bastardized version of the ECA (ephedra/caffeine/aspirin) stack. It doubles the caffeine source and uses White Willow Bark for the aspirin. Does it work? Sure, it can.

These herbal thermogenics/fat-burners (including Lipo-6, Redline, Xenadrine, etc) all work, to an extent. It depends upon a few things:
1. Your basal metabolic rate, as is;
2. Your genetics;
3. Your body type/how much weight you want to lose;
4. Your current level of physical activity.

Personally, I wouldn't buy Hydroxycut. Not because it's a bad product, but because I hate hate hate MuscleTech, the company that makes it. Their advertising is terribly misleading, and I believe they try to dupe folks into using their products.

Were I to run out of ephedrine, and want a product like Hydroxycut, I'd either go to BSN Thermonex, Nutrex Lipo-6 or Ergopharm Ergolean AMP. Why would I choose those? I trust the companies to put into the pills what they put on the paper. I'd add a couple hundred mgs of dandelion root extract for diuretic purposes and 500 mg of spirulina/blue-green algae for additional appetite control.

[Dukkha]

6. careful with the dosage

it can be rage in a bottle. I was using a different brand Metabolife. It was like 1900% daily allowance of caffeine. I took it with coffee! There were times I felt like chewing through my steering wheel on the road.

So in short yes they can be a good supplement diet & training aid. But they don't have a good effect on their own. I used it while I was weight training, running, and eating right. Keep those up and you can quickly ween off the Hydroxycut and keep yourself fit.

[Avalux]

7. Locking.

"Do not post messages asking for medical advice."

Even though this is an otc supplement; it can still be dangerous. Please consult a medical professional for advice on this product. Thanks for your understanding.