Weight Loss Product Review: Personal Experiences with Ephedra

I’ll start out by saying that the specific product I am reviewing is the diet pill Lipodrene. This company does offer an ephedra free version of the pill, but the weight loss effects are no where near as effective. I have done extensive research on several diet pills at various web sites and have found that there is one product that they all have in common amongst the thousands of weight loss items available. It was made even more desirable once the FDA banned it. The product is ephedra, which is the key component of the famous ECA stack (Ephedra, Caffeine, and Aspirin).

Lipodrene offers a healthy 25 mg dosage of ephedra per bitter tasting dime sized yellow pill. It also conveniently contains caffeine as well, which is a key component to support the desired effects of the ephedra, which is weight loss. The key is “thermogenics.” Simply put, Lipodrene is a thermogenic which raises the body’s core temperature so that more calories are burned even when resting. I noticed this effect and have felt “clammy” while on the product. I’m not talking about a post-cardio routine sweat, I’m talking about a feverish and unhealthy feeling sweat. This is not the worst of the side effects, though, and is bearable considering the fat burning qualities of the product.

Ephedra will raise your heart rate. My heart raced and palpitated throughout the day (and night). I was a little nervous to exercise because I thought I might have a heart attack if I pushed my heart any further than the Lipodrene already was, but I found that cardio was a lot more enjoyable on the Lipodrene. I noticed that all that jittery energy I got from the ephedra and caffeine really pushed my cardio performance. This nervous energy (there are shakes involved, especially in the hands) lasted throughout the entire day, and unfortunately well into the night.

I found out the hard way not to take Lipodrene anywhere near bed time, and I mean taking your last one for the day at least six hours before you hit the sack. I took my last pill four hours before bed the first time I used the product and studied my bedroom’s ceiling fan for hours! Sleep was not for me that night, nor the next couple of night’s either because I still was not used to the effects yet. I got maybe three hours of sleep (not the deep solid kind, but the kind where you wake every twenty minutes or so) the first three days on the product, but you’d never guess it because I still took the Lipodrene as directed and never got tired. It was rather frightening to live the life of a vampire without the fear of sunlight. Once I worked out timing my last dosage right, I crashed into a sleep so hard that I didn’t even dream. I slept for nearly sixteen hours straight and felt the first symptoms of Lipodrene withdrawal.

I have never used any illegal drugs (unless ephedra is illegal since the ban? oops…) but I think withdrawal from Lipodrene can be compared to mild to moderate street drug withdrawal. My whole body ached all the way to my bones. I was sluggish and my eyes felt like they had grit in them. My jaw hurt as well, as if it were an overused and rusting hinge. I realized later (after my next few doses) that I compulsively compressed my jaw and ground my teeth together while on the Lipodrene. I basically felt like I had been hit by a semi- truck. It is safe to say that this is an addictive product, but if you can handle the side effects and afford it, then you won’t have to worry about the withdrawal part unless you eventually decide the product is not for you.

Lipodrene claims to suppress your appetite as well, but the only appetite suppression I noticed was nausea. I only took half of the recommended dosage (25 mg) my first few times, and I nearly threw up ten minutes later. I hadn’t eaten yet (it recommends to take the product thirty minutes before main meals) and I got so violently dizzy that I had to sit down for a while and really concentrate on keeping my stomach contents, which were only gastric juices and Lipodrene, down there. Fifteen minutes after my first dose was when I noticed the thermogenic effect. I thought I was having a hot flash and I had to remove my shirt while trying to keep as still as possible because of the stomach cramping nausea. I began sweating even though I was sitting still and trying to keep from tossing up my innards. Once your system gets used to the Lipodrene you can gradually work your way up to taking the full dosage and minimizing these side effects.

I have been on Lipodrene for two months now and have lost approximately 25 pounds. I do diet and exercise as well though, no magic pill can ever replace that, it will only speed up the results. I went off of the Lipodrene for about a week after being on it for a month and noticed the fat I had lost trying to come back pretty rapidly. I was continuing diet and exercise, but my cardio routines were much more strenuous to get through without feeling tired and pushing myself while off of the product. Once I went back on it, though, I was turned back into a fat-burning powerhouse! I will be in big trouble if I decide to stop taking this product because most of the weight I have lost will probably come back no matter how much I exercise and limit calories. My system has become somewhat (okay, very) dependent on the Lipodrene and I am unsure how my body will react in the long run if I decide to not use it anymore in the future. Just being off of it a few days resulted in noticeable weight gain, and I would hate to see all of my weight loss efforts go down the drain.

Lipodrene is a great fat burning product if you can handle all of the side effects. These side effects do subside as you get accustomed to the ephedra. It took me about two weeks of dosage experimentation to get accustomed to the product. I am currently on Lipodrene and have noticed that the negative side effects of the product do fade with time. I alternate this thermogenic with Nutrex’s Lipo-6 which is an ephedra free fat burning product. There are striking differences between these two thermogenic wonders, but I will discuss that in another article. If you want to lose weight quickly despite a couple weeks of nausea and insomnia, then I would highly recommend Lipodrene with ephedra. If you want to lose weight and feel healthy during the process, then I would go with the ephedra free version of Lipodrene. Just remember that any diet pill, Lipodrene or not, should be used as a supplement to your own diet and exercise plan and not a substitute.