Has anyone here tried those metabolism increaser pills? Metabo-Life, -Lite, -Less, etc. Do these things really work or are they just this year’s popular brand of snake oil?
Just curious,
Chrisbar
Too new to know better…
I tried Metabolife a few times.
It does give you a big boost of energy and curb your appetite. And my pants did fit a little better after a few weeks. However, I didn’t finish the full bottle because of health concerns. I’d heard too many horror stories of otherwise healthy people dropping dead. I’m not saying it is because of the metabo*whatever, but I decided I’d rather be 20 lbs overweight than dead. I’m still trying the “old fashioned” way.
I say it is a gimmick because the same people who were raving about the meta* products a few years ago are now hawking something called “Body Shapers”, where you take a table spoon of something before you go to bed (and don’t eat 3 or 4 hours before), then they say “Are you tired of weight loss gimmicks?”
Metabocrap has been around for years - under a different name of course. That name is trucker speed - ephedrine. Instead of paying $50 a bottle for it at the mall, you can buy a bottle of 60 tablets for $6.99 at Texaco. Brand name is Two-Way MaxBrand.
It’s a simple stimulant, nothing more. It should also be pointed out that ephedrine is one of the primary ingredients used in the manufacture of methamphetamine.
According to local San Diego lore, the owner of the Metabolife company was busted for making methamphetamine. After his release he essentially went back into the same business, but in a legal way.
I tried the Metabolife. I had a reaction to it…almost felt like a heart attack. I ended up in the hospital for 3 days while they tried to figure out what was wrong with me. More tests than you can possibly imagine. Every thing came back normal. It didn’t even occur to me that the Metabolife was what caused it. I didn’t take any more for a while, because of meds the doctor gave me trying to bring my borderline blood pressure down. Then one day I started taking it again. Three days later I had the same problem. I then realized what it was, I never took it again and I have not have any more problems. My advice would be for everyone to stay away from it.
** Sigh. So many men, so few who can afford me ** Original by Wally
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The reason pharmaceuticals like decongestants use pseudoephedrine is because ephedrine is an extremely dangerous drug to take more than a couple (or even once) times. It can harm your heart and permanently alter your brain chemistry.
The stuff is worse than snake oil.
Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good dipped in chocolate.
Yep, I tried it. And yep, I lost weight. For a while. Then my system got used to it, and that effect was gone - it no longer curbed my appetite at all.
On an interesting note, however, it had a beneficial (for me) side effect. I get a lot of dizzy spells from a combination of hypoglycemic tendencies and low blood pressure. At least, that’s what the docs tell me they are from. While I was doing the Metabolife thing, I didn’t have ANY dizzy spells. We’re talking something that normally happens to me at least every other day - a dizzy spell that is counteracted by eating - did not happen for THREE MONTHS.
Also, tried the lower cost Metabolize - it caused violent mood swings, dizzy spells, shakes, etc.
Any similarities between your reality and mine are purely coincidental.
Never heard that one before. Got a cite?
My mom tried the stuff (Metabolife, I think) a while back, and had a reaction to it similar to Ultress’s, but not nearly to the same degree. She quit using it and brought it back to the mall kiosk she’d where she’d gotten it. And even though it said “30 day money back guarantee” all over the place, the saleslady wouldn’t give my poor ma her money back.
One threat to call the state Attorney General's office though, and the saleslady decided that it'd be ok to give her a refund, after all. Just when you think your mother's starting to go soft....
They don't sound like the kind of folks *I'd* trust with my health. Just drink about 12 cups of coffee a day; I'd imagine it works about the same.Quackwatch doesn’t have anything posted yet. They said an article is in works.
Regarding ephedrine, from The American Council on Science and Health: http://www.acsh.org/publications/priorities/0902/ecstasy.html
See also Health Care Reality Check: http://www.hcrc.org/faqs/ephedrine.html
http://www.medicalpost.com/mdlink/english/members/medpost/data/3603/44.HTM
From the FDA web site (incredibly long link off search engine)
ma-huang extract is another name for ephedrine
So it may help you lose weight, but it’s not all that healthy. It’s similar to amphetamines. Speed, anyone?
Back around 1996, just before I graduated from college, I took a combination that’s supposed to help in weight loss: ephedrine, caffeine, and aspirin. In milligrams, the dose ratios were 30-100-300, taken three times a day. Caffeine and aspirin somehow augment the effects of the ephedrine; the net effect, as I understood it, was to increase the amount of calories your body burns in generating heat (my body temp did go up a bit). At the same time, I was lifting weights like a madman and eating almost nothing but rice, noodles, veggies and protein shakes.
Overall effect: lost quite a bit of weight. Got very strong and very muscularly hard. Also started sleeping irregularly and getting very short-tempered. That’s when I stopped.
The ephedrine-caffeine link is a recognized one; Twinlab’s Ripped Fuel contains both in the proportions I listed above. Anyway, I can’t say I recommend taking ephedrine to anyone. It definitely messes with your body chemistry, and I just hope it didn’t mess up my heart in any long-term way.