# Xenadrine **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 10, 2001, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xenadrine/61452 "2001-04-10T08:07:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Imthecowgodmoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@Imthecowgodmoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Imthecowgodmoo)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2001, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xenadrine/61452/1 "2001-04-10T08:07:42Z")
My roomate has just purchased xenadrine in an attempt to lose some weight. He is about 5’6 and over 200 lbs- and tires of being big. He excercises several times and eats right for the most part. My question is this : Is xenadrine really a good fat burning pill or is it another 30 minute infomercial crock? I have read that it helps to lose weight quickly and easily- even when sitting at your own desk by raising ones metabolism. But of course, these words together imply a quick and easy solution. Everyone knows that something that states a quick and easy solution to weight loss is usually a bunch of crap. I have also learned that it can cause the body to become dependant on the drug if taken for too long and/or improperly. I couldn’t find many places on the net that would answer in more detail (I only got links to places to buy this stuff). Any help (links or otherwise) is greatly appreciated. ---
**Author:** ![choosybeggar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@choosybeggar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choosybeggar)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2001, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xenadrine/61452/2 "2001-04-10T09:55:52Z")
According to [this](http://www.xsportsnutrition.com/xenadrine.html), one of the active ingredients is ephedrine, the use of which has been linked to deaths. Check out [this web page](http://www.ephedrine-ephedra.com/pages/ephedrine_side_effects.html) for details. ---
**Author:** ![Some\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Some_Guy)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2001, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xenadrine/61452/3 "2001-04-10T13:27:16Z")
What choosybeggar said, especially about the death thing. Any product based on an ECA mixture (ephedrine, caffeine, and asprin) is principally a stimulant- it’s designed to increase your metabolism. Although you’ll usually see claims of “person X lost 50lb.” on the bottle right next to other claims that [random ECA product] melts fat away" and instructions that say to simply take a pill every few hours, there’s no correlation between that method and permanent weight loss: all you’ll lose is water weight (from the caffeine}, over and over and over. The only way to use permanent weight with these things is to use them as a boost to prolong your exercising. Furthermore, read that bit about the deaths again, one more time, before you choose to use ephedrine at all. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2001, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/xenadrine/61452/4 "2001-04-10T13:41:17Z")
What they said, especially about the death and the water weight things. One of the hard things about life is that it’s a lot easier _for most people_ to get fat than it is to get skinny (chronically underweight Dopers please note italics before flaming me). A little over a year ago, I weighed over 300 lbs. I am now at about 250. How did I do it? Not by taking speed, I can tell you. The three keys to weight control haven’t changed: less caloric input overall, less calories from fat particularly, and more caloric output overall. Your friend would be surprised what a difference a 30 minute _brisk_ walk can do if repeated daily for a few months. BTW, at 6-feet-0, I’ve got another 40 or so pound to go before my doctor is happy with my BMI.