When I first started my weight loss journey at 276 pounds, I lost approximately 20 pounds and was in my 260's. I was talking with my friend, actually my "mentor" if you will, since he was my size and loss close to 100 lbs. He was my main motivation and I was desperate to learn his secrets.
He introduced me to pills containing ephedrine. He told me to buy some and it works. The stupid thing is, is that I was so desperate, I gave in. Keep in mind, I already lost a bunch of weight already. I went to the drug place he recommended me, and I asked for some. The guy at the counter said that the FDA banned it, and then he remembered something and pulled out a box full of ephedrine. It was actually asthma medication. Then he handed me another bottle pills to take with it and he was like "yeah man, popping these two will be the equivalent of the pill with the ephedrine in it". I was like "errr...didn't the FDA ban it for a reason?". And he was like "Oh, it was inconlusive studies. People who popped like 20 of these a day got a heart attack. And I'll give you a deal kid, only $30 for everything. And i'm techinically supposed to mark names and numbers down on who I am selling this ephedrine too."
Needless to say, I wasted $30 and bought it and started using it once a day. It seemed like a stimulant, and when I was using it, I was using weight (but I was using weight before hand). I did more research and realized how much of a dumbass I was.
I finally kicked the habit. LOL...I still have the pills here on my desk...I don't know why I haven't threw them out yet. I will tell you one thing. When I did get off of them, I suffered from a slight depression. Which supports the evidence that it did acted as a stimulant (and it explains why some people suffers from heart attacks)
Back to my friend at the gym, he offically plateued at 170. I still se him popping the pills at the gym. He's jealous of me losing weight that he's spreading rumors about me, how I'm trying to mock his routine and how i'm not losing weight. Long story short, my first mentor and my first real motivation turned how out not to be so prestigious as I thought.
And I will tell you the reason why he's not losing weight. He's doing the same routine when he was 270. And he's expecting the same results. When he goes to the gym, its to have a good time, chat with everyone in the gym, catch up on some daily reading, catch up on the latest news on TV, taking constant coffee breaks and admiring the "scenery" (I should mention he's gay...).
So thats my rap on ephedrine. Its a stimulant, it may add some what to weight loss, by speeding your metabolism by being a stimulant, but in the overall run, its a horrible idea. I still don't know how I got involved in it. I was just so desperate...it's really sad. And there's a bunch of people high in mangement that knows this and targets the overweight community on a daily basis.
Also I learned to not to trust guys working in drug stores. They are there to make money. But...I guess killing your customers will decrease business...but you have to do some scholarly research, and not listen to a bunch people working in a drug store. I learned a lot through this experience, and this is whats life is about. Learning and learning. Getting over those bumps on the read and continue to the road of success.
