Interesting take on ECA Stack (by someone other than me)
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I am constantly hearing complaints of side effects associated with the ECA stack. Jitteriness, nausea, excessive sweating, rapid pulse.
Although there is sound science behind it, there are some major flaws that prevent the ECA stack from being a good supplement. Here they are, and I'll use Xenadrine as the example.
1. People don't read the label.
"Take half of the dosage for the first week to access your tolerance level." So naturally they take 4 pills at once, and when they feel all messed up, they blame it on the pills. For many cycles, I have used the ECA stack without any side effects, and without even knowing it's there for the most part. Why? Because there's this thing called tolerance. This leads me to the second reason....
2. People are impatient.
I do 4 days on 1 pill, 4 days on 2, 4 days on 3, and the rest on 4. Then, at the end of the cycle, I do the reverse. I barely know it's there, and I'm very sensitive to stimulants. But for immediate satisfaction people will start out with too high of a dose. This will cause anyone to become jittery. Tolerance to the CNS effects build rather rapidly, but many of the fat burning effects remain. All the research has been done on long, consistent use - not popping 4 pills and expecting to lose 10 pounds.
3. People don't do the research.
So why, you ask, don't people KNOW about tolerance? Because they're taking something that they know nothing about. Most people think the only function of the ECA is to increase heart rate. So they think that if they're not speeding it's not working. ECA has many fat burning effects when taken the way I've described. But don't take my word for it; do some research!
4. People want something for nothing.
You hear many people complain that these products don't work. But ephedrine and caffeine are bar none the best legal fat burners, as evidenced by literally hundreds of studies and double-blind, placebo-controlled trials. If there's some mild side effects, so be it. You can't expect to lose fat rapidly without side effects! It's physically impossible. If a fat burner is completely comfortable, it's probably not doing anything. The reason these supps don't work for many? Because they don't do it in combination with a calorie deficit. A pill is not a substitute - you have to be willing to put the work in.
5. People are stupid.
Heart attacks, palpitations, convulsions. It's right there on the label. It tells you that you shouldn't take it with certain medical conditions, and the dosage parameters. And you know what? Multiple controlled studies show no difference in the amount of these conditions in the normal population versus people who use ephedrine. It is perfectly safe taken within the limits. In this same vein are tons of media reports. Every single one says, "This person who took ephedrine had this problem." That doesn't mean jack shit compared to the controlled studies I describe. Don't get me wrong, I don't think it's a perfectly safe substance. But I think it's 99.999% safe when you follow the directions on the label.
And if you think by "people," I'm talking about everyone but you, I could very well be talking about you. I know I'm talking about myself, the bottom 4 points describe my actions in many cases.
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