Weight Loss and Healthy Living

Several points about how to use the ephedrine/caffeine stack safely and effectively. I also was reaching some personal bests. These entries detail my training with holistic sets as well.


5/19/2003

I forgot how incredibly ... horrendous holistic sets are. I mean, those things KILL me. Absolutely. Hands down, no exaggeration, I have not trained like tonight in, I don't know, probably 2 years. I'm posting this to try and wind down so I can catch some sleep.

Training:

2.5 miles in 20 minutes (6.2, 7.2, 8.2, and 9.2 mph cycles with 10.2 at the end)

Superset (no rest or minimal rest between sets):
5 x 260 pounds stiff-legged dead-lift
12 x 210 pounds regular dead-lift
40 x 45 pounds lying leg curl with 312 tempo (3 seconds to lower, pause, 2 seconds to contract)

Minimal rest, then repeated with 247.5, 200, and 42.5, then repeated again with 235, 190, and 40 (5% drop). Yes, you read it right ... that's 40 reps for the last set in the superset.

Quick description: heart pounding, room spinning, can't catch your breath, nauseous, legs burning so bad but even when you rest they hurt, you can't even sit still because they burn so bad so you have to walk but walking only makes you more out of breath. I felt like I was going to die, or pass out, or vomit, but somehow I managed to push myself and finish it. The 5 rep hits the fast-twitch, the 12 moves in an finishes them off, then the slow reps tap into the slow-twitch fibers and generate some serious lactic acid action. Here it is, 1.5 hours after the workout, and I still feel like a zombie. So, here's my nutrition, then it's off to bed ...

Nutrition:

Supplements:
1tbsp flaxseed oil
1000mg fish oil
50mg Niacin (B3)
1 tablet "The Bridge" multi-vitamin
4 tablets TwinLab multi-mineral
2000mg Vitamin C
400IU Vitamin E
3 doses thermogenic: 20mg ephedrine / 200mg caffeine from natural, herbal sources
2 servings EAS CytoVol (both taken post-workout)
6g creatine monohydrate

Breakfast:
1 orange
1 apple
1 pear

Mid-morning meal:
Bodybuilder's eggs (1 whole egg, 4 egg whites, 1 tsp canola oil, Tobasco)
2.5 cups broccoli

Noon snack:
1 OsTrim (like a SlimJim with Ostrich meat)

Mid-afternoon meal:
Ann's vegan burrito (can you tell how lazy I am?)
2.5 cups broccoli

Dinner:
1 slice sprouted wheat bread
1 tbsp almond butter
8 whole wheat crackers
8oz chocolate soy milk

Post-workout shake:
1 cup ice
1 cup water
1/2 Florida Avocado
1 banana
1/2 cup raw sugar

Late night meal:
1 Clif Bar (Cherry Almond)

Calories: 2679
Fat: 68g (10g saturated) 22%
Sodium: 2390mg
Potassium: 5340mg
Carbohydrate: 439g (57g fiber / 51g sugar) 63%
Protein: 104g 15%
Water: 182oz

Note how much water I'm taking. It's that ephedrine/caffeine stack. The caffeine just makes the liquids pass right through me and keeps me permanently thirsty. This is where I think people have dangers with the stack ... they don't properly hydrate, and then can overheat.

Also, to recap the safest way to use the ephedrine/caffeine stack:

(1) use it continuously, meaning several weeks without cycling off, so that your body can adapt to the negative side effects and lower the dangers (cycling on and off frequently increases the side effects)

(2) the closer to 12 weeks you use it, the more BAT activity (brown adipose tissue) you get, meaning more benefit from burning extra fat ... many people only use it for 4 - 8 weeks, and don't reap the benefit of UCP-1 activation (uncoupling protein)

(3) take 1 - 2 days off each weak to allow your adrenal glands to rest (otherwise you are constantly in a fight/flight state, and can reach chronic fatigue from overworking your adrenal glands)

(4) support your adrenal glands with adaptogenic herbs such as ginseng (Panax/Siberian)

(5) take as close to 20mg ephedrine / 200mg caffeine or that ratio (i.e. caffeine is 10 times ephedrine amount) as you can, but no more than 20mg per dose

(6) take 1 - 3 doses of this per day. Do not exceed 3 doses or 60mg of ephedrine per day.

(7) most people report less side effects from herbal versions than synthetic. To find out the amount, multiple the extract by the amount present. For example, 350mg of Ma Huang standardized to 8% = 350 x 0.08 = 28mg of ephedrine. 1g of Guarana standardized to 20% = 1000mg x 0.2 = 200mg caffeine

(8) try not to take after 2pm - 4pm or it will seriously interfere with sleep

I'm doing 1 dose with my 6:30am meal, 1 dose with my 10am meal, and 1 dose with my 2pm meal. I take it Mon-Fri with Sat/Sun off, and I will be taking it for the full 12 weeks of the program so that the side effects are minimized but the BAT activity is maximized (BAT activation may have a muscle-sparing effect, too -- this is the main reason I take it when trying to lose a lot of fat, fast ... not because I think it will burn more fat, but because I feel it will help preserve my muscle mass. Doesn't hurt that it suppresses my appetite, either).

Jeremy

5/20/2003

Weight today: 206

Training:

OH MY GOODNESS. Well, another personal best. I was all warmed up and psyched about my exercise, so I ran upstairs and got my wife to come down and watch. My daughter came, too. I always have the most difficulty moving the weight from the rack ... I strained, I pushed, and .. pop! the barbell came off so easily I had to pause. I asked Doreen, "Are there TWO plates the SAME SIZE on both sides?" She nodded, so I said, okay, and pumped out 5 ... NO PROBLEM! Personal best! WHOOOT!! Looked like this:

5 x 225 flat bench
12 x 70 dumbbell flat bench
40 x 25 dumbbell flyes with 312 tempo (3 seconds down, pause, 2 seconds up)
Then same with 215/67.5/25 and then 202.5/65/22.5

Can you say ... pumped up sore chest?! WOW. COOOL!

Nutrition:

Supplements:
1tbsp flaxseed oil
1000mg fish oil
50mg Niacin (B3)
1 tablet "The Bridge" multi-vitamin
4 tablets TwinLab multi-mineral
2000mg Vitamin C
400IU Vitamin E
3 doses thermogenic: 20mg ephedrine / 200mg caffeine from natural, herbal sources
2 servings EAS CytoVol (both taken post-workout)
6g creatine monohydrate

First thing in the morning:
8oz of apple cranberry juice

Breakfast:
1 orange
1 apple
1 pear

Early meal:
1 cup Fantastic Country Lentil Soup
2 cups green beans

Noon snack:
1oz Teriyaki flavored beef jerky

Afternoon meal:
1 Vegan Burrito (I gotta stop eating so many of these! LOL!)
2 cups green beans

Dinner:
Sesame crusted grilled sockeyed salmon (say that fast three times in a row)
3 cups mixed greens
1 tbsp red wine vinegar

Post-workout shake:
1 cup ice
1 cup water
1/2 Florida Avocado
1 banana
1/2 cup raw sugar

Calories: 2377
Fat: 62g (8g saturated) 22%
Sodium: 2210mg
Potassium: 4890mg
Carbohydrate: 377g (55g fiber / 22g sugar) 61%
Protein: 104g 17%
Water: 186oz

HOOOAH!

5/21/2003

Weight: 207.5

Legs hurt so bad I could barely walk. I sucked it up and ran my 2.51 in 20 minutes ... it was well worth it, I got to stretch and recover. Took a nice hot bath and feel much better. Tomorrow is squats, I hope my legs aren't this stiff!

Nutrition:

Supplements:
1tbsp flaxseed oil
1000mg fish oil
50mg Niacin (B3)
1 tablet "The Bridge" multi-vitamin
4 tablets TwinLab multi-mineral
2000mg Vitamin C
400IU Vitamin E
3 doses thermogenic: 20mg ephedrine / 200mg caffeine from natural, herbal sources
2 servings EAS CytoVol (both taken post-workout)

Morning:
8oz tangerine juice

Breakfast:
1 Orange
1 Apple
1 Pear

Early meal:
Bodybuilder eggs
3/4 cup organic broccoli

Lunch:
Ostrich meat

Afternoon meal:
Luna bar (Key Lime Pie)
8 whole wheat crackers
3/4 cup organic broccoli

Dinner:
1 slice sprouted grain whole wheat bread
2 tbsp almond butter
8 Newman's round pretzels
8oz multi-grain milk

Late night:
8oz red wine
1.5 oz organic Belgian dark chocolate with espresso beans

Calories: 2384
Fat: 74g (15g saturated) 27%
Sodium: 1930mg
Potassium: 3390mg
Carbohydrate: 302g (39g fiber / 101g sugar) 49%
Protein: 104g 17%
Alcohol: 7%
Water: 153oz

Until tomorrow!

5/22/2003

I'm posting early because I'm working late ... no time later tonight.

Weight: 207

Legs STILL hurt today ... bad! But I'm going to go on with training and hope I can massage them out. I thought my workout looked like this:

5 x 260 squat
12 x 210 squat
40 x 105 leg extension (slow tempo)

Then repeat twice with a 5% drop. Can you say ... vomit?

But it really turned out to be this:

5 x +10 lbs wide-grip pull-ups
12 x 175 narrow-grip cable rows
40 x 30 double-armed dumbbell rows

Nutrition:

Supplements:
1tbsp flaxseed oil
1000mg fish oil
50mg Niacin (B3)
1 tablet "The Bridge" multi-vitamin
4 tablets TwinLab multi-mineral
2000mg Vitamin C
400IU Vitamin E
3 doses thermogenic: 20mg ephedrine / 200mg caffeine from natural, herbal sources
2 servings EAS CytoVol (both taken post-workout)
6g creatine

First thing this morning:
8oz orange juice

Breakfast:
1 orange
1 apple
1 pear

Early morning:
Bodybuilder eggs
3/4 cup green beans

Lunch:
Ostrich

Early afternoon:
Vegan burrito
3/4 cup green beans

Late evening:
Luna Bar (Nutz over chocolate)
and an Apple Crisp Crunchy Bar

Post-workout shake:
1 cup water
1 cup ice
1/2 Florida Avocado
1 banana
1/2 cup raw sugar

Calories: 2116
Fat: 57g (10g saturated) 24%
Sodium: 1540mg
Potassium: 4370mg
Carbohydrate: 348g (38g fiber / 50g sugar) 64%
Protein: 67g 12%
Water: 124oz and counting ...

PEACE!

5/24/2003

Weight yesterday morning: 207

Training:
2.5 miles in 20 minutes / HIIT style

Nutrition:
Supplements:
1tbsp flaxseed oil
1000mg fish oil
50mg Niacin (B3)
1 tablet "The Bridge" multi-vitamin
4 tablets TwinLab multi-mineral
2000mg Vitamin C
400IU Vitamin E
3 doses thermogenic: 20mg ephedrine / 200mg caffeine from natural, herbal sources
2 servings EAS CytoVol (both taken post-workout)

First snack:
8oz apple juice

Early morning meal:
1 orange
1 apple
1 pear

Lunch:
1 plain roll
Garden salad with red wine & olive oil vinaigrette
Approx. 2 cups angel hair pasta in olive oil, garlic, basil, and crushed red pepper sauce

Dinner:
10oz jerk-style chicken breast on 3 cups romaine lettuce

Late night:
4oz soy milk

Calories: 2443
Fat: 96g (13g saturate) 35%
Sodium: 1010mg
Potassium: 3730mg
Carbohydrate: 267g (26g fiber / 6g sugar) 43%
Protein: 137g 22%
Water: 144oz

ROCK ON!

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