Thermogenics - Helpful? Harmful? Neither? page

[Merry Death]

I've been avoiding asking this outright because I can already hear the facepalms, but if this is something that's hurting me I'd rather find out sooner so I can quit, and I haven't turned up anything during forum lurking.

The question is concerning the "metabolism booster", "fat burner" pills like Ripped Fuel, Lipo-6, etc. I considered them snake oil for most of my life until a recent vacation during which I ended up using my boyfriend's Ripped Fuel in place of coffee. And they work SO. MUCH. BETTER. THAN COFFEE. When I got home a month ago, I continued the pills and quit the coffee.

The ingredients list seems innocuous enough, and honestly I don't get a huge reaction. But taking one an hour before I actually have to wake up is miraculous, and right before working out they're motivation in a capsule.

Obviously there is no doubt they aren't Primal. But are they going to hinder my weight loss due to cortisol explosion? Are they better/worse than just straight up caffeine?

[wozz]

most of the supplements that I've seen are mostly just caffeine. And I've seen some with up to 400mg of caffeine per serving. So, that would be like drinking at least 4 cups of coffee at one time. That's probably what you actually feel when you take them.

I think it's mostly marketing with highest legal limit of caffeine so it actually feels like it's doing something.

[wozz]

oh yeah, also caffeine combined with niacin (same as in 5 hour energy shots):

Niacin Flush - What is it?

[loafingcactus]

I think it's a matter of, do I want to be on drugs to get through the day? And the answer is no. You get to come up with your own answer.

[Merry Death]

Thanks for the replies! I appreciate your input.

most of the supplements that I've seen are mostly just caffeine. And I've seen some with up to 400mg of caffeine per serving. So, that would be like drinking at least 4 cups of coffee at one time. That's probably what you actually feel when you take them.

I think it's mostly marketing with highest legal limit of caffeine so it actually feels like it's doing something.

Good points about the caffeine and the niacin flush being mostly responsible for their effectiveness. When researching these kinds of pills, I've seen a lot of people recommend straight caffeine pills with maybe two other supplementations as being more effective and cheaper. And Mark posted a link to a coffee study recently that talked about its effectiveness before a workout. I may end up returning to espresso with a dash of cinammon in the morning. Tastier, anyway! XD

I think it's a matter of, do I want to be on drugs to get through the day? And the answer is no. You get to come up with your own answer.

This is exactly what I ended up asking myself when I quit ADD meds in highschool, despite my mom's insistence that I needed them.

But I think mentally I've been grouping these in with the multitudinous nutritional supplements I take, since they're caffeine, cayenne, yohimbe, yerba mate and various other herbs of debateable effectiveness, and not quite a pharmeceutical.