ECA Stack

ECA is/was (I'll explain shortly) a time-tested weight loss aid.

Ephedra (the herb) and Ephedrine HCL (the manufactured chemical counterpart) is a bronchodialator (used an asthma medication) & thermogenic. It raises your heart & metabolic rate. Some people are prone to feel "wired" when using. It's legal status is fuzzy; The FDA pulled it, but recent court rulings have declared it's removal from the market illegal. You can still find it - I'll give you a link later.

Caffeine is also a thermogenic. It promotes muscle sparing and endurance. Can raise blood pressure, heart rate and create a "wired" feeling. Make sure you take in adequate calcium because it can affect bone density. Up your water intake too!

Aspirin IMO, is not necessary.

F-edra at 1fast400

Also take a look at Basic Cuts, Scorch.

Buy a pre-made stack - caffeine overdose can kill you!

See above for potential sides. Start with 1/3 to 1/2 off listed dosage and work up to full dosage.

You may get used to the stim effect (energy boost) & miss it once you're off it.

If you are looking for a weight loss solution, I would start with aerobic and weight training for several months before adding any supplements. Weight training, with proper nutrition, will not "bulk you up", especially for women.

Nutrition is king - then comes weight training, then aerobic work. IMO, it's a 70/25/5 ratio. The benefits of aerobic work without weight training & proper nutrition top out after about 10 weeks.

Thanks, D. It's my understanding that the aspirin prolongs the thermogenic effect. Not so? I'd prefer something with as little "buzz" as possible. Don't want to be a wreck at the office. The original Xenadrine formula made my hands tremble for a couple of days. Not. Cute. Someone mentioned adding codeine to the stack to "take the edge off." Heard of that?

Glad you recommended the pre-made stack. I'm a bit hesitant to ask a pharmacist for Bronkaid and apparently pure ephedrine is one of the base ingredients of making crystal meth so the Feds watch sales of that pretty closely.

quote:

I would start with aerobic and weight training for several months before adding any supplements.

Will do. What kind of nutrition? Food pyramid stuff or high protein/low fat?

quote:

Weight training, with proper nutrition, will not "bulk you up", especially for women.

So then all the female bodybuilders are on roids?

I was tooling around that site and came across some tanning spray. Does that stuff just give you a nice glow? I don't want to look all George Hamilton or anything.

If anything, the aspirin may offset (to some degree) any heart health issues resulting from the E & C. NO CODEINE Period.

Yeah, there are usually limits on buying ephedrine for non-businesses, typically 4-6 bottles. Now they lock up the Sudafed & are changing the formula too! Damn druggies!

A protein, carb, fat ratio of:

40/40/20 or 50/30/20
is a good start. Buy some fish oil & flaxseed oil capsules. Green tea extract is good too. Bodyweight times 10-12 is a good daily calorie goal to start with. Many people make the mistake of undereating when trying to lose weight. What are your goals? At best, I can only make generic recommendations without more info. If you don't want to go into it here, we could take it to email.

In regard to the female bodybuilders... YES!

The tanning sprays are mainly for bodybuilding competition. The purpose is to create a dark tan to highlight muscle defintion & offset the harsh overhead lighting used in shows.

I'm fine with the general recommendations.

quote:

Originally posted by Frenchy:
Thanks, D. It's my understanding that the aspirin prolongs the thermogenic effect. Not so? I'd prefer something with as little "buzz" as possible. Don't want to be a wreck at the office. The original Xenadrine formula made my hands tremble for a couple of days. Not. Cute. Someone mentioned adding codeine to the stack to "take the edge off." Heard of that?

Glad you recommended the pre-made stack. I'm a bit hesitant to ask a pharmacist for Bronkaid and apparently pure ephedrine is one of the base ingredients of making crystal meth so the Feds watch sales of that pretty closely.

quote:

I would start with aerobic and weight training for several months before adding any supplements.

Will do. What kind of nutrition? Food pyramid stuff or high protein/low fat?

quote:

Weight training, with proper nutrition, will not "bulk you up", especially for women.

So then all the female bodybuilders are on roids?

I was tooling around that site and came across some tanning spray. Does that stuff just give you a nice glow? I don't want to look all George Hamilton or anything.

Sorry just seeing this, but DD gave a better summary than I could do.

Yeah, you can't get the pure ephedrine HCL anymore. Maybe it was just psychosomatic, but I think it worked better for me than the formulations with ephedra or even the ephedrine sulfate in Bronkaid.

As dd said, I don't think the aspirin is necessary in the stack. I have never used the preformulated varieties. I preferred the control and price of purchasing the E and C separately.

With respect to the jitters, that tends to go away for most people after a fairly short amount of time.

Finally, DD might could say more about this, but I know many people suggest cycling the stack. I never did, but I was mainly using it as a energy boost for my powerlifting and took it on the days that I was in the gym and so had 2 or 3 days/week I did not take it. Again, the cycling may be more for the energy effects in relation to not overloading your CNS as opposed to thermogenic effects.

You're right on point kresge - the issue for prolonged daily use is CNS & adrenal burnout. You want to be very careful about manipulating the endocrine system.

As a rookie to EC, I would recommend a pre-made. As Frenchy gets more advanced in her understanding of her tolerance and how to effective use EC, I agree that home-brewed stacks are cheaper. You can still find Ephedrine for purchase.