I started the adkins diet about 2 weeks ago. In the book Dr. Adkins put in italics " Caffeine is not recommend on this diet" . The lady at GMC said it was because caffeine will give dry mouth. If that is why, then I'm going to suffer with dry mouth. Does anyone know why Caffiene is not recommended? Can you take Hydroxycut on this diet? It has a lot of caffeine in it.

There's two reasons one shouldn't have caffeine:

1) According to Atkins, it can "stimulate the insulin mechanism and that's your vulnerable spot. It raises blood sugar at first and then allows it to crash...." (p 309-310 DANDR)

2) Caffeine is also hard on the liver which bogs it down from doing one of its many jobs..... metabolizing fats.

....the same goes for hydroxycut.... the ma huang and/or ephedrine in it is toxic to the liver, not to mention having other serious health risks. There are many athletes who take it regularly, it's simply a choice as to what lengths one will go to lose weight!

Best of luck to you, welcome to the board and let us know how we can help!

sgale, here a very informative post in the exercise forum about thermogenics (hydroxycut). Some of us do use them, with great results. You must carefully heed all warnings and precautions, as with any supplement you take.

While Dr. Atkins does caution against caffeine, it is more YMMV issue (Your Milage May Vary). Many LC plans do not disallow caffeine. However, keep in mind that caffeine can be a reason for a stall/plateau and it is dehydrating - for every cup of caffinated beverage you must consume an extra glass of water.

HTH
Nat

I have to take exception with this, Teri. ECA stacks have been given a very bum wrap in the press. Yes, they have been involved in some deaths - but the majority of these have been due to misuse and abuse. Using calorie restriction, macronutrient manipulation, cardio and weight training and supplements are all valid ways of coercing your metabolism into high speed. There are some good pro and con arguments and information contained in that link I posted, it's worth the read.

Nat

I didn't mean to sound critical of ECA stacks or the people who use them. I meant to emphasize that it is a matter of personal choice. I've read quite a bit about them and have decided for ME they are too risky. You've done the same (and more) reading and have decided they're okay. It's a personal choice.... just like all the choices we make many times a day!

....And that's why we're so glad you're here, Nat!! You have a wonderful way of simply pointing people to the research. I, unfortunately tend to be a bit more biased. I'll have to work on that

Best of luck to you, sgale!