About
Hydroxycut Hardcore Elite Powder is a thermogenic weight-loss product from MuscleTech. It was formulated to increase the metabolism for faster weight loss, while also boosting energy levels.
The product contains five main ingredients. Green coffee extract contains chlorogenic acid and antioxidants, which are said to help decrease the absorption of carbohydrates and prevent fat gain.
L-carnitine is thought to increase aerobic-exercise capacity and to reduce fat mass, while caffeine and L-theanine could work together to increase energy and focus without causing any harsh stimulant effects.
Hydroxycut Hardcore Elite Powder does not contain the cocoa extract or cayenne pepper found in the capsule-based version of the product.
Flavors include – or have included – “Blue Raspberry” and “Fruit Fusion”.
DaSlaya –
Current Hydroxycut is not at the elite level in a case of old school meets new school!
—-Quick Summary—-
I gained a bit of fat due to surgery and recovering from said surgery. Unable to hit the gym, I wanted to give this version of Hydroxycut a true test if it aids in fat loss or not. I did see a slight increase in the first week of some fat loss, but then it petered out. The energy boost here is nice, but the dosages make the tub go very quickly. This may work in the long-term, but the short term benefits were not that apparent.
—-Introduction—-
38 years old, and currently recovering from total reconstruction surgery to my left ankle. I had never taken a thermogenic in powder form before, so when I saw SR offering this version of Hydroxycut up for grabs I wanted to give it a shot with a proper diet to curb any fat loss I may incur while recovering and not being able to work out. Big thank you to Tommy and Clipper here at SR for offering this up as a TROOPer program, and the extra goodies Clipper tossed in for good measure. Lets see if this Hydroxycut is truly elite.
—-Ingredient Profile—-
Fully disclosed profile here which is great. The profile is simple and in two transparent blends, so lets break them down. First each 2.5g scoop nets you 5 Calories and 1g of Carbs. This breakdown is based off one scoop. [u][b]Hardcore Thermogenic Blend (898g)[/u][/b] [u]L-Carnitine L-Tartrate (500mg):[/u] L-Carnitine is involved in energy metabolism and mitochondrial protection. It is made in the body, but can also be consumed through food. Supplementation of L-carnitine does not burn fat unless the individual is deficient in L-carnitine. (Examine.com) This is also known as LCLT and this is typically used for physical performance and power output. 1,000 – 4,000mg is recommended dose in this form, so we are under dosed at one scoop but get the minimum at two scoops. [u]L-Theanine (100mg):[/u] Theanine is a relaxing and non dietary amino acid found pretty much exclusively in teas from Camellia sinensis (alongside green tea catechins and caffeine) and is known to promote relaxation without sedation. It appears to be effective at this as well as reducing stress at standard dosages. 100-200mg alongside caffeine is the typical dose, so we are good at the minimal dose here per scoop. [u]Yohimbe Extract (Standardized to 6% yohimbine) (28mg):[/u] Yohimbe, and its subset yohimbine, are fat-burning compounds, primarily used to lose fat during short term fasting. Typically you see Yohimbine standardized anywhere from 25-150% but we only get 6% here. I have taken high doses of yohimbine in the past which comes with side effects for me such as the chills and what not, but experienced none here. This seems like a cheap addition to me here with such a decent ingredient for a thermo, so I would like to see this at a lower dose (around 18mg) with a higher standardization of Yohimbine. This also gets you 270mg Caffeine Anhydrous per scoop for that energy boost. [b][u]Hardcore Weight Loss Blend (200mg):[/b][/u] [u]Robusta Coffee Extract (Standardized to 45% chlorogenic acids) (200mg):[/u] The only ingredient in this blend. Green Coffee Extract is a concentrated source of dietary Chlorogenic Acid and is currently being used for heart health and fat loss as a supplement; it seems weakly to moderately effective on these parameters. (Examine.com) The dosage depends on the chlorogenic acid content, so at 50% 240-600mg is recommended. That is the closest to this so I think this is under-dosed at one scoop, and possibly at the minimum required dose for two scoops. Even the hydroxycut website states that noticeable fat loss occurs when taken for 8-weeks. Not too bad of a profile here, I would like to see some more quality Yohimbine thrown in here, and either up the dose of Robusta Coffee Extract or get to 50% chlorogenic acids. No fillers or anything like, so overall not too bad, but nothing to truly stand out here.
—-Taste/Mixability/Dosing—-
[u]Taste:[/u] I had the Fruit Fusion flavor and I thought it tasted pretty good. It reminded me of watered down Hawaiian punch, it may be a little on the sweet side for some, but was easy to drink whether you chugged or sipped it. [u]Mixability:[/u] Mixed just fine with 6-8oz of water, no residue left over in the bottom of the shaker or anything like that. The red dyes will stain your shaker though. [u]Dosing:[/u] I followed the recommended dosage which is 1 scoop during the first 2 days on the product and then 2 scoops daily with your biggest meals from day 3 and on. I took this 30-60 minutes prior to Breakfast and Lunch.
—-Effectiveness—-
I will break down the efficacy here based off label claims. [u]Super-Thermogenic:[/u] I felt no thermo effects at all while on this. There is no ingredient included to really trigger that warm feeling in your body, so this did not cause me to be sweaty or anything like that after taking this. So not such a super thermo in my opinion. [u]Lose Weight:[/u] I could not measure myself due to having a cast on my left ankle and unable to bear weight, so I measured around my belly button every 7 days to gauge the fat loss. The first week I dropped .75″ off my gut area, and then only .25″ after that. With a good diet and working out I average about .5″ initially weekly in this area, so I believe this did bump my metabolism a bit in that first week. The second week and until the end I saw no real loss and can attribute that to my fairly clean diet. The claims on the label also state all tests were done in an 8-week trial so perhaps over a long term (as we can see in the ingredients) you may see some weight/fat loss, but for me, it helped at first and then did not do much after. So not a far off claim here. [u]Extreme Energy:[/u] This was accurate. The first week taking this I had a ton of energy after each scoop, and this effect lasted until about mid-way through the second week. Of course wiht 270mg of Caffeine each scoop you would feel this, and the nice part is there was no crash following. You could feasibly take this as a PWO if you wanted as well, as the caffeine content is on par with most PWOs out there, but missing of course some other key ingredients such as beta-alanine to be a truly effective PWO. Other things to note, this did not suppress my appetite at all. I would get pretty hungry after taking this if I did not eat within 60 minutes of taking this. As I said I had some pretty good results right off the bat, but it plateued out pretty quickly compared to other thermo’s I have taken in the past. If this is in fact designed for the long-term of 8 weeks or so, then I think they should lower the caffiene intake, because 270mg of caffiene twice a day every day for two months would just be too much, unless this was your only source of caffiene.
—-Value—-
On average this is around 18 dollars for a tub, but I found a deal on GROUPON for 2 tubs for $19.99. The first tub will last you 16 days and if you took the second tub following that would get you 15 more days. So at 31 days for 20 dollars this would come out to 65 cents a day. That is not a bad deal if you buy it this way, but the ingredients and effects felt cheap to me, so I say its an average value and nothing more. There are higher quality thermo’s out there that are more expensive, and there are some that are cheaper than this since its such a flooded market. Combining value and effects here I will give this an average value rating.
—-Side Effects—-
I was a little bit jittery during the first week of taking this, likely because I had taken a break from Caffeine. After a week this feeling went away.
—-Conclusion—-
We all know Hydroxycut has been around forever, and there are many many version of this floating around. I wanted to give this a true test with just diet and see if this alone does aid in fat loss. Good initial results and thats about it, this did not work as well as I had hoped. I am going to give this a MEH because it may work better if you are working out or are in a fasted state a lot. I am glad I got the opportunity to run this though, but maybe other versions of this product are better, or maybe the removal of Ephedrine years ago killed this product. Only time will tell.