Supplement Review: Hydroxycut Hardcore

By Matt Samansky, Supplement Review Editor

January.  It’s one of my least favorite months of the year.  Cold, windy, and thanks to daylight savings, it’s dark.  Above all, January is the month of repentance for all of my binging throughout the holidays!  It’s usually sometime during the first week of this melancholy month that I, like many of you, supplement with a fat burner.

MuscleTech’s Hydroxycut Hardcore Elite is a popular selection among dieters looking to shed a few pounds. This particular fat burner has been the cherry on top of large orders of supplements shipped to me in past years. It was in February of 2013 that I finally asked myself, “why?”

Failing to see any noticeable fat loss from the little red pill, I began keeping records of my macronutrients, calories, and weight.  On day 1, my weight clocked in at 145 pounds. Consumption of carbohydrates had been steady at 40% of my caloric intake for approximately 2 weeks and was set to decrease by 5% over the next few days.

By the end of four weeks supplementing with Hydroxycut, I weighed a disappointing 143 pounds.

Let’s look at the facts; the primary ingredients in Hydroxycut are proprietary blends of caffeine anhydrous (270mg), cayenne pepper, green coffee extract, yohimbine, and amino acids.

First of all, I HATE proprietary blends. How are we, the consumer, to know how much of an ingredient is in the product?  Is it 1mg or 1,000mg? Generally, I tend to stay away from proprietary blends as I see products containing them to be deceiving.

Now, the ingredients included in these blends are good and are known for their thermogenic abilities. Caffeine and yohimbine increase lipolysis, the breakdown of fat, and aids in the burning of calories through thermogenesis while green coffee extract is known to increase metabolism through chlorogenic acid. Each product making up this trio of thermogenics is tried and true. Studies have proven each ingredient to be effective in the battle for weight loss, but this formulation of Hydroxycut is a less than powerful weapon against the scale.

Everything about MuscleTech’s leading weight loss supplement screams success. It’s a reputable brand with potent ingredients making for a strong duo. However, based on my personal experiences and testing the product over a handful of cycles, I do not personally recommend Hydroxycut Hardcore Elite.

Quality of Ingredients: 270mg is a good amount of caffeine to include in a fat burner. It is not too much for those who have a low tolerance to caffeine. Personally, however, I have a high tolerance for caffeine and 270mg just doesn’t cut it for me.  7/10

Safety of Product: The only potentially harmful ingredient I see in Hydroxycut would be caffeine and as I stated before, 270mg is not anywhere near a detrimental dose.  8/10

Effectiveness: Hydroxycut Hardcore Elite is marketed as the “#1 Weight Loss Supplement” and has won a slew of awards on Bodybuilding.com.  I vehemently disagree.  As my personal records show, supplementing with Hydroxycut resulted in a disappointing 2 lbs. of bodyweight. 5/10

Price: Both Bodybuilding.com and TigerFitness.com sell the 30 serve powder for $18.48 and 100 serve capsules for $34.79. While this is a decent price that won’t break the bank, I can’t justify even spending 10 cents on a product I find to be sub-par. 5/10

Overall: My experience supplementing with Hydroxycut Hardcore Elite was less than positive.  I was not impressed with the fat loss results (or lack thereof) and the proprietary blends deter my trust in the product.  If you are interested in supplementing with a fat burner to shed a few holiday pounds, look into something other than this “thermogenic” from MuscleTech. 6/10

 

Have you supplemented with Hydroxycut Hardcore Elite?  I’d love to hear your experiences.  And as always, drop me a note about any  supplements YOU would like to see me review?  My contact info is listed above!

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