If I had to rank the most common fallacies in the health and fitness industry, "spot losing fat" would be at the top. Also, millions of dollars are spent every year on products that claim to do it. So, let's learn why we can save our money. What is Spot Loss? The theory of spot loss (aka. 'spot reduction' or 'targeted fat loss') states that if we exercise a specific muscle, then the fat that sits...
What goes around, comes around…body wraps are now popular again! Body wraps have been common in spas or salons for years, utilizing linen sheets, blankets, bandages, plastic, cellophane or rubber wraps. Originally, the wraps were full body, with the goal of trying to induce as much water loss as possible through perspiration, much like a sweat or sauna suit, which comes from the same idea. The desire for spot-reduction of inches encouraged use of smaller wraps...
Many of us have incorrect assumptions on how much physical activity it would take to improve or maintain our health. We assume that it will take hours on hours of grueling exercise, sweat, pain and spandex to improve our health. But, are these correct assumptions? The general recommendation1 to maintain health and reduce any risk of chronic disease (for healthy adults under age 65) is: Moderate intensity cardio 30 minutes a day, five days a week (150...
Claiming a scientific formulation, fiber supplements, such as Skinny Fiber, have been promoted alongside other fad supplements to promote weight loss in those who take it. Some resellers are even using common exaggerated wording to claim that the product acts like a "magic sponge" to "swallow up fat" and 30%–40% of everything you digest. Glucomannan This 'sponge-like' effect most likely comes from the overly-hyped ingredient in Skinny Fiber is glucomannan (amorphophallus konjac), which contains a soluble, fermentable (fermented...
I wanted to share this research article with those folks that think it takes too much time to exercise. Weight training has been shown to boost your 24-hour metabolism and energy expenditure in as little as 6 months, using 11-minute sessions at 3 days per week. The Study Dr. Kirk and colleagues (2009) randomly assigned 22 overweight and sedentary young adults into a weight training group of only: 9 exercises3-6 repetition maximum1 set only for each...
Some professionals attempt to encourage us by saying that exercise and healthy eating are easy. Sometimes we even tell ourselves the same thing. Are we making it harder that it needs to be? Definition of Easy: Something you can do. The Challenge: The things that are easy to do are also easy not to do. So true. Since being more active and eating healthier are not that difficult for many people, the larger issue may be that it...
In response to allegations that they deceptively advertised the effects of their "toning" shoes to customers, Skechers reportedly agreed to pay $50 million to settle with the Federal Trade Commission, alongside 44 states and the District of Columbia. This is following Reebok settling in 2011 for $25 million for similar false claims for their own version of the toning shoe. Another fad product bites the dust. I knew this was coming, because research has shown that...