I just stumbled over this article, “New Weight Loss Can Burn Caloric Equivalent to 20-Minute Walk” – and had to check it out.

The exact mechanism of how spices work to influence metabolism still remains unclear, but studies suggest that they effectively increase body temperature thus making us burn more calories even without exercising. Now if only scientists could find a way to combine the two methods into an easy to swallow pill.

In fact—they have! It’s called the tri-pepper blend and according to Joel T. Cramer, assistant professor of exercise physiology from the University of Oklahoma, the new weight loss supplement has the potential to burn as many calories as a 20-minute walk. Cramer says General Nutrition Centers contracted with the University to test the benefits of the supplement.

Googling the Tri-Pepper blend, I came up with a number of shorter articles, but similar in tone (one example here). All the ones I looked at repeated – without question or analysis - the same “20-minute walk” claim. 

But before we pop the champagne corks in celebration, perhaps we should take a closer look at exactly what that means.  Just how many calories does a 20 minute walk actually burn?

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You don’t spit into the wind,
You don’t pull the mask off the old Lone Ranger
And you don’t mess around with Jim.

Jim Croce

In this case, “Jim” = Judge Robert Gettleman.  And he’s none too happy with our good buddy, infomercial scam artiste and all-around shyster Kevin Trudeau. Why?

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In a way… From GlaxoSmithKline’s site for Alli:

break a bad pattern of eating

alli helps you change your approach to food by teaching you to recognize emotional eating and dismantle your external hunger triggers.  With the alli plan, you’ll learn how to control your cravings and still enjoy the foods you love. You’ll establish a healthier approach to food.

As Douglas Farrago, MD of the Placebo Journal put it:

The new slogan for the Alli diet plan goes like:

It’s called mindless eating. See how you can control it with Alli.

For those that don’t know how the drug works (fat absorption), if you are not mindful and overdo the fat in your diet you will, well, smudge yourself. So I guess this truly is a truth in advertising. Be mindful of what you eat or the next time you reach for the pork chops across the table it may look like you sat on a brownie when you change your draws later on. Okay, I think Larry the Cable Guy came up with that joke first.

Yeah, I guess the threat of “anal leakage*” will teach you to “dismantle your external hunger triggers” and “control your cravings” pretty quickly. But – at least in my mind – this isn’t exactly an ideal approach to the problem.

(h/t Placebo Journal Blog)

*GlaxoSmithKline delicately refers to this as a “treatment effect” on their consumer site.

Taylor LeBaron is one smart kid.

Taylor LeBaron is half the teen he used to be — and that’s a very good thing for both his health and self-esteem. An always-big boy who grew into a severely obese teen, the Georgia native dealt with schoolroom taunts and his own shrinking self-image even as he continued put on the pounds.

Finally, LeBaron took control of his life by turning to the thing that helped make him fat in the first place: video games. Based on the games he loved to play while he sat sedentary and stuffed himself, LeBaron created the “Ultimate Fitness Game” — not an actual video game but one that employs the same principles and strategy used to become a top gamesman.

…The fruits of LeBaron’s weight-loss labor are chronicled in his new book, “Cutting Myself in Half: 150 Pounds Lost One Byte at a Time,” in which he outlines the mechanics of his Ultimate Fitness Game while relating the story of how he went from a nearly 300-pound 14-year-old to the slim and trim 145-pounder he is today.

His is an awesome success story that hits all the right notes.  No fad diets, detox or starvation… just good nutrition, exercise and lots of patience.

It’s time fruit juice loses its wholesome image, some experts say.

Yes. Yes. YES!

I thought this was hilarious…

Nonetheless, it’s also pretty deadly – she’s got the “wedding culture” nailed. It’s pervasive:  everytime I’m in the grocery store, for example, I silently gag at the sight of those ubiquitous ”Bride” mags lining the checkout aisles.  Naturally, there are no “Groom” mags… as the vid illustrates, weddings are pageants focused on the BRIDE.  Thus, with all the pressure to be perfect on that One Special Day, it’s no surprise to see brides-to-be lose their perspectives.

Unfortunately, they may also lose their lives… 

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I was doing my usual, early a.m. blog surfing today, and ran into this “Dear Abby” column over at Philly.com:

DEAR ABBY: I am slightly overweight and want to lose 5 to 10 pounds. I admittedly have little self-control and always eat whatever is put in front of me.

My problem is, my wife continues to stock cookies, ice cream and other goodies in the house. Even though I have asked her on many occasions to stop, she refuses to honor my requests. She says “the kids” shouldn’t have to suffer because of my lack of self-control. Abby, I’d like our kids to eat better, too. What should I do?

I’d hate to split up over this issue because we have preteens and everything else is going well.

- Frustrated in San Diego

DEAR FRUSTRATED: The print and television media have, for some time, been filled with stories about the importance of children learning healthy eating habits and urging parents to not only stock the fridge and pantry with healthy snacks, but also to set a good example.

Your wife may have missed all of this, or she may have some ulterior motive for making sure you don’t lose the weight. Should this end an otherwise good marriage?

No, but please understand that if you do not draw the line, your children may also wind up paying the price.

Aaarrgh! Is this a pointless response or what?  What does she mean by “drawing the line”?  What sort of actions does she think he should take?  How do they differ from what he’s doing now?

Must be nice to get paid for dispensing perfectly useless “advice”.  This isn’t about the kids.  It’s about two grown-ups acting like kids.

I think I can do better.  Here goes:

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…Diet, that is. 

The New York Times has a commendably skeptical take on the principal cookie-based diets on the market: Dr. Siegal’s Cookie Diet, the Hollywood Cookie Diet, Smart for Life and the Soypal Cookie diet.  Eating cookies on a diet may seem like a luxury, but the reality is pretty stark… these diets typically provide only 800 – 1,000 calories per day!

Critics of cookie diets are not convinced. Weight-loss plans that center around a diet of below 1,000 calories do not, they say, lead to long-lasting weight loss and can result in potassium deficiency, gallstones, heart palpitations, weakened kidney function and dizziness. The cookie diet particularly concerns eating disorder activists, who have long criticized fad diets, such as the grapefruit diet, Master Cleanse and Optifast shakes. “Generally speaking, fad diets misinform the public and fuel a fire of continued curiosity with this dieting mentality, which we know gets us nowhere,” said Dr. Ovidio Bermudez, medical director of Laureate Eating Disorders Program in Tulsa, Okla. “They tend to promise a huge return for very little investment,” he said, adding, “We need to be very aware of that fact that whenever we skew our eating in any direction; the chances are that we’re going to hinder our health and not enhance it.”

…“For weight loss to stick, you have to be able to settle into an eating pattern that you can adhere to over time,” said Suzanne Havala Hobbs, a clinical associate professor at the Gillings School of Global Public Health, at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. “That eating pattern needs to provide you with all the nutrients you need while holding calories in balance with the number you expend.

“Diets with a gimmick,” she added, “aren’t harmful for a short period of time. But they’re not likely to cause a meaningful change in behavior that will enable you to keep your weight at an optimal level.”

While the article probably won’t tell you anything that you didn’t already know (or suspect), it reinforces what those of us in the bodybuilding community have understood for years… there are no shortcuts to getting “lean ‘n mean”.  Gimmick diets can certainly take some weight off in the short-term, but they aren’t a path to either long-term weight maintenance or achieving an optimal body composition.  They aren’t worth the effort or the costs, which – in the case of the various cookie diets – can be considerable.

(h/t Pandagon)

“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”

Lao Tzu

About a decade ago, my husband, John, was tipping the scales at 257 lbs.  Despite his height (he’s 6′ 3″), he was borderline obese, and – even worse – had a family history of diabetes and cardiovascular disease.  He knew he had to deal with the weight, and was taking action, but had a looong way to go.  Needless to state, I was on the lookout for ways to inspire and motivate him to succeed, and – after some searching - I found what looked like the perfect e-book for him.

It was Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle by Tom Venuto.

BFFM was my first introduction to Tom’s writings, and I could not have asked for a better one.  Unlike many other programs, it was a detailed roadmap – not only for getting into shape – but for reaching the next level.  Tom truly is one of those ”teachers” alluded to in the above quote… Unlike many other popular and “fad” diet programs, BFFM provides readers with a template for lifelong fitness and maintenance of their ideal weights.

Nonetheless, it’s not for everyone.  Tom is a successful natural bodybuilder, and BFFM reflects his training and discipline.  While it’s “user-friendly”, it’s also fairly detailed – which is why he saw the need for a simpler program that would be just as effective, but more in tune with the “goals of ordinary ‘real people’”.

That program is The Body Fat Solution. It was written for…

…men and women who are overweight…This book is for the busy working person who doesn’t have all day to spend in the gym or in the kitchen preparing complicated meals.  It was not written for the full-time athlete, bodybuilder, fitness professional, or person with unlimited time to exercise.

The Body Fat Solution is for the layperson who wants simple explanations and practical action strategies to apply in daily life.

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No… it’s not a joke.

When we ran across an e-mail about a new weight loss product, we thought it had to be a joke — a knife and fork that weigh 1½ pounds each, the better to make you eat more slowly? Seriously?

This is quite serious, according to the Knife and Fork Lift’s inventor, Tom Madden. “Everybody approaches it as a joke,” he said, “but when you think about it, it does require you to eat more slowly.” Eating more slowly, say health experts, allows the brain time to register feelings of satiety, resulting in eating less.

The idea sprung from Madden’s own frustrating attempts, and those of his friends, at sticking with diets. “I’m always trying to lose a few pounds, and all the diets everyone has tried to my knowledge have failed. I thought, maybe I could make it more difficult to eat, and slow the process down.” Madden is the founder and chief executive of TransMedia Group, a Boca Raton, La.-based public relations firm.

He came up with a knife and fork encased in a dumbbell-shaped handle, several times the weight of most knives and forks. But he didn’t think this could be the next big thing since the Snuggie when he sent an early version to a friend — who loved it. “He said it was the most unique, creative, imaginative present someone had sent him,” Madden said. “And I thought, let’s make some more of these.”

For what it’s worth, I’ve written about the link between eating quickly and obesity before, so I can appreciate what Mr. Madden is trying to accomplish here.  But there’s no need to invest in…errr… creative (and somewhat pricey) silverware, when – at least for most Westerners - eating with a pair of chopsticks will do much the same thing.

I’ll give Mr. Madden points for ingenuity, however:  I expect the Knife and Fork Lift would make a great gag gift – for either the dieters or weightlifters in your life.

I just finished reading Tom Venuto’s excellent book, “The Body Fat Solution“, and will be reviewing it here later this week.  For now, all I’ll say is that it includes a thorough discussion on emotional eating, which I thought was one of the most valuable parts.  Needless to state, eating for comfort - or in response to other “triggers” that have nothing to do with physical hunger - makes it difficult, if not impossible, for many people to achieve their weight loss/fitness goals.  Fortunately, Tom has extensive, first-hand experience with helping his clients and readers get their eating behavior(s) under control.  You can get a quick feel for his approach by reading his BurnTheFatBlog post on the subject: “5 Steps to Beating Emotional Eating“. 

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I’m sure you know the saying. And – when it comes to diet/exercise programs for losing weight and getting in shape – it’s sooooo true.

One of the most self-defeating behaviors I’ve ever encountered during my time on the “Bodybuilding Revealed” and “Fat Loss Revealed” forums, is what I call “The Quest For The Best”. Simply put, most people who are on “The Quest” never stick with one nutrition or workout program for more than a few short weeks, because some other, “better” program catches their eye(s). “Good enough” is never good enough for these folks… they want the absolute BEST return possible for their investment of time/energy/money. 

The irony is that “The Quest” typically sends a whole lot of time/energy/money swirling down the drain, with virtually NO results to show for it. As I noted in an earlier post, it can take some time to make significant body composition changes; so it goes without saying (but I’ll say it anyway) that flitting like a butterfly from program-to-program isn’t the best way to to about it. 

If it’s a good, time-and-battle-tested program from a reputable source, it will work – or can be made to work with a bit of tweaking.  But it needs to be given a chance!  Putting one’s nose to the grindstone and being patient aren’t as exciting as starting something new, but in the end, that’s what it takes to get results AND make them stick.

When I was a kid, apple cider vinegar was one of those “good for what ails you” nostrums touted in the ”alternative health” media – and it’s still kicking around.  Not surprisingly, it was also pushed as a weight loss aid: I still remember the “kelp, lecithin, B6 and cider vinegar” diet quite vividly… in fact, that one is still kicking around too.  Diets and diet supps are like zombies: they’re damned hard to kill, no matter how much time passes. 

That’s why I winced a bit when I read the following report:

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Is it harder to lose weight as you get older?

I had this conversation with an aquaintance at the gym a few weeks ago, and it raised an interesting point. As we both know, there are genuine reasons why the weight that effortlessly “flew off” when we were in our early 20’s takes longer to budge now.

Some of them are pretty obvious. For instance…

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I published this article in a recent newsletter. It is of sufficient importance that it warrants a reprint, here on the blog. Enjoy!

Just a few years back, I could count the number of prominent web sites entirely dedicated to reviewing supplements on one hand. Now, a search for just about any product – especially those dedicated to weight loss – brings up dozens of sites. Many have names like “consumer-something or other”, and give the impression they offer a “consumer advocate” type service in the genuine best interests of their visitors.

Most don’t.

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As recently witnessed by Elissa in this superb post, things are really heating up on the HCG feedback page over at Real-Customer-Comments.com (if you’re interested in learning about HCG and the Simeons protocol, you can read the full review of HCG here!)

Seems I’ve really irked a few folks by pointing out that ALL the documented evidence shows that HCG does not provide any benefit over that provided by a placebo. While these folks may have experienced great results on the protocol, it’s likely they are directly attributable to the Very Low Calorie Diet (VLCD) and not the effects of HCG.

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As the resident “scientific advisor” here at ultimatefatburner.com, I occasionally get called on to comment on issues unrelated to my primary tasks (writing bodybuilding supp and functional food reviews; blogging).  Thus, it was no surprise to find an e-mail from Paul in this morning’s messages, asking for my feedback on an exchange he had with Dr. Ben Gonzalez, over his (negative) review on hCG for weight loss.

OMFG!

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Hot off the presses…

The FDA said it has received 23 reports of serious liver injuries linked to Hydroxycut products, which are also used as energy enhancers and as fat burners.

The reports include the 2007 death of a 19-year-old man living in the Southwest, which was reported to the FDA in March. Other serious liver problems reported included liver damage that resulted in a transplant in 2002, liver failure, jaundice, seizures and cardiovascular problems.

The FDA is warning consumers to immediately stop using 14 Hydroxycut products manufactured by Iovate Health Sciences Inc. of Oakville, Ontario, and distributed by Iovate Health Sciences USA Inc. of Blasdell, New York.

…”The FDA urges consumers to discontinue use of Hydroxycut products in order to avoid any undue risks. Adverse events are rare, but exist. Consumers should consult a physician or other health care professional if they experience symptoms possibly associated with these products,” said Dr. Linda Katz, interim chief medical officer of the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.

Liver damage is rare, but patients who experienced problems were taking doses recommended on the product label, the FDA said. Symptoms include brown urine, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, stomach pain, itching and light-colored stools.

The FDA has not determined what specific ingredients are responsible for the problems, because the products contain a variety of overlapping ingredients and herbal extracts.

Given the number of people using Hydroxycut, vs. the number of adverse events, the risk to individuals looks pretty low.  BUT – based on the description -  the consequences look pretty serious.  Needless to state, users won’t be doing themselves any harm by NOT taking the product(s)…there are plenty of other – and better – products out there (assuming a product is needed/wanted at all).

Literally…

In an effort to rationalize the use of dietary manipulation on detainees, Bush administration officials turned to Slim Fast and Jenny Craig.

In a footnote to a May 10, 2005, memorandum from the Office of Legal Council, the Bush attorney general’s office argued that restricting the caloric intake of terrorist suspects to 1000 calories a day was medically safe because people in the United States were dieting along those lines voluntarily.

“While detainees subject to dietary manipulation are obviously situated differently from individuals who voluntarily engage in commercial weight-loss programs, we note that widely available commercial weight-loss programs in the United States employ diets of 1000 kcal/day for sustained periods of weeks or longer without requiring medical supervision,” read the footnote. “While we do not equate commercial weight loss programs and this interrogation technique, the fact that these calorie levels are used in the weight-loss programs, in our view, is instructive in evaluating the medical safety of the interrogation technique.”

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Acai, if you haven’t heard, is another one of those trendy, exotic “super fruits” that are all the rage these days. And while acai is a great source of anthocyanins (antioxidants) and does have a high ORAC (oxygen radical absorbance capacity) “score”— it’s being marketed by some unscrupulous folks as being a cure all for just about everything.

The greatest offenders are on the Internet, who hawk acai as THE solution for weight loss, detoxing and colon cleansing (there is, of course, no evidence it helps with weight loss, and “detoxing” is a meaningless marketing term that has already been thoroughly discredited by scientists – see here and here).

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