What’s so special about weight loss drinks?

After watching the US women national team beat Brazil 1-0, I was channel flipping and came across a commercial advertising a trial for Right Size smoothies. It’s yet another weight loss product aimed at people who are looking for ways to lose weight and fight fat. The creators of the product prided themselves on the fact that this smoothie was not only able to provide 20 (or more, I can’t remember) nutrients and taste good, but it was also an appetite suppressant.

A few chapters back in my studying for my cert exam in August, I remember reading about weight management, including hunger mechanisms and appetite. I read that appetite is partially psychological and is also genetic, and is used by the body to get the person to eat to avoid starvation. Hunger is different from appetite, in the sense that appetite is the desire to eat and can occur without being hungry, although they are both controlled by the hypothalamus with the use of hormones.

My question is how can a drink or commercial weight loss product control your appetite? I suppose if you drink it, you will feel full and won’t eat anymore, but doesn’t that happen when you just eat normal, healthy food? Is there something special in weight loss “foods” and “drinks” that actually maintains the release of hormones related to appetite? And just to make it clear, I’m not talking about prescription products, but commercial products that make claims that they control your appetite.

I don’t know much about these kinds of products yet, but watching that commercial just made me wonder. As usual, leave your two cents!

More on Interval Training

So you all know that I love interval training. I have written about its superiority over long cardio programs when trying to achieve fat loss, but I have yet to really get into interval training.

What is interval training?

• This type of training uses a work to rest ratio over a certain period of time (example, a 1:1 ratio would be 1 minute of work to 1 minute of rest, 2 minutes of work to 2 minutes of rest, etc.) rather than continuous work. Rest is active rest, meaning that you are either walking briskly or jogging at a low intensity.

What equipment can you use?

• Interval training can be done on any type of cardio machine, including treadmills, bikes, ellipticals, and can be done on a track, while running outside, jumping rope and in the pool.

Who can benefit from interval training?

• Anyone! Interval training is not limited to athletes and weekend warriors; people who want to lose a few (or more) pounds will highly benefit from this style of training.

How does interval training work?

• Interval training is effective because it enables your body to work both the aerobic and anaerobic energy systems. Working at high intensities will condition you anaerobically, and the recovery periods help improve your aerobic abilities. However, the intensity level during the recovery periods shouldn’t be so low that your heart rate drops significantly; otherwise, you will compromise your aerobic gains.

How long does a session last?

• Depending upon the intensity of work intervals, interval training sessions usually last between 20-30 minutes. As an athlete, my sessions have rarely gone over 30 minutes. However, if I were working on aerobic endurance, my interval training sessions would be between 30-40 minutes. For those with the goal of fat loss, 30 minute sessions will be good.

How often should one do an interval training session?

• Interval training should be done 2 or 3 times a week, never back-to-back due to the intense nature of the exercise. Rest is important when you are conditioning your body!

What are the benefits?

• Interval training saves TIME.
• Interval training is a CHALLENGE, which will push you through a plateau.
• Interval training is FUN; this training will beat the monotony of regular gym routines.
• Interval training is EFFECTIVE; you will see results in terms of fat loss quicker than doing traditional cardio routines.

Any more questions about interval training? Please leave a comment (even if you don’t have a question)!