Can You Lose Weight Just From...Breathing?
by Lexi Petronis
I mean, breathing is something we all do over and over again, all the time. But one man says that he lost 28 pounds in 50 days with special breathing for two minutes every day.
Former actor Miki Ryosuke says that he stumbled on his Long Breath Diet when he was using breathing exercises to help with his back pain, and he noticed that he was also losing weight. To reap the benefits of his accidental diet, he says that all you have to do is concentrate on "taking long breaths and then exhaling aggressively." There's a little more to it than just breathing, though...you're also supposed to place one foot in front of the other, tense your butt, and inhale for three seconds while lifting your arms over your head, then tense all your muscles for seven seconds. Or, you can stand up straight, tighten your glutes, place one hand on your stomach and the other on the bottom of your back, inhaling for three seconds and out for seven seconds while keeping your abs tensed.
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The idea is that oxygen helps burn fat--and, hey, focused breathing does have some health benefits (it increases oxygen saturation in your cells, which can lead to more energy and clearer thinking). But experts aren't sold on the fat-burning part of the diet, as you might imagine. Says Richard Godfrey, chief physiologist at the British Olympic Medical Centre: "Medium to high intensity work out--such as rowing, brisk walking, or running--over a long period is the only way to burn up fat and elevate metabolism. Deep breathing and gentle exercises for five minutes a day is not going to burn up enough calories to transform body shape."
Have you heard of "breathing diets" before? What do you think of this one?
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