Fitness Pudding - Where The Proof Is

A really cool study recently examined 82 women on a hypocaloric diet, who were randomly assigned to an ‘early evening meal group’ (EEM; 7:00-7:30pm) or a ‘late evening meal group’ (LEM; 10:30-11:00pm) for 12 weeks. 1 The EEM group did lose a little more weight, about 4.5 lbs, on average, than the LEM group (15 lbs vs.10.5 lbs), leading the authors to conclude that, “eating an earlier evening meal resulted in favorable changes in weight loss...

I was honored to connect with my friend Dr. Bill Campbell, an expert on metabolism myths, as a part of the new, FitnessPudding.com Expert Series Podcast.  View on Youtube Follow Dr. Campbell on Instagram: @billcampbellphd If you enjoy, please like, subscribe and consider donating to help deliver more myth-busting content, faster.  

Today, we are going to discuss the grapefruit diet, which is a rehash of the hollywood diet from the 1930s. So, I have brought along my own little starlight to help determine if claim is fact or fiction. The claim is that if you eat the grapefruit diet, then you will lose weight. There are three proposed mechanisms. 1. Meal-Replacement The original diet was something like half a grapefruit, a boiled egg and melba toast, as...

After bursting bubbles that chewing gum is not our next great weight loss answer , I was sent internet articles, such as these. This one even claims that walking and chewing gum, a feat in and of itself, could help men lose weight, apparently just before the next hurricane. They all refer back to this recent research study where 46 adults completed two walking tasks. 1 In the ‘experimental’ task, they walked at a natural pace...

This ad from the 1960s for Vel-X gum, makes some pretty strong claims, regarding chewing gum and fat or weight loss. Fast forward to 2018 we also see some claims regarding gum improving weight loss. Could there be any truth to these claims? Let’s think about how this would even work, assuming regular gum with no additives or stimulants, such as caffeine or nicotine. One possibility is by increasing energy expenditure. In other words, could chewing gum...

We still hear it all the time – that 3500 calories is equal to one pound of body weight. The thought might be appealing, that one can simply create a 500 calorie per day deficit by either cutting 500 calories from their diet, adding 500 calories per day of exercise, or a combination of both. After one week, the deficit of 3500 calories (500 calories x 7 days) should result of 1 pound of weight loss....

A CNN blog recently revisited the tantalizing myth that sex is a workout. It must be circulating pretty well right now on social media, as I have been asked by several people if this is true or not. The article is referring to a 2013 publication from the New England Journal of Medicine entitled Myths, Presumptions, and Facts about Obesity , written by a prestigious group of experts. Myth #7 states "A bout of sexual activity...

Have you ever felt the urge to reward yourself with food after a workout? Many do. Some might be choosing their food choices off how many calories were "burned" during their workout. For some, being able to eat what they want is a reason they exercise in the first place. Clearly, such a mentality is in opposition to the goal of healthy eating. We have already discussed the  conflicting caloric estimations of cardio machines . In...

The common idea that 1 pound of fat is equal to 3,500 calories most likely comes from original research in the late 1950's on the effects of fasting in obese individuals. Well, it stuck, and is the basis for our current, simple prescriptions for weight loss. The subsequent rule, then, is to expend, 'burn', and/or reduce intake of 3,500 calories to lose a pound of fat. Commonly, this deficit is accomplished by expending and/or cutting 500...

Someone recently asked if running on a flat treadmill (0% grade) was bad. When I questioned a bit further, she confessed to reading an online article that put running on a flat treadmill in  the top 7 list of things fitness experts wish you'd stop doing . Being a fitness expert, I was lumped into this group who supposedly thought running on a flat treadmill was bad, worthless, did not 'burn' as many calories , and...