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Fun and Fit: One Deep Breath, Lose 5 Pounds — Myth or My Ohhhhm My?
Dear Fun and Fit: Is it a myth or not that deep breathing helps in weight loss?
— Deborah, Santa Barbara
Alexandra: This is a Big Fat Myth — or not. Here’s what I did for you, Deborah. I went and read piles of so-called research just to answer your question in a somewhat informed way. Blah blah blah. I took a nap on the keyboard after about the 20th “Let me tell you all about my secret breathing techniques where you’ll lose 50 pounds next week. All you have to do is sign up for my magical potion/newsletter/product/blog.” They were all like that — one deep breath at the start of the site, then a sales pitch and excited testimonial about the wonders of breathing for weight loss.
First of all, the only blog you should be subscribed to is ours! Second, anything that has the word “secret” in it is suspicious.
Kymberly: Shoot, does that mean you don’t want to hear my secret about deep breathing? I practiced by calling random phone numbers and breathing heavily. Then I left Alexandra’s callback info. Even if your metabolic rate and calorie expenditure don’t go up with strong breaths, my income might. And Alexandra’s heart rate.
A: This breathing for weight loss issue has lots of enthused proponents, all of whom claim that it’s backed by research. But — and this is a flag to anyone who had to do research in grad school — I couldn’t find any of the research to which they alluded. Or, the “research” I did find was done by companies with a financial interest in the results. Translation: They were selling “accompanying” weight-loss products.
Go to a reputable site (or don’t, since we did it for you) such as MayoClinic.com and you will see they totally copy Fun and Fit when they recommend three things, and three things only, for appropriate, successful, lasting weight loss — aerobic exercise, strength training and lifestyle activities.
K: Alexandra did such a good job answering that all I have to do is change her opening phrase “Big Fat Myth” to “Small, Slim Myth” and — voila! — insta-skinny through breathing while typing.
A: I would like to add one caveat, just in case you are holding your breath. What if you’re doing strenuous exercise (for example, watching Clive Owen on TV) and you start to get all sweaty with shallow breaths? Then you pass out. In this instance, deep breathing would help you tremendously. You would not lose any weight, but you would be alive and in possession of your senses (if you were before the exercise — wouldn’t want to assume anything). This would free you up to start that weight-loss program with the three components Mayo stole from us!
So in that sense, yes, the deep breathing helped with your weight loss.
Keep this advice secret. Don’t tell anyone, or I’ll have to come and hyperventilate on you!
K: Where can I buy the secret advice you just shared?
Readers and breathers of the world: What “secret” weight-loss approaches have you tried? How much money did you throw down a hole?
— Identical twins and fitness pros Kymberly Williams-Evans and Alexandra Williams have been in the fitness industry since the first aerobics studio opened on the European continent. They teach, write, edit, emcee and present their programs worldwide on land, sea and airwaves, including AM 1490 at 6:20 p.m. on Sunday nights. They co-write Fun and Fit: Q and A with K and A from their home base in Santa Barbara. You can currently find them in action leading classes at Spectrum Uptown and Goleta and at UCSB. Kymberly is the former faculty minor adviser at UCSB for its fitness instruction degree offered through the Department of Exercise & Sport Studies; Alexandra serves as an instructor and master teacher for the program. Fun and Fit answers real questions from real people, so please send your comments and questions to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
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