Long Breath Diet: Hold Your Breath Lose Weight?

Japanese Long Breath Diet Claims Fast Results

Anyone looking for a fast and cheap way to lose weight may want to consider the Long Breath Diet, a fad that is currently all the rage in Japan.

The diet is the brainchild of 55-year old actor Miki Ryosuke, who accidentally discovered while exercising that certain breathing techniques can help to whittle away inches from a person’s waistline.

Ryosuke then developed his Long Breath Diet which can be accomplished in as little as five minutes a day by taking a particular physical stance while practicing inhaling and exhaling while counting for three and seven seconds respectively.

The Long Breath Diet does not involve much physical exertion or any special equipment and Ryosuke recommends two specific poses to use while the breathing exercises are accomplished, one involving placing most of the weight on the back foot while tensing the muscles of the buttocks, with the other involving placing the hands on both stomach and back in a standing position while doing the same tensing of buttock muscles.

The Long Breath Diet is believed to get results because the more efficiently that a person’s body uses oxygen, the faster that the body burns fat reserves, although many critics say it can’t take the place of exercise in weight reduction.

According to Oddity Central, there are two ways of practicing the long breath diet:

1. Tighten the buttocks and place one foot in front of your body while placing 90% of your body weight on your back foot. Once you’re in position, breath in for 3 seconds while lifting your arms above your head. Then exhale contracting all the muscles in your body to help you get all the air out, for 7 seconds. It sounds easy enough, but most of the air comes out in the first couple of seconds, leaving you to flex your abs as you run out of breath.

2. The second method requires you to stand up straight and tighten the buttocks. Place one hand on your abdomen and another on your lower back, and breath in for 3 seconds while sucking in your midsection. Finally, exhale for 7 seconds and suck in your stomach even more.

Richard Godfrey, chief physiologist at the British Olympic Medical Centre, tells the Daily Mail the effectiveness of the technique is highly doubtful.

He said: ‘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.’

Professor Ian Macdonald, professor of metabolic physiology at the School of Biomedical Sciences in Derbyshire, warns that this type of breathing can actually do harm.

‘Inhaling and exhaling too deeply can disturb the balance between carbon dioxide and oxygen in the body needed to neutralise the blood. This can cause light headedness and even make someone faint.’

And, he doubts simply breathing will turn fat into fuel.

‘Contraction of muscles caused by exercise mobilises fat stores. But it is only vigorous aerobic sport that triggers enough energy to turn fat into fuel. Deep breathing alone will burn up fat by two per cent at best.’

On The Web:

Now that’s a cheap way to lose weight – the BREATH DIET that takes just five minutes a day
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2381855/BREATH-DIET-A-cheap-way-lose-weight-takes-just-5-minutes-day.html

Japan’s Long Breath Diet – A Breath of Fresh Air in the Weight-Loss Business
http://www.odditycentral.com/news/japans-long-breath-diet-a-breath-of-fresh-air-in-the-weight-loss-business.html