LeanSpa is a dietary supplement sold on the Internet as a weight-loss product. In 2011, the website claimed LeanSpa was sold out and that only current customers can order the product. Ingredients include acai berry, caffeine, green tea and chromium. Amounts are not listed and none of these ingredients is a proven weight-loss treatment, although caffeine may have mild diuretic properties. Because LeanSpa has no proven weight-loss benefits, do the same exercises when taking this supplement as you would at any time when trying to lose weight.
Increasing Activity
Exercise does not have to mean following a prescribed routine or working out at the gym. Simply increasing your daily physical activity by walking more, taking stairs rather than elevators, walking briskly or jogging rather than walking slowly, and simply scrubbing the bathroom floor can all burn extra calories. Fun activities such as swimming, ice skating, dancing, tennis golf or bike-riding also increase calorie output.
Dieting With Exercise
Exercise alone may not lead to weight loss, because exercise can stimulate appetite and increase your calorie intake, "Time" quoted Eric Ravussin, chair in diabetes and metabolism at Louisiana State University and a prominent exercise researcher, as saying. Cutting calories while exercising is a more effective way to lose weight and keep it off. A Brazilian review of studies reported in the October 2005 "International Journal of Obesity" found that combining diet and exercise increased weight loss by 20 percent. Sustained weight loss also increased by 20 percent in the groups that combined the two therapies. Since LeanSpa has no proven value in increasing weight loss outside of anecdotal evidence, cutting calories in conjunction with increasing physical activity will aid weight loss.
Exercise Types
While strength training may increase muscle mass and cardiovascular exercise may burn calories, neither has a huge effect on weight loss for most people. A Canadian review of studies reported in the August 2011 issue of "The American Journal of Medicine" found that 12-month aerobic exercise programs resulted in modest weight loss of about 3.7 pounds.
Considerations
Neither exercise nor taking supplements such as LeanSpa will necessarily lead to weight loss unless you have a net calorie deficit. To lose weight, avoid adding more calories to your daily intake than you burn by exercising or decrease your overall calorie intake. The type of exercise you do may be less important than simply moving more and sitting less. While exercising 30 minutes per day may benefit your heart and have modest effects on weight loss, you don't have to exercise at one stretch; divide your exercise times into 10-minute sessions, if that works better for you.
References
- Time: Why Exercise Won't Make You Thin
- Dietspotlight: LeanSpa Review
- The American Journal of Medicine: Isolated Aerobic Exercise and Weight Loss: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials
- International Journal of Obesity: Long-term Weight Loss After Diet and Exercise: A Systematic Review
- American Diabetes Association: Types of Exercise
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