Every season it seems there is a new weight loss secret that becomes a great big hype machine. Last year is was Anatrim and Hoodia and right now it is Green Tea. I know that there are a lot of reasons to believe that green tea is very good for you but it is not a wonder drug for losing weight even if you mix it with caffeine and other chemicals as Enviga has. There is no such thing really as negative calories and there is a better way to look at weight loss by increasing your metabolism on a natural basis and reducing your calorie content by eating the right foods. ABC News has exposed this product and I am happy that they have.

The makers of Enviga bill the sparkling, caffeinated green tea as an energy drink designed to promote a healthy lifestyle. According to tests conducted by Switzerland’s University of Lausanne and Nestle, who manufacture the beverage along with Coca-Cola, drinking three 12-ounce cans of Enviga per day burns 50 to 100 calories.

Though it’s only available in New York City and Philadelphia now, early this year, the drink will hit store shelves nationwide.

Enviga gets its calorie-burning power from the combination of caffeine and EGCG, an antioxidant naturally found in green tea. Though its makers stand by the drink’s ability to burn calories, Nestle and Coca-Cola claim they’re not marketing Enviga as a weight loss product.

“This product seems ideal for folks that are exercising regularly, have a balanced diet, and are taking care of themselves. This is one more step. It would be great if the product was inspirational, but it’s not a weight loss product,” Coca-Cola spokesman Ray Crockett said.

Though Enviga is not marketed specifically as a weight loss product, some doctors and consumer advocates say that looking at the ads, it’s hard to think of anything else.
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Looking to make a change and lose some weight? I have reviewed the top diet on the internet and you can go and read over 200 comments people have made about why this diet has worked well for them, as well as some of the problems.

Tags: ABC, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, beverage, Center for Science, chemicals, Coca-Cola, contributor and associate professor, Darwin Deen, David Katz, director of sports nutrition, energy drink, Leslie Bonci, Nestle, New York City, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh Medical Center, Ray Crockett, spokesman, sports nutrition, Switzerland, Switzerland's University of Lausanne, the Public Interest, University of Pittsburgh, weight loss product, Yale University's School of Public Health

Obesity in children is an issue throughout North America and the habits that you learn when you are young are the ones that will carry through to adulthood. Bill Clinton has brokered a deal through his organization to have all schools offering healthier snacks by going through the manufacturers of the snack food themselves. This is a great good news story.

Just five months after a similar agreement targeting the sale of sodas in schools, Bill Clinton and the American Heart Association announced a deal Friday with several major food companies to make school snacks healthier — the latest assault on the nation’s childhood obesity epidemic.

“By working with schools and industry to implement these guidelines, we are helping to give parents peace of mind that their kids will be able to make healthier choices at school,” said Dr. Raymond Gibbons, president of the heart association.

The agreement with Kraft Foods Inc., Mars Inc., Campbell Soup Co., Groupe Danone SA and PepsiCo Inc. sets guidelines for fat, sugar, sodium and calories for snack foods sold in school vending machines, stores and snack bars. Those companies make everything from M&M’s, yogurt and granola bars to Frito-Lay potato chips, Snickers bars and canned soups.

Under the guidelines, most foods won’t be permitted to derive more than 35 percent of their calories from fat and more than 10 percent from saturated fat. There will be a limit of 35 percent for sugar content by weight.
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Tags: Alliance for a Healthier Generation, American Heart Association, baked potato chips, beverage industry, beverage industry leaders, Bill Clinton, Bob Harrison, Campbell Soup Co., Charles Nicolas, diabetes, executive director, food, Frito-Lay, Groupe Danone SA, junk food, Kraft Foods Inc., Mars Inc., north America, obesity, PepsiCo Inc., potato chips, president, Raymond Gibbons, snack food, snack-food industry, spokesman, sports drinks, William J. Clinton Foundation

Fitness training is becoming more popular every year. Many health clubs ar now offering circuit training as the only way to work out in their gym. One such place is Curves, a weight loss program that includes a gym as well as a eating plan. Circuit training is good as it allows you to do weights for strength training and also you get a chance to get a good cardio workout as well because you are doing your weight sets at such a fast pace. Two for one and a quick workout too.

The boxing bell rings and Alan Katz starts pounding away at a punching bag. After 30 seconds the bell rings again and it’s off to arm curls at the next station. In 20 minutes, he’s completed a series of cardio and strength training stations that experts say is in an excellent way to stay in shape.

The Blitz in Tampa, Fla., where Katz exercises three times a week, is among the growing number of gyms promising an express circuit workout, which involves a laid-out course of about a dozen exercise stations. The concept – around for decades but popularized in the market by Curves for Women several years ago – is finding favor with the mass of Americans who say they just don’t have the time to exercise.

“What’s beautiful about it – you’re catching everything in 20 minutes. I come out of there and I know I’ve done everything. It’s a no-brainer,” said Katz, a 47-year-old suburban Tampa resident. As a working father of two teenage girls, time is a scarce commodity.

Despite the national obsession with fitness, about 85 percent of Americans do not belong to a gym, according to the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association. The most frequently cited reason for not joining a gym? A lack of time and intimidation, said Brooke Correia, the industry group’s spokeswoman.

“The majority of these people are open game for the industry,” Correia said.

It’s no surprise that circuit workouts – cheap, low-key and easy to understand – are popping up in strip malls coast to coast. About a third of the country’s estimated 30,000 health clubs are now express workout facilities, according to IHRSA. While Curves found an audience among middle-aged and older women, the spinoffs are branching out to other groups.

Cuts Fitness for Men, which opened in 2003, now has 90 locations across the country. With a tan-and-blue color scheme and “Cheers”-like camaraderie, founder John Gennaro said members are typically between 30 and 60 and often watch a baseball game together after their workouts.

The Blitz, a boxing-themed circuit gym, has 75 locations nationwide. This fall, president Scott Smith is planning a foray into the 18 to 35 market with a coed, military-themed version called “Commandos.”

Even major chains like 24 Hour Fitness and Gold’s Gym have rolled out circuit workouts.

One circuit gym in southern California invites the entire family to work out. At Family Fitness Express in LaCanada, Calif., members are encouraged to bring along the kids, or even grandma and grandpa.

“It’s a great first step into fitness. And it’s a whole lot better than sitting at home and watching TV,” said Richard Cotton, spokesman for the American Council on Exercise.

The appeal of a circuit workout is easy to understand. The cost is typically between $20 to $40 for a monthly membership. For those who have never stepped foot in a gym before, the routine takes the guess work out of exercise.

Tags: Alan Katz, American Council on Exercise, baseball, Brooke Correia, California, Florida, founder, Gold's Gym, International Health, John Gennaro, president, Racquet and Sportsclub Association, Richard Cotton, Scott Smith, spokesman, spokeswoman, Tampa, USD