Weight Loss: A Very Cool Solution

Take a curious ex-NASA scientist and a forward-thinking pop culture author, and the result may be a revolutionary (and perhaps a bit uncomfortable) weight loss method.

Using the laws of thermodynamics, Ray Cronise has hypothesised that strategic exposure to cold will accelerate weight loss. He credits this method for his 30lbs weight loss in 6 weeks.

Says Cronise; Our body temperature remains constant and it takes a lot of energy to keep it that way, no different than heating your house... I treated my body like a thermostat... to see if I could run up the utility bill and get the furnace (my metabolism) running at full blast. Source

A seed of curiosity was planted in Cronise upon hearing of Michael Phelp's prolific caloric intake. It dawned on him that it was the cold water forcing Phelps to fight to keep its temperature.

Using swimming and something called thermal loading, where the body is exposed to cold in various ways, Cronise applied some old military research and found that he could lose up to four pounds a week. Techniques include ice baths and chugging ice water.

Therein lies a paradigm shift - while traditionally we think of heating the body up to induce a metabolic boost - Cronise suggests focusing on cooling it down.

The theory will come to fruition in the form of a book by "The 4-Day Work Week" author Tim Ferris, where Cronise is a case-study and contributor. Among Ferris' extensive research, he discovered a technique that uses temperature manipulation to improve fat loss by 300 percent.

Bring on the Skepticism Dr. David Katz, founder of the Integrative Medicine Center and professor at Yale University, had this to say about the concept; Being cold is uncomfortable. Frankly, if people are willing to be that miserable to lose weight they might as well try eating well and exercising.

A valid point and one of the best quotes I've heard in a long time. And while the old military research offers some reason to be optimistic, most of it focused on keeping weight on soldiers and not weight loss, per se. I haven't seen a clinical trial with a control group to support the anecdotal experiences of Cronise.

Moreover, I live in Canada - I'm cold here 8 months of the year. The last thing I want to do after coming home from a cold rainy day is soak in a cold tub, or crush glasses of ice water.

So while the theory makes complete sense, I still recommend guarded optimism - sounds like a potentially moderately helpful adjunct strategy, to the standard eating better/less and exercising more. At best I would say this strategy is evolutionary, rather than revolutionary.

Would you try this out as a fat loss method?

Image Credit: horiavarlan

Science Weird weight loss 11 Comments Lana on 1 Nov 2010

It makes sense. I know a few of bodybuilder that will keep their house colder than normal just to get that extra calorie burning before a competition. It coul dbe dangerous though I can imagine some idiot getting hypothermia because he/she decided to try doing it improperly.

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Sprinkle Crystals on Your Food and Lose Weight

Is it just me, or are diet aids getting more and more weird?

We've had "Le Whiff" - chocolate you inhale. And now, the latest upcoming craze is crystals.

Tiny crystals that you sprinkle on your food. Doesn't sound too appetising, does it?

The crystals, called Sensa granules, enhance the smell of food, meaning that it tastes better (smell can count for up to 90% of what we experience as the "taste" of a food). They were developed by the neurologist Dr Alan Hirsch (from the Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago) back in 2008.

The Sensa website claims that:
By enhancing smell, Sensa Tastants were designed to help speed up the process and trigger your "I feel full" signal, so you eat less and feel more satisfied.

Sensa is currently on sale in America, costing $59 for a month's supply of the crystals. Other countries are expected to start selling them soon. Dieters are enticed by the promise they can carry on eating exactly what they already eat, without counting calories or exercising: the only change is that they sprinkle Sensa crystals on every meal and snack.

Some experts, however, are sceptical about the use of Sensa as a diet aid. Dominic Dwyer (a neuropsychologist at Cardiff University in the UK) said the idea behind Sensa was sound, but warned:
A mouthwatering smell from food can simply make us eat more. This stuff would have to be very carefully used.

What do you think? Would you pay $59 a month to sprinkle tiny crystals on your food? Would you be satisfied with less food if it tasted really good?

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