The Fitness Toilet - Seriously

What More Can I Say About This Gem? The latest product from world-renowned over-the-top toilet maker Toto makes each trip to the bathroom like a visit to the doctor's office. It features a weight scale, a body fat meter, a blood sugar and blood pressure monitor as well as urine temperature measurement and analysis to help women keep track of menstruation cycles. Plus the whole thing can be networked to your PC via Wi-Fi. I’m not joking. And as for the cost of this beast? Well, you could train with us three times per week for over a year for less, but then what fun would that be?

Proven Fitness Tricks to Blast Off Fat Faster

Tired of plugging away without seeing the pounds disappear faster? Here are some simple tricks that can help transform your usual regimen into the ultimate fat-blasting routine. Whether you use some or all of these gems, our insider tips will help you get the calorie-burn you deserve.

Know this: “You’ll be able to comfortably work out longer and harder if you’re cool,” says Len Kravitz, PhD, coordinator of exercise science at the University of New Mexico. “Being too hot stresses your body out, so you don’t perform as well.” Translation: You burn less fat.

Do this: Where thin clothing, even if you think you’re “too fat”! I promise you’re not. When exercising at home, put a fan in front of your workout area. Hitting the gym? Wait to use the cardio equipment that has a fan built into the console, or at least find the one under the ceiling fan.


Know this: “Wearing a heart-rate monitor makes it easier to burn more body fat by showing just how hard you’re really working,” Kravitz says. “Keeping your heart rate in the right zone prevents you from slacking off, so you make the most of every minute.”

Do this: Invest in a heart-rate monitor and wear it every time you exercise. We love Life Fitness’s new Dual Watch and Heart Rate Monitor ($60; at CVS stores nationwide). It’s simple to program and use and it doesn’t require a chest strap-just touch the face with your fingertips. And it comes in a variety of sizes, too.


Know this: “Warming up for five minutes before each workout helps you lose more weight,” says Heather Dillinger, an IDEA Health and Fitness Association elite-level personal-fitness trainer. “It not only makes your muscles more pliable but also increases their range of motion, so you end up using more muscle fibers as you exercise.”

Do this: Choose a warm-up routine that hits all of your muscles, not just your legs. The easiest option: Do three to five minutes of low-intensity walking while pumping your arms back and forth (you can do this on a treadmill too) or do the same thing on an elliptical machine.


Know this: “Saving your energy for the end of your cardio workout may prevent you from losing as much weight as you can,” says metabolism expert Dixie Stanforth of the department of kinesiology and health education at the University of Texas at Austin.

Do this: Instead of starting out slow and then finishing up strong, do your high-intensity cardio early in your workout. After doing your warm-up, try exercising at a high intensity for 15 minutes before slowing down to a more moderate pace for the last 15 minutes.


Know this: “Two smaller workouts can be more effective than one,” Stanforth reveals. That’s because every time you do high-intensity exercise, your metabolism stays revved for an hour or more afterward. Splitting up your workout boosts your metabolism twice, giving you additional calorie-burning time from the exact same routine.
Do this: Divide your workout (especially cardio) into two smaller, high-intensity sessions-preferably, doing one in the morning and one at night.


Know this: If you’re convinced that you’re melting fat while exercising, you’ll make a mind-body connection that will actually help you lose fat faster. In a 2007 Harvard study, participants who believed they were getting a good workout showed greater reductions in body fat than subjects who performed the same activities but didn’t feel like they were really exercising.

Do this: The next time you do anything active, remind yourself every few minutes that you’re giving it your all. This little mental move may motivate you to push yourself harder, leading to even greater fat loss.


Know this: “The less time you rest between sets when strength training, the more calories you’re likely to burn,” Dillinger notes. “Keeping rest periods short keeps your heart rate at a higher rate, which naturally increases the number of calories you’re using.”

Do this: The best rule of thumb is to take only a 30-second break between sets (meaning you’ll need a watch with a second hand – or a personal trainer)

Ditch Hydroxycut...Keep Your Liver

O.K., so what’s worse than a diet product that doesn’t work? How about one that trashes your liver as well as your wallet!

Hydroxycut products, well-hyped dietary supplements used for weight loss, have been linked to liver damage and are being recalled, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Friday.

The FDA has received 23 reports of serious liver injuries linked to Hydroxycut products, which are also used as energy enhancers and as fat burners.

The reports include the 2007 death of a 19-year-old man living in the Southwest, which was reported to the FDA in March. Other serious liver problems reported included liver damage that resulted in a transplant in 2002, liver failure, jaundice, seizures and cardiovascular problems.

The FDA is warning consumers to immediately stop using 14 Hydroxycut products manufactured by Iovate Health Sciences Inc. of Oakville, Ontario, and distributed by Iovate Health Sciences USA Inc. of Blasdell, New York.

The company is voluntarily recalling the following products: Hydroxycut Regular Rapid Release Caplets, Hydroxycut Caffeine-Free Rapid Release Caplets, Hydroxycut Hardcore Liquid Caplets, Hydroxycut Max Liquid Caplets, Hydroxycut Regular Drink Packets, Hydroxycut Caffeine-Free Drink Packets, Hydroxycut Hardcore Drink Packets (Ignition Stix), Hydroxycut Max Drink Packets, Hydroxycut Liquid Shots, Hydroxycut Hardcore RTDs (Ready-to-Drink), Hydroxycut Max Aqua Shed, Hydroxycut 24, Hydroxycut Carb Control and Hydroxycut Natural. Video Watch more on the FDA's concern »

According to the FDA, last year, Iovate sold more than 9 million units of Hydroxycut products, which were distributed widely to grocery stores, health food stores and pharmacies.
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"The FDA urges consumers to discontinue use of Hydroxycut products in order to avoid any undue risks. Adverse events are rare, but exist. Consumers should consult a physician or other health care professional if they experience symptoms possibly associated with these products," said Dr. Linda Katz, interim chief medical officer of the FDA's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.

Liver damage is rare, but patients who experienced problems were taking doses recommended on the product label, the FDA said. Symptoms include brown urine, nausea, vomiting, fatigue, stomach pain, itching and light-colored stools.

The FDA has not determined what specific ingredients are responsible for the problems, because the products contain a variety of overlapping ingredients and herbal extracts.

Dietary supplements sold before October 1994 are not required to undergo any FDA review before going to market. The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 required manufacturers to ensure a supplement to be safe before marketing. But manufacturers still don't need to register a product with the FDA or get approval before selling a supplement.

The agency can take action against an unsafe supplement once it's on the market. Since December 2007, any serious adverse event reported to the manufacturer must now be reported to the FDA within 15 days.