SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
A nerve-zapping headset caused people to shed fat in a small preliminary study.
Six people who had received the stimulation lost on average about 8 percent of the fat on their trunks in four months, scientists reported November 12 at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience.
The headset stimulated the vestibular nerve, which runs just behind the ears. That nerve sends signals to the hypothalamus, a brain structure thought to control the body's fat storage. By stimulating the nerve with an electrical current, the technique shifts the body away from storing fat toward burning it, scientists propose.
Six overweight and obese people received the treatment, consisting of up to four one-hour-long sessions of stimulation a week. Because it activates the vestibular system, the stimulation evoked the sensation of gently rocking on a boat or floating in a pool, said study coauthor Jason McKeown of the University of California, San Diego.
(Score: 2) by dyingtolive on Thursday November 17 2016, @12:54AM
No facts, just anecdotes:
I'm overweight, but I lose large amounts of it if I simply don't drink for a couple weeks. Somewhere on the order of 3-5 lbs a week, no exercise needed. I'm 32, so I'm not an old guy, but I'm hardly sporting an 16 year old's metabolism anymore. I can maintain my weight if I drink moderately (2-4 beers/night) throughout the week or binge a few times a week. Drinking heavily every day was what got me the weight gain in the first place. The types of booze I prefer is normally around 150-160 calories a pop, and I can put a 12-pack away in a night if I want to, and at times have done more, so it's not really hard to do that math on that one.
As a side note, I only eat once or twice a day and only consume around 750-1500 calories a day in food, but it's usually more if I've been exercising. I've been told many times that's unhealthy to do and I need to increase my caloric intake, but I've done it for long periods of time and felt fine, so I find little incentive in gorging myself. I'll actually feel gross if I go out to eat somewhere and eat the entire serving that's given to me. Just did the math on Chipotle's website, and the tacos the way I order them get me about 615 calories and that'd make about the largest lunch or dinner I would enjoy in one sitting as far as I'm concerned.
I dunno if there's a psychological element in there somewhere. I know my girlfriend is usually starving feeling if she doesn't eat 2000 calories or so a day, but I maybe it's just a case of "everyone's different".
Don't blame me, I voted for moose wang!
(Score: 2) by SanityCheck on Thursday November 17 2016, @02:20AM
Jesus man, I wish I drank so I could give it up as a weight-loss device :) I do fall off the wagon with soda once in a while, but overall that just means my body compensates by eating less. And I tend to fall off the wagon as response to stress.
I am barely overweight according to BMI (25.5), but it seems as they say retarded since a lot of my weight gain was while building muscle (I gained 20 lbs, and now I am dropping it back down with another 6 left to go) because I stuffed myself with food else I could not lift the heavy weights after a whole day of work).
But sure I would love to use something other than a mix of starvation and anxiety as a diet-plan :)
(Score: 2) by dyingtolive on Thursday November 17 2016, @04:57AM
It's a thing. The better choice would have been to not start drinking to begin with. Sometimes I think of all the money spent over the years, but if it wasn't on that it would have been on something else I guess.
I barely touch soda. I'll have a Coke or Dr. Pepper maybe once a month. I don't normally eat anything sweet either. No candy, usually no junk food, minus a few tortilla chips and salsa lately here and there when the girlfriend gets some out. Interestingly, my response to stress is to typically NOT eat. I'll go a day or two without eating and then realize that I'm shaky and bad feeling because I haven't eaten.
Don't blame me, I voted for moose wang!