Tag: weight loss

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Connected Objects Nutrition/Hydration

Chew your way to a healthier bod with this connected Spün

editors-choiceBecoming healthier need not be an exercise in extreme dieting, crazy weight loss supplements, and obsessive exercise despite what many people mistakenly think. While a dash of exercise a few times a week will definitely help, the biggest key to better health is simply eating better. And as it turns out, eating better is probably the hardest thing to consistently do well for most.

Manually keeping on top of everything eaten throughout the day is usually what turns most people off to the benefits of doing so. Spün, the connected calorie counting utensils, automatically does all the heavy lifting to leave users alone with their delicious meals. Spün works with its companion app to identify food being through a picture of the plate taken by the user. The app then communicates with Spün to keep track of both how much and how fast the meal is being eaten.

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Apparel Health and Wellness

Vivir clothing uses heat to burn calories, increase metabolism; makes the wearer look and feel hot

Many go to saunas in order to relax, enjoy the heat and burn some calories while they’re at it. Heat is good for the body, after all. Not only does it get blood flowing, but it can also increase one’s metabolism.

Now, all of those heat benefits can be had by just wearing clothes. Vivir is a battery-powered top/pant combo that delivers far infrared heat directly to the body. With such an outfit, one can do hot yoga at home, as the campaign shows. It’s also possible to gain heat benefits by just taking a walk around the block. Vivir’s clothing line is black, features the Vivir logo, and comes in both men’s and women’s styles. The lithium-ion battery seems to be worn directly on the person, but the campaign doesn’t make this too clear. On its highest setting, the battery only lasts about an hour. Both the pants and shirts are hand washable—upon removing the battery, of course.

Vivir joins the market of products that claim weight loss and crazy health benefits by just sitting on one’s butt. Much like the Cold Shoulder, a vest that uses cold exposure to burn calories, Vivir elicits some skepticism. If it actually works, great. If not, though, it seems a little unsafe to be wearing a high temperature outfit. In addition, the battery doesn’t even last very long.

Everyone wants to look hot, but not actually feel too hot. Unfortunately, the photos of guys in lab coats on the campaign page aren’t enough to convince. One pant/top set will cost backers a whopping $489 for delivery in May of this year. Vivir is looking to raise $22,500 on Kickstarter by March 4.

Categories
Apparel Health and Wellness

Cold Shoulder vest burns calories with cold exposure, gives fat the heave-ho

As those winter pounds have stuck themselves to many waistlines, everyone wishes they could lose some weight. Ideally, that weight could be lost by sitting around and watching TV.

The Cold Shoulder promises to do just that. This vest uses NASA cold exposure techniques in order to burn calories. While it looks like any normal vest, it lives in the freezer, not the closet. To use, put it on when in a room where the temperature is comfortable. It’s only meant to be used in times of rest, not while exercising. However, if it’s hot or if one is exercising, the vest won’t burn calories, but will serve to cool the wearer down.

The basic premise behind cold exposure is that the body produces heat in order to stay warm and the only way to produce heat is by burning calories. In the Kickstarter campaign, the creators compare the effects of their vest to swimmers. Swimmers burn more calories than other athletes because they are in the water and, therefore, have lower body temperatures while they work out. Their bodies burn extra calories to keep them warm and comfortable.

Cold Shoulder is an interesting concept and one that does seem to be backed by actual science. Its claim that it burns one pound of fat per week seems a little far-fetched, but, who knows, it may actually work. The vest isn’t the most attractive thing around, especially for women. However, the campaign acknowledges that and aims to produce vests that flatter the female figure as a stretch goal. One will cost backers a donation of $100 for an estimated delivery month of April 2015. Cold Shoulder is looking to raise $13,500 on Kickstarter.

Categories
Connected Objects Food and Beverage Health and Wellness

SITU smart food scale counts calories and more from raw ingredients

situAs easy as people say it is to count calories and eat less junk food, combining those two goals can prove to be a bigger challenge. Boxed, frozen, canned, and fast food options have readily available nutritional data. But cooking at home, preparing meals out of fresher, healthier ingredients, how exactly does one figure out a serving size?

Extending the idea of a smart scale for humans, SITU is a smart food scale that can provide nutritional data for any bit of food. SITU weighs food and then transmits that information to an iPad. From there, users can track calorie intake, sugar, sodium, or any other ingredient. That information can be used and applied to analytics that will guide users through whatever their goal is: shedding pounds, adding weight, managing diabetes, and more.  It’s an idea that others have tried already, including the eerily similar Smart Food Scale by Chef Sleeve, but SITU hopes that its complete nutritional data and ease of use will help it stand out.

While there’s plenty of cause to be skeptical about the scale’s accuracy, he campaign video shares the personal weight loss story of the inventor who used to count calories by hand and managed to lose 100 pounds, lending credence to the effectiveness of a smart scale like SITU. Backers who pledge £50 plus £12 for shipping outside the UK can get a SITU in November and start losing pounds in time for an easier New Year’s resolution.