Excess body fat is an increasing problem in the world today. In a single-blinded, randomized study, we investigated 70 subjects in the age range of 20 to 65 years who underwent a 10-day diet and physical exercise program (35 controls, 35 active subjects). Subjects ranged from overweight to obese. All subjects were free of diabetes, neurological, or cardiovascular disease. The diet was a dietary recommendations program involving a reduction in caloric intake. The diet was a mixed calorie diet with approximately one third protein, one third carbohydrates, and one third fats. Foods included salads, eating fruits and grains for breakfast, and broiled meats to reduce the fat content for lunch and dinner. Weight, girth, and body fat measurements were taken at baseline, 3 days, 10 days, and 2 weeks. The exercise program consisted of 3 different videos performed at home for up to 1 hour, 6 days per week. The first video involved 60 minutes of aerobic exercises. The second video involved 50 minutes of medicine ball exercises including reaching, twisting, and bending exercises through full range of motion. The third video was a 10-minute mini ball abdominal workout video. Muscle strength of the biceps, hamstrings, quadriceps, and abdominal muscles was measured at baseline, 3 days, 7 days, and 10 days into the study. The results showed that, for most people, loss of 1 pant or dress size (1-inch loss in girth) could be achieved in 3 days. The top 10% of participants lost 2.6 cm of girth in the first 3 days at the waist. The average loss in girth at the waist at 3, 7, and 10 days was 1.84, 2.91, and 3.06 cm, respectively. The average weight loss over 10 days was 3.5 kg. The average 3-day weight loss was 2.5 kg. Strength increased on an average of 11.21% for these muscles. Compliance for the diet and exercise averaged 89.1% and 75.9%, respectively. Thus the program saw large gains in fitness and weight loss.

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