Slow Burn: Burn Fat Faster by Exercising Slower Book

Exercise trends come and go, and one of the ones that went in the late 1990s was the idea of exercising slowly to burn more fat. The theory was well rooted in exercise science--you burn a higher percentage of fat while exercising slowly and a higher percentage of carbohydrate as you speed up--but not very practical for most people. If you're only going to exercise for a half-hour a day, you burn a lot more calories by going fast than slow, regardless of how many of those calories come from fat.

Now Stu Mittleman, probably the foremost advocate of slow exercise, wants to reopen the argument. Slow Burn presents an entire lifestyle plan built around running slowly. He doesn't disagree with the idea that you can lose weight faster by training faster; he just thinks it's too stressful for the body to exercise that way.

Mittleman is one of the most famous long-distance runners in the world, and by long, we're talking really long: he once ran 571 miles in six days. So the program he outlines in Slow Burn shows you how to slow down and achieve more--an exercise plan that's less stressful to your body; a diet plan with less sugar and more healthy, unsaturated fats from fish and olive oil; and some tips about rethinking your everyday life to make it less stressful. (For example, he advocates the 85 percent rule: try to do everything the right way 85 percent of the time, and don't knock yourself out over the last 15 percent.) He also peppers the book with theories he's picked up from various branches of alternative medicine and nutrition--applied kinesiology, reflexology, and eating according to blood type. Mittleman's plan isn't for everyone. Certainly, if you like weight lifting or fast-paced sports like hockey and basketball, you won't find much to like here. But if you hate the pressure to always go faster, faster, faster, in life and in exercise, you'll find that Mittleman is on your side. --Lou Schuler