Dishing out the extra cash to buy only the healthiest foods, signing up for a gym membership that you will seldom use, and buying fitness apparel are all a part of going on a diet — and it oftens leaves a dent in your wallet. A cheap and easy way to lose weight crosses the mind of dieting hopefuls, who simply want to shed the pounds without breaking the bank, or much of a sweat. For former Japanese actor Miki Ryosuke, weight loss was as easy as breathing. Inhaling and exhaling helped the now turned dieting guru lose 28 lbs. and 5 inches in just 50 days, reports Oddity Central. Ryosuke accidentally discovered the rapid weight loss breathing technique while he was practicing breathing exercises to lessen his back pain. The "Long Breath Diet," which involves more exercising than actual dieting, claims fast weight loss comes by spending just two to five minutes a day taking long, deep breaths and then exhaling while you contract all the muscles in your body. The Japanese star shares his techniques on how he breathed away the extra pounds of fat, and how you can practice this two-way technique at home without hitting the gym.

Long Breath Diet Technique #1

The breathing diet can be done at home in two simple ways. The first way will require you to tighten your buttocks while you place one foot in front of your body, with 90 percent of your body weight on the back foot, Oddity Central says. In this position, you must inhale for three seconds as you lift your arms over your head. As you exhale, the muscles of the body have to be contracted as you let the air out for seven seconds. This process must be repeated two to five minutes every day to see rapid benefits of the breathing exercises.

Long Breath Diet Technique #2

The second breathing technique of the diet involves you having an upright posture while they tighten the buttocks. Once the correct posture has been achieved, you must then place one hand on your abdomen while the other hand is on your lower back. Oddity Central says that in this position, you must inhale for three seconds as you suck in your midsection, and then exhale for seven seconds as you continue to suck in your stomach with greater intensity. This technique must also be repeated two to five minutes a day, like the first technique, in order to have the quick weight loss results that Ryosuke did.

Deep Breathing And Weight Loss

As skeptics may wonder about the validity of Ryosuke's diet, can deep breathing exercises influence weight loss?

Marcelle Pick, OB/GYN NP, explains her views on deep breathing: "Though not a substitute for exercise, it's a great first step for women just beginning an exercise plan, and deep breathing enhances the benefits of any form of exercise," she said. When you do a series of deep breathing exercises, it provides the body with oxygen that will absorb nutrients and also help the body get rid of toxins, leading to weight loss.

Findings from a study conducted at Hampton University found the combination of yoga and deep breathing exercises helped overweight teens lose weight. Sixty high school girls and boys were divided into two groups; one group received 40 minutes of yoga and pranayama — deep breathing — four times a week for 12 weeks, while the control group went about their normal activities. After the conclusion of the study, researchers discovered that the group who did yoga and deep breathing lost an average body weight of 6 lbs. with no daily caloric intake restrictions. "I recommend 30 minutes of pranayama and yoga, three to four times a week. This also can easily be incorporated at home during leisure time with other family members," said Anand B. Shetty, study author and an associate professor in Hampton University's department of physical therapy.

Weight loss programs based on breathing do not attribute breathing as the direct cause of burning fat. Jill Johnson, creator of the Oxycise, told Oddity Central that because fat is made up of oxygen, carbon, and hydrogen, the oxygen breathed reaches the fat molecules and breaks them down to carbon dioxide and water. As a result, the blood picks up the carbon dioxide and returns it to the lungs to be exhaled. "Therefore the more oxygen we our bodies use, the more fat we will burn," said Johnson. The combination of exercise and breathing will boost your metabolism and lead to weight loss.

To follow dieting guru Ryosuke's long breath diet, watch the video below: