From the so-called Shake Weight to a scale that never reveals your weight, there are many new products on the market that promise advantages in the weight-loss struggle. NY1's Health reporter Kafi Drexel checked in with editors at Self magazine about the products' efficacy and filed the following report.

One look at the new Shake Weight, a 2.5-pound weight held out and shaken in front of the chest, and a raunchy "Saturday Night Live" skit probably comes to mind. Rubber spike acupuncture mats like the Lotus Spike Mat and Shakti Mat might look like a little bit more painful than pleasurable. So the editors at Self magazine tried and tested these and other new fashionable health products and found that there could be some real method to what seems like a little bit of madness.

"Some of these things that we found are a little bit crazy, but we wanted to test everything out and what we found was that some of it actually works," says Self fitness editor Sheila Monaghan. "So the picks that we have here, we kind of separated the crazy from the credible. And they can either make your workout more fun, more effective, or help you recover."

The Shake Weight is supposed to give a similar challenge to lifting heavier dumbbells in the gym.

"You just hold it and literally shake it like that and it'll jiggle, and it really uses 300 percent more muscle than a standard dumbbell. So it's pretty neat," says Monaghan.

Those who are looking for some relief can turn to the rubber spike mats. They might look more like beds of nails than rejuvenating surfaces, but they are meant to work like acupressure.

"They target pressure points in the body to relieve stress and release endorphins that make you feel good. You'll sleep better and you really only need to use it for about 10 to 15 minutes at a time at first," says Monaghan. "Squeamish people can put a cloth over it. So if you're a little nervous about lying down on it, you lay down on it slowly, but you can put a towel over it. Just use it for 10 to 15 minutes before you go to bed, and it's going to relieve that stress at the end of the day."

Users who do not use a towel or sheet with one of the mats can expect a bunch of prickle marks on their skin. Those marks seem to go a way just a few seconds after one is done with the mat.

With all that shaping, toning and renewing, one might want to weigh in to check fitness results. The new Quantum Scale can keep track of weight loss and gain, but never shows the user's weight.

"You step on it. It registers your weight and then doesn't display it and then each subsequent time you use it, it will tell you how many pounds you've gained or lost," says Monaghan. "So it really keeps the focus on your progress, instead of you fixating on your weight as a number and getting hung up on that number. So it's a healthy way of looking at your weight loss efforts."

No matter what, keep in mind that the scale never lies.