Having a shrinking violet body wrap today........

[makingdoo]

It's supposed to be really good to help improve the appearance of cellulite and also to help loose inches. It claims to be permanent rather than just getting rid of water.

Anyone had one?

Without even looking at what this is, common sense tells me that you cannot lose body fat by sweating!

You will only lose water and will put the water weight back on when you drink.

You cannot draw fat out of your body unless it is liposuction!

Ok, I did google!

This seems to be the most sensible advice

Hannah - So, for the princely price of about 60 great British pounds I can pop down to my local beauty clinic and get a body wrap treatment! They will slather my body with cream, wrap me tightly in shrink wrap, and leave me laying there, looking rather squished and peculiar, under a heated blacket for 90 mins, and it?s claimed that, when unwrapped, I?ll have lost inches!

Rather than testing the procedure out in the office, as my boss suggests, instead I turn to Dr Stephen O?Rahilly, Director of the Metabolic Research Laboratories at Cambridge University and Professor Steven Bloom from Imperial College London.

Stephen - Magnus is spot on here in smelling a rat. Firstly, shrinking violet body wraps won't work. Lipolysis which is the breakdown of triglycerides and fat to its constituent free fatty acids and glycerol is a highly controlled and sophisticated biochemical process, and no amount of wrapping will induce this to occur in the fat cells.

Secondly, if it didn?t work, it would actually be dangerous. The reason our bodies have all the fat cells was to make a relatively safe place to store excess energy and a place for much energy to be released during times when food is scarce. If we suddenly release a large amount of fat from our fat cells, it would have to go somewhere. We know this is very bad news because patients who, for genetic or other reasons can't make adequate number of fat cells develop severe metabolic side effects including diabetes, pancreatitis, cirrhosis of the liver, all as a result of this toxic fat going somewhere where it shouldn?t be out of fat cells and into other tissues. So, not only is this idea nonsense, it?s potentially dangerous nonsense.

Hannah - So, if there's no fat cell breakdown going on, what about this claim that you lose inches once unveiled? Professor Stephen Bloom from Imperial College London has this to say?

Stephen B. - Sweat a little with no food or drink and pee out from the pressure on the body fluids of the wrapping and you're certainly lighter on the scale. Unfortunately, all you?ve lost is water and as soon as you get back home feeling thirsty, have a glass of water or two, this comes flooding back and your weight will go back up again.

Hannah - Hmm, I might give body wraps a miss and up for a bit of exercise and healthy eating instead.

Thanks for the info Sunday

So your answer to the actual question is no then?

I keep hearing of people who have had a few wraps and the results have been great. Obviously this is with them healthy eating aswell.

I'm desperate so will try anything!

It would be a quick fix for a special occasion but it is not an effective long term healthy weight loss plan.

My personal opinion to start losing weight

"
My losing weight advice would be not to suddenly change your eating habits overnight! Many people start a diet and cut out this and that and introduce stuff they don't usually eat or rarely eat and whilst may lose weight initially, it becomes a struggle to keep up with because the food is so different from what they normally eat, so they 'cheat' then feel guilty and the diet goes out of the window and they are back to square one.

Most of us eat the way we do as our eating habits are formed over the years and like any habit it's hard to change. Food can be a very emotional issue, we are not like our ancestors who ate simply to stay alive, we eat for pleasure, we enjoy many different tastes, smells, we eat in company to be sociable, we stuff our faces when we are upset or we stop eating when we are upset. The way we eat is closely related to our emotions and making a change can be very difficult.

I suggest that you start off with looking at your portion sizes and reducing them. You can be clever and trick yourself by using smaller plates! This way you are still getting your same, familiar tastes that are part of your every day eating habits but you are reducing calories. You will lose weight.

When you lose weight your emotional state is then buoyed and you feel good about yourself. Now you can start thinking about what you eat and what you could do to make healthy substitutions for the food you already enjoy. Gradually start swapping foods for more healthier choices as you continue to reduce your portion size.

This transition of eating less and then eating more healthy should be an enjoyable experience, not a fad diet that you feel stressed about sticking to and then feeling low because you fail or cheat.

Writing down what you eat is a useful way to keep on track. Do not compare yourself to other people who are slimmer than you, we all have different metabolisms and to are the focus of your goal to lose weight.

Fancy exercise equipment is most cases will just become things to hang clothes on!

If you don't have a dog, how often would you just get up and go for a walk without having to go anywhere? Probably not very often, but a brisk walk is free and one of the best things you can do. A friend to walk with is ideal but if not set yourself a target such as a newspaper shop or money permitting get a bus somewhere and walk back or a spouse/partner to drop you off in the car and you walk back.

An my own failing? If I buy it, I eat it! The simple answer is dont buy it and I won't eat it. An example being, if a six pack of kit Kats is on offer I will buy it so I can have one a day for the next six days. The sad reality is that after two days I will have scoffed the lot! So don't buy it in the first place!"

Thanks Sunday - very sound advice!

I would like to loose some weight - ideally about 7- 10lbs.
I've done it before with slimming world but just put it back on. I just find it really difficult to stick to healthy eating.

I need to get more organised instead of using convenience foods when I'm in a rush. I notice an immediate difference when I cut out wine and bread but hate giving up my wine at the weekend.

This is a quick fix type thing, hen party this weekend, wedding in 3 weeks then holiday in 5 weeks. Hoping this will get me motivated if nothing else.

I have known many women who have done weight watchers and slimming world and all rave over it whilst they are on it and just after. Fast forward and they've all put the weight on and often more!

Diets do not work for most people, long term as they are not sustainable.

Personally, if I was you I would eat exactly share I eat but either only eat two thirds or a half of what is on your plate and lose weight by reducing your portion size. It may seem wasteful to leave food, but if you consider where the food eventually ends up, ie the toilet, it is not such a big deal!

Of course, if you don't want to leave food, then reduce the amount of food you cook or make.

That way you are not stressing what to eat or have to buy or incorporate different foods in your shopping list!

I had 2 body wraps before I got married and thought they were great. I was eating healthily as well. I can't remember my inch loss but I really felt it tightened everything up. I could see a difference in my stomach straight away. I can't really talk about the results lasting as I got married/honeymooned in New York and with American portions I put weight on.

Well I had the wrap and can't say it was the most comfortable experience ever! I 'lost' 8.5" overall and mostly around my tummy and bust area which I am pleased about.

My skin feels lovely too.

Apart from anything it has given me a bit of motivation to loose what I can now over the next 5 weeks.