If you started the New Year with a goal to lose weight then about now your will power is probably starting to dwindle, as we are fast approaching half way through January. Are you already longing for a treat? Maybe by now you have reached your first target and deserve one.
Your choice of treat can have a huge impact on your continued success and achieving your ultimate weight loss goal. Many people when they are trying to lose weight, feel deprived of the things they have given up and so long for a day when they can have a chocolate bar or piece of cake as a treat. They reach their first weight loss goal and have, what they feel is a well deserved piece of cake.
The truth, however, is that the longer you go without sugar the easier it gets to avoid it – unless you are constantly thinking about it and constantly looking forward to the day that you can have something sweet as a reward. Once you have given in to that first sugar laden reward you are now far more likely to want that reward again, only now it will happen sooner and probably bigger than the first time.
Massage to the rescue! By using something other than food as a reward you are breaking that cycle of obsessing about food as a treat. Your treat doesn’t need to be massage, any non food treat will help to break the “food as a treat cycle” but we will see below that this is a treat that is loaded with additional benefits in addition to helping you feel great.
Benefit 1
Massage over the stomach area can help peristalsis. Peristalsis is the natural movement of your body allowing it to move waste material through your colon. If there is any blockage from unhealthy eating habits this movement can be slowed and not allow you to effectively eliminate waste.
As you begin to eat healthier foods your digestive process should speed up, especially when it comes to waste elimination so getting a massage over the stomach area to aid peristalsis and getting it back into a regular motion is a good thing.
Whilst we are on the topic of waste elimination!!! I always ask my clients how regular they are. Many clients will tell me that they have no problems in that department and that they are very regular. When I ask them how frequently they go to the toilet they then tell me “oh every two days”. Whilst this is indeed regular it is not the frequency we are looking for in a healthy body. If your digestive system is working properly you need to be eliminating at least twice per day. Yes really!
Benefit 2
Massage can enhance blood flow around body. As blood carries nutrients to the extremities of the body and exchanges them for the waste in cells, improved blood flow can be beneficial to weight loss.
Benefit 3
Massage over the fatty areas of the body, for example thighs, can help to break down the fat deposits and make it easier for the body to move it along to a place where it can be naturally eliminated by the body.
Benefit 4
Massage, like exercise releases endorphins, the body’s natural feel good chemicals. It has also been shown to decrease cortisol, the body’s stress hormone. If you are feeling good about yourself and less stressed you are less likely to want to reach for that chocolate bar or piece of cake, especially if you are a comfort eater. The feel good effect can be even further enhanced by the use of aromatherapy oils. Ask your aroma therapist to use oils which are known to reduce stress.
Of course massage alone will not shift the excess pounds and give you the perfect figure. Your body weight is mainly determined by what you do in the kitchen, by what you eat. Even exercise (unless you take up some extreme form of exercise) will not have a massive impact on your weight if you do not combine it with eating less and better quality food. Exercise will provide a small amount of weight loss but more importantly build muscle and tone you making your new reduced size look amazing.
Exercise will also release endorphins making you feel better about yourself. Plus you can’t eat whilst exercising and probably won’t want to eat as much after you exercise so it plays a vitally important role in your weight loss regime.
Benefit 5
Increased exercise is likely to leave you feeling sore, especially if you have not been used to exercising for a while. Getting a massage after you exercise will improve your recovery time by stretching out the muscles that have become tight whilst exercising. Massage also moves lactic acid out of the muscles. A combination of tightened muscles and lactic acid build up is the cause of the pain you feel after exercising. By reducing or even eliminating this pain through massage you will be more inclined to exercise again sooner, hence aiding your weight loss and toning.
When you are serious about losing weight your best chance of success is through following an integrated approach. By that I mean using a variety of tools that will help you on your journey.
Benefit 6
Support and encouragement from other people is another important tool. That support can come in many forms and a good massage therapist will also be your cheer leader if you share your goals with him or her.
At “The Essence of Health” I have always believed in bringing together the best of several techniques. These are techniques that have served me well on my own health journey and I know from working with many clients that they will work for you.
This year I launched “Your Natural Weight Club” specifically to bring this integrated approach to those people with weight loss as their primary goal. Please click the link to find out more about “Your Natural Weight Club”.
As a special incentive to get the best level of support available, I am offering a 20% discount off any massage to the first 10 people who sign up for “Your Natural Weight Club” after this post going live, and a package offer for everyone who commits to a monthly massage for the duration of the programme.
Benefit 7
What many people fail to recognise when they begin to improve their health and lose weight is what caused them to gain weight in the first place. There are many, many reasons for this but one that I often see in clients is that the weight gain happened as a result of them being unhappy about something else in their life and they turn to food as a way of masking the real underlying problem. This can be a failing marriage, going through a difficult time at work, experiencing family problems or many other reasons. Whatever the reason the client usually feels alienated from others and often has a poor self image.
If you can relate to any of these reasons for a possible cause of your weight gain then massage can also help by reconnecting you with another human being. The simple act of touch alone has a profound impact on the wellbeing of all human beings and if you are going through any kind of problem it is likely that you are having less physical contact with others. Touch through massage can be very therapeutic if you are in this position and several studies have shown that touch can have both psychological and physical benefits.
In summary
Massage alone will not result in any significant weight loss but it can be hugely beneficial for:
- Providing a reward that is not food related.
- Helping you to feel better about yourself, which in turn can help you to make better choices about the food you eat.
- Helping to improve elimination.
- Helping to improve blood flow around the body.
- Helping to break down fat which can then be more easily eliminated by the body.
- Helping you to recover faster after exercise, allowing you to do more of it!
- Providing support and encouragement along your weight loss journey.
To contact me about massage, weight loss or “Your Natural Weight Club” please contact me at sandra@TheEssenceOfHealth.co.uk