Getting Ready for Summer - Body, Mind, and Spirit

It is hard to believe that only a few months ago we were bundled up tight and weathering temperatures significantly below zero. As we start unwrapping ourselves from the parkas, hats, gloves, scarves, sweaters, and thermals, we may find a sight worthy of a scary movie - WHITE FAT! Summer is almost here for us in North Dakota - a wet spring we've had for sure, but that isn't all bad. We have experienced some weeks early in May producing temperatures in the 60's and 70's. Of course it had to snow in some parts of our state on May 25, but all in all, a pretty good start tempting us to get moving, get in shape, and for goodness sake - GET A TAN! Some of us less motivated folks look for the easy ways to lose weight and get in shape. Some of us who care to pamper ourselves look for ways to relax, heal, and dream of being thinner. Of course there are the mind bending ways of hypnosis that puts the suggestion of the vice of your choice far from your mind. Other things a person can do include body wraps, steam saunas, mud packs, and for the hard core (or those with more resolve) you could exercise. But, if you want to try something that feels good, gets hot, makes you sweat, and actually proposes a host of benefits (including the idea of weight loss) you could try an infrared body wrap.

Recently I stumbled upon this very service at a local tanning salon. Curious, I did some research and found that there were actually clinical studies with all of the information I had hoped to find. Yes, it is a little neurotic of me, but I wanted to know what the possible contra-indicators and benefits were. Mostly satisfied with this information, I called my doctors as well to see what they each had to say. To find these clinical studies, you can go to www.formostar.net and click on FormoStar Links on the left hand menu. Or you can just click here - clinical study 1 or clinical study 2.

Here is the scoop. You wear sweat pants and a sweat shirt so that you can get a good sweat. I wore another layer of clothes under as well because I had a couple of hot points the first time, but with the added layer, this was relieved. You wear a wrap around your waist, butt, each thigh, and then you can use the other two either on your upper arms or your calves. I tried both and loved both. Fully clothed, wrapped up tight, and covered with a blanket, you can listen to music, take a nap, and just enjoy an hour to yourself.

As many of us know, fat storage areas on women are primarily the thighs, buttocks, stomach, breasts and upper arms. Stored fat has a very low blood circulation and when we work out, our muscles and vital organs get the majority of our blood flow. Limited blood circulation results in where fat hardens and, over time, leads to cellulite. The infrared body wrap reverses this situation by applying infrared heat to the body. These rays gently heat the body from the inside out to get underneath the fat tissue and increase blood flow over 300% where fat tissue resides. This, in turn, causes the metabolism rate to rise. Infrared heat softens the fat or cellulite tissue, breaking it up and releasing it into the blood stream to be burned up as energy. This system claims that you can burn 1200 calories or more in just one 50 minute session.

Now, back to my experience. Yes, I did sweat a lot during this "treatment." I did experience inch loss. In my first treatment I lost 11 inches over my body, but to be honest I didn't believe that it would last so I didn't even bother to have them measure me the next time I went. For me, I experienced other benefits that drove my desire to return, and I'll do it again, too! One of my wraps occurred the day before a chiropractor appointment. My adjustment was easier, deeper, and my doc mentioned how much better my body was responding. My muscles felt great, warm, and I was able to stretch better than normal and gain benefit from that as well. I'm cold by nature, so this gave deep body warmth that lasted the rest of the day and allowed me to relax. My pulse was raised to between 140-160 beats per minute for at least 30 of the 50 minutes, which is much like a workout. The benefits for this are a passive cardiovascular workout with fat burn. Who wouldn't like that? My joints didn't hurt and my back spasms were relieved. I loved this so much that I went 4 times over 4 weeks. I will do it again, soon!

You can check out other wraps, health products, or try this for weight loss, but nothing will work long term without diet and exercise. This does, however, provide another service to add to your arsenal in breaking free of winter fat, feeling better, or just taking time for yourself to relax. So, get ready for summer - body, mind, and spirit.