Body Wraps And Waist Wraps - The Difference Between Losing FAT and Losing Inches
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Body Wraps And Waist Wraps - The Difference Between Losing FAT and Losing Inches
Body Wraps and Waist Wraps - The difference between losing fat and losing inches By Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS |
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Burn The Fat And Feed The Muscle Book
Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle Syndicated Q & A Column
(Ask Tom Venuto - The Fat Loss Guru)
QUESTION: Dear Tom: What's the deal with
"body wraps"? Do they really shrink fat cells or
this just another weight loss scam?
ANSWER: Body wraps do not shrink fat
cells or burn body fat - no matter what type of
wrap: bandages soaked in herbs, minerals,
enzymes, plastic, foil, vinyl, seaweed, clay,
mud - it doesn't matter, body wraps don't burn
fat.
And those "sauna wraps" or rubber "wraps" that
go around your waist? They can't "burn" an ounce
of fat either.
Fat can only be lost with a caloric deficit from
a reduction in food intake, an increase in
activity or ideally, a combination of both.
Whenever you see fat loss claims for wraps or
any other product which doesn't involve
nutrition or exercise, you could certainly call
that a "scam" and you should always stay away,
no matter how compelling the sales pitch.
Furthermore, the companies making fat loss
claims would be in hot water with the Federal
Trade Commission (FTC) if they were investigated
because claims for bodyfat reduction from wraps
cannot be supported with scientific evidence.
The FTC as well as various state attourney
general's offices have already taken action
against body wrap companies in the past for
false advertsing and unsupported claims. Some
simply had to stop making false claims, others
had to pay stiff fines as well.
Some of these products defintely CAN take off
inches (for example reduce your waist
measurement), but it's temporary and it's not
fat, its water weight and fluid.
Remember, "inches" and "fat" are not the same
thing.
Suppose this claim is made in an advertisement:
* Lose Up To 15 inches in 1 Hour! *
This is legal advertising because the claim
"lose inches" might be supportable (if enough
circumference measurements are taken with a tape
measure at enough sites, that might add up to a
total of 15 inches in circumference loss)
However I feel that these types of claims are
misleading (and probably intentionally so),
because "inches" is not the same as body fat but
you might easily confuse "inches" with "fat."
Contrast that claim with this one:
* LoseBody Fat without diet or exercise in 1
Hour!*
That claim is totally false and usupportable.
Again, body wraps cannot burn fat or "shrink fat
cells."
If fat loss could be achieved with body wraps it
would be very easy to test and prove.
Body composition (bodyfat) testing (rather than
measurements of inches) could be performed
before and after the wrap, and the answer ("does
it work") would become easily exposed.
Since it doesn't work, you won't find any wrap
people accepting your challenge to allow you to
do independent body composition testing, nor
will you find a shred of scientific evidence
showing reduction of bodyfat from wraps.
Unfortunately, bogus fat loss claims are still
quite widespread, as a simple Internet search
for "body wrap" will demonstrate. The most
frequently used claims however, are for loss of
"inches."
The inches lost simply come from loss of fluid.
And guess what - those inches (and or water
weight) will come right back in days if not
hours, as soon as you completely re-hydrate
yourself.
Other claims made for body wraps include
detoxification, improved cirulation and tighter,
smoother and clearer skin.
Most health and fitness researchers, as well as
government agencies such as the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) will tell you that these
claims fall somewhere between "debatable" and "a
bunch of pseudoscientific garbage."
Some experts even warn that certain types of
wraps can be dangerous, mainly due to the rapid
and excessive fluid loss/dehydration.
If you want to get wrapped because you find it
relaxing or you consider it a "pampering",
"spa-like" treatment, that's one thing. Just
remember, wraps have absolutely nothing to do
with fat loss.
I'd suggest completely avoiding any companies
that advertise fat loss when it's only water and
inches you're losing, because a dishonest
company is one you don't want to patronize at
all.
One last thing -- I felt this was a timely
question because although "body wraps" have been
around for ages and it's old news, I noticed
that infomercials for those "waist belts" are
back on TV and I see that they are replaying
them over and over again, which means people are
buying it.
Everything I just said about body wraps also
applies to those rubber waist belts too.
On a web search I just did for those rubber belt
waist wraps, I noticed some of the websites are
STILL making claims like "Melt fat" (totally
bogus, unsupported and illegal claim).
Other sites seem to be wary of the FTC paying
them a visit, so they do a whole song and dance
around the legal issues by saying stuff like,
"sweat away inches," "therapeutic heat", "target
your problem areas" and so on.
Even if these claims are not illegal, the
promotions are still deceptive:
The professional fitness model is pictured
taking off the rubber belt, revealing ripped six
pack abs below (as if those abs are a result of
wearing the belt... Wishful thinking!) These are
professional models, folks. They got the abs the
same way everyone else with abs got them - with
a calorie deficit from a combination of strict
diet and hard training!
Wraps and waist belt products that make fat loss
claims are scams, plain and simple. Those claims
are also illegal.
Programs like Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle are
focused on FAT LOSS, not water loss or loss of
inches. When body fat decreases, circumferences
in inches will also decrease, but "fat" lost and
"inches" lost are not one in the same
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Tom Venuto is a lifetime natural bodybuilder, an NSCA-certified personal trainer (CPT), certified strength & conditioning specialist (CSCS), and author of the #1 best-selling e-book, "Burn the Fat, Feed The Muscle.” Tom has written more than 200 articles and has been featured in print magazines such as IRONMAN, Australian IRONMAN, Natural Bodybuilding, Muscular Development, Exercise for Men and Men’s Exercise, as well as on hundreds of websites worldwide.
