Do slimming massages work?

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• Slimming massages: do they work?

• Slimming massage to drain retained water and as a result “slim down”

• Slimming massage to “lose fat”

• No slimming or fat loss with “slimming massages”

• No weight loss with “slimming massages”

• Check our professional consultancy in radiofrequency, ultrasound cavitation, cellulite and skin tightening

What is a slimming massage?

A slimming massage can mean two things:

• Losing “inches” by boosting circulation / lymphatic drainage and consequently reducing water retention (not really slimming, but still nice)

• Losing actual fat (actual slimming)

Slimming massage to drain retained water and as a result “slim down”

This approach does work, but only temporarily.

You receive a few lymphatic drainage massages or other types of massage and if your excess “inches” where due to water retention, you lose some of the excess water and you think that you “slimmed down”.

Slimming, of course, refers to fat loss and in this case no fat loss has occurred, just a temporary “water loss”.

Unless you change the fundamentals of water retention (i.e. exercise, healthy nutrition, and or treating any conditions that may cause it), a few days later you will regain the water and the “slimming” will end.

Obviously massage does not make you slim, but even when it reduces some puffiness due to water retention, that’s great. Just make sure to try and change the fundamentals too, otherwise you will need such massages for ever.

This approach is similar to having a few clay body wraps before a holiday to drain retained water via osmosis. Temporarily it is as effective as massage - or even more - and lasts as little as massage: up to a couple of weeks.

Theoretically, improved circulation / lymphatic drainage may partially help inhibit fat accumulation in the future, to a small extent.

This is because water retention generally favours future fat accumulation. But improved circulation / lymphatic function does not reduce existing fat. And again, the effect is small.

Slimming massage to “lose fat”

This approach does not work at all - period.

Again, theoretically, intensive massage may partially help break down a small percentage of hypodermal fat tissue by mechanical damage action.

However, the keywords here are “small percentage” and “hypodermal”, as in small cellulite fat reduction.

This means that even the strongest, most brutal “slimming massage” may improve cellulite, A LITTLE. But it will NOT reduce subcutaneous fat (what people call “fat”), AT ALL.

Don’t expect to lose “inches” of fat with ANY massage of ANY kind - it will not happen.

No slimming or fat loss with “slimming massages”

All in all, slimming massages do not really slim down - not at least to any appreciable degree.

Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE massages. Massage is great and I could have massage 2-3 times a week if I could.

However, I would not expect to reduce my fat or “slim down” with it, because I know that such a thing is not going to happen.

No weight loss with “slimming massages”

And, of course, I would not expect to “lose weight” with it, as this a total biological impossibility - not even a little. The idea of weight loss with massages is preposterous and shows a total ignorance of basic biology.

Firstly, whatever local fat destruction may occur with barbaric massage is superficial and little, as mentioned above: perhaps a few grams of skin fat tissue (hypodermal adipose tissue, i.e. cellulite). Nobody calls the loss of a few grams of fat “weight loss”.

And secondly, even if one could manage to damage kilograms of adipose tissue with a very barbaric or very “smart” massage, releasing its fat molecules into the body, those kilograms of fat molecules would have to be burned in muscles and organs, just like dietary fat. Nobody ever sweats, pees or poos fat out of their body.

(If you ever have fatty stools or fatty urine, head straight to your doctor to check your liver / kidney, respectively.)

To release fat from fat tissue you don’t need a massage, you need exercise and diet. Fat is automatically released from adipose tissue when you diet and is flushed into the circulation for burning in muscles and organs. Massage is neither needed nor does it accelerates fat release.

It would be nice if a slimming massage could do such a thing though…

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