Everyone knows that massage therapy can help ease tension and stress and reduce muscle fatigue. However, massages can do a lot more than that. Massages can actually help you lose weight, and here is how.
Remove Lactic Acid Buildup and Toxins from Your Body
Lactic acid is the chemical residue of good workouts. The trouble is, it can build up in your muscles to the point where you definitely do not want to exercise, and then you feel so awful you quit exercising entirely. That does not help in your weight loss goals at all. If you engage in regular massages, the lactic acid is moved out of your body via your lymphatic system, along with dozens of other toxins and impurities that build up in the body and make it really difficult for your body to regulate hormones and weight. You feel better, and you are more likely to exercise more often, thus aiding your weight loss goals.
Remove Excess Fluid
Muscles swell and retain fluid. That makes you heavier, and it makes you feel heavier and more bloated. Massages gently push those excess fluids out of your muscles. The body lets go of the fluids through the kidneys and urine, and you weigh less.
Reduce the Stress That Causes Emotional Eating
Emotional eaters know that stress causes them to eat more high calorie foods. This defeats all of the exercise and efforts you make to reduce your weight. Massage therapy reduces stress, calms the body, and removes the desire to eat fattening, sugary sweets that can cause diets to fail. You are not emotionally eating in response to stress as much anymore, and you will begin to see a dip in the numbers on the scale.
Increase Oxytocin and Endorphins to Keep Mood and Energy Elevated
When your mood and energy levels are elevated, you have more self-control over what you eat and how much you eat. You also have more energy for exercise and physical challenges and stressors. Massages elevate natural chemicals in the body known as oxytocin and endorphins, which are responsible for elevating mood and energy. These chemicals are the same ones you feel when you are in love, or when you are touched either sexually or affectionately by someone you love. It is one of the reasons why massages feel so good to people. It is as though your whole body is getting a hug.
To learn more, contact massage therapy services in your area.
Share2 August 2019
Going for a first-time massage can be a little intimidating. With so many types of massages available, how do you know what kind you would enjoy the most and what would be most beneficial to you? I can remember my first massage and how I felt walking into the spa for it. I was worried that I was going to do something inappropriate or not get the type of massage that I pictured myself getting. Since then, I have gone for weekly massages and have had every type of massage available to me at the spa that I visit. Read on to learn all about what to expect during your first massage and a short description of each type of massage.