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If losing weight always makes it to your New Year's resolutions year in and year out, then you aren't alone. The struggle is real. Research shows that within two years of losing weight, you're likely to gain back more than half the weight you've lost. And that is if you've been able to lose any, to begin with! There are so many fad diets and programs that promise you the moon and yet fail to deliver. Because the truth is this: There is no one magic pill. It takes several things effectively working together to lose those unwanted pounds. Infrared light therapy may be one of those potent ammos in your weight loss arsenal. The question is, "Can infrared light therapy for weight loss work at all?"
Factors that affect weight loss
Before we go looking for answers to that, why, in the first place, do we need an entire stockpile of weapons (a.k.a. approaches) to lose weight?
The weight problem is a complex issue that's built on several factors. One, it can depend on how you fare in the genetic lottery. This "legacy" may affect how much fat you're able to keep and which areas they'll be lodging at. Genetics also plays a part in how fast your body converts food into energy and how well you burn calories during exercise.
Then there are the other "ingredients" in the larder, such as your lifestyle choices. Unhealthy eating habits, consuming too much alcohol, and inactivity can make you build up more calories than you can lose.
Other factors like stress, sleeping poorly, even influences from your junk-food-loving and cocktail-guzzling family and friends, can keep you from winning the battle of the bulge.
Can infrared light therapy help you lose weight?
Infrared light therapy for weight loss can shore up the other effective ways to slim down, like savoring salads and working out. Such weight loss strategies work best together. When infrared light therapy is thrown into the mix, it makes the synergy of all these strategies even more potent.
So what is infrared light therapy?
Infrared light therapy is the result of decades-long research and development. Light therapists were already trying to harness its powers as early as the 19th century. Fast forward to today, and infrared light therapy has become the rage in beauty, health, and wellness circles—and with good reason. This hi-tech innovation can give many amazing benefits, such as infrared light therapy for weight loss.
The breakthrough therapy uses wavelengths of light that can deliver light energy to the body. Although we can't see them, we sense them as heat. These wavelengths, which are longer than visible light, can go through dense spaces without scattering the energy. When directed towards the body, they can penetrate deep beneath the layers of the skin to regenerate the body's muscles and tissues at the cellular level. They have healing powers similar to the sun without any of the damaging effects of ultraviolet light.
How infrared light therapy helps you lose weight
The effect of infrared light therapy on stress
Stress is a major culprit of weight gain. When you're all stressed out, bags of chips and tubs of ice cream can give you that emotional comfort that you so badly need. It's not only that—constant stress can ravage your cells, disabling their ability to self-heal. The simple solution? Get rid of stress! You need to find an effective stress reliever to help keep you off stress eating.
And that's where infrared light therapy comes in. The invisible beams of infrared light can regulate brain activity, which may help reduce anxiety. The beneficial stimulation keeps the brain's health at optimal levels to manage biological functions, which may possibly soothe your frazzled nerves, keeping stress at bay.
Infrared heat may help reduce appetite
Infrared light waves are safer than those from the visible light spectrum because they carry less energy. But that doesn't mean they're less potent. These waves actually emit energy in the form of heat.
This heat energy is what you feel during infrared light therapy. When your body's temperature rises, the heat induces it to stay cool. Have you ever wondered why you feel like gorging yourself in winter but have a reduced appetite in the summer? That's because your body tries to compensate for the heat it goes through when the thermostat is raised! Adding infrared heat therapy (which is essentially infrared light therapy) to your regular self-care ritual may therefore help ease your hunger pangs!
Infrared heat may boost exercise
A post-workout infrared sauna session may help you be consistent with your exercise routine by promoting muscle recovery. One study showed that muscle damage from exercise was reduced when infrared heat was applied. This is because the infrared heat triggers the growth and repair of muscles. The boost in circulation also enables the delivery of nutrients and oxygen to injured tissues, relieving pain and inflammation.
Infrared light therapy, sleep, and weight loss
The lack of sleep can sabotage your waistline. When you often lack sleep, and you frequently feel like a walking zombie, it's because you're running on low energy. That makes you want to indulge in cake, cookies, and other bad carbs to instantly spike up your energy levels. And that can spell disaster for your weight loss goals.
Infrared light therapy can help keep the weight off by promoting better sleep. The electromagnetic frequency from infrared therapy helps synchronize your brain wave patterns, which can induce your body to rest and even enter deep sleep.
What to expect during infrared light therapy
If infrared light therapy is effective, then it must be painful. After all, no pain, no gain, right? Red X! Infrared light technology is non-invasive. Although it has deep penetrating powers that can enable cell regeneration because of its longer wavelengths, the energy that infrared light emits does not alter your cells in a way that damages them. In fact, it's just the opposite. The light and heat energy from the infrared waves can actually soothe and relax you. You may even fall asleep while in therapy!
Making the most of your infrared light therapy for weight loss
Here are a few tips that can help you maximize the beneficial effects of infrared light therapy or infrared heat therapy for weight loss
- Be consistent. Have your infrared light therapy at least 3 to 5 times a week.
- For a quick boost, 10 minutes can do the trick. But for enhanced benefits, keep each session at a minimum of 20 minutes.
- Choose a reputable infrared heat company that can provide you with high-quality products and services, like HigherDOSE.
