Infrared Body Wraps

The gym where I have my stretch therapy sessions also has an infrared body wrap that I was talked into trying. My stretch therapist is also the owner of the gym, so I was a little skeptical that she was just trying to sell me on anything she could, but her arguments were convincing, so I was willing to give it a try.

It is called the Formostar Body Wrap and it works by applying targeted infrared heat to the body. This is how it is supposed to work: Stored fat is known as “cold fat” as blood circulation is extremely low in fat storage areas. When we work out, our muscles and vital organs get the majority of our blood flow. It is virtually impossible to “work off” fat through exercise. Limited blood circulation results in what is known as ‘cold spots’ where the fat hardens and over time leads to cellulite. During the body wrap, infrared rays gently heat the body from the inside out to get underneath the fat tissue. Blood flow is increased over 300% in the ‘cold spots’ where fat tissue resides. Bringing blood back into the areas that have restricted blood flow causes the metabolism rate to rise. Infrared heat softens the fat/cellulite tissue, breaks it up, and releases it back to the blood stream to be burned up as energy.

From what I’ve read, most people use the wrap to help them lose weight and cellulite. My stretch therapist, however, said that it is extremely beneficial for sore muscles and recovery after hard workouts because it helps flush out the lactic acid and increase the circulation to the muscles. According to one website, the infrared wrap is used to:

• Burn up to 1400 Calories in just 1 treatment
• Lose Cellulite
• Lose Weight
• Lose Inches
• Reduce Stress
• Reduce Post Workout Pain
• Reduce Muscle Stiffness
• Rejuvenate the Skin
• Cellular Detoxification
• Reduce Menstrual Cramps
• Increase Blood Circulation

I figured the best time to try the wrap was after my half marathon last weekend. I was told the sooner the better, so I went in the same afternoon as the race. The wrap is an hour long. You must wear long pants and a long sleeve shirt and it must all be cotton. You lie on a table (on your back) and are wrapped in 4 silicone pads that emit infrared rays into your body. Two of the pads are wrapped around each thigh, one is wrapped around the lower torso and one around the upper torso. I’ve seen pictures with people’s arms also wrapped, but mine weren’t (not sure why). Then you basically lie there and sweat for an hour. I took a good book and thoroughly enjoyed the quite, relaxing hour.

This is not me - but boy, does she look happy.

I will say that I did notice a difference in how my muscles felt after the wrap. I went in pretty stiff and was starting to get sore from the race. But when the wrap was over, my quads in particular were noticeably less sore and my entire body was noticeably less stiff. This is not to say that it eliminated all soreness. I woke up on Monday quite sore, but less than I had anticipated given past experiences. By Tuesday I was not sore at all, which is weird because I’m usually sore for at least 3 days after a half marathon or marathon. This could be due to the wrap, or it could be my level of conditioning. Or some of both.

I won’t say that I’m a believer just yet – the jury is still out. But, I will say that I will likely try it again after another hard workout because if nothing else, it is a relaxing hour that I have all to myself and the heat feels good on tired muscles (NOT injured muscles, but tired muscles. For injured muscles, cold is better – but that’s an entirely separate post for another time).

 

Bod Pod Update

I wrote a post a few months ago about my first experience with the Bod Pod, a relatively new machine used for measuring body fat percentage. The first time I was tested, I felt that the results were inaccurate. My husband said I was in denial….I knew my body better.

So a few weeks ago I went and had my body fat tested with the Bod Pod again. And the results this time? Much more accurate!!! The first time I was tested, by the way, it said I had 24% body fat. The second time, 16%. I have several friends in the athletic/sports training/physical therapy field and all agreed that 16% is probably pretty spot on to what they would guess my body fat percentage to be.

So why was there such a big difference between the first and second tests (there is no way I lost 8% body fat in two months)? According to my friend, the person who administered the test, there were two variables that were slightly different on the second testing day. First, the temperature in the room where the Bod Pod was housed was slightly warmer the second day than it was the first. In my opinion, on both days it was freezing, but she claims it was a few degrees warmer the second time around.

The second variable that was a little different was the amount of time she let the machine warm up. Apparently the instructions say to let the machine warm up for 20-30 minutes, which is what she did the first time. The second time, however, the machine had been on for several hours prior to me getting in it.

The lesson learned here is that while the Bod Pod is supposed to be extremely accurate, obviously there are times when it is not. If you get tested and think that the results are incorrect, go back and get tested again. It seems as though small things such as room temperature or how long the machine has been warmed up have the potential to make a difference in its accuracy.

Changing the Way We Think About Weight Loss, Part 2

My original post on changing the way we think about weight loss continues to be a popular one. It gets read more than any other post I have written, so I thought I would take some more time to write on the subject.

According to the National Institutes for Health, more than one-third of American women are following some kind of weight loss diet at any given time. For runners, especially, however, it is not simply body weight that matters, but rather body composition. A lean body composition is ideal for athletic performance because muscle is capable of performing work, whereas excess body fat just increases the load the muscles must carry. Therefore, you should not be concerned about weight; it is your body composition that is important, both with respect to running and your overall health.

Optimizing your body composition is different from simply losing weight. You can lose weight by losing fat, muscle, or even water. But to improve your body composition you must either lose fat or gain muscle, or do both. If you lose muscle or water instead of fat, your performance and health will suffer. Severe calorie restriction not only doesn’t optimize body composition (it wastes muscle along with fat), but it also compromises running performance by failing to provide adequate energy for workouts and recovery.

Specific popular diets are also problematic for runners. Extreme low-carb diets like Atkins, for example, rob the muscles of glycogen, their most important fuel, thereby causing running performance to plummet. These diets also result in significant dehydration since each gram of glycogen is stored along with 3 to 4 grams of water. So when you rob your muscles of glycogen, you also rob your body of water. Further, when eating a low-carb diet, the body breaks down the liver and muscles when exercising. This can lead to holes in the muscles (including the heart) and is very dangerous. Also, carbohydrates are a primer for fat metabolism, which means that your body cannot burn fat without carbohydrates. Keep in mind that “carbs” does not necessarily refer to pasta, bread, cereal, etc. Fruits and vegetables are considered carbs and potatoes, sweet potatoes, and yams are great sources of glycogen.

A much better way to optimize body composition, especially as a runner, is to consume enough calories on a daily basis to sustain your optimal body composition. If you are currently above your personal optimal body fat percentage, whether by a lot or a little, you are probably consuming 1 to 5 percent more calories than would be necessary to maintain your optimal body fat level. By reducing your daily caloric intake just a little (such as by 100-200 calories a day), you will – as long as you are exercising consistently – begin to slowly lose fat until you reach your ideal body composition (body fat percentage). This approach is very different from that of most popular diets, on which a person eats less than is required to support his or her ideal body composition to achieve rapid weight loss – with the drawbacks of constant hunger, muscle loss, and for runners, compromised performance. Unlike dieting, eating a very slight caloric deficit minimizes hunger and self-denial, ensures that you have enough energy to run well, and promotes fat loss over muscle loss.

So instead of focusing on the number on the scale, focus on your body fat percentage. The goal is not to simply lose weight. The goal is to lose fat and gain muscle. And since muscle weighs more than fat, you might not see that number on the scale decrease by much at all, even though your clothes will begin to feel looser. Getting on the scale every day is a danger to ourselves, our minds, and our self-esteem. Put it away and instead measure your body composition goals by how your clothes feel and how your body feels. I promise, your head and self-esteem will thank you.

_{Source: Performance Nutrition for Runners by Matt Fitzgerald}

Feeling Strong And Ready To Go Insane

This will probably be my last post about my paleo diet for a while, unless of course there is an overwhelming desire for me to keep you all updated. I don’t want anyone reading this to feel that I am pushing anything at them or preaching that everyone should go paleo. I realize that most people are perfectly happy with their eating habits and have no desire to try a paleo diet, which is totally fine. That was me a few months ago when my husband was trying it and I thought he was crazy.

Anyway, I just want to talk about something I’ve noticed lately since I’ve been paleo and that is my strength. Almost from the very beginning I have felt noticeably stronger, especially during hot yoga. This morning’s class was amazing – I hit every single pose, didn’t fall out of any poses, and felt so strong all the way to the end. What’s more is that when I look in the mirror, I think I look stronger, too. My muscles are slowly becoming more toned and more defined. My stomach, which has always been a little bloated and muffin top-y since the birth of my second child (I had no problem getting my flat stomach back after my first child, but the second one seriously wrecked havoc on my body) is suddenly getting flat again! You have no idea how happy this makes me. Sure, I still have a little extra skin there, but there is never any bloating or bulging and I am actually starting to see some definition in my abs.

I mentioned this in a previous post, but one of the drawbacks to eating gluten, wheat, and refined carbs is that they have the potential to cause inflammation in your body. While I owe a great deal of my recovery from my hip injury to acupuncture, stretching, massaging, and resting, I can’t help but think that cutting carbs from my diet helped bring down the inflammation in my hip and helped me recover faster, too.

So what’s next? On my quest to try new things, I’ve decided to go insane. That is, I’ve been sucked into the late night infomercials for the Insanity Workout and decided to try it and see just how strong and toned I can become. I think it will be great cross-training and strength-training to supplement my running, and I’m always looking for a good challenge. I’ll let you all know if I get killed or not. If it doesn’t kill me, it will make me stronger, right?

Skin Calipers vs. The Bod Pod

When getting your body fat tested, which method is more accurate: skin calipers or the Bod Pod? It’s got to be the Bod Pod, right? It’s high tech, state-of-the-art, and claims to be accurate within 1% of underwater weighing (the most accurate method to date). Well, right now I’m not so sure that the Bod Pod really is all that accurate. Or I could just be in denial.

About one year ago I had my body fat tested using skin calipers. I had never had my body fat tested before, so I didn’t really have any idea what my numbers would be. All I knew was what the guidelines and range categories were from the American Council on Exercise, which are as follows:

                          Women          Men
Essential Fat    10-13%            2-5%
Athletes              14-20%            6-13%
Fitness                21-24%            14-17%
Average               25-31%            18-24%
Obese                   32% and up     25% and up

I know that body fat percentage is up there with weight – it’s something that women just don’t admit or talk about. For the sake of argument and to illustrate my point, however, I am going to reveal my numbers to the world. Are you ready? The skin calipers measured my body fat percentage to be 15.5%. I actually had myself remeasured two months later only to find it had gone down to 12%. I realize that this is extremely low and very unlikely, although I will admit that it made me feel good. Most women elite athletes don’t measure as low as 12%, so I did know that it was inaccurate. But by how much I had no idea.

Fast forward one year and I had my body fat tested again, only this time I had it done using the Bod Pod. This space-like contraption, pictured below, claims to be as accurate as the underwater weighing method, plus it is a lot faster and easier. The entire test took about 2 minutes.

I’ve been working out/running/swimming/doing yoga at about the same amount as this time last year. I haven’t gained any weight, either, which leads me to believe that my body fat should be very similar to what it was previously. And I was very anxious to see what the Bod Pod measured to gauge just how inaccurate the skin calipers were.

So what did the Bod Pod reveal? Much to my dismay, the Bod Pod measured my body fat at 24.3%. This is double what the skin calipers measured!! Possible? Yes. Likely? I’m not so sure. Even my friend, who measures people with the Bod Pod regularly and is in the athletic field, said that this was likely too high. Plus, she said there have been several small-framed, lean women come into her lab and their results all appeared way too high. So this makes me believe that I’m not simply in denial, but that the Bod Pod might not be as accurate at they claim after all.

I asked my friend for some possible explanations and she had a few. First, in general it has been shown that women will score higher on methods that measure displacement (bod pod or underwater weighing) because that measures ALL of our body fat…and we carry fat in some significant areas that skinfolds won’t measure (boobs, upper inner thigh etc.). Even if you don’t carry a lot there, it does add up, particularly if you don’t weigh a lot to begin with. Small boobs on a large frame won’t make as much of a difference as small boobs on a small frame. (That last one is me – small boobs on a small frame.)  A second possible explanation is that it is really very hard for women over the age of 30, particularly those who have had children, to have less than 20% body fat…even if you don’t carry it in an obvious subcutaneous way, it is still there, and sadly just increases as we age. I’m not digging this explanation and am not sure that I agree with it.  And lastly, she said that the she and other staff have wondered if there is an issue with the machine (because of me and these other women), but they’ve had it tested and looked at by the company and everything seems fine.  And it does give consistent measurements (even if they seem like “wrong” measurements, they are consistent).

So what does all this mean? I’ve come to the conclusion that while skin calipers are not very accurate, the Bod Pod might not be as accurate as it claims to be either. While it is possible that I am 24% body fat, I’m just not convinced. My friend even mentioned that some reputable studies show the Bod Pod to have a margin of error as high as 8-9%. So what is my real body fat percentage? I’m not sure that I will ever know for sure (unless someone wants to pay for me to do underwater testing). I’m guessing I’m somewhere between the skin caliper measurement and the Bod Pod measurement. Or, I could simply still be in denial…