Excess weight is a scourge of the 21st century. It is found in men and women, in children and the elderly. The moment a person realizes that he is overweight, he begins to look for ways to lose weight.
Some go on a diet and leave it, others starve and exhaust the body with training, others turn to specialists and lose weight under the supervision of a doctor. There is a fourth group of people: they believe in the effectiveness of diet pills, bracelets, earrings and belts. The sellers and manufacturers of these products promise to lose weight without effort or restriction.
We will consider the effectiveness and structure of weight loss belts: is it worth spending money, how is the working mechanism and is it able to help in the process of losing weight, getting rid of the tummy?
Is a slimming belt effective?
There are people who believe that the miracle belt will melt your fat deposits or squeeze the fat from the cells and remove it along with the sweat. This speaks of ignorance and skipping school chemistry and anatomy lessons.
Attention! It doesn't matter if you use heat or massage, fat cannot melt, much less evaporate with sweat. Fat is burned as a result of oxidation, there is no other way.
To open our eyes to the absurdity of such promises, consider the fat burning process:
- Fat deposits are burned in the muscle cells' mitochondria, a kind of little cellular power station. Fat enters the mitochondria in the absence of another source of energy, when you have not ingested carbohydrates for a long time and the energy supply in the liver, glycogen, has ended. To achieve this, the body is forced to process strategic fatty deposits.
As a result of oxidation, the fat in the mitochondria is converted into energy for the muscles. But oxidation occurs only in the presence of oxygen, like a burning flame. Therefore, to lose weight, it is important to move a lot; muscles will need energy and breathe fresh air; oxidation and fat burning will occur.
Reference! It is not the fat cells that are burned in the muscles; after adolescence, their number remains with one person for life. Fatty acids are released from these cells and sent to muscle mitochondria, where they are burned.
Obviously, just wearing such a belt will not burn fat. But still, let's consider what they are and what the manufacturers promise. At least to be able to compare the real fat burning process with the promises of the monitors.
A few words about the types and principles of work.
Slimming belts are divided into 3 types: vibration, with sauna effect and neoprene. There are also myostimulators, they have built-in sensors. Electrodetectors transmit a micro-discharge of current to the muscles and this stimulates their contraction. Myostimulants are used more for pumping muscles, they relate to our topic only indirectly, so we won't stop here.
Vibrant. The effectiveness of the belt is explained by the effect of vibratory massage on fat cells. This stimulation supposedly causes cells to release fat and sweat it away.
From the point of view of science, this is not true, but from the side of medicine there is a danger here:
- Active vibration causes muscle contractions, even the deepest ones. Due to this, there is an increased filling of blood of the small muscles, and this is already edema. Artificial edema is dangerous for a diseased spine. It can inflame chronic diseases. And if you didn't know about them before, they can show themselves quite sharply and critically.
Based on the lipolysis process, it is clear that there can be no weight loss.
Reference! Lipolysis is the breakdown of fat into fatty acids that are oxidized in the muscles.
Sauna effect. The belt has heating elements. It works with batteries or electricity. The manufacturer promises to accelerate fat burning by increasing body temperature. But in fact, other than getting the liquid out, you won't be able to do anything.
Often these models are equipped with a vibration mechanism and promise a double effect. In this case, a rise in temperature adds to the danger of vibration. And this threatens diseases of the spine.
Neoprene The neoprene belt promises to heat up fat and thus help burn it. Some people sincerely believe that fat can melt when exposed to heat.
Important! A heating belt can only remove excess fluid due to perspiration. This fluid will recover within 24 hours after the procedure, such as after going to the bathhouse or sauna.
In what cases is such a belt a real assistant?
A neoprene slimming belt can be really helpful for lumbar spine ailments. It fits tightly to the body and thus fixes the immobile position of the lower back. It can be used to warm the lower back when needed.
As much as we would like to believe in a miracle, vibration and heating belts do not bring any benefits to health and figure.
Important! It is widely believed that a tight belt will help tone the abdominal muscles. In fact, using it regularly can make the situation worse. The muscular corset will no longer perform the function of supporting the internal organs, because the belt took over.
When this belt is useless
Important! If you are more than 12 pounds (12 pounds) overweight, lose weight under the supervision of a registered dietitian. With independent weight loss, thousands of men and women die in the world.
There is no use putting on any of the belts and thinking that the fat will burn itself. They have not yet invented such a device or tablet. And if you use such a device, play sports, eat well and lose weight, then you can continue to lose weight without auxiliary belts; it will be successful anyway.