Losing weight for your wedding - the inch-shrinking body wrap... fact or fiction?

I always seem to have one or two brides at any one point who are holding off on getting the bodice of their dress altered in the run up to their wedding as they are in the process of losing weight.  And I have to say, I've seen some pretty amazing results! It's amazing what the incentive of fitting into a wedding dress can do (although I would never recommend buying a smaller dress with the intention of slimming into it!)  The best way of doing it is pretty obvious (but not easy!!!!!)  Exercising and eating sensibly. Making sure that you use up more calories than what you put into your body.  I've had girls losing those extra pounds by going to boot camp or exercise classes and cutting out the 'rubbish' (as they call it!) and I've viewed the results where they have been fitting perfectly into that dress which wouldn't zip up on them a few weeks ago.  Whether they keep it off is another matter, but they did it without starving themselves and making themselves ill.  And they got into that dress!

But the topic of my blog is the the fat-busting or fat-melting body wrap which claim to make you lose inches with no effort at all. I know there are many types of these wraps and they all have different formulas and techniques.  I've always viewed them as a temporary fix.  They de-hydrate you and what you lose is water - not fat - which all goes back to normal once you start drinking.  A local seamstress I know swears by them for a last minute fix when a dress is a bit snug the day before.  So it may help you feel a bit more comfortable in a dress that is a little tight - but only if you get it done the night before the wedding (or better still, the morning of the wedding) and don't be surprised if the dress is feeling really tight by the evening reception as those fat cells swell up again once you put a drink to your mouth!!  I've been reading up a bit about this inch-busting claim miracle treatment online, and my fears seem to have been confirmed that indeed a lot of people are being taken in by convincing sales pitches which get desperate brides (and all sorts of people for that matter) to part with their cash, convinced that they are losing permanent weight.  

I had one such bride in my shop which prompted me to write this blog.  This girl's dress was a little snug, but she insisted that we were going to have to take it in by the time she was getting married as she was going to lose loads of weight.  It was still tight a few weeks before the wedding, so we decided to go ahead and get the seams out a little as there was a let-out allowance.  She came back down a few days later and the dress was a bit big on her despite only being let out a tiny bit... so we took it back in again.  She came back down and it was then too tight!!!  So once again, it was let out only to be too big again.  I was getting really frustrated as I couldn't understand why her weight was yo-yo-ing so rapidly.  It was at this point she told us about her body wraps and we discovered that she had signed up for 6 of these wraps at £50 a go and that she has visited the salon and had the wraps just before two of her fittings which had resulted in her being a bit smaller.... but she was confused then why it was tight on her at one of the other fittings.  The poor girl had been under the illusion that she would permanently lose between half an inch and a full inch with each wrap, so 6 of them would see her waist girth plummet by between 3 and 6 inches.  She was gutted when I revealed to her that those inches that she had lost were being replaced within a day of them 'disappearing' and that that her £50 wraps were only taking out some water and not fat.

It would be lovely if they really did make you lose weight, but please be careful when spending your money on courses of these treatments ladies.  There doesn't seem to be concrete scientific evidence out there for them  doing anything other than de-hydrating your cells.  I am a scientist myself  (yes - I know it's a bit weird - a science degree and I own a bridal shop) and I haven't been convinced.  If you want to do it for the relaxation side of it - go for it!!  I hear they are nice to get done in the salon and make your skin feel good.  They will shrink you a bit for a while, but don't do it for a quick-fix weight loss reason.  It's not a weight loss programme!  Weight loss programmes take a lot of hard work, effort and determination to burn fat off.

I had to put in this photo too of one of these 'fat-melt' wrap adverts which I came across. It is so obvious that the picture on the right is the exact same photo but is photo-shopped!!  But I bet some people still paid money for this!!  I guess it's in our nature to want the easy option!  But fat does not melt by wrapping up :(

Related links.

Reputable health experts — both traditional scientists and alternative medicine specialists — remind consumers that a body wrap is not a weight-loss quick-fix. Because all the weight you lose from a body wrap is the result of dehydration rather than fat loss, the pounds and inches will return within a few days, once you have re-hydrated. The U.S. Food and Drug administration reminds consumers that “fat doesn’t melt,” and any product claiming to “melt” fat or cellulite is making unsubstantiated claims. The Healthy Weight Network advises that you can spot a fraud if they claim quick weight loss without dieting, use testimonials rather than scientific studies and make claims that aren’t listed on the packaging.

Read more: http://www.livestrong.com/article/302665-body-wraps-lose-weight/#ixzz2XEYhH77P

http://www.webmd.com/beauty/spa/body-wraps-what-to-expect?page=2

http://www.dietingdirection.com/are-body-wraps-effective-for-weight-loss/

I found a really good article which is definitely worth a read if you are still not convinced and want to read more.  Follow this link to read it ...  http://www.macfitness.net/body-wraps-waist-wraps-difference-losing-fat-losing-inches/

Sample loan service

I often get phonecalls and emails from brides asking for particular dresses that are designed by the likes of Maggie Sottero, Essense of Australia or Special Day - all labels we carry - but we don't always have the particular dress that they want in store.  I only wish I could carry all the dresses, but I have to carefully select a selection which I feel my brides will like... and more importantly, I have a budget that I need to stick to!! (contrary to what some people might think, we have to buy all our sample dresses at the designer's full price!!!)

If you are looking for a dress that we don't have, we can check with the designer to see if there is any chance we can get it on loan.  Practically all the dresses featured on the designers' websites are available to borrow.  Most, however, are size 8 dresses (with exception of the Beautiful Brides Plus collection and a small range of Maggie Sottero gowns that are kept in plus sizes) so if you are a generous size 12 or more, these dresses might not be suitable for trying on.

There is a fee charged to cover the cost of the courier bringing the dress to us and returning it to the designer.  This fee is mostly set at £50, but can vary.  But the good news is that if you decide to order on the day you come to see the borrowed sample dress in our shop, we will refund the fee paid on that particular dress.

Call us on 02871 813682 if you wish to discuss getting a sample dress on loan, or go to our website www.beautifuldaybrides.co.uk and fill in the form on our contact page with your details and query and we'll get back to you as soon as we can.
Thank you.
Ciara x
Beautiful Day Bridal Cottage, Greysteel, Northern Ireland