Can Massage Therapy Help You Lose Weight?

The Truth: Just Lying on a Massage Table Will Not Help

While scammers might tell you that massage is a great way of losing weight, thus tapping into that wistful side of you that wants to just lie on an easy table and watch the pounds falling off, real massage therapists know that massage alone cannot help you lose weight.

It can just ease up your mind and relieve your stress so you are more mindful about your diet and exercise routines, which are the true heroes when it comes to losing any significant amount of weight.

Massage is About Self Love

If you have seriously worked out even once in your life, you will know that the initial days can be torturous.

That's where massage comes in.

Massage is all about leaving your worries outside the door, lying down comfortably, and then enjoying half an hour to one hour of peace as your masseuse pampers you from head to toe. It's a way of telling your body that you care about it and its pains, and are willing to sit back and allow a specialist to work their magic on you.

Just think about it, won't you be more willing to finish a grueling week of exercise if you knew that at the end of the week you would be rewarded for achieving your goal by an hour at the massage clinic?

Massage Makes You Workout-Ready

While some of us might have an extraordinary pain threshold that allows us to keep working out even through tough muscle sores and aches, that is not the case when we truly injure ourselves.

Just think about it, won't you be seriously demotivated if you were restricted to your bed for 6 weeks because of a hamstring pull or a ligament tear? That's where massage comes in as a preventive measure.

Getting regular massage can reduce delayed-onset muscle pain, stress, and tension, all of which prevent serious injuries in the long run.

Massage Improves Your Quality of Life

To lose weight you need to be in the right frame of mind. And massage helps you achieve that.

By reducing chronic pain and stress and teaching you to live in the moment (as the masseuse works their magic on your prone body) you essentially teach yourself to be more mindful of what you eat and how you exercise.

Plus, it also helps you tune in when your body gives you signals of imminent injury.

It Can Reduce Swelling and Water Weight

Lymphatic drainage is a type of massage therapy where the lymphatic system of the body is targeted and relieved. This helps reduce swelling and water retention and thus helps you drop off excess water weight.

Massage Can Help You Re-engage Your Muscles

Sometimes, due to bad posture and other causes, some of the muscles in our body stop functioning properly. During such times, the muscles surrounding the disengaged one boot up and compensate for its inactivity. An occurrence that is known to cause injury in the long run due to stress and imbalances in the muscles groups.

Massage can help re-engage these disengaged muscles, and thus improve your athletic ability.

You Need to Get Massage Done Right

Like we have discussed so far, massage is a great adjunct to diet and exercise when it comes to losing weight. But that is when you get it done right.

That means the benefits of massage can only be reaped if you get it done regularly. And if you actively participate in the massage by letting your masseuse know your goals before the massage begins, and then guiding them through what you like and what you don't like as the massage proceeds.

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The final takeaway is this: Shedding off pounds while you lie on a massage table is a dream. But if done right with a proper diet and exercise routine, it can definitely help you lose weight.