I've already spent a few hours on the forum looking for any mention of this. But I haven't found anything.

This is in reference to the book "four hour body" combined with the science behind Zeltiq (a procedure that freezes fat)

What I've been doing is using large ice packs in an attempt to lose weight. All of my previous attempts failed (both atkins & excersing) my attempts actually resulted in weight gains because of food cravings. But cold therapy is working for me so far and it seems I'm eating less too. Perhaps the fat removal process is curbing my appetite? I've lost 14 lbs in a month and a half, and its the best results I've ever had.

Basically I'm just wondering if anyone else has tried this and what the long term effects on my weight might be. I don't want to get my hopes up too far.

The few hours you spent on the forum would have been better used walking, lifting weights, making meal plans, cooking meals to freeze, doing yoga, dancing, practicing meditation or anything else really.

Seagirl - your comment was rather mean and not very constructive.

Drix - having said that...weight loss is calories in/calories out. There has been some news commentary recently on NBC in the morning about "cold bath" therapy and how is forces your body to burn at a higher rate of metabolism and therefore burn extra calories. So, while this might have a desired effect, I would worry that I am not changing my eating/excercise habits to make the long term changes that you probably desire.

Oh, and I would be giddy too about a 14 lb loss in approximately 6 weeks. Congrats...but be careful with the fad diet techniques.

Suggestions of how to lose weight aren't constructive? I think message boards are great, but I think at some point one needs to log off and get to taking action. I've fallen into the trap of "researching" when I should have been executing, too.

Ditto on the calories in and calories out. Exercise, drink water, watch what you eat. Good luck!!

Seagirl...okay, now I get the point you were trying to make...yes, action is better than research if you are spending all your time researching with no follow through. Point taken...I just thought it sounded kind of snarky the first time I read it.

At seagirl, I AM ACTIVE.

You have NO RIGHT at all to even suggest that I'm not. So, I spent time on the computer... so I even spent a few hours on this site. So what.

Take your self righteous crap somewhere else.

There's more theory than research on the effectiveness of cold-therapy for weight loss and immunity-boosting, but I do find the topic, fascinating.

Temperature regulation and maintaining body temperature burns calories - both in cooling the body in a warm environment and in keeping the body warm in a cold environment.

Trying to take advantage of that fact, might not be a terrible idea. In the scheme of weight loss ideas, it's not the craziest or the riskiest I've heard of.

If it seems to work for you, more power to you.

I have noticed some temperature-related appetite and weight loss effects myself. I even joked to hubby that if I really wanted to take advantage of these effects I'd need to live in a home without modern insulation and heating/cooling.

I have a very narrow range of "comfort" temperature and I've wondered how much of my pain and autoimmune issues are related to the fact that I live in a very temperature-controlled environment.

When I first went onto disability, the only exercise I could do was in a warm-water therapy pool where the air and water temperature were quite warm so there was no "adjustment" period getting in the water.

Due to finances, I had to give up the warm-water pool and had to adjust to the cooler temperatures (and greater air/water temperature discrepancy) of the local YMCA pool. At first it was a horrendous adjustment. I had to wear a long-sleeved insulating top over my swimsuit just so that my joints wouldn't feel like they were freezing up.

Eventually I was able to get used to the temperature difference and even exacerbate it by making use of the hot water of the jacuzzi (several temperature changes within a short period of time).

At first the drastic changes wrought havoc with my pain levels, but in the long-run they've reduced my pain levels. I also have noticed that I do seem to burn a few more calories swimming in the cooler water, than I did in the warm water (not enough to eat a lot more, just enough to see my losses boost a little compared to the warm water exercise).

The difference may not be significant, and I might even mistakenly drawn the conclusion that the temperature is involved (I also tend to move more rapidly in the warm water in order to warm myself faster), but that in itself isn't necessarily a bad thing.

Folk do tend to move more when they're cold than when they're warm, so hey if it helps even a little bit, doesn't sound like there's any harm in it unless you're using temperatures likely to cause hypothermia.

So you are projecting YOUR problem onto me? And you seem to think I need someone to tell me to do a few of the things that I've already tried over and over again that DIDN'T work are a better way to spend my time and I should ignore finding out more about something that HAS worked.

Gee... that's so helpful of you and totally non-judgmental

That made me laugh, my husband and I have a very long history of fighting over the thermastat. He likes it in the high 70s or low 80s (not even kidding) in the house and I'm always turning it down and telling him to wear a sweater.

I've heard of the cold therapy thing as well. Does it really work? That I'm not sure of. Losing weight should be more about being healthy overall not quick fat loss. If you make it a lifestyle change you're more likely going to keep it off. So if adding the cold therapy to a healthy lifestyle...why not. Congrats on your progress so far!

As for seagirl, I think your comment was rude and you could have worded your opinion better. Asking questions and learning isn't wrong and you can't say she should be out doing something and judging others when you yourself are on the forum posting

I'm fascinated by the possibility. I know there has been research done on cold therapy and immunity and I actually do finish my showers with a burst of cold water because some studies indicate it boosts immunity. I had not heard of weight loss from it, but it's interesting.

I don't think it will work if your diet doesn't change. And I thought your body would be more likely to hold on to fat in cold since doesn't fat work as insulation to keep us warm?

I've been taking cold showers this past year and had a cold winter (no heat/gas) and it didn't help speed up weight loss any...mostly because my diet didn't change.

Yes fat keeps us warm, but the body does not "hold onto" fat in order to keep us warm. In a natural, non-heated environment, humans need more calorie in cold temperatures to maintain their body weights than in comfortable weather. thus metabolism in a non-heated, cold environment is actually higher. That fat that is keeping us warm, is also being burned at a higher rate to do so.

Fat isn't so much insulation as it is stored fuel. The body doesn't "hold it" to stay warm, it "burns it" to create and maintain the heat needed to maintain a constant body temperature.

This is probably why in many cultures that get very cold winters, foods traditionally eaten in winter are much higher in fat and calories than the foods eaten in the summer.