Recently I tried those "It Works!" wraps. My friend Mandy got me all set up and explained what I needed to do and then life took a left turn and then I started working a lot of late nights and it seemed like I was never going to get this done. You probably wonder why working nights would have anything to do with it. First off, if you know me at all, you know that I have to do things in an organized fashion or else it just isn't going to work. And secondly, in just a little bit, you will realize that I needed...or thought I needed...a second pair of hands to get this done.
For a couple of days ahead of starting out my "It Works!" wrap, I read and re-read all the information Mandy gave me...or should I say, I thought I did...because I wanted to make sure that I did it all right. I went over all the things in my packet. It included a couple of orange & berry flavored "Greens" to be mixed with water along with information to order more if I choose to. I received a coupon for a $25 wrap and another coupon for a free wrap by just hosting a party.
Let me just say I was very very excited about this and was telling EVERYONE I saw that I was going to do this and that they should do it and so on. Yes...I was pushing a product that I had never even used! Now that's some good information, don't you think??
And here's how it went. Try to contain your laughter until the end please. It's SO HARD to tell my story when someone is crying their eyes out from laughter!
"Step 1: Take a hot shower and DO NOT apply lotion to the areas you are going to wrap. This will keep the wrap from giving you maximum results."
I'm not one for HOT showers but I did take a warmer than normal shower beforehand. The last thing I want to do is sweat while I'm taking a shower. The lotion wasn't an issue since winter time is the only time I am in NEED of it. Okay, so I am showered, dried off and go down to the livingroom, only to find that all the blinds are completely wide open and here I am...stark naked. "Ahem. I'm naked here."
Okay, well I wasn't naked. I had a towel on. Close enough. The world doesn't need to see that. Quintin was kind enough to help me close the blinds. I forgot to mention that Miss Bella was spending the night with us this particular night and she was laying on the couch, asleep.
Okay...blinds closed and towel dropped. Close your eyes. You don't need to see this!
"Step 2: Measure 1-3 inches above your naval, then at your naval, and finally 1-3 inches below your naval. Make sure that the tape measure is straight across each time. Write the measurements down on paper. Sometimes it helps to use a magic marker on both sides of your body (at all 3 locations) to ensure that the tape measure is straight and that you are measuring the exact same spot after the 45 minutes are up. Also, remember to take BEFORE pictures from the side and straight on."
So we messed up a little bit here. We measure the 3 inches above and the 3 inches below but we didn't measure AT the naval. Oops! And Quintin did mark where he measured. With a dry erase marker (seriously!) that had been worn off by morning. I remember a conversation where he wondered WHY we had to mark it and I told him so we would know where to measure the next time (in the same spot) but he assured me he knew where he had measured. Uh huh...sure you did!!! We got the measuring done, written down and took pictures. No, I'm not sharing those with you. You're welcome.
"Step 3: Take the wrap out of the packaging and unfold it. The side with the lotion on it will be applied to your skin. You will notice a "Vicks vapor rub" smell...that's the eucalyptus (a natural property that helps with inflammation). Apply the wrap anywhere you want to tone, firm & tighten. Most people choose their stomach, but if you decide to do another area, be sure to measure in 3 sections about 1-3 inches apart. There is no right or wrong way to wear the wrap; just locate the area you want to target and put it on. You may even cut the wrap in half if you want to do your thighs, arms or neck (if doing your neck, you can save the other half that you did not use, in a ziplock bag)."
As I stood in front of Quintin, now naked and getting cold, who was struggling with the package...and accepting no help from me because he said he could get it....he finally rips it open to reveal this really super thin...like a cross between onion skin and human skin...patch that, just like it stated, smelled like Vick's vapor rub. I don't know about you but I like that smell. I know...I'm weird. He holds the patch in one hand while he takes the inside of the package and rubs it across the front of my belly that we will call Hazel. I wanted to touch that patch so bad but he wasn't having it. Told me to just be patient. *sigh* I'll show you patient, Mr.
He drops the packaging on the floor (because isn't that where it goes???) and applies the patch to Hazel...who thought this new thing was quite interesting. It takes a lot to impress Hazel.
"Step 4: Secure the wrap by either putting tight clothing over top or using saran wrap to keep it in place. If you are simply going to lie down on your back, you do not need anything to keep it in place. While you wait the 45 minutes for the ingredients to work, you may notice it gets hot and then cold. That's normal--now you know it's working! Be sure to drink plenty of water as you wait. You should drink enough water to make yourself go to the bathroom before re-measuring."
This is where it got a little weird. Quintin, of course, loved the idea of wrapping me in saran wrap. He literally ran around me 4-5 times before stopping. I was dizzy at this point and felt like a complete dummy! It was at this point I realized that I had not given myself an insulin shot that I am supposed to have before going to bed. Oh well, I wasn't going through that wrapping process again. It would have to be skipped for the night. Now...remember I said he RAN around me 4-5 times? Yeah. Imagine how tight that was! I showed him where it said "tight fitting clothes or saran wrap," to prove that it wasn't supposed to keep me from sitting down. Or breathing.
I put a pair of his shorts on and sat down on the couch. It wasn't an easy feat; and I kept telling him it was too tight but he wasn't hearing it. He told me it was going to be uncomfortable or it wasn't going to work. Maybe he's right. I don't know. What I do know is that when I finally got sat on the couch, and had to sit cross legged, Hazel had squished herself down below the bottom edge of the saran wrap. She wasn't having that being smothered crap either. "Bring the baby up to bed. I'm afraid I will bust a seam."
And since I had done this so close to bedtime (because we had company that evening), I didn't have time to drink much water. And to be honest, I didn't even see that "drink enough water to make yourself go to the bathroom before re-measuring" line. Dammit! It looks to me I really screwed this thing up! But I wasn't giving up! No, not yet! To bed I went with baby laying beside me. I did feel Hazel get hot and then cold in the first precious minutes that my life was not being threatened by saran wrap. Pretty awesome because I knew it had to be working!
I am a side sleeper and spent most of this night on my back. Go figure. It was just easier to breathe at this point. At one point of the very early morning, I woke up and the saran wrap had started to roll down. It hadn't uncovered the patch at all...yet...but it was still so damned tight! That was it. I had had enough of this saran wrap crap! I sat on the edge of the bed, trying my best not to wake baby girl and pulled and pulled at the saran wrap. I couldn't find the end!!!
Oh dear, all I could think about was baby girl waking up and crawling off the bed, onto my passed out body, maybe stopping long enough to pick at the saran wrap because it felt funny on her feet, and then falling down the stairs. Ugh!!! Thanks to my dear husband for sleeping in his chair this night! NOT!
I started tearing into the saran wrap. I was like a mad woman!! Who cares where the ends are at, just get this stuff off of me! I will just interject this once again, I don't know HOW parents do this on a daily basis!! Phew! I finally got it off of me. I was sweating but my patch was in place. I tucked my shirt into my shorts and went back to sleep. Lesson learned. That saran wrap is a killer. Not doing that ever again. For ANY reason!!! For any of you that think it's sexy...you need to be the wrapped by my husband. You will see what I'm talking about.
I know it says to wear it for at least 45 minutes but it also says you can wear it up to 8 hours and I felt I could benefit from the maximum time usage. That's why I chose to go to bed with it on. If only I had read that line about the water drinking...
"Step 5: After using the restroom, take off the body wrap and lay it on the counter. Use your hands to swipe off any remaining lotion from the wrap. Apply it anywhere on your body. Rub in all the lotion that is still on your body from the wrap. It may turn white while you rub it in and then it will disappear. Re-measure in all three spots and take your AFTER pictures from the side and straight on. Add up all 3 sections from BEFORE the wrap and then add up all 3 sections AFTER the wrap. Then subtract them to determine your total inch loss within 45 minutes."
So I didn't pay full enough attention here because after I peeled the wrap off, I took a shower. Oops! Yeah, I really screwed this up. Before Quintin left to drop Miss Bella off at the babysitter's house, he measured me. 1 inch. 1 inch!! Overnight!! So far!!! That was cool!
"Step 6: Continue to drink half your body weight in ounces of water for the next 3 days. Since this is an immediate (45 minutes) and progressive (72 hours) detox wrap, you'll want to complete the process by flushing out the toxins over the next 3 days. After the 72 hours are up, re-measure and take your pictures once more. Subtract your initial measure from your 72 hour results. Let me know how you did!!!"
The water drinking is hard for me now that my blood sugars are intact. And I don't know about how well this CAN work for someone who is injecting insulin into their body at the same time they are trying to get rid of toxins. I mean...I don't know...maybe I"m wrong here but I kinda feel like I was drinking a diet soda and eating a donut, if that makes sense. I did the re-measures but only lost that 1 inch. On my paper it says, "if you are on lots of pharmaceuticals, it may take you a few wraps to get things going." At the rate I'm going with "pharmaceuticals, it would take a lot more than that I'm afraid!"
Not to worry. I have another one to do. I was supposed to wait 3 days to do the next one but didn't get around to doing it for 5 days. Another oops on my part! Ugh!!! This time I put the patch on myself...and yes, it was in the evening because I wanted to try to down as much water as I possibly could before bedtime. After putting the patch on, Quintin came at me with the saran wrap but I SHUT. HIM. DOWN! I dug out an old underwear girdle that I have had for years and years and years...and wore it to bed. And it was PERFECT!!! Even Hazel was okay with it!
I didn't have to work the next morning so I didn't just jump into the shower right away. I couldn't wait to measure so before Quintin went to work again, he had to measure me. And it seems I am stuck at that 1 inch. It seems that there is something called "Defining Gel" that you should use on days between the wraps. I didn't have that so I don't know if that would have made a difference or not.
The paper reads "you should be having regular bowel movements 1-2 times a day." I was already doing that so I was hoping it didn't double that! Phew, it didn't!
As with anything else, you need to eat healthy and live healthy...which is what I'm trying to do. I think that if I were to continue with the "It works!" wraps, I would lose the inches that I am craving to lose. Unfortunately, my pocketbook argues with me right now. I am considering having a wrap-party this fall if I can get enough interest in it. Let me know if you want to come. I am having quite a time lately with people saying they want to do things and then at the last minute, change their plans. I am not going to beg anyone to be around me but I thought this was a great way for a bunch of gals to get together and have someone actually answer all the questions we may have and see how it is REALLY supposed to work!
So...my overall product review for this product...on a scale of one to five...is a 3.5. I think it does the things it says but I also think it varies among people. I think your body type makes a difference. Your finances make a difference. Your pre-wrap health makes a huge difference. And if you can breathe or not, after wrapping with saran wrap, makes the most difference of all.
My suggestion is that when you try this product, not only read and re-read the instructions...but have someone else read them as well. Just so you are doing everything you are supposed to be doing. It is too easy to overlook something. If you have small children that you have to physically take care of, I would get a babysitter. Send them to grandma's; heck, send them to aunt Shellie's. Just give yourself time to do what you need to do. But that's just me.
I would love to hear your "It Works!" wrap stories as well and if you want the hookup, you can find her on Facebook. Mandy Barnhart. There's nobody easier to work with! Thanks Mandy, for the opportunity to do this! People laugh at my story but I kinda stacked my own odds against me. Now everyone else can learn from my mistakes (since I made so many of them!).
Thanks for reading and until next time...enjoy the rest of your summer!!
you need to post the pics
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