Popular wellness trend is supposed to help with weight loss but it may make you eat more

Maybe it’s better not to take the plunge.While the ostensible point of most wellness trends is to promote good physical and mental health — as opposed to purely shedding pounds — weight management is often an added perk.But a fascinating new study published in the journal Physiology & Behavior warns that the caloric dump of one popular practice might be mostly in your head.

Cold plunges and ice baths have made quite the splash in recent years, thanks to their purported boost in mental clarity, blood circulation and metabolism and their reduction in muscle soreness and stress.And if you’ve ever spent time in freezing water, you’ve probably noticed a significant uptick in your appetite — leading you to naturally believe you’ve really earned that burger.Sadly, it seems that might not be the case.

Researchers suspect that the “after-drop” effect — where core body temperature keeps falling after cold exposure, even when you’re out of the water — triggers brain regions linked to temperature and energy, boosting appetite.“Ice baths and cold dips have become really popular, with many people hoping they’ll help with weight loss,” David Broom, a professor at UK’s Coventry University Research Center for Physical Activity, Sport and Exercise Sciences, said in a statement.“But our findings show that while cold water does make your body work harder and burn more energy, it also leads to eating more afterward — possibly undoing the potential weight-loss benefits,” he continued.“Interestingly, people didn’t say they felt hungrier during or after the cold water — they just ate more.”Researchers asked 10 men and five women who were active and healthy to spend 30 minutes in cold water (60 degrees Fahrenheit), hot water (95 degrees) or room temperature water (78 degrees).Afterwards — in what sounds like the best controlled trial ever — they were asked to eat a plate of pasta until “comfortably full.” Of the three groups, t...