Today’s post is sponsored by Slendertone Abs Belt, and is part of the Thoughts on 39 series.

It has been about 3 weeks into my experimentation with the Slendertone Abs Belt. My review is to be a comprehensive discovery at the end of 6 weeks, so seeing as I am about halfway there, I wanted to check-in with my findings so far. Around the same time I started using the Slendertone Abs Belt, I had my beginning of the year physical, in which I was wearing my winter weight. Since then, along with regular exercise of 60-minutes of cardio 4-5 times a week, and some weight training, I have lost 4lbs. I attribute this to my new found daily regimen of warm water and fresh squeezed, organic lemon juice, followed by organic, black coffee, a healthy, clean and sensible breakfast, lunch and dinner, with my normal vitamins and supplements, followed by 2 Teaspoons of Apple Cider Vinegar at night. I have also been very conscientious about the amount of prepared food and alcohol I’ve been consuming, often replacing packaged foods with a fresh juice and my nightly glass of red with a cuppa ginger tea and local honey. With all of that being said, I do not believe the Slendertone has played a significant role or, honestly, any part, in my weight loss.

Now, because I have lost that 4lbs, which doesn’t really seem or sound like a ton, for me personally, it is enough to know if the Slendertone is working. Prior to that little bit of weight loss, when I pushed on my stomach muscles, my fingers went straight into a gushy nowhere. Nothing even stopped them from digging right into my gut. Having been a cheerleader, dancer and tennis player for a good portion of my youth, continuing with tennis, running and yoga in my adulthood, this feeling is so disappointing. No matter the amounts of sit ups, crunches, bicycle kicks I was doing, my abs never felt tight or tighter. After having used the Slendertone for these past three weeks, I can actually feel the sides of my abs and middle of my stomach push back when I apply force. That actually made me feel pretty good about what was happening here.

A reader had asked how I felt about the Electrical Muscle Stimulation (EMS) and any possible side effects. After some research, the most I could come up with were things like superficial issues like bruises and burns from the gel pads. Of course, if not used properly, shock or electrocution, and some interference with other medical electronic devices like pacemakers. This type of equipment has been used with Russian athletes since the 1970’s, though the US did not really approve of the use of EMS until much later, until more conclusive research and results were founded. I am of the belief that nothing is a miracle or magic. You have to work at it if you want it, but if there is something that will jump start my efforts or support my efforts by providing maintenance or enhancing them, I’ll give it a shot. Here are some of my discoveries:

Best use for the Slendertone is exactly at mid-section. My initial thoughts on using this was to help strengthen my lower abs, so I tried to wear the belt around the lower section of my torso. Though it worked, it was challenging to get the perfect spot where both sides and middle were being worked evenly. Once I moved the belt to the upper portion of my mid-section, the Slendertone seemed to function at a much better capacity.

Work the intensity of the EMS. At first I followed the recommended levels for beginners, but I felt absolutely nothing. As I increased the intensity, I realized I could handle way more than what was being suggested. Also, the instruction manual, though text and drawing heavy, was not especially clear to me on how to manage the intensity of the belt. I figured out that I needed to push both sides of the controller, not just one, to manipulate it for the perfect level.

Drawbacks of use. I found small things like making sure the belt was secure and tight enough and ensuring the intensity is at the exact right level was necessary for the Slendertone to work properly. There is mention of weird vibration in the manual, which is true when the intensity is too high and the belt not placed properly. My biggest complaint is just being able to identify this with every use took up a good 5-10 minutes of my time having to take the belt off, adjust, turn up the EMS, pause, take belt off, etc. This became a bit tedious to me making the effort to wear the belt more work than its worth.

Moving into the last few weeks of my trial, I will share my overall results as far as inches lost around the middle, and what level and time I worked my way up to. At this point, I’m pleased with my usage of the Slendertone Ab Belt. Looking forward to the final results.

Thank you Slendertone Abs Belt for sponsoring today’s post.