While there is no miracle solution, the scientific health community is investing more and more into finding low-effort solutions to aid weight loss. Style.com/Arabia’s Lazy Chronicles investigates these so-called wonder treatments by putting our own bodies on the line.
Tester: Sofia Guellaty, Senior Editor
Tested at: home
Remember those late nights watching the infomercials featuring a woman lying on her couch reading a magazine while having electrodes on her body do the workout for her? Maybe you don’t, but this image haunted my teenage years. I thought, “This is brilliant. Why work out when you can have a device workout for you?” Ah, the lazy in me was thrilled.
Last month, I tried Slendertone, a leading brand in at-home muscle electro-stimulation technology used by athletes and housewives alike. The technology behind it sends tiny electric shocks to the muscles, making them contract.
For 30 minutes, 5 days a week, I made sure to schedule all my favorite TV shows and proceeded to have some electro-time with myself using the “bottom” program, a pair of shorts equipped with electrodes on the upper buttocks and thighs. At first, the sensation was really strange, as though I was no longer in charge of my own muscle movements, and I sensed that perhaps it was akin to having many tiny seizures in rapid succession.
The stimulation ranges from 0 to 99 and I would advise beginners to start with a level 30 and take it from there. I started at 30 and reached 85 this week, as my body became increasingly accustomed to the intensity.
Now, it is clearly stated that Slendertone is not aimed to cause weight loss, but rather tone the body. The movements also claim to help tame some resisting cellulite and lift your bottom.
So, did it work?
It did.
The addition of this daily toning session to my (non-existent) workout routine allowed me to tone both my bottom and thighs. Muscles that I rarely exercise were put to work—and if you live a rather sedentary life, then Slendertone might be a good investment for you.
The activity induced by this electro simulation is reportedly equal to 60 bottom toning leg lifts—not bad, considering that I was “doing” them while catching up on episodes of Game of Thrones.
However convenient and lazy-appropriated this device is, there is no cardio activity involved and no sweating—so this device won’t actually help you get healthy but it can help you tone your bottom and thighs. In that sense, and as far as I’m concerned, it got the job done.
Available to purchase online and throughout the GCC.
