(06-06-2013, 04:28 PM)Doll Wrote: I've been taking Borage Oil and Fish Oil every day (I bought the borage at Wal-Mart, just $4 and I only take 2-6 pills a day depending on what I feel like swallowing, giggidy), although some women seem to need more Borage Oil for it to work as well. I'm probably going to stop the borage oil, though, as it is rich in phytoestrogens (I don't know how I forgot this). They help burn belly fat almost exclusively. I also use Sweet Sweat under a neoprene band on my waist, although if you want to save money, cocoa butter might work just as well (also, cocoa butter helps tighten and tone the skin!)
It's a slow process, and some days I feel like I can't see that much of a difference anymore, but that's what progress pics are for. 
Please share these progress pics!!!!
I was looking into borage oil but was not thrilled that it is associated with liver damage, so I am thinking about evening primrose oil instead. You said you take 2-6 pills a day... How many milligrams is that?
Never heard about cocoa butter increasing blood circulation to an area in which it is applied. That would certainly be a cheaper option though, so I hope you are right (also since Sweet Sweat made me break out in a nasty rash!!!). I tried but was unable to find any information on cocoa butter increasing blood flow when applied topically. And as you know, things work differently as topicals than they do when taken orally. Would you mind posting from where you got this idea? Thanks!
(07-06-2013, 07:00 AM)Anastasia916 Wrote: I have a neoprene belt, I've considered order sweet sweat but didn't know if it worked. I already take borage oil it's a part of the Omega 3,6,9 supplement I take, but I may get a separate bottle to add in more. I have green tea, so I'll start drinking it more. The belt though, I find it awkward to workout in at the gym, I don't mind so much at home, but at the gym I don't like wearing it cause I feel people see it, even under clothes. Maybe my belt is too bulky. I've also seen on youtube girls using menthol rub on their bellies under neoprene belts to workout in or under plastic wrap.
The main reason green tea works is for increase of metabolism, which as you know is the rate at which our bodies burn off glucose calories (not fat calories), which will cause your body to turn to using your muscles or fat (depending on the type of exercise you are doing) for fuel sooner than those bodies with lower metabolisms. Anything that increases your metabolism will do this. Green tea is one way to increase your metabolism, among others.
I also hate the idea of wearing the neoprene belt in the gym! The gym is kinda a social outlet for me, and to be seen at the gym with one of those on would be--detrimental, lol. One way to avoid looking strange at the gym is to wear a weight lifting belt. It does the SAME THING as the neoprene belt (keeping the area warm) AND it is more socially acceptable at the gym. It also can help you when you go to perform your heavy weight squats. Win-win! Plastic wrap would probably work (?) as long as it keeps the area warm, but you will need to be careful with that as it would be easy to wrap it too tightly (this can also be a problem with the neoprene belt) which can potentially be counterproductive by cutting off some of the blood flow to the area! So just be careful with that.
Thanks for mentioning the menthol rub. I completely forgot about that as a blood circulation increaser. And topical. And not too expensive. Perfect!
But what is important to know is that the muscles adjacent to the fat targeted for burning need to be contracted for this to work at its best. So, your choice of an ab workout would help in this. Personally I like to do the stomach vacuum and contract those TVA muscles when I do my light cardio because I do not want to build my outer ab muscles, and it is optimal to be contracting these muscles while increasing the blood flow to the warmed area... But whatever you choose, this is an important factor as well!
(08-06-2013, 01:00 PM)AbiDrew85 Wrote: (08-06-2013, 12:46 PM)Lycaryth Wrote: Back to Doll's topic:
I thought this was an interesting article about spot reduction:
http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_arti...w_to_do_it
WOW! Thanks for that! This is a MAJOR problem I've been facing as well! Though what I'm looking to reduce is a little bit different! Basically just the waist... I've read about half of it so far. Really interesting stuff! EDIT: ANNNNNNND! For me this particular article is EXACTLY what I need. All the same tricks outlined are the same tricks I need. I just need a treadmill to make it work...
Haha yes, I love this article as well! It's definitely a good one. I really don't like claiming that something works until I see the science and studies behind it, and I think that Dr. Lowery always does a pretty good job (I have referenced a few of his articles as part of my research!). I actually talked about this particular article in post #38 sometime over a week ago in my waist-is-small-and-curves-are-kickin' program thread, as well as integrating the stomach vacuum into the routine instead of other abdominal workouts to avoid from building the outer abdominal wall. This will burn the belly fat WHILE further increasing the strength of your abdomen's natural corset, AND you can do the stomach vacuum while you do your cardio (as opposed to stopping your cardio to do ab workouts as Dr. Lowery mentioned). And as for your treadmill, really any cardio will work (so insert elliptical, biking, etc here), but interval training with any of these is best for fat burning! Make sure to keep your rate at a low intensity (which will cause your body to utilize a greater amount of fat calories as opposed to glucose calories, and will utilize less of your muscle calories for fuel), with occasional intervals of intense cardio (do this for no longer than a minute, or your body will stop using glucose calories and will start to burn off muscle instead). If you don't have access to a treadmill, you can always just walk around the neighborhood instead.
