I have recently been testing a toning device called The Lean Machine, which is one of several products available from The Beauty Works Limited company. The Lean Machine is designed to firm and tone your muscles by electronically stimulating them to contract, which over a period of time, will lead to a leaner appearance. The makers also suggest that the device can be used to relieve tension in aching muscles and aid recovery after muscular sports injury.

The device is essentially comprised of a battery-operated pack and four pads to deliver the electronic stimulation. I initially found the device a little daunting to look at, with the leads and pads being more reminiscent of a torture device than a beauty must-have! But it is actually quite simple to use and not painful in the slightest. Each pad needs to be coated in a conductive gel before being placed on the muscle you want to tone and secured using an elastic strap. An intermittent electronic stimulation is delivered by the pad to the muscle, which causes the muscle to contract and then relax. I found that this felt a bit like pins and needles – not painful, or necessarily uncomfortable, but a sensation that is tingling in nature. The best bit is actually seeing the muscle contract and relax! I tried it out on my biceps first and became quite mesmerised watching it!  After about 5 minutes, this tingling sensation began to fade.  According to the instructions, this means you are ready to turn it up a notch!  A word of warning – don’t turn the dial up to the next setting until you are comfortable and accustomed to the setting you are on, otherwise the increased stimulation comes as a bit of a shock. I found out the hard way when a family member interfered!.

Ideally, your muscular “work-out” should last 30 to 40 minutes and you should repeat this several times a week. This is easier to achieve then you think, because the great thing about this device is that it is portable and so you can be toning up whilst going about your normal house-hold activities.  For example, you could be toning your quadriceps (leg) muscles while stretched out on the sofa and watching TV or your abdominal (stomach) muscles while working away at the computer.  Us women are well known for our multi-tasking skills after all! One down side is that, although the actual device is simple and straight forward to use, you do have to be quite precise about where you place the pads. I sometimes found that I could feel the tingling sensation, yet the targeted muscle wasn’t discernibly contracting and relaxing.

Overall, I would definitely recommend The Lean Machine to anyone who wants to tone up without setting foot outside their house. It is far easier to fit a session with The Lean Machine into your day then a visit to the gym, and without the costly price of membership too!

Guest Post from Paula Robinson

As I’m now over 7 months pregnant and getting a lot bigger I’ve started using palmers cocoa butter cream for stretch marks to try and prevent any stretch marks before they occur. Palmers cocoa butter contains cocoa butter, vitamin E, collagen and elastin which help to lubricate and moisturiser the skin. This is meant to help with the dryness that you can get with stretch marks associated with pregnancy.

The cream has a very chocolatey smell almost like white chocolate which is due to the cocoa butter. Its quite a thick cream that initially feels slightly greasy however when you apply it to the skin it is very easily absorbed. It leaves your skin feeling very supple and nourished without leaving any greasy residue. I had started to get a couple of small dry patches which is probably due to the bump getting bigger however after a few applications of the cream the dry patches have disappeared.

As I’m now 5 months pregnant and we are actually having a hot summer this year so I’ve been trying hard to find some nice summer dresses. Something that would be cool in the hot sunshine but that won’t break the bank as I only have a few more months left with the bump!

I’ve just discovered a website called BooHoo which has lots of gorgeous summer dresses at very affordable prices. The two shown above are some of my favourites, however when I’m shopping I have to accomodate bump in the style! The Hawaiian print dress is perfect for sunny days and can be worn during the day or with a pair of heels and jewellery for the evening. Surprisingly it hides bump very well and I should be able to wear it for at least a couple of months.

The bandeau jersey dress is available in a range of colours but it is the aqua colour that I think is the most stunning. I am very tempted to buy it in another colour, possibly pink, as its very comfortable and easy to wear. With a smart black cardigan and some work shoes you can even get away with wearing it at work when the heat wave becomes too much. At first I was a bit dubious about ordering lots of clothes from a website I had never used before, however I love the dresses I bought and am struggling to restrain myself from buying more. BooHoo is definately worth a look for summer dresses!

I’m now starting the search for maternity clothes, as I figure that at 4 months even though my bump isn’t necessarily large enough to need the maternity range, at least I still have the energy and desire to go shopping! Topshop has a good maternity range and I’ve managed to pick up a few of the essentials I will need to keep me going for the next few months.

The black trousers shown above are perfect for work, and the wide leg style should look good even with a big bump. The elasticated side panels are very discrete and there is enough give to allow you to wear them all the way through your pregnancy. My favourite is the blue scarf front top which can be worn at any stage of the pregnancy and shows off your best assets during pregnancy; your growing chest! Its simple enough to be worn in the day or dressed up with some jewellery in the evening. I’m hoping that they will bring this top out in a few colours, and I’ll be having one of each. The grey, flower dress is also a good purchase and again can be worn in the early or late stages of pregnancy.

Topshop on Oxford Street has the largest maternity range of all the stores – owing of course to the massive size of the shop! If London isn’t very near though they do have there entire range available online which can always be returned to the store if they don’t fit. When buying I would also recommend getting your usual pre-pregnancy topshop size, there is no need to buy larger when the item is from the maternity range as their clothes have plenty of give for the bump.

I’m now starting to get to that point in my pregnancy where my normal clothes are a bit tight, so I’m considering making a few new purchases! I’m stuck with the dilemma of whether to give in and buy the maternity jeans with those awful elasticated panels, or whether to try and find some low waisted, slightly larger jeans that would hopefully last me all the way through my pregnancy.

I decided to try buying low waisted slightly larger jeans as I don’t feel ready for those elasticated styles however as my pregnancy progresses, I may regret that decision! I’ve been looking for some wide leg, flared jeans as I am  hoping that will help to balance out my shape slightly.

Topshop Bette jeans are one of the best wide leg 70’s style jeans around, however Topshop now only has a very limited range as they seem to have stopped doing this style. They have quite a few pairs in the sale but most are the shorter length which doesn’t really work for my height. Fortunately I visit H&M and have found they do a few similar wide leg jean in a range of colours from stonewash through to dark denim. These jeans fit perfectly and are very low on the waist which will hopefully accommodate my growing bump. At only £25.99 they are a bargain so even if I can’t wear them all the way through my pregnancy at least I won’t have spent too much!