If you’re wondering how a stomach massage for weight loss can enhance your health journey and contribute to a flatter, more defined stomach, then you’ve come to the right place!
This ancient practice goes beyond soothing your senses, as it holds the key to unlocking your body’s natural ability to shed unwanted pounds.
And the best part? You have the power to embark on this remarkable journey without relying on pricey massage therapists or high-tech gadgets. Get ready to unveil the radiant and confident you!
According to Dr. Stephen Chang, who practices both Western and Chinese medicine, a two-minute massage technique provides a form of internal exercise that cleanses and detoxifies to melt away fat in a manner that is much different than the typical Western external exercises like crunches.
That’s why I love this simple massage technique so much— because its core principle is similar to the philosophy found in the Beauty Detox lifestyle.
Let’s discuss the common paths to lose abdominal fat and why they fall short before diving into the incredible stomach massage for weight loss.
Fat Burning Method #1: Exercise to Create A Caloric Deficit
When it comes to getting rid of belly fat, you probably hear most about doing things the “old-fashioned” way— meaning hitting the gym and burning more calories than you take in.
While exercises like crunches are great for firming up your abdominal muscles, they don’t do anything about the layer of subcutaneous fat that sits on top of them. In fact, one of the persistent myths of Western exercise is that by working out the muscles, you can automatically turn fat into muscle. That just isn’t true.
Exercise is Only Part of the Equation
Weight gain is so often caused by taking in more calories than you burn, while weight loss is burning more calories than you take in. Unfortunately, many people overestimate the number of calories they burn when they exercise. The number of calories you burn when you exercise varies from person to person, with some people metabolizing fuel much more efficiently than others. (Check out these fitness and health calculators to see how many calories you should consume each day and how many you burn when you exercise!)
That being said, this doesn’t mean I’m telling you not to exercise. Exercise is an important part of good health, and I love getting exercise through walking, hiking, and of course yoga! If, however, you are exercising purely to lose weight, then you can’t rely on exercise alone to lose that stubborn belly fat.
However, it’s crucial to understand, like other components within your body, body fat serves its own distinct role in promoting your overall health and well-being.
Not All Body Fat is the Same
Body fat isn’t all bad! In fact, you need a little body fat for your body to function. Subcutaneous fat, the fat you can feel when you pinch it between your fingers, serves functions like:
- Controls your body temperature
- Protects your muscles, internal organs and bones from bumps, bruises, and falls
- Allows your nerves and blood vessels to get to your muscles [1]
Stored fat also provides a ready form of energy to be burned as fuel during times of famine or fatigue. It also protects your body from toxins in your environment, like those found in your food, water, consumer products and even in the air.
Of course, too much body fat is a bad thing. Too much subcutaneous fat is a sign that you also have too much visceral fat, the fat that surrounds your internal organs. Too much of both is bad for your health, and can make you vulnerable to health problems like heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and high cholesterol. On top of all that, excess fat makes you look and feel unhealthy, which is why everyone is looking for that magic fat burning solution!
In order to shed excess fat, it’s about finding ways to enable your body to utilize it as energy, creating an energy deficit between your intake and expenditure. Moreover, it’s crucial to address the need for fat storage as a means of safeguarding against toxins, underscoring the significance of detoxification within the Beauty Detox program.
Fat Burning Method #2: Detoxify Your Body
As I’ve discussed in my books The Beauty Detox System and The Beauty Detox Foods, fat loss comes about as a result of a few different mechanisms, particularly:
- Burning your body fat as fuel
- Detoxification
To detoxify your body, you need to eat a healthy diet full of naturally high-fiber, low-calorie foods. When you eat this way, you can eat to satiation and not obsess about calorie counting. Eating a healthy diet like the Beauty Detox diet also helps your body detoxify itself naturally and prevents those toxins from building up to unhealthy levels.
This natural, ongoing detoxification is accomplished through improved digestive efficiency.
By revving up your body’s ability to effectively and efficiently digest the foods you eat for fuel, you trigger optimal internal cleansing, which helps you achieve your ideal weight and optimal health. (I also recommend taking a supplement like Feel Good Detoxy 2.0 to help give your digestion that extra oomph!)
Now that I’ve gone through all this, let’s get to the part that you’re all here for. ;)
Fat Burning Method #3: Chinese Medicine Abdominal Massage
When it comes to the best stomach massage for weight loss, you can’t beat this ancient technique! This holistic approach to fat burning combines ancient wisdom with modern understanding, providing you with a comprehensive solution for your weight loss journey.
The Chinese medicine abdominal massage technique I am going to outline below is a different type of exercise altogether. A product of 6,000 years of Eastern wisdom, this massage improves your digestive efficiency by maximizing your body’s ability to detoxify and eliminate waste.
The technique can help speed up your digestive system and allows you to eliminate the sludge that builds up in your intestines, which can be pounds of uneliminated waste. When I do it, it is apparent to me the technique is not only physical but also energetic. It’s worth a try, right?
The benefits of this abdominal massage include:
- Helping melt adipose tissue (belly fat)
- Improving digestive efficiency
- Detoxifying your intestines
- Relieving constipation (the mother of all health and beauty issues!)
- Stimulating your abdominal organs
- Improving blood circulation in your abdominal region
- Reducing hunger and overeating
- May help to alleviate nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and indigestion
- Can provide results in about a week of consistent practice
One study put 60 participants into 3 groups, each group receiving a different kind of abdominal massage. At the end, each participant had lost around 2 mm of belly fat through massage alone! [2]
Another study found that abdominal massage and acupressure were helpful in relieving constipation— something I hear often from you Beauties too! [3]
However, you should avoid using this technique if:
- You just ate a heavy meal
- You are pregnant
- You are suffering inflammation of feminine organs including the uterus, ovaries, fallopian tubes, or bladder
- You have bladder, kidney, or gallbladder stones
- You have high blood pressure
- You have a hernia
- You have intestinal or stomach ulcers
- You have internal bleeding
If you aren’t sure if it’s right for you, you can always ask your doctor.
How to Perform The Abdominal Massage
Last but not least, here’s how to perform this amazing technique! Do this twice daily– once before breakfast and once right before bed.
- Lie flat on your back on a firm surface with your abdominal region exposed.
- Warm up your hands by rubbing them together until they feel hot, about 15 seconds.
- Place one hand flat on your belly button.
- Begin rubbing in small circles clockwise around your belly button, gradually widening the circles using firm pressure. Each circle should take about one to two seconds.
- Focus on the heat, which is building up in your abdominal region as you rub.
- Continue for two minutes, about 40 to 50 circles. Be sure to keep your stomach warm as you perform the exercise.
That’s it! It’s as simple as that. :) Consistency is key, my dear, as you integrate this practice into your daily routine. Embrace the transformative power of consistency, and watch as your digestion and fat-burning potential flourish. Not to mention, it just feels good!
When you think about massage, you probably think more about pain relief and stress relief instead of fat loss. But I hope now you’re thinking about the benefits that a good massage can bring to your digestion, especially if you’re trying to lose some of that stubborn belly fat!
All my love,
Citations
- “Subcutaneous Fat: What You Need to Know about the Fat beneath Your Skin.” Cleveland Clinic, my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/23968-subcutaneous-fat.
- Tunay, V Bayrakci, et al. “Effects of Mechanical Massage, Manual Lymphatic Drainage and Connective Tissue Manipulation Techniques on Fat Mass in Women with Cellulite.” Wiley Online Library, Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology & Venereology, 7 Jan. 2010, onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1468-3083.2009.03355.x.
- İskender, Mahinur Durmuş, and Nurcan Çalışkan. “Effect of Acupressure and Abdominal Massage on Constipation in Patients with Total Knee Arthroplasty: A Randomized Controlled Study.” Sage Journals, Clinical Nursing Research, 27 July 2021, journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/10547738211033917?journalCode=cnra.
Does it matter if the circles are clockwise or counter clockwise?
Sounds great…. Few questions though:
How hard should you press on your stomach when you are rubbing in circles?
And are you rubbing in circles with your whole hand or just your fingertips?
Thank you.
Does the direction of the circles (clockwise or counter clockwise) matter?
Kimberly have you ever put together a retreat/boot camp style week or two for a small group to kick off there detox process? I would LOVE to be able to be apart of something like that.
Thanks, Randy
Definitely worth a try! Should I massage in clockwise or counter clockwise circles or dies it matter? Thank you!
The technique is not described nor shown as to how to do what.
Should you rub clockwise or counter clockwise ?
Do the circles keep moving outward for the full two minutes or do you go back and start at the belly button a few times?
You didn’t say in which direction the circle should go…I’ve always done it in a clockwise direction when my kids had digestive issues. Is this the recommended direction or does it matter? Thanks, Dawn
Do you just use one hand to do the message? It sounds like it from the description but the picture shows two hands on the abdomin. Thank you!
This may seem like a silly question, but does it matter if you go clockwise vs. counterclockwise?
Why is this not recommended for people with high blood pressure?
Does it matter if you go counter clockwise or clockwise? I would guess counter clockwise but not sure. Thanks!
How far out from your bellybutton do you go? and should your stomach be relaxed ? thank you for all your info and advice. Robin
Does it matter if it’s clockwise or counter clockwise?
Question….When you say not to do this if you have kidney stones..Do you do mean…while your having a kidney stone attact or if you get kidney stones?
Do you rub circles in clockwise motion?
Hi Kimberly, what direction do we rub? I am assuming: using my right hand ,I rub my belly from left to right to assist the decending colon. Is this correct ? Also , was thinking about using a bit of Castor Oil to assist the massage . What do you think ? Thank you, Pat
Hi KIm,
I will try this, of course.
I was just wondering if there is a better way for rubbing in circles…. clockwise or the other way around?
thank you
Hi there
I believe its a clockwise rub.
Hope that helps
Hi Kimberly – I was just wondering if it is better to make the circular motion clockwise or counter-clockwise? Thanks!
It has to be clockwise to go with the flow…..
Food travels from your right to left ascending to transverse to descending colon so i would guess R to L which of course is “Clockwise”
I learned this from my Yoga teacher ages ago and only perform this exercise when feeling bloated. I’ll have to remember to do it twice daily!
i was a bit sceptical of your methods at first.
i am now seeing some benefits.many thanks, and keep posting me advice.
Wonderful information, thank you. I used to be a massage therapist years ago and we learned you always massage the stomach clockwise in order to move things along in the intestines. We were told never to massage counterclockwise.
Is there a video demonstration of this technique? That would be great! When you say place your hand flat on your belly button, do you keep it flat when you rub? It is hard to do small circles with a large flat hand!!!
I too would like to know…clockwise or counterclockwise.
As a massage therapist, we are taught to go clockwise, in most cases. That is because it mimics the flow of the large intestine through the abdominal cavity. Going counter clockwise could move things back up into an area that has already been emptied.
Hi Kimberly,
Which book by Dr. Stephen Chang did you learn this from? I am reading The Complete System of Self-Healing and I have not come across this exercise yet. Do you have another book of his to reccomend?
Thanks for your books and great info, the hardest thing is having to relearn what I thought I knew of nutrition.
I was told about this type of abdominal massage when my son was little and having digestive issues. It does work for that. I’m anxious to find out what weight loss benefits it might have.
I could be wrong, but i wouldn’t have thought that it would matter which way you do the massage, as it is perhaps the overall energetic input which does the job?
YES IT DOES MATTER WHICH WAY. Your intestines push food in one direction. If you’d like to try and force your food back and up out your mouth then by all means try it counter clockwise, but if you’d like this to help you then go with clockwise
we learned this a long time ago in massage therapy school..you massage clockwise..not counter clockwise..always clockwise cuz if you do the opposite you can cause yourself to get or the massage client constipated…and you don;t need your whole hand to do the abdomen massage correctly just fingertips is fine..keeping them/stomach warm while doing the massage…and not all the way outward you go back to where you started doing it a few times till it’s 2 minutes..and low to medium pressure not that hard since the stomach is a sensitive place to work on..yes one hand place the other hand on the hand giving the massage and also If HBP is not controlled through medication or diet and exercise, massage should not be performed. Circulatory massage can worsen the damage done to blood vessel walls by forcing blood through the body. In addition, there may be underlying factors causing the high blood pressure that contraindicate massage…take care everyone :)
Hi Kimberly,
I know you said not to do this “If you have stones of the bladder, kidneys, or gallbladder”. I don’t have any stones, but I am having a lot of problems with my kidneys (they’re still trying to figure out what all is going on). Do you think it would be okay for me to go ahead and do this or not?
Hi….I know overall you don’t recommend weight loss supplements but I hearing really good things about this Garcinia Cambogia and not just for weight loss. Dr Oz has every doc. everywhere voting yes for this stuff. Any idea what the big whoop is and if there are some benefits?
This supplement is also supposed to be a big help when it comes to bell fat???
i WANT TO KNOW TOO!
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Why do people keep asking which way to do it? Can’ t you just read the comments? It has been answered a few times, but some lazy fatties still keep asking about it!!!
I would suggest working in the direction of the muscle, so clockwise on the right side of the body and anti-clockwise on the left.
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Awesome..thank you! Will be doing it twice a day
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Can i get a link to a video that explains this exercise?
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Good blog Kimberly! I’m a licensed massage therapist. I always do tummy massages for my clients. I have had some very constipated clients over the years! When I work like an hour or so on their tummy well let’s just say they get cleaned out fast ! Lol! ????
Thanks for sharing your personal experience Melissa and happy to hear your are contributing to healthier guts! ;)
This is a new way how to lose that stubborn belly fat amazing technique thanks for sharing this to us.
Belly fat growth is influenced mostly by things like your lifestyle, age, what you eat, whether or not you exercise and partake in physical activity e.t.c these can all influence how you grow belly fat. Eating a diet with high calories is among the fastest ways to gain belly fat and belly fat is also influenced by other lifestyle choices like high alcohol intake, stress, smoking, a sedentary lifestyle where we find ourselves spending more time lounging around after a long day sitting in one spot at work, or putting yourself under chronic levels of stress which leads to the release of cortisol and in turn leads to binge eating everything in sight or irregular eating timing and intervals.
Thanks for checking this out and happy to hear you benefited by the information. Sending you lots of love and continued support! ;)