Among the things that I have done in my thirties, the decision to walk into Halley Medical Aesthetics to slim down my thighs must be the boldest of all. I am of a tall and bigger built than most ladies and because I am tall, the fats are kind of evenly distributed and thus, not too obvious on the outer appearance.
However, my thighs are the ones that bothered me constantly since they look really unglamorous with skirts and shorts. So, freezing my fat cells by CoolSculpting is the answer that I have been waiting for! And what is nice about doing CoolSculpting with Halley Medical Aesthetics is that not only am I able to shorten my treatment time due to the number of machines they have, I am able to receive weight loss counseling while waiting for my treatment to complete.
What is CoolSculpting?
CoolSculpting by Zeltiq is a treatment to reduce stubborn fat bulges that may not respond to diet or exercise. It freezes and eliminates stubborn Fat by delivering precisely controlled cooling to gently and effectively target the fat cells underneath the skin. These treated fat cells are crystallised (frozen), and then die. Over time, your body naturally processes the fat and eliminates these dead cells, leaving a more sculpted silhouette. Further, the sub-zero freezing does not damage the skin or surrounding tissue. The CoolSculpting effects are long term as the treated fat cells are gone for good. It takes as early as 3 weeks and mostly around 3-6 months to see the full slimming effect.
Here is my sharing on the day of treatment, what happens during the non-invasive treatment and how I feel after!
What to Bring Along on the Day of Treatment?
A book, mobile phone and a cardigan. The book and mobile phone are to kill time and cardigan to keep warm as it may take a few hours if you are doing multiple treatment areas at one go in an air conditioned room. I also wore a long skirt just in case any redness may show after treatment. This redness, however, will go away with time.
How Long is the Treatment?
I was told to expect a 4.5 hours block of time for the entire treatment because there would be 4 applicators to be applied, alternating with 2 sets on my outer thighs and inner thighs. This also includes the time taken for the doctor to determine the areas that require freezing, marking them out, and preparing me for the treatment.
What to Expect on the Day of Treatment?
On the day of the treatment, I was happy to see familiar faces again and I was more relaxed. Jean Tong, the CoolSculpting programme manager and nutritionist, took my weight, blood pressure and measurements before we proceeded to see Dr Terence Tan in his consultation room. After a brief consultation session on my recorded measurements and confirming the target areas to work on, we proceeded to the CoolSculpting room. Over there, the exact target areas were drawn on my thighs and 2 therapists helped to set up the CoolSculpting machines and apply the first 2 applicators.
Applicators Used and Time of Treatment
Do you know that Halley Medical Aesthetics is one of the few clinics in Singapore that uses 2 CoolSculpting machines at the same time (or DualSculpting), therefore cutting down the treatment time by half?!
In fact, I would be one of the first to use a new applicator named, CoolAdvantage that will shorten usual treatment time by almost 50% with increased comfort. Without this CoolAdvantage and DualSculpting capability, I would have to do one applicator after another, resulting in a treatment time of about 4.5 hours. But instead, I only spent about 2hours plus for the treatment!
The applicator that was used for my outer thighs was the CoolSmooth PRO, with a treatment time of approximately 1 hour and the one used for my inner thighs was CoolAdvantage which only took 35 minutes.
Before the applicator was positioned on my thighs, the therapist placed a gel pad on the treatment area which will protect my skin during the procedure. Upon application, I could feel a tugging suction on my thigh area as the fatty tissue was drawn into the applicator cup. There was an intense coldness, which gave way to numbness after 5-10 minutes. It felt like a cold ice pack was placed on my thighs.
After applying the CoolSmooth PRO applicator on my right outer thigh, they then proceeded to apply the CoolAdvantage applicator on my left inner thigh. Once they are done, the therapists made sure I was comfortable by propping cushions to support my legs and covered me with blanket to keep warmth.
Soon, I was used to the cold and the suction feeling and was able to read my book. It is kinda cool to know that I could relax while getting fat cells destroyed in comfort. Also, no sweat needed to achieve slimmer thighs, it is THAT easy! As there was no invasive procedures and medication, I felt safe and did not worry if there would be any side effects because there would be totally none.
The CoolAdvantage applicator on the inner thigh was soon completed after 35min. The therapist came over to remove the applicator and massaged on the applied area. She kneaded and moved in circular motions for a few minutes. There was some slight discomfort but it was bearable. This step is very important as it helps to break down the crystallised fat cells and improve the fat reduction. Only when the treatment was done for the right outer thigh can they switch over: CoolSmooth Pro on my left outer thigh and CoolAdvantage on my right inner thigh.
How did I feel at the end of the treatment and weeks after?
At the end of the treatment, I felt a tingling sensation for the treated areas as my thighs were trying to get used to the numbness. The discomfort lasted for about 5 minutes and was gone. I was able to walk around and went about changing into my clothes. There were no obvious signs that I had just done a CoolSculpting treatment at all except for some mild redness on the treated areas, which went away totally the next day.
For the first 2 weeks, I only felt numbness at the treated areas. It felt weird whenever I touched the areas as though they were not my flesh. Other than this sensation, there was nothing different with my thighs except that I was starting to feel that my pants and jeans were no longer as tight as they used to be!
By the 4th week, I could fit into my pants and jeans easily and comfortably! In fact, on the appearance, they already look slimmer than before! And we are talking about just 4 weeks and ONE treatment! In fact, one treatment is sufficient to achieve the slimmer thighs I wanted! Yeah! It is encouraging to see the obvious difference and I am surely looking forward to seeing the full results!
Active Slim Programme
During the treatment, Jean introduced a weight loss programme to me to complement CoolSculpting. As I mentioned in my first post, I preferred to lose weight without using weight loss medications. So the team at Halley Medical Aesthetics customised a programme called “Active Slim”, which is now a standard item on their menu, for me that only invoivled nutrition counseling and meal replacements. Jean prescribed me Optifast, a meal replacement by Nestlé to help in my weight loss to reach my ideal BMI, as CoolSculpting helps in a slimmer silhouette and not weight loss. Optifast is the only meal replacement drink approved by Health Promotion Board and only meal replacement brand used in major hospitals.
I was initially rather skeptical about taking meal replacement, as I am one who enjoys eating and has a strong philosophy of not slimming by diet means. But Jean assured me that I only needed to take it once a day and it contains all the recommended vitamins and minerals needed with total calories count of only 160kCal. I could supplement that replaced meal with a fruit or small serving of salad for the fibre intake.
As I usually take a quick breakfast with a piece of bread and jam and a glass of milk, perhaps taking Optifast is a better choice as it gives me the nutrients I needed in the form of tasty strawberry milk. I could prevent myself from eating junk breakfast like roti prata or chee cheong fun.
So, making the RIGHT CHOICES when it comes to eating is important to help me stay healthy. What’s more, I get a slimmer body in return! Isn’t that wonderful?
Furthermore, taking meal replacement is not forever. Once I reach my targeted weight and BMI, I will just need to eat as per normal but choose my food options wisely to maintain my weight from then on. Considering all these factors, I was willing to give it a try.
Stay tune for the next post on Active Slim and CoolSculpting Results!
Follow me on my CoolSculpting Journey! Read about my CoolSculpting Consultation post here!
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