Those words were quite hard to type. I can’t believe I am here again. Fat.
If this is something that you are not interested in, kindly move a long. The reason I am sharing this, is to hold myself accountable and to share my journey for those of you who find themselves feeling fat, ugly and hopeless. Perhaps this post will help you not feel quite so alone in your struggles.
I’ve struggled with my weight most of my life. I gained a lot of weight during and after my pregnancy and I finally really did something about in 2014 and I lost a lot of weight. Read about it HERE. I just reread that post myself and I still can’t really believe what I have done to myself.
I was happy, healthy, moderately fit and happy with the way I looked. Then…
In February 2015 I landed up in hospital and had to undergo spinal surgery. That meant that I was on my back for 8 weeks. It also meant that I was no longer allowed to run or do boot camp. I was also not allowed to pick up my child or vacuum the house. I am still not really supposed to be doing most of those things. My heart was broken.
And what do I do when my heart is sore? I eat. And today I have regained all of the weight I lost in 2014 and more!
Over the last year I have tried to lose weight many times. All unsuccessful. And every time something ‘bad’ happened, I would head to the fridge. This has to stop.
I want to be healthy. I want to live an active life. I want to be there for my child. I want to feel comfortable in my own body. And I want to look good!
Now, you are probably wondering how I’m going to do this?
I have been chosen as 1 of 30 contestants to take part in the Slender Challenge competition sponsored by Health Renewal.
The award winning BTL Exilis Elite offers treatments that are a safe and relatively pain-free alternative to surgery and other invasive treatments. The results are proven and clinically tested. Simply put, Exilis is a machine that uses radiofrequency to tighten skin and melt away fat on the face and body. It sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it?
That’s exactly what I thought, but hey, I’m willing to try anything.
Exilis Elite body treatments are by no means going to take you from fat to slim, as only a healthy eating plan and exercise can do that, but those stubborn areas like the love handles, inner thighs, cankles, inner knees, bra bulges, upper arms, etc can be treated with amazing results. Truly remarkable results can be achieved with the facial procedures as well. Have a look at these before and after’s and tell me you are not impressed…
Before & After
How the Exilis Elite helped bust some of my belly fat
I chose to have a treatment done on my stomach. I have never had a flat stomach and my regular readers know that I am in a constant battle with my weight. Exilis Elite treatment will be most effective if you have it done when you are within 5 kg’s of your ideal weight. I am not, but I was still curious to see what this machine can do. The skin on my tummy also did a great deal of stretching during my pregnancy and is not nearly as tight as it used to be.
The treatment itself required me to lie on my back whilst the therapist ‘massaged’ the treatment area with the Exilis Elite applicator. The aim is to heat up the area to the point where the fat cell will be damaged (note that I am over simplifying here!). At a temperature of 44ºC the fat cells can be permanently destroyed. Obviously that was what both the therapist and I wanted to accomplish. But damn, do you know how hot that is? We (I say ‘we’ as I had to give the therapist constant feedback on how I was experiencing the treatment) got the temp up to 44ºC quite a few times, but most of the treatment was performed at 42ºC. It hurt at times, but it was not unbearable. Would the discomfort stop me from doing it again? Not at all.
I was measured before and after the treatment and over the 4 different areas that were measured, I lost an average of 1.75cms. That’s huge!
Because I have to be completely honest, I have to share my not-so-pleasant recovery process. Please note that I seem to be the exception to the rule as most people only experience mild redness or swelling for a couple of hours after treatment. I was nauseous for 2 days after the treatment. Upon consulting with the Skin & Body Renewal doctor, I was told that it was because my liver was working so hard at processing the fat that the treatment broke down. All of the sudden the nausea doesn’t sound so bad, does it? I took liver supplements for the next couple of days and that helped. I also developed Panniculitis. Not nearly as scary as it sounds! I had 3 lumps under my skin that were caused by the fat cells that became inflamed. I am happy to say that all lumps have since disappeared. I also suffered from quite a bit of swelling around my waist, but that also subsided within a couple of days.
I can guarantee you, even after experiencing these side effect, I still would not think twice about having these treatments again. My stomach looks better than it has in years. It has a flatter appearance and the skin is a little tighter than before. And this is after only one treatment.
Will one treatment be enough to give you the results you want? Probably not. It all depends on the area and how your body responds to the treatment. It is recommended to have one treatment every two to three weeks for a minimum of four treatments. Maintenance treatments can then be done if necessary.
Treatments are not cheap, but they are worth every cent. I had my procedure done at Skin & Body Renewal and you can have a look at their prices HERE.
Is it worth the money and discomfort? Yes, yes, YES! I am so happy with my results and I would love to go back for more treatments. I can just imagine how great my stomach would look after 2 or 3 more fat busting sessions. The bum and thighs could also use a couple of sessions.
Thank you so much to BTL Aesthetics for giving me the chance to experience this amazing treatment. And a special thanks to Skin & Body Renewal Cape Quarter for performing the treatment and for all the follow-up calls. I’ll most definitely be visiting you again soon.
To find a salon or clinic near you to experience Elixis Elite, you can contact BTL Medical SA on +27 76 232 8058.
