After doing so well right until after Christmas, my daily life schedule took a nosedive. My mum went into hospital with a broken hip, and ended up in a much worse state, that I’m not going to mention again today, and I lost complete control over my eating and life for a while. It happens, and as disappointing as it is, dealing with life changes is something almost all of us have to do as we get older. Yes, there are people who never change when it comes to weight, and it’s a fortunate thing for them, but I’m not one of them.
Now don’t get me wrong, I haven’t gained stones and stones of weight, I’ve gained a few pounds, but it’s where that weight is that had me so disappointed.
I talked about my first In-Body scan here, which tells us about our body fat percentage, distribution of fat, protein and muscle, and what the visceral fat levels are. They’re eye opening for sure. I looked a bit on the thin side for a while, yet my visceral fat was still borderline. In January, I went back for my second In-Body scan, and I’d done great. I’d managed to increase my overall muscle by 0.5kg and increased the amount of calories I could eat in a day without gaining weight by a smidgen. A few weeks later, post stressful month or so, and I’d gained a couple of pounds, yet I LOST a fair bit of muscle, reduced the amount of calories I can eat in a day, and my visceral fat went up by a fair bit. The shift in my visceral body fat was just not visible on the scales at all. Visceral fat is the dangerous fat around our midsections, that can lead to fatty liver disease. I felt incredibly deflated after that, but at the same time, finding out the information from the scan, was incredibly empowering.
I gained weight.. Ok, it’s not great, but we’re all only human. I’ve done really badly these last few weeks, but I know what I need to do, as I’ve seen the evidence on the In Body scan from Temple Medical, that it works. Going to the hospital most days, work, and juggling daily life, means I haven’t had the time for me. I know I need to change that, but it looks unlikely to happen any time soon, and I need to work more too, so I’ll just wing the best way I can for now.
What I wanted to write about, was the Body Contouring that Temple Medical let me review. I have to say, that I have been very fortunate in having the opportunity to take part in this, as body contouring involves a treatment that helps to tighten loose skin. I’ve seen people on TV having the treatments, but actually hadn’t thought about them for myself, even though I do have some loose skin that means I cover up more than I need to in warmer weather.
What Happens
You put on a lovely stocking suit. I say lovely, as it’s actually not as bad as I first thought it would be. It’s a bit like thick white tights material, and seems to make the treatments more comfortable. It does, I have to say, help hold in some of the wobbly bits for when your measurements get taken. The treatment is in two parts. The Ultrasound, to help with fat reduction and LPG Massage, to encourage collagen and elastin
The suit is pretty see through, so I’m not going full out on the blog in that, but you get the idea from my pictures. Just look at those rosy cheeks with no make-up on and a hot room…
For the Ultrasound, at the beginning, you sort of shimmy out of your suit on the top half and cover up with a towel, while the ultrasound does it’s job on your tummy. The therapist moves the head around the area to be targeted, for me the belly, which creates friction and heat as it’s moved around the skin, with plenty oil. I didn’t find the heat uncomfortable at all. It was a lovely warm sensation for me.
The second half of the treatment is the LPG, which Jana says is known as lipo massage. It uses suction and rollers, moved across the body in sections, to help tighten skin. There’s more about the detail below. Now, I’d be fibbing if I said this part of the treatment was without any discomfort at all. I wouldn’t call it painful, but you definitely know something is happening to your wobbly bits. I felt it more on bony parts, like upper arms and upper thighs etc, which are more sensitive. The therapist makes her way around your whole body, rollering as she goes.
At the beginning, I doubted there would be any difference whatsoever, but the weird thing was, that at around the last couple of sessions, I suddenly realised I wasn’t ashamed of my upper arms anymore. After losing the weight, I had loose skin on my upper arms which really bothered me. I often used to wear a long sleeved t-shirt under a short sleeved one to hide them. One day, I popped on a short sleeve top, and didn’t instantly whip it off again to put another one under it. I think it took me a couple of days to realise what had happened there.
What was also interesting, was that even after my last disappointing In-Body, where I’d gained a bit of weight and lost muscle, I’d strangely had a shift in my measurements. Although heavier, my abdomen looked better, and had pulled in, and that was my biggest problem area. I got off lucky in the loose skin stakes, considering my weight loss, but there’s always room for improvement I think. I did leave happier than I went in, and I know what I need to do now.
I’ve come towards the end of my treatments with Temple Medical, however, I’ll always be grateful to them for helping me see what can be achievable with a bit more work, and that it’s not all about picking one exercise and thinking that’s enough to actually be fit and healthy.
I’ll let one of the therapists, Jana, give you the official information on the treatments I had.
Temple Medical Body Contouring
Ultrasound
The ultrasound device is called Med Contour. The treatment objective is to reduce adipose tissue in the affected area.
Med Contour is a non-surgical and non-invasive US machine specializing in fat reduction and fat loss. It does this by breaking down stored subcutaneous fat. MedContour features its own patented FDA approved dual hand piece helping focus treatments better and leaving surrounding structures (i.e. skin, blood vessels, nerves and connective tissue) undamaged. Med Contour also has its own built in lymphatic drainage system helping the body to remove toxins, excess fluids and waste from the body. It carried a CE mark allowing it to be used as a medical device. It operates at a frequency of 1000kHz. The frequency pitch is too high to be heard therefore no buzzing will be heard/felt in ears. Heat is generated as a result of the high energy, which is an advantage as it assists with skin tightening. If temperatures of >41C can be reached and maintained, the skin will tighten in the area.
Please be aware that the heating is a secondary effect. It is not important for the mechanical ultrasound vibrations and not by the heat. The treatment will work even if the skin doesn’t get hot.
The treatment time in a combined treatment is 20 minutes.
LPG treatment
LPG (also known as lipo massage) is an intense and deep mechanical massage using suction and rollers to tighten the skin. It works in multi direction forces to activate the fibroblasts (skin cells) to create more collagen and elastin.
Fibroblasts are dormant and repair the skin after trauma to stop infection. The collagen and elastin they create pull the skin of the wound together. The LPG activates the fibroblast to wake them up, imitating trauma to the tissue. This creates collagen and elastin for repair, hence the tightening of the skin.
The treatment also breaks down surface fat calls me
- Tightens the skin by the stimulation of the fibroblasts.
- Helps to break down surface fat. It is worked through the lymphatic system improving circulation, which will smooth out the uneven fat storage and trapped fluid under the skin. This leaves the body via normal bodily fluids.
In summary LPG
- Enhances the surface of the skin by improving the appearance of cellulite, stretch marks and scarring.
- Increases lymphatic drainage and speeds up the removal of toxins from the body.
- LPG treatment will take approximately 30 minutes.