So I had my last (huge) baby 4 years ago and although I was very fortunate in losing the ‘baby weight’ very quickly (chasing around after my 3-year-old helped with that) and despite actually weighing less than I did pre pregnancies…… I still have a baby paunch!
Standing up is fine; I’m so used to holding my stomach in I do it without realising, but bending over makes me cringe! My skin literally falls forward and no amount of sucking in is going to stop it! Let’s be honest, this is no big deal and certainly doesn’t affect my day-to-day but surely I deserve to have my body back? I ate healthily during both pregnancies and I stayed fit and active, I didn’t binge post pregnancy and got back into my exercise routine as soon as it was safe to do so, so forgive me for feeling a little bit peeved at my mini kangaroo pouch!
Well according to Dr Leah Totton (winner of The Apprentice 2013 and owner of the Dr Leah Cosmetic Skin Clinic) I’m not alone. Dr Leah’s clinic has a high-tech and well thought through treatment menu, including the latest treatments and products to prevent, rejuvenate and repair our ageing face and bodies! After a thorough consultation, which was very much led by what I see as my problem areas, it was decided that I would have 1 session on Fat Freezing (to effectively freeze the stubborn pocket of fat cells on my stomach) and 6 sessions of Skin Tightening at weekly intervals.
The Fat Freezing was surprisingly comfortable! A suction cup is placed over the area to be treated, sucking up the fatty pocket of flesh and freezes those fat cells. I didn’t feel cold at all, nor did it feel like it was pulling at my skin- it was actually just nice to lie down for 40 minutes! Immediately afterwards the area obviously feels very cold to the touch but not uncomfortable, you mustn’t do any strenuous exercise (fine by me!) but you must drink around 4 litres of water a day! For 12 weeks! That’s the tricky part and I’m not sure I have quite achieved it every day but my skin is definitely happy with me for my efforts!
The Skin Tightening treatment is also really comfortable; a probe emitting radio frequency waves is massaged over the area heating the skin to 40 degrees. It is at 40 degrees that the collagen and elastin is stimulated and therefore regenerates, resulting in firmer skin. The skin is a bit pink after which doesn’t last long, and that’s it! No aftercare needed!
The results won’t be evident until around 12-16 weeks after the treatments as this is how long it will take for the fat cells to flush away, and also how long it takes for the collagen and elastin to regenerate, so I will be reporting back then (with photo evidence if I’m brave enough!) but in the mean time I will keep drinking my 4 litres of water a day and dream about my pre-pregnancy stomach!