What does an UltraShape treatment feel like?

“I’ll take the Dominican Breakfast please. Egg whites only, no oil or butter, no bread and jam, no cheese and no plantains please.”

You have no idea how much it pained me to utter these words at breakfast this morning. Shoveling all the local goodness into my face when traveling is a large portion of the enjoyment and experience of each country I visit. Unfortunately, it also plays a large role in how I got myself into this situation in the first place — you know — Forty and Flabby.

Sacrifices must be made.

So unlike many times before, I quietly and sadly turn away the local bread and jam when they attempt to bring it anyway. It’s worth it.

Yes, making healthier choices isn’t always easy or fun but you know what? These choices, in the long run, boost my confidence and make me a happier, more fun person. If saying no to some unnecessary extra calories at breakfast now enables me to play with my son at the pool without insecurities, I’ll do it as many times as it takes!

But sometimes, no matter how hard we work at something, our bodies may not always respond in kind. This is especially true when they’ve been stretched to miraculous life giving proportions, lost their elasticity and then neglected and given up on. This is where I turn to UltraShape for help.

I’ve already explained the theory behind the non-invasive procedure here, but today I’d like to share what it actually feels and looks like, as well as how my first procedure went.

As I walked into Dr. Zena Gabriel’s office in Newport Beach, I felt a rush of excitement fall over me. Lori, my UltraShape technician, was chatting away and the rush of blood to my head resulted in just a few words making their way through — “happy…successful…excited…results”. I joked nervously about the “Dunlop tire” I carried around my waist as she photographed and measured my torso. Little did I know she would then pull all the flab forward into a concentrated area via a compression garment.

If I was mortified at showing my un-sucked in stomach to you in my earlier post, imagine my horror at letting you see the below. YIKES! Attractive, right?

As I lay myself down on the table, Lori continued to explain how she liked to couple her UltraShape procedures with the skin toning and tightening benefits of VelaShape, another treatment offered by the same makers. After all, it makes sense that when you get rid of a volume of fat, it would be valuable to try and help the skin around it to adjust to your new shape. As Lori began using a tool to warm the area being treated, she also explained that fat cells are more susceptible to bursting during the procedure when they are hotter than normal. Yes please, warm away.

After my skin had reached the desired temperature, she pulled out the VelaShape tool. A slightly scary, rotating beast, the wand provides the sensation of a cat giving you a slimy deep tissue massage inside the giant suction cup of an octopus. True story. After several minutes of this strangely addicting feeling, she switched over to the UltraShape treatment.

Using the targets on my stomach as a sort of geo-fence, the machine delivers warm pulses throughout, and tells the technician where to move next. At no point in time was I uncomfortable. Given the treatment size of my fabulous belly, this portion took about 45 minutes to complete. (Next time I will bring my headphones and treat myself to a nap!) To complete my session, Lori gave me one more go at the VelaShape before sending me on my way.

The entire visit lasted about an hour and a half and I went ahead and booked my 2nd appointment before leaving. With some simple instructions to drink lots of water and avoid alcohol consumption, I left the office happy, hopeful and motivated to do all the small lifestyle changes to not only ensure I see results, but keep them. I’m already more confident in my skin and am looking forward to seeing if any results can be seen at my second visit. Stay tuned!

This blog post is part of a paid SocialMoms and UltraShape blogging program. The opinions and ideas expressed here are my own.