Someone recently asked me about CoolSculpting and whether it works or not. I pointed them to my blog, but I thought I should actually do an update since it's been a little over a year.
Just to remind everyone- I had what they call six "sessions". Four parts of my stomach- above the belly button, below, and the sides of those areas. Sort of a square but slanted on the sides like a V. Then, one on each side where the muffin top resides.
Do I still think CoolSculpting is magic? Sort of. Did it work? That's where it gets a little more complicated. I had a pooch- under the belly button. That really is gone. If I bend over, still, to this day, there isn't really fat there. It's not quite as flat as it was when the swelling went down and I saw the results. But it's pretty flat in comparison to what it was before I did anything.
HOWEVER- above the belly button, to me, is like a bit of a shelf. I guess fat has to go somewhere, right? It's not like I eat Paleo or something, so vodka sauce has to settle somewhere. Above my belly button is softer than it's ever been and has a bit of cellulite. I don't recall that being there before. Or if it was, it matched the pooch so it wasn't as noticeable to me. It doesn't look like botched surgery or anything, but if you were looking, for purposes of comparison or in talking about CoolSculpting, you'd be like- "Oh...I totally see that".
I was told when I did it that I might need more than one time. But to just do that area even is still expensive- like $750. I'm not paying that because I don't have $750 to throw at my jelly belly.
My OB/gyn was considering getting a CoolSculpting machine. He'd asked me about it months ago because they have a weight loss program in the office so it seemed to be synergistic. He ended up doing a ton of research since the last I'd seen him. He went with SculpSure instead, which is like the hot version of CoolSculpting and a little different. A week or two ago, they had an open house for SculpSure at their office. I'm friends on Facebook, with Emily, who works in the office, and she told me about the Open House, so I decided to go just to get some info for friends who asked if I knew anything about it.
I have to say, I watched the demonstration, and there was one thing that sealed the deal for me thinking this would work better than CoolSculpting. This woman who was having it done- she literally danced out of there. After my over-six-hours of CoolSculpting, I wasn't dancing anywhere. They may claim there's no downtime, and I *was* able to go to work the next day, I certainly wasn't up for dancing. I was really swollen too. I needed a compression garment. I don't think they tell anyone to wear one, but for best results, you need to wear it. I saw for my own eyes that there is really no downtime with SculpSure, so it's not like they just say that and it's not true.
SculpSure is only twenty-five minutes per treatment. That's a HUGE difference. CoolSculpting is an hour per session, and each session is one small area. To do just what I did was six hours, but it was actually more like over seven hours with small breaks to use the bathroom and prep the machine or skin in between. This woman was doing somewhere on her back. I think it was like bra fat. When she was finished, she just got up, no redness or soreness, and was good to go.
SculpSure uses up to four applicators per area. You might need only one or two, but you can use up to four for the area you're "sculpting". So it covers more area at one time than the one session of CoolSculpting, if that makes sense.
I told them I'd be happy to try it out and write about it if they need someone to do that. Someone who can be totally honest and doesn't have a problem showcasing their fat for the world to see. So we'll see what happens. If I do it, rest assured, I will give all the details. I feel like I'm in the unique position to give an informed comparison of these fat killing procedures, having already had traditional liposuction and CoolSculpting. I'm definitely interested- I'd like to do my whole body. I definitely feel like most of my friends would be interested as well. Now that most of us are over forty, we're seeing that losing weight, especially in certain spots, isn't anywhere as easy as used to be. Or we're seeing fat in places we never had it all of a sudden. Getting old is a real buzzkill.
You can do your stomach area, inner and outer thigh, batwings (if there is fat there, which I have, not just hanging skin), and under the chin. Knowing what CoolSculpting feels like, I would do this 100x over under the chin before doing CoolSculpting there. I would think you would feel like you were choking to death otherwise. Not to mention, I don't know how you'd compress that area with the swelling.
*Both CoolSculpting and SculpSure are spot/area treatments. This isn't for someone who has fat all over. This is for someone who is around their ideal weight but has stubborn fat pockets, like a baby pooch, or hormonal pooch, that won't go away even with diet and exercise.
To read about my CoolSculpting experience- Mommy Makeover #1
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