I don’t like when books end. I start reading more slowly as the final pages approach. Sometimes I stop reading for a day or so….I’m reluctant to finish. And I notice that I touch the last page as I read the final paragraph. I think I just don’t like endings.
In case you’ve been following along, you know I’ve been doing a series of Vanquish body contouring treatments. My fourth, and last, treatment was Friday. For some reason I wasn’t excited about doing the session. I actually put it off two days past the 14-day mark. I don’t know if it’s because, like a good book I didn’t want it to end, or maybe I just didn’t want to think about anything related to body image. I think dealing with any aspect of body image can be difficult, or at least mildly challenging. Think about it: it’s just like going to the doctor. You go in a room, you have a modified wardrobe, you talk about what’s wrong (if you’re at the doctor) or if you’re doing something cosmetic, like body contouring, you talk about what you don’t like or want to change. Bottom line: it’s vulnerable: you get weighed. You get measured. You talk about the changes you’re seeing.
My trepidation was likely a bit of both not wanting the sessions to be over, and also struggles with body image, because when Kit told me I didn’t have to do my after photos or get measured for 30 more days, my mood lifted. We did another 45-minute session, which as I mentioned in a previous blog, is the new protocol for Vanquish, instead of a 30-minute session. During the first 15 minutes of the session, the Vanquish is heating up the fat cells to the target temperature of 41 degrees Celsius, which is the temperature that the fat cells turn to lipids and leave the body as waste. By the last 15 minutes of the session, the fat layer is being maintained at that target temperature. So when adding on an additional 15 minutes to your session, your treatment area is already at the optimal temperature and you are only getting treatment time with no added warming up period.
So, back to my last treatment session that I grudgingly walked into, wishing it away like the end of East of Eden. I changed into my gym shorts and got on the treatment table (which is like a massage table but decorated like a really cute bed) and Kit started up the machine. The heat was very bearable this time and she only had to make a few changes during the treatment to relieve a few hot spots I was feeling.
During the treatment, the room is darkened and cool, the view is the hills off Bee Caves Road, and you get to lie down in the middle of the day for nearly an hour…no wonder I didn’t want it to end! Oh, and the heat from the Vanquish treatment makes you feel like just drifting off to sleep…I’ve been told that some patients actually do. Sleeping and losing fat cells…what could be better?
Kit and I chatted the whole 45-minutes…about working out and wine and how there’s hardly any need to grocery shop when your kiddos are gone for the summer. Ok, so we DID talk about the actual treatment and any changes I’ve been noticing. And I have finally started to experience some differences! The area I’m treating is my outer thighs and butt. And believe me, I am often checking that situation out, especially after a hard week at the gym full of squat jumps and such.
Me. Undies. Full-length mirror: any changes? What about from the side? How about stuck out a little? What if I flex a little bit? Maybe I need a spray tan…
But this week I did notice the skin is looking tighter on the back of my thighs, which is a perk of the radio frequency treatment. And when I put on my favorite Lucky Brand cropped skinny jeans yesterday they slid right on, instead of having to do a few hops to get them all the way up. Success! As the kids at Vanquish say, make every day a skinny jeans day!
Meet you back here in 30 days for final results.
Final results for my four sessions of Vanquish are:
Beginning circumference for top of thigh area: 39.5 inches
Ending circumference area: 37.5 inches
Keep in mind the goal of Vanquish is cicumference loss, not weight loss, although they often correlate. But muscle gain and loss must also been taken into consideration when measuring weight. So, when considering your treatment, focus on inches lost off the treatment area. Two to four inches of loss off the treatment area is what is expected from four sessions of Vanquish. Yah!!! It was sooo worth it.
To read the whole Vanquish body contouring blog series: