Confessions of a beauty editor…
Even though I’m offered to try them for free all of the time, I’ve never been into body contouring devices or treatments. I believe your body is a product of your lifestyle. If you eat clean and work out regularly, you’ll set yourself up for longterm success. That was until I got pregnant and my postpartum body became an ugly reminder of my tragic loss. I wanted nothing more than to get my body back and begin feeling like myself again. I was and still am willing to try anything.
The first thing I did was begin personal training sessions twice per week with my friend Jarrett Hahn at M.O.V.E. Fitness & Performance (see post here). It was there that I realized that not only did my body look different, but my abs were weaker than ever before. I’ve been working out with Jarrett for about four months now and am addicted to becoming stronger. The results I’ve been seeing are my drive to keep going. I have my abs back.
In December, I was invited to try Em Sculpt, which stands for electro magnetic sculpt, on my abs with Dr. Arash Akhavan at The Dermatology & Laser Group in NYC. Normally I would have passed, but I was intrigued and decided to try it. Not only do I want my body back, but I want it to be stronger and more toned than before.
Dr. Akhavan explained that the non-invasive treatment acts like a booster in the sense that it will boost my ab strength quickly and then it was up to me to maintain and improve on it on my own. It works by replacing nerve singles your brain sends to your muscles in order to perform about 20,000 ab contractions in just 30 minutes. Physically, it’s impossible to do 20,000 sit ups in 30 minutes.
I laid on the table with my stomach exposed and a device was placed over my abs for 30 minutes. At first it feels like your mind is playing tricks on you, because your body is acting on it’s own. An assistant stayed in the room with me the whole time and kept turning up the intensity. My abs were contracting at an insane pace, but it didn’t hurt or feel uncomfortable. I was told that some people can’t tolerate the intensity and often do it at a much lower level, but my abs were telling me to bring it on.
The device also helps to release lactic acid every four minutes during the treatment so you’re not sore the next day. I went a total of four times in two weeks and I swear after the first time I felt stronger at the gym the very next day. I was told I’d have the best results a month after my last treatment.
I will say that within this month, I also continued to eat super clean, work out with Jarrett, do spin and yoga as I always do so I expected to look more fit with or without doing this.
The picture on the left is before treatment and the picture on the right is one month after.
Dr. Akhavan explained that this was a great boost for someone who plans to commit to a healthy lifestyle and come in for maintenance once every three to six month. With four treatments recommended to start at $1K per pop, it’s an investment. If you’re interested, I recommend going for a consultation to see if you’re a good candidate before just signing up as there are other devices that will work better for different people.
But in all honesty, commit to clean eating and challenge yourself with exercise and you’ll see results with longevity.
