Disclaimer: This is not an endorsement, merely a blog about my own choice to go on this body contouring journey.
So I’m 40-years-old now and obviously, I am not getting any younger and neither is my body. When my publication I used to write for, Conejo Valley Lifestyle, did a story on Westlake Body Contouring a year ago, I was intrigued and wanted to try it.
The body contouring targets fat cells through a heated red light therapy. The reason why I wanted to do the treatments was not because I was trying to lose weight a ton of weight and be at a size 2 or 4, let alone attempt to have a model-like body. I actually am happy with my weight and I am in the correct pounds for being 5’11” (I am 151 pounds, and according to Banner Health, 141 – 170 pounds is average for my height).
The problem was my skin wasn’t tightening up. I tried everything for years: lifting weights, doing cardio, eating healthy (I eat 70/30) – nothing worked. I needed something that was going to target my problem spots – we all have them no matter what height you are – which were my lower stomach, tricep area, underneath my chin and my butt/back legs.
Was I going to lose inches and weight a little bit? Of course! But it wasn’t going to be so drastic where I was going to have my 20-something-year-old body back at a size 4. It was projected that I would go from a size 8 to maybe a size 7. Fine with me! I could do the sessions every other day, but because the appointments were in Agoura Hills and I live in the Channel Islands Harbor, it was about a 40 minute drive for me both ways.
I was told that the research showed that after 12 sessions, I would see a difference. So how much does 12 sessions cost? Excluding the initial treatment for a special rate of $59, it was $960. Best part was, I could pay the whole thing up front up or spilt it into 2 separate payments, which is the option I chose. Still, this treatment was much more affordable than when I did my laser hair removal treatments back in 2013 and 2014. I think if I recall it was $2,500?
When I told my parents what I was doing, I think they might’ve thought it could’ve been a hoax and were skeptical. My dad asked me why I didn’t do Coolsculpting instead. Part of the reason was because the treatments could maybe take up to 2 hours in one sitting, plus I read the cost was anywhere between $2,000 – $4,000 for that treatment plan, something that didn’t appeal to me. Plus, having a cold burn from it? Uh uhhhh!
Here’s how the body contouring worked for me:
Session One
The day of your appointment, you have to drink 2 glasses of water every hour before your appointment time to hydrate your body so that the fat cells can take the treatment well. Then you can’t eat for 2 hours after the appointment and you have to continue drinking 2 glasses of water until dinnertime.
I woke up at 8am and began drinking 2 glasses of water every hour. By the time I got to 11am, I felt like I was on water overkill. Usually, I drink maybe between 4-6 glasses a day, but this was a lot for me. I usually infuse my water by cutting up some fruit (usually a lemon or strawberries) because I cannot stand plain water!
On top of that, I had absolutely no clue that I had to be on a restricted eating regiment the day of treatments. All the text message told me was that I couldn’t have food 2 hours before my appointment and 2 hours after. I questioned this as I began my day. Turns out I couldn’t have any sugar – not even fruits, which I am used to eating in the morning – or any good fats like raw nuts or dairy products. It had to be a very low carb diet.
Frustrated, I called Dr. Diane to vent and asked what I could eat that I had in my fridge. She was so supportive, calming and understood me. We settled on eggs with some pepper and greens with no dressing. She did mention, however, that if I wanted to return to coffee the next day with a little bit of cream or have a banana, I was allowed to. It was just the day of treatment where I needed to be super strict!
By the time 1pm rolled around, I was running out of water. I had to go to Rite Aid and buy more. I also ate a small piece of chocolate I bought. Here’s the thing guys: I wasn’t trying to OD on sweets and I actually don’t eat candy, but because of the drastic food change for the day, it hit me hard and my blood sugar was low. As soon as I ate a little, it lifted me up. That’s how bad I needed it!
By the time I got to my appointment, I filled out some paperwork and had a brief consultation about my goals. Then I went into the room and unchanged so that the doctor could measure me before and after by placing marker marks on my body.
Then it was into the red light therapy straps (or as I called it, the gurney) that lasted 25 minutes. There was calming music playing and I knocked out right away. I felt zero pain. In fact, it felt like a warmth from a sun ray, like when you go to the beach and sunbathe. Only difference is it was on targeted spots. They also couldn’t put the facial mask on because of COVID-19, but I was allowed to take one of the arm pads and use that for my chin/neck areas only. I did this on Session 3 because I wanted to see how both of my arms took the treatment on the first 2 sessions.
Afterwards, the doctor measured me again. I had lost 1/2 inch on each side of my arms, 1 inch on each upper leg and 1/2 inch on the abs/stomach area on each side, making it a total on 4 inches. I asked her if this was normal.
“Usually patients lose 2-3 inches in the first session. You lost 4,” she said. “Your body is definitely an overachiever!”
When I was done with the therapy, I had to go on a Whole Body Vibration Machine for 10 minutes for lymphatic drainage. It actually was kind of cool, funny and weird at the same time! You can check out the video of me vibrating on my Instagram page, ha ha! I was then given further instructions of what to eat, do after treatment, etc.
Back at home, I drank 4 more glasses of water over the next 2 hours and ate grilled chicken and veggies. I was so thrilled to be eating dinner! I also did the recommended 10 minutes of post-cardio, such as a brisk walk. The hardest part of the day was prepping your body for pre and post treatment. It made me cranky! Plus, the treatment (aka signal) stays “active” in your body for 15 hours, so that would’ve been 8:30am the following day. BTW, I noticed a slighter difference on my arm and stomach areas the next morning and a HUGE difference on my upper leg areas!
By the time 9pm came, I was feeling extremely tired. Again, I think it had to do with the fact that it was such a drastic food change and I think I possibly over hydrated on water. I had 24 glasses that day, which I read if you drank too much water in a day, it could affect your electrolyte level.
Session Two
For this session, I had a 1pm appointment. This was a lot easier for me probably because I had black coffee and began my 2 glasses of water an hour starting at 8am. I also had 2 Tablespoons of unsweetened apple sauce only because I still needed a slight sugar kick, plus apples are considered a low glycemic fruit. I had the same breakfast as last time, which were eggs with cracked pepper and mixed greens. I also did a little cardio before I left.
I don’t know why but I had to pee sooo bad by the time I got to my appointment, OMG! I immediately went into a room to begin my treatment and went on the vibrating machine afterwards. I was in and out within 45 minutes.
So of course, I had to keep drinking water to flush out the collapsed fat cells over the next few hours. Then my favorite part of the day: dinner. I had Chipotle with grilled chicken, cauliflower rice, black beans, romaine lettuce and fresh tomato/onion salsa. I also did some more cardio and strengthening
So the biggest difference I noticed was when I went out with my friends the next night. I had some wine and a Caesar salad with chicken. When I went to the bathroom, I noticed my stomach wasn’t as bloated after I ate. This made me very happy!
Session Three
I had another 1pm appointment and I finally got my routine down: 8 glasses of water between 8am-12pm, my black coffee, eggs and mixed greens. I didn’t even need to have a couple teaspoons of applesauce like I did last time…or so I thought…
This was also the session where I began using one of the arm pads for the chin area. Later back at home, I made myself a healthy stir fry with veggies and grilled chicken from TJs. Then I started craving some sugar. I had more applesauce and I felt much better afterwards!
Over the next 3 days, I exercised 2 of those days and also drank water. My appetite was still suppressed and I still noticed that I wasn’t bloating as bad, but I did notice that my skin still wasn’t tightening enough…at least not yet. The worst “snacks” that I had were some pecans, a few cheese and crackers, and a couple bananas. I also have protein bars that are 1g in sugar.
Wednesday was the worst day for me to move my body due to me having a huge work project that came in. I made sure I did extra cardio before I went to sleep!
Sessions Four, Five and Six
Again, for all of these sessions: glasses of water between 8am-12pm, my black coffee, eggs and mixed greens.
I did not notice much of a difference in inches lost in between sessions five and six, I do not know why? I will admit that I had very low amounts of sugar when I was done with my appointments, which consisted of a couple Goli Apple Cider Vinegar Gummies or a couple teaspoons of applesauce, but I really don’t think that is what impacted the treatments, if it did. On top of my already lifting and strengthening exercises, I also went on more walks in between all 3 of these sessions. I usually do some type of Chloe Ting cardio workout on YouTube, but decided on walks this time around the harbor.
You can see some of my awesome shots below. Again, no filter! This is how awesome the iPhone 12 ProMax is!
Session Seven
This was my most significant session because I was going to find out how many inches I had lost since the first session. After the remaining six sessions, I learned I had only lost 1 inch total everywhere. It was explained to me that my body probably got used to having the treatment on a continuous basis. So in total at that point, I had lost 5 inches since the first session.
After that, I anticipated that I would lose a total of 7-8 inches with all 13 sessions. I was beyond fine with that. The most important thing that made me happy was my bloating after eating a meal was significantly down and my skin was starting to tighten more, which was my main goal to begin with anyway.
I do not know why but I felt drained after that session. I ended up doing some light cardio once I got home, had some food and ended up vegging out the remainder of the night. I was in bed by 9pm.
Sessions Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve and Thirteen
I have to admit to you guys that although this has been a unique, fun and somewhat of an enjoyable experience, I was getting kind of sick and tired of the treatments after session 10. It’s not that I didn’t appreciate anyone or my decision, but it was starting to drain me a bit between drinking the water the day of, the 40 minute drive to and from, and overall just feeling restricted on a lot of things. Plus, sometimes the treatment left me feel tired and not as hungry for 1 – 2 days.
BUT! I did notice much more of a difference after session 9 all around and my skin tightening up even more when I did my exercises! So I am very happy with the progress and the goal I wanted to achieve, which was tightening the skin more.
By the time session 13 was done, we took my final measurements: I had lost a total of 6 inches. 3 3/4 inches on my arms, 1 3/4 inches on my stomach and 1/2 an inch on my arms. My arms did NOT take this treatment well at all! As far as my chin, it was not measured, but after 11 sessions, I do notice a difference.
Here are before and after shots of my stomach area only:
Before
After
Final Thoughts
Overall, I found this experience to be very worthwhile and eye-opening. I am very happy with the results and the encouragement I received from the staff. I am also still mostly a size 8 in pants – I would say between a size 7 and 8. Going forward, I just need to continue exercising and eating healthy (which I already do) and I was told that the results are permanent, but obviously, you can’t eat a ton of pizza or bad goods everyday or the weight WILL come back!
Would I recommend this to someone? Absolutely, if they are looking to achieve weight loss, collagen boosting, and/or skin tightening goals. Results also vary depending on the person. You need to do what is best for you! 🙂
