Fat Freeze

I'm 32 years old, 5'4" and 120 lbs. I workout 3 days a week (45 mins. of cardio and 25 mins. of weights) and I count calories (1100 - 1300 per day). I've always been a small person with a petite frame (I've even been underweight at times), but since my teenage years I've had a little bit of extra fat on my belly. As I've gotten older, the belly has gotten larger and hangs down over my pants when I sit. My love handles have accumulated fat, too, especially up high near my waist. I've never been pregnant, but it looks like I've had a kid or two. I'd like to get my body to the point where I feel comfortable wearing form-fitting tops again without having to amp up my exercise and diet routine. To be perfectly honest, restricting my caloric intake any more than I already do and working out every single day just isn't conducive to my lifestyle and happiness. Besides, when I was only 110 lbs, I still had the belly. So, after much deliberation and research, I decided to go for Coolsculpting by Zeltiq.

I had my lower abdomen done on Sept. 27 and am scheduled to have my love handles done on Oct. 8.

For my lower abdomen, the RN determined that the large applicator was too wide for me, so she used two medium applicators - one on the left side of my belly and the other on the right (not at the same time, but one after the other). That machine had no problem sucking up my fat, let me tell ya! The nurse said, "Wow! You are such a perfect candidate for this. You are filling up the whole cup!" haha, yep I got some pooch. Anyway, the procedure was painless. The only uncomfortable part was feeling like I couldn't breathe deeply or move much without tugging my skin. The gel pad thingy was pretty cold, too. I did feel the cold of the applicator for most of the procedure, but it didn't bother me at all. The only thing that was mildly painful was the massage the nurse gave my belly after the applicator was taken off both times. It felt kind of like menstrual cramps. OH, and I coughed once while the applicator was on the left side of my belly and that was quite painful, but it subsided.

I paid for my abdomen and love handles up front and it was only $1700 because the clinic was offering a discount for the month of September. Besides the big discount, I also feel like I got a good deal for the $$ by using two medium applicators on my belly instead of one large one because the second applicator overlapped places in the middle where the first applicator already hit, so I feel like I got treated twice in a sense, mostly around my belly button. It probably won't make a difference, but that's the rationale I'm telling myself to not feel too guilty for spending all that money ;o)

I've kept a written record of my recovery progress every day since the procedure. Basically, I've been numb, swollen, sore and a little itchy. It hasn't been very painful, just uncomfortable and annoying at times. I've even been able to keep up my workout routine without missing a beat. I've read a lot about people experiencing excruciating pain while recovering from Coolsculpting so I'll admit I was nervous. Thankfully, I wasn't one of the unlucky ones who got that severe nerve pain. The worst it got was on Days 6 and 7... I had sharp, shooting pains mostly around my belly button (no surprise there) and I used an ice pack to soothe it. The pain woke me up those two nights, but I was able to fall back asleep with the icepack. Today is Day 8 and I don't feel much pain at all.. Just mild nerve twinges here and there, and soreness when I push on it or bend over.

I'm looking forward to when the swelling goes down to at least where it was pre-procedure. I've been wearing baggy shirts to hide it, and all my pants are a little uncomfortable (I unbutton them when sitting down).

And I'm looking forward to having my love handles treated on Oct. 8. At that point I'll be "all done" and just waiting to see the results in a few months. The RN said that we'll be using the small applicator for the love handles.

I'm not going to post any before photos until I have some after photos to show, too. So, thanks for reading and I'll keep you all updated.