The hunt for an effective fat-reduction solution has led me down several paths (and many a rabbit hole), besides the obvious exercise and diet. This time, it brought me to NU.U Aesthetics & Wellness Clinic. I was invited to try out truSculpt flex, the latest treatment they offer for body sculpting.
My treatment started in March this year and my chosen focus area was my mid-section. All that festive bingeing during Chinese New Year had left me with way more flab that I had cared for. Heard of the saying “abs are made in the kitchen”? So, have I, and I am very aware of that. They are first “made in the kitchen” and then sent for “post-production finesse” in the gym. Post Chinese New Year, I knew I had to work on both aspects to trim the mid-section flab, but I wanted to turbo-charge the process – healthily and safely, may I add – especially on the exercise portion. Enter truSculpt flex.
Before any treatment began, I first sat down for a consultation with the affable Dr Chew. There were questions on my personal medical and health history, plus lifestyle habits and treatment goals. The final assessment was that I was suited to undergo TruSculpt Flex.
After the initial body measurements were taken, I was led to the treatment room. Developed by CUTERA, the truSculpt flex machine comes with 16 treatment handpieces, each slightly larger than roughly the size of an AirPods charging case. This set of handpieces allows up to eight areas to be treated at the same time. Given that, I decided to try and “tone up” my arms as well (ahem, all in the name of science, mind you). The handpieces are created by CUTERA and they own the proprietary design. These handpieces are attached to the treated areas with truGel and form the conduit through which the electrical muscle stimulation is administered.
After the treatment pads are attached to my mid-section and arms, all that was left to do for me was to lie down and let the machine do its work. Not going to lie, the first couple of minutes felt WEIRD. Like W-E-I-R-D. The sensation of involuntary twitching felt out-of-this-world. I felt it most strongly in my arms as they began to raise themselves via the stimulation. I couldn’t help but think, “this must have been what Frankenstein felt when he was conjured to life”.
I raised my concern (oooh, pun alert) and was assured that the reaction was perfectly normal. I was told it would fade off quickly as the body gets used to the sensation. True enough, just a few minutes later, all I felt was the twisting motion during what CUTERA termed the Prep Mode. This is described as the mode designed to “warm up, stretch the muscles and slowly build a tolerance to muscle contractions”. What follows next are the Tone Mode and Sculpt Mode, respectively.
During the Tone Mode, the Multi-Directional Stimulation (MDS) delivered by the handpieces “contracts the muscles, holds it to the point of exhaustion, and then relaxes it to increase strength and enhance endurance”. It is important to note that the entire treatment is supervised, and you can request to reduce the MDS intensity (or increase it) to suit your personal preference.
The final phase is the Sculpt Mode. During this mode, the MDS delivers “fast, deep, sequential contractions of the muscles to build muscle mass and increase basal metabolic rate (BMR)”. At this stage, you should start to feel some soreness in your muscles that should be well tolerated. Don’t be surprised to see yourself sweating just like what your body would do during a workout. It was both rather embarrassing and satisfying to see that the protective sheet on the bed was drenched in my perspiration.
The entire treatment takes around 45 minutes and a recommended full treatment cycle would be to complete four treatments over two weeks. I noted a mild tingly sensation in the treated areas after the session was over which dissipated within the first hour post-treatment. My mid-section and arms felt “tight” like they would after a good workout. There was also no downtime as I could return to my daily activities. I would also add that there was this post-treatment endorphin rush not dissimilar to how one feels after exercising.
So, what about the results, you say? There was a definite immediate difference in terms of how my mid-section and arms felt. I could feel a slight but noticeable increase in strength in those areas. During the two-week treatment cycle, I could also feel my core feeling stronger and tighter. Dr Chew had shared that the maximum results show up eight to 12 weeks after the last session. I was lucky to have completed the four treatments before Phase 1 of the Circuit Breaker hit us in April. During that period, I tried to eat healthy and continued to keep up my weekly jogs. Since then, I have continued to see a visible difference especially in my mid-section and my shorts do fit looser too.
Here’s my final take on my truSculpt flex treatment at NU.U Aesthetics & Wellness Clinic, I would recommend this as a “last mile” quick boost to healthy (and busy) individuals who have a specific goal in mind, be it a defined mid-section, slimmer and stronger looking thighs/arms or just a perkier butt. This could really add intensity quickly to your exercise regime and speed up results for you. Other than regular exercise, the other key factor to note is to commit to a well-balanced and healthy diet. Remember this, exercise and truSculpt flex can certainly work together to build stronger muscles, and stronger muscles do burn fat more efficiently, but your muscles will not become visible while hidden under a layer of fat. Therefore, you would still need to eat well to win the other half of the battle against flab. And lastly, as with everything else in life, consistency is key to seeing results AND keeping them.