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https://workingwithgrace.wordpress.com/tag/beyond-beauty/
I’ve checked out 4 slimming centres – so which treatment is most effective?
Posted on October 30, 2012
21
Part One: How I lost 1.3kg in 2 days
[This post is Part Two] The previous post detailed my slimming treatments at Jean Yip and London Weight Management. I was subsequently on the lookout for a slimming centre which can do a body fat analysis using a machine instead of some consultant’s bare hands ( I really don’t want anyone else touching my tummy anymore), actually help trim away fat instead of inducing water loss, and have little to no hard-selling. Am I asking for too much? Hmm…
Here’s my experience at two other centres: Body Perfect and Beyond Beauty
3rd stop: Body Perfect, Tampines, 25th October 2012 (Thurs)
I’d bought a copy of Simply Her magazine and one of the vouchers given out entitled me to a complimentary session of SureSculpt Contouring at Body Perfect.
The Tampines outlet was a little difficult to locate – it’s near the carpark entrance to some building. I had to locate the DBS bank before I could find it.
It all started off pretty well. They actually did a muscle mass, fat mass, water mass, etc analysis for me using just one machine. I thought it was great! I trust that little printout from the machine more than any number of words a consultant spouts.
[I’m not showing you the ‘sensitive’ information :P ]
Then came the catch. Apparently, the contouring treatment will not be sufficient. I’ll have to top up another $38 ($40.66 with GST) for a fat burn treatment. The consultant said only those with an ideal weight would not have to go for the fat burn treatment and just the contouring would be enough. My argument was that no person with an ideal weight would go to a slimming centre, right? And if the fat burn treatment was so necessary, it should be included with the contouring treatment or clearly stated on the voucher. I gently turned her down.
So… I went for only the contouring treatment.
Once again, the transparent paper undies were given to me (I am so hating these now. Why can’t they provide colored undies? I’ve been to spas where black paper undies were handed out… It preserves one’s dignity(?) a little more? And I was also given what looks like a dishcloth or rag for me to wrap around my chest.
The consultant used a measuring tape to help take some tummy and hip measurements. I was impressed. This time, I can do a before-and-after comparison and see if their treatment is indeed effective.
Then a lady came in and wrapped my problem area (i.e. tummy) with what was perhaps 5 cold bandages, from which water/solution started to drip in a while. I was told to stand on a towel for 20 minutes. I could neither lie down nor sit. The bandages were wrapped around my waist tightly, like a corset of some sort. Thankfully, I had my iPad with me.
20 minutes later, the bandages were removed and measurements taken again. How many centimetres did I lose? It was a stunning…
Wait for it…
….
…
….
….
ZERO! :p
That’s right! The lady who removed the bandages also took the measurements for me and she was blushing slightly when she said there’s no change at all – I’d basically stood around for 20 minutes for nothing. (>_<) But I suppose it was still her rightful duty to ask if I’d like to sign up for one of their packages. The answer’s no.
At the very least, there was no hard-selling. Not much of any selling, in fact, except at the start. $38 was a small amount to pay but I didn’t like the fact that customers weren’t told upfront about it – that the SureSculpt contouring will not be effective without the fat burn treatment first.
Overall satisfaction with the experience: 2/5 – The people were nice enough – I quite liked them.
Overall satisfaction with the weight loss: 0/5 – I don’t think I lost any weight. And I definitely did not lose even a centimeter off my waist. (@_@)
~
4th stop: Beyond Beauty, Tampines, 29th October 2012 (Mon)
A friend of mine received some vouchers upon purchasing an insurance policy and she gave them to me. I decided to utilize the one from Beyond Beauty and try their ElectroSlim treatment. I think it’s most unfortunately named – I was slightly afraid something would go haywire and I’d get electrocuted. (@_@)
As mine’s a free treatment, I fully expected them to try to sell me something. But the consultant wasn’t pushy at all. She just mentioned that I can opt for their fat burn treatment as well, at a special price of $77 (‘cos it’s their 7th anniversary) instead of the usual $188 or so. [It was quite strange that the consultant was plump – she’s at least 1.5 times my size. And she never once said I’m fat (unlike at the other centres I visited) or I’d hand her a mirror.]
I said I’ll just try the ElectroSlim treatment and see how it goes.
Turns out, they are using a machine similar to the one at Jean Yip.
This time round, I got to keep my underwear on (no paper undies! yay!!!) and the treatment time was 20 minutes.
Electric pulses were used to target the fat around my belly and it felt both ticklish and like someone was kneading my belly. The consultant said my belly area will feel slightly numb after the treatment and that this is normal. Indeed, it felt as if the electric pulses would never go away, till just before I reached home.
After the treatment, I put on my clothes, retrieved my slippers from the shoe cabinet myself (there was no one around to assist me) and walked out to the reception, was asked to sign on the registration form and I was free to go. Wow. This place deserves top marks for the lack of hard-selling!
Strangely enough, though, no measurements were taken. They didn’t want to know my height or weight nor waist measurements. It was as if I’d just wanted a haircut. (@_@)
Overall satisfaction with the experience: 3/5 – They make me puzzled. No hard-selling at all? Seriously?! I’d even stated on the form that I’m a “tutor” and not a blogger so there was no reason why they’d not unleash their best salespeople on me. Hmmm. The treatment was pretty comfortable, I did not die from electrocution and I very nearly fell asleep too.
Overall satisfaction with the weight loss: 1/5 – There was NO measurement at all. As if they didn’t care whether I lost any weight or inches. But the treatment did FEEL effective. No way to be sure though.
~
Conclusion: I’ve visited 4 slimming centres (both the famous ones and the not so famous ones) and have only this to say – none of them offer the perfect solution to my problem.
My cousin, Janet, left a long comment on my first post [Thanks, cuz!] and generously shared about her slimming experience. If you missed it, here it is:
All these sound (ah…) so familiar. I’ve been duped repeatedly by slimming centres claiming this and that but after spending tens of thousands, nothing is lost except my hard earned money, precious time (yes, I could have spent it more meaningfully) and that all important self esteem (brutally bruised since young for being a fat girl). You can be sure that whatever is lost is water during such treatment. Actually, if you tried weighing yourself upon waking, after urinating, after drinking, after a meal and after (excuse me) poo-ing, there will be some weight difference. I even had 900 grams difference before and after I cleared my bowels. And, once you’re onto the programme, they’ll start you on a dieting plan. C’mon, we all could start to lose weight if we starve ourselves, couldn’t we. But who wants to keep starving? How is this sustainable? And why should we be starving to lose weight when their machines and treatments are supposed to do the trick? So, all these claims of one treatment and you’ll lose up to ? grams or kilograms are tricks they get to fleece more money out of us. Once you’re signed onto a package, before it ends, they’ll tell you about another new treatment or ask you to convert existing ones and top up another few grand to get the latest treatment. It’s purely preying on our deepest desire and bruised esteem of wanting so much to look slimmer. Ultimately, it’s really the diet and exercises, a change in lifestyle, that makes the difference. So, I hope your readers would stop wasting all that money, a lesson I’ve learnt after 20 years of spending it on slimming centres, diet programmes and diet pills.
So, what’s the secret to losing weight fast?
There’s liposuction, of course. But no secret.
You work out and eat right, and work out some more.
Having said that, I’m all for detox programmes. Sometimes, exercise can’t help if you have water retention issues or bloated-ness, for instance. I’ll be embarking on a 4-day fast next month to address these issues. And I’ll be glad to share the results so stay tuned to find out more.
*All my slimming endeavors thus far are not sponsored nor am I endorsed by these companies. Friends have asked if I’ll get into legal trouble for sharing these experiences on my blog but hey, I’m just stating the truth (what I liked and what I didn’t) in the hope that people don’t go for trials without knowing what they are getting into.
If you’ve found the two articles thus far useful to you, leave me a comment here or email me at gracewwg [at] gmail.com. Your constructive feedback gives me motivation to bring you even more.
I’ve checked out 4 slimming centres – so which treatment is most effective?
Posted on October 30, 2012
21
Part One: How I lost 1.3kg in 2 days
[This post is Part Two] The previous post detailed my slimming treatments at Jean Yip and London Weight Management. I was subsequently on the lookout for a slimming centre which can do a body fat analysis using a machine instead of some consultant’s bare hands ( I really don’t want anyone else touching my tummy anymore), actually help trim away fat instead of inducing water loss, and have little to no hard-selling. Am I asking for too much? Hmm…
Here’s my experience at two other centres: Body Perfect and Beyond Beauty
3rd stop: Body Perfect, Tampines, 25th October 2012 (Thurs)
I’d bought a copy of Simply Her magazine and one of the vouchers given out entitled me to a complimentary session of SureSculpt Contouring at Body Perfect.
The Tampines outlet was a little difficult to locate – it’s near the carpark entrance to some building. I had to locate the DBS bank before I could find it.
It all started off pretty well. They actually did a muscle mass, fat mass, water mass, etc analysis for me using just one machine. I thought it was great! I trust that little printout from the machine more than any number of words a consultant spouts.
[I’m not showing you the ‘sensitive’ information :P ]

Then came the catch. Apparently, the contouring treatment will not be sufficient. I’ll have to top up another $38 ($40.66 with GST) for a fat burn treatment. The consultant said only those with an ideal weight would not have to go for the fat burn treatment and just the contouring would be enough. My argument was that no person with an ideal weight would go to a slimming centre, right? And if the fat burn treatment was so necessary, it should be included with the contouring treatment or clearly stated on the voucher. I gently turned her down.
So… I went for only the contouring treatment.
Once again, the transparent paper undies were given to me (I am so hating these now. Why can’t they provide colored undies? I’ve been to spas where black paper undies were handed out… It preserves one’s dignity(?) a little more? And I was also given what looks like a dishcloth or rag for me to wrap around my chest.

The consultant used a measuring tape to help take some tummy and hip measurements. I was impressed. This time, I can do a before-and-after comparison and see if their treatment is indeed effective.
Then a lady came in and wrapped my problem area (i.e. tummy) with what was perhaps 5 cold bandages, from which water/solution started to drip in a while. I was told to stand on a towel for 20 minutes. I could neither lie down nor sit. The bandages were wrapped around my waist tightly, like a corset of some sort. Thankfully, I had my iPad with me.

20 minutes later, the bandages were removed and measurements taken again. How many centimetres did I lose? It was a stunning…
Wait for it…
….
…
….
….
ZERO! :p
That’s right! The lady who removed the bandages also took the measurements for me and she was blushing slightly when she said there’s no change at all – I’d basically stood around for 20 minutes for nothing. (>_<) But I suppose it was still her rightful duty to ask if I’d like to sign up for one of their packages. The answer’s no.
At the very least, there was no hard-selling. Not much of any selling, in fact, except at the start. $38 was a small amount to pay but I didn’t like the fact that customers weren’t told upfront about it – that the SureSculpt contouring will not be effective without the fat burn treatment first.
Overall satisfaction with the experience: 2/5 – The people were nice enough – I quite liked them.
Overall satisfaction with the weight loss: 0/5 – I don’t think I lost any weight. And I definitely did not lose even a centimeter off my waist. (@_@)
~
4th stop: Beyond Beauty, Tampines, 29th October 2012 (Mon)
A friend of mine received some vouchers upon purchasing an insurance policy and she gave them to me. I decided to utilize the one from Beyond Beauty and try their ElectroSlim treatment. I think it’s most unfortunately named – I was slightly afraid something would go haywire and I’d get electrocuted. (@_@)
As mine’s a free treatment, I fully expected them to try to sell me something. But the consultant wasn’t pushy at all. She just mentioned that I can opt for their fat burn treatment as well, at a special price of $77 (‘cos it’s their 7th anniversary) instead of the usual $188 or so. [It was quite strange that the consultant was plump – she’s at least 1.5 times my size. And she never once said I’m fat (unlike at the other centres I visited) or I’d hand her a mirror.]

I said I’ll just try the ElectroSlim treatment and see how it goes.
Turns out, they are using a machine similar to the one at Jean Yip.

This time round, I got to keep my underwear on (no paper undies! yay!!!) and the treatment time was 20 minutes.
Electric pulses were used to target the fat around my belly and it felt both ticklish and like someone was kneading my belly. The consultant said my belly area will feel slightly numb after the treatment and that this is normal. Indeed, it felt as if the electric pulses would never go away, till just before I reached home.
After the treatment, I put on my clothes, retrieved my slippers from the shoe cabinet myself (there was no one around to assist me) and walked out to the reception, was asked to sign on the registration form and I was free to go. Wow. This place deserves top marks for the lack of hard-selling!
Strangely enough, though, no measurements were taken. They didn’t want to know my height or weight nor waist measurements. It was as if I’d just wanted a haircut. (@_@)
Overall satisfaction with the experience: 3/5 – They make me puzzled. No hard-selling at all? Seriously?! I’d even stated on the form that I’m a “tutor” and not a blogger so there was no reason why they’d not unleash their best salespeople on me. Hmmm. The treatment was pretty comfortable, I did not die from electrocution and I very nearly fell asleep too.
Overall satisfaction with the weight loss: 1/5 – There was NO measurement at all. As if they didn’t care whether I lost any weight or inches. But the treatment did FEEL effective. No way to be sure though.
~
Conclusion: I’ve visited 4 slimming centres (both the famous ones and the not so famous ones) and have only this to say – none of them offer the perfect solution to my problem.
My cousin, Janet, left a long comment on my first post [Thanks, cuz!] and generously shared about her slimming experience. If you missed it, here it is:
All these sound (ah…) so familiar. I’ve been duped repeatedly by slimming centres claiming this and that but after spending tens of thousands, nothing is lost except my hard earned money, precious time (yes, I could have spent it more meaningfully) and that all important self esteem (brutally bruised since young for being a fat girl). You can be sure that whatever is lost is water during such treatment. Actually, if you tried weighing yourself upon waking, after urinating, after drinking, after a meal and after (excuse me) poo-ing, there will be some weight difference. I even had 900 grams difference before and after I cleared my bowels. And, once you’re onto the programme, they’ll start you on a dieting plan. C’mon, we all could start to lose weight if we starve ourselves, couldn’t we. But who wants to keep starving? How is this sustainable? And why should we be starving to lose weight when their machines and treatments are supposed to do the trick? So, all these claims of one treatment and you’ll lose up to ? grams or kilograms are tricks they get to fleece more money out of us. Once you’re signed onto a package, before it ends, they’ll tell you about another new treatment or ask you to convert existing ones and top up another few grand to get the latest treatment. It’s purely preying on our deepest desire and bruised esteem of wanting so much to look slimmer. Ultimately, it’s really the diet and exercises, a change in lifestyle, that makes the difference. So, I hope your readers would stop wasting all that money, a lesson I’ve learnt after 20 years of spending it on slimming centres, diet programmes and diet pills.
So, what’s the secret to losing weight fast?
There’s liposuction, of course. But no secret.
You work out and eat right, and work out some more.
Having said that, I’m all for detox programmes. Sometimes, exercise can’t help if you have water retention issues or bloated-ness, for instance. I’ll be embarking on a 4-day fast next month to address these issues. And I’ll be glad to share the results so stay tuned to find out more.

*All my slimming endeavors thus far are not sponsored nor am I endorsed by these companies. Friends have asked if I’ll get into legal trouble for sharing these experiences on my blog but hey, I’m just stating the truth (what I liked and what I didn’t) in the hope that people don’t go for trials without knowing what they are getting into.
If you’ve found the two articles thus far useful to you, leave me a comment here or email me at gracewwg [at] gmail.com. Your constructive feedback gives me motivation to bring you even more.
