Mia's Update: Chinese Medical Centre (CMC Slimming)

Last year, I've decided to give TCM slimming a try after reading up so many raves and reviews on them via the now defunct Flowerpod forum. My company gives cash benefits for TCM slimming, so why not? :)

So out of convenience sake, instead of the handful highly recommended by podders, I decided to try out CMC at one of their branches around my neighbourhood. 

I first took up 10 sessions of half body tui na massage (with FOC body wrapping) and full body acupuncture at $1000, with each session lasting about 1.5 to 2 hrs. Yup, so it's about $100 per session, which I admit is pretty pricey and I'll probably not sign the package without my company's cash benefits. But with more sessions taken, it can get as cheap as $2900 for 40 sessions (which is what I'm on now, since my package lapse over two years I can claim twice and I only needa fork out less than $1000 from my own pocket eventually) and the consultant was really nice to state it as just $1000 for 10 sessions first, just in case TCM slimming doesn't work for me. Yes, TCM slimming doesn't work for everybody. Some may see really quick results, some slower, some none. I'll say mine is pretty 'slow and steady'? 

I started off weighing almost 65kg (BMI of 22.5) on the scale, with body fat of almost 31% and muscle content at roughly the same (yikes!) After completing my 12th session earlier today, I stepped onto my scale again and this is what I measured, just mere minutes ago.

Weight: 60.7kg

Body fat: 28% (not low enough to hit my target, but stated healthy)

Muscle content: 32.5% 

BMI: 21

Let's get on to their treatment procedure. :)

First up, I usually start off with the tui na massage on my legs (because that's my main problematic area). My therapist will use a combination of her hands to do acupoints massage, then a prickly toothed massage brush to add up the 'power'. Her usual routine also includes cupping (ba guan), and yi guan (which is to keep moving the cup around my main problematic areas (which happens to be the outer sides of my thighs, which according to her is 'blocked'). It started off really painful, especially yi guan and I always leave the centre with horrible dark purplish blue bruises on my legs. And there was once she did gua sha on this particular stubbornly blocked spot and I ended up looking like I was whipped. =.=" 

But now tui na is a breeze, almost an enjoyable body massage, even with cupping and yi guan. I guess that shows that my body toxin has indeed reduced greatly and there's hardly any visible bruises from the cupping as well. 

And after the tui na is done, my therapist will wrap me up with some cling wrap and put me under the 'air-squish' body slimming machine. It's like those old-school blood pressure meter, whereby they wrap a air-pac blanket around you and connect it to an air-pump machine and periodically pump and suck air out of it. This is usually the time when I doze off for that 20 minutes or so. 

And after that comes the part I've grown to dread. Acupuncture. T.T

I was never afraid of needles, and I've tried acupuncture for my frequent headaches and gastric since young. Never felt pain from them either, until I found CMC. 

Unlike my previous experience with other TCM doctors, who smack the needles in with lightning quick hands, this doctor at CMC slowly twist-push them in, and the point IS to let you feel that electric shock-like pain. Because if you feel nothing, it's not going to work.

FML.

It started off with just 7 needles into my tummy and 5 into each of my legs, which is 17 needles in. And as the sessions progressed, I've now lost count of the needles he put in. But there's now 3 on each of my arms, about 9 on my tummy, and 7 on each of my legs. And after enduring the pain of having the needles going in, he'll attach on mild electric current and let the needles 'jump' a few hundred times per minute for that 45 minutes straight. Urgh, pure torture but for the sake of beauty, what else but to tolerate? :(

For more information, visit CMC's website HERE

Till then,

Mia