Diet and exercise: losing weight has always come down to these two demons. Eat less and exercise more is what they say but it's not always as easy as it sounds, especially when the fat you want to lose is specifically in the lower body: hips, bums, tums and thighs.
Hypoxi machines are a one-of-a-kind, exercise bike within a pressure chamber. Whilst gently cycling a vacuum therapy system stimulates blood supply to the stubborn fat areas resulting in targeted fat loss from the desired areas. This is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to achieve with conventional exercise. Hypoxi is scientifically proven to burn up to 5 times more stubborn fat than exercise with results that last.
Hypoxi fan, Cheryl Cole said it’s helped her lose those “pouchy bits on the inside of my thighs.” And Cheryl’s not the only one. Other fans of Hypoxi include Jordan, Peter Andre, Robbie Williams, Simon Cowell, Tamzin Outhwaite, Caprice, Anna Friel, Danielle Lloyd, Bianca Gascoigne and Javine Hylton.
But whilst it’s all well and good marvelling at Cheryl Cole's results, as possibly the tiniest member of Girls Aloud, it's not as though she really had anything to shift, did she?
Unlike Cheryl, Confidential's own resident thigh-obsessor, Sally Carr, is stuck behind a desk for most of the day followed by lazy evenings eating, drinking and relaxing with her partner. They do say a good relationship can make you a bit too comfortable and at the age of 29, Sally decided she wanted to make changes to avoid being 30 and fat.
Since noticing that even her Wii Mii had grown a belly, Confidential sent Sally off to try a course of the celebrity-favoured Hypoxi Therapy at Hypoxi Tone in Cheadle, to find out if a real woman can get real results...
Diary: Week One - April 14
I’m not very well organised. Someone once told me, make sure you wear matching underwear in case you get run over by a bus. First trip to Hypoxi Tone and I totally forgot this. Extremely off-white, fraying g-string (not my normal choice of underwear by the way). On top of this I didn’t take loose fitting / thin trousers, despite being told beforehand, but thankfully there were supplies.
Vital statistics were taken along with the ‘before’ pictures. Ready to go, I wriggled into my skirt (neoprene skirt or vacuum blanket) and mounted the bike in the egg. Started cycling at a leisurely pace ensuring my heart rate was in the optimum zone for fat burning and then the vacuum started. Bizarre feeling! The vacuum was strong, but strangely comfortable. Also felt odd not having to peddle at a frantic pace like in a spinning class as all that is required for the therapy to work is a gentle cycling motion. 
30 minutes later I was done and hadn’t even broken into a sweat. Psychologically this felt odd as physically you’re not sweating and gasping for water so it didn’t feel like I had actually done anything. Must be persistent though!
Diary: Week Two – April 20
A few sessions have gone by and I’m happy to say I’m now very at home in the egg, wind tunnel.
End of the second week, and I’m seeing the reduction in cellulite. I’ve lost the bulk that makes you feel bloated and heavy, but the best improvement is my bum. It’s got more shape, is lifted and less dimpled. I’m starting to like who I see in the mirror.
When you first start with Hypoxi you do have to make a commitment to four-week course of three sessions per week, but hey you will get quick results, and burn stubborn fat, so a little commitment is nothing to achieve this.
Diary: Week Three – April 27
I’ve moved into this week feeling positive because of last weeks results.. I also decided I wasn’t going to let the fact that it was a Bank Holiday weekend throw me off course.
For the first session of the week I needed a new Hypoxi skirt as my first one was letting out air and making “those” noises, which tells me that I was losing fat around my waist because the vacuum skirt is now too big for me. Yes!
I had managed to do all my sessions in the week so had the Bank Holiday free. Whilst I was relatively free to eat what I wanted on my days off I didn’t want to let myself down so I ate well, watched the portion control along with doing a little bit of exercise.
Diary: Week Four
Should have been my final week but missed as too busy to fit in sessions. Everyone has their off days I guess. I’ll get back on track next week.
Diary: Week Five – May 10
My final week and starting to feel anxious about my results despite fitting into trousers I last wore two years ago, pre-relationship bulge. This week I also did the Hypoxi trainer and Hypoxi dermology. This is based on the Chinese cupping: very gentle but 200 times more intense and is perfect for firming, toning, and smoothing skin plus boosting the metabolism. Once inside the suit and lying on the bed a number of leads were attached to suck out the air and then the activation chambers began. The treatment was very relaxing and the best bit was the massage on the buttocks as I could really feel it working in this area. All I needed to do was lay back and relax, followed by 30 minutes of gentle cycling on the Hypoxi trainer.
Diary: Final Thoughts
The whole experience was surreal. Where can you go to target stubborn areas (stomach, waist, legs, bum and cellulite) train in your pyjamas, do light exercise for 30 minutes and walk out without a show and carry on as normal whilst the therapy continues to burn off the stubborn fat for many hours after a session?!
The area with the most improvement was definitely my waist. It’s more streamlined and tapered. My muffin top’s pretty non-existent. Secondly my bum is more defined with less orange peel. I can also see a difference to the knee and thigh area.
Since finishing I am still seeing the benefits. I’m eating healthy along with doing regular exercise but Hypoxi is what has given me a head start. It has changed my body shape and inspired me to maintain it. I was delighted to see my before and after photos as you can really see a visible difference. The proof is in the lack of pudding. See for yourself!
Sally lost a total of 12 inches from 7 areas of her lower body, which were:
Stomach 5cm
Waist 4.5cm
Hips 5cm
Max bum 4cm
Bum 3.5cm
Thighs 4cm (2cm off each leg)
Knee area 4cm (2cm off each leg)
Sally’s course of Hypoxi therapy was carried out at Hypoxi Tone which is located at 5 Massie Street, Cheadle, SK8 1BW. For more information simply click here.
