The Dubai “stone” is infamous here. Expats arrive and as they settle into their new lives, the pounds/kilos creep on. This happened to German expatriate Sonja Brix, and when added to post-baby weight, before she knew it her once svelte size 36/38 pre-pregnancy figure blossomed to a size 46! The photos tell the tale!
Sonja sought help from the BodySmart targeted body shaping team in The Meadows. She was keen to lose weight but wanted to do it steadily so that it would stay off – not just a quick fix solution. The trained BodySmart coaches, guided her through the process of HYPOXI, beginning with an assessment, body analysis and measuring parts of her body (arms, thighs, torso) to track progress.
Her coach recommended a series of 18x thirty minute sessions, three to four times a week on the HYPOXI stationary bike, having calculated Sonja’s optimum fat burning heart rate zone for best results. Sonja also followed the healthy eating recommendations: out went burgers, evening beverages and pizza, replaced by three balanced meals a day, and two healthy snacks in between. Sonja ate more vegetables, a small carb meal with salad and vegetables prior to sessions and no carbs for four hours after a HYPOXI session. She also upped her water intake to two plus litres a day to accelerate the elimination of fatty acids and toxins.
In three months Sonja lost 10 kilos. Her skin texture improved. Her legs were toned but she needed to tackle her middle. So she moved on to a series of HYPOXI Vacunaut treatments. Similar to a treadmill, Sonja wore a pressure suit made of airtight neoprene, which she admits took some getting used to. While she walked on the treadmill at a steady pace within her fat buring heart rate zone, the 122 vacuum chambers built into the suit alternated between negative and positive pressure, stimulating targeted fat burning on the stomach and hip area.
Sonja began to drop clothes sizes but still lacked muscle definition, so she incorporated PowerPlate routines, for a full body workout, that use gravity against body weight to develop strength, balance, flexibility and core stability.
In total Sonja lost 25 kilos (55lbs or 4 stone) – the equivalent of a holiday suitcase – and is now back to her pre-baby figure and couldn’t be happier. She enjoys her food and lifestyle but keeps her food portions in check and two or three times a year, she follows another course of HYPOXI and Powerplate to help her stay in shape. Even her husband follows a programme when all that corporate entertaining takes its toll.
Sonja says, “I could have lost the weight on my own, eating healthily and going to the gym, but having a booked appointment and knowing a coach was waiting for me gave me the discipline and encouragement I needed to stick to the programme. All the team were very helpful and supportive, and some of my friends are now also taking sessions.”