After years of trying different diet and exercise options, I was finally at my ideal weight. The only problem was that there were still some love handles, and I was unhappy with the bulkiness of my inner thighs and rear. I was doing crunches three times a day and I was jogging, but nothing was helping me get rid of the love handles and problem areas. It was so embarrassing when summer came around, and I had to wear t-shirts at the pool and beach to cover up my fatty areas.

To be honest with you, I have never been one for cosmetic surgery. Never in a million years would I let someone surgically alter my body. The thought of liposuction repulsed me. I had seen television programs about liposuction, and the agony that the people seemed to go through made it even less appealing.

One day, however, I was watching a television show on medical breakthroughs, and they were discussing an FDA-approved alternative to liposuction. It was called laserlipolysis, but most people called it SmartLipo. That show got me really interested in how you can sculpt your body without torturing yourself.

The research began. I looked on the internet and learned as much as I could about SmartLipo. There was so much that I didn't know, like the fact that the human body has a finite amount of fat cells, and that once they are removed, you cannot get fat in that area anymore. That means that if I have my love handles sculpted down, they would never come back! I was definitely listening.

When traditional liposuction is performed, the doctor has to move a tube called a cannula around in the site where you want the fat removed in order to vacuum out unwanted fat. SmartLipo, however, uses a laser beam that melts the fat down into liquid that exits the body through the spot where the cannula is inserted.

An added bonus that comes from using the laser to melt the fat is that the heat from the laser makes the skin generate collagen as a response to the heat. Many times, people pay just to have collagen injected to make their skin firmer and tighter. SmartLipo actually makes the body produce its own firming collagen, and it continues to do so for up to three months after the procedure is completed.

Another thing that prevented me from ever considering liposuction was just how invasive and traumatic it seemed to be. Excess skin flaps and painful bruising under the skin and compression bandages for up to six weeks all just seemed to be too much - especially considering how expensive the surgery is and that I would have to be away from work.

Patients who had undergone the SmartLipo procedure said they were back at work within two days. Many patients said they were actually feeling well enough to go back the following day. Bandages only had to be worn for a couple weeks, if at all, and there were no stitches or anything visible. I could go on about my life, and no one ever had to know I had lipo.

I was sold on the whole idea of SmartLipo. The day finally came for my treatment, and although I was nervous, everything I had seen and heard allayed my fears of going under the knife. I was prepped and given a local anesthetic. I was able to stand through parts of the procedure so that the doctor could ensure symmetry. Within a couple of hours, I was on my way home. I could not believe how effortless it all seemed to be. Everything that I had read about SmartLipo turned out to be true, and I no longer had the love handles.

I feel so much better about myself, and I no longer feel embarrassed when I go to the beach. After trying everything else, I am so happy that SmartLipo was developed. If you are thinking about liposuction, then you should definitely consider SmartLipo. I am so happy that I did.