Spa soothes the weight away

After giving birth, Elizabeth Ayoti got an undesirable potbelly and she wanted a safe and effective solution to the problem but she did not find anything impressive. That is what inspired her to start Slim Therapy, writes MAUREEN AKINYI

What is Slim Therapy?

It is a slimming spa where we use electronic muscle stimulation (a slimming machine) to simulate muscles to perform normal exercise. It is a weight losing cum beauty and health spa. We do cosmetic slimming, beauty and massage treatments and sell beauty products.

Elizabeth (second right) poses with the lovely beauticians at their offices in Westlands.

What inspired the idea?

After giving birth to my first born, I got a bulging potbelly and love handles that were dreadful. I wanted a safe and effective solution to this undesirable belly but I did not find anything impressive.

As I was doing my research on the Internet, I stumbled upon electro-therapy slimming. I took a loan and used my savings to import the machines. I started the programme last year.

How does the electro therapy machine work?

The machine works your muscles in the same way you would do if you were doing conventional exercise. Nothing is radiated into your body or ingested.
It is more beneficial than normal exercise because it is more focused.

For instance, if you want to lose a few inches around your tummy that is what we concentrate on. It gives much faster results than a gym as one can lose between five to ten kilos per month.

Basically, the machine imitates crunches, sit-ups and leg ups. The difference between the machine and normal exercise is that the machine does the moves at a more rapid rate, (approximately 1,200 sit ups per hour). There is also no harm in combining this treatment with gym exercises.

Is everyone allowed to do the therapy? Any risks side effects?

Pregnant women and those with heart problems are discouraged from enrolling for this programme.

Any added advantage of using the therapy?

We a give a holistic approach to the weight loss by combining it with a rich diet plan that raises your metabolism and reduces your fat intake.

Did you train in this?

No. I am an Electrical Engineer and I still practise engineering. This skill and knowledge is my own effort. I did my own research on the most effective ways to lose weight through electrotherapy and also consulted widely.

Any challenges you faced starting out?

First, importing the equipment was expensive. Then the programme is still new. People are yet to fully embrace it as a safe and fast alternative to gym. We still need to do a lot of marketing.

For now we are using word of mouth. There is also a fairly large untapped male market that needs marketing geared towards their needs.

How are clients receiving the therapy?

I think we are on the right track. So far we have had over 100 women and 20 men who are our regular clients. I have employed professionals — four beauticians and one customer care representative to give clients a wholesome therapy. I have expanded to four machines, because we anticipate growth in the coming months.

How different is your programme from other weight loss programmes?

Sometimes I am at a loss on whether to call this place a spa or boot camp.

Despite the fact that weight loss here is done while you lie down, relax, sleep, read, browse or chat to a friend, we are serious about weight loss. We love it when clients get results.

Weight loss is big business in Kenya. How can a desperate woman tell a quack from a professional?

Here, we try and provide proof of our success. We keep extensive data of our clients weight loss progress; so that when we get a new client we show them other people testimonies.

We also encourage our clients to meet each other and share experiences. We inquire about a client’s health history so that we can advise on the best way to effectively lose weight.

If we have doubts, we refer them back to their personal doctor for further recommendation.

What advise would you give a woman obsessed with weight loss?

First, lifestyle change is a must. Most of our clients confess that they do not watch what they eat or are have sedentary lifestyles.

What diet should one take when under your programme?

A low carb and high protein diet. It raises your metabolism. When you enrol for the programme, you are given a diet plan and advised on how it works.

How long does one take before they start seeing results?

Results vary with age, metabolism, how consistent you are with the sessions, and how well you follow the diet plan.

Younger clients and those with high metabolism can see their results within a week. Older clients (40 and above) or those with a slower metabolism take two to three weeks to see results.

What are some of your success stories?

Daisy’s story is one of courage and determination. She came to us and we enrolled her in our programme. In the first month, she lost four kilos.

She then confessed to me that she wasn’t following the diet seriously.

I counselled her and she stuck to our plan. The next month she lost ten kilos. She was ecstatic!

We’ve had a nursery school teacher, aged 40, who told me she just wanted to be able to interact with the energetic toddlers.

She managed to shed off eight kilos and lost six inches on her waistline in a month and a half.

What are some of the weight loss mistakes women make?

The most common is crash dieting. Besides being bad for your health, it is ineffective because as you reduce your food intake to lose weight, your body put itself on ‘famine alert’. It gets the impression that food is scarce and therefore it slows down your metabolism.

How affordable are your services?

Our prices are quite competitive. We offer three packages on a monthly basis: Everyday sessions for a month (Sunday to Sunday) Sh12,000, weekdays sessions for a month Sh10,000 (Monday to Friday) and weekend sessions for a month (Saturday and Sunday) Sh7,500. The results are guaranteed.

We are located at Maina House, off Westlands Road, Nairobi.