A new medical device developed in Israel uses low-dose ultrasound to help you shed body fat and sizes, exactly where you want to.

A butt like Beyonce’s and inches of flab shaved off your thighs is the dream come true that Israeli company Bella Contour hopes to supply. It’s the maker of the only medically approved device in the US that uses low dose ultrasound to stimulate fat reserves in those hard-to-lose areas. It helps those already on the road to weight loss to shed a few extra sizes.

Tackling skin reserves after a gastric bypass and flabby tummies after pregnancy, or smoothing out cellulite, are just a few reasons why American women appeared on the TV show Great Day Houston praising the Bella Contour.

The device, approved by the FDA for safety, allows “you and not your body to decide where body fat is going to go,” explains Dr. Robin Owen on the show. While it can’t be used as a substitute for diet and exercising, the Bella Contour can be “a jumpstart after a couple of weeks,” to “already see results from exercise,” he says.

Bella Contour is an ultrasound therapy and muscle stimulator system developed specifically for aesthetic treatment.

Losing weight doesn’t always make people happy right away. For women, often the first pounds fall from the face and breasts, while the “tire” in the middle of the stomach tends to hang around. As time goes on, says Tal Ben Ari, the company’s global marketing manager, “it bothers them when their face looks different – especially in the first month or two.”

You choose where to shed those pounds

Being able to choose where to shed those pounds “gives a lot more satisfaction,” she tells ISRAEL21c, explaining that the system the device is based on can steer the body to use fat, rather than carbohydrates, as its first energy source. That way, she says, the Bella Contour not only helps you to determine where to lose fat, but can also help you to lose it faster.

The company has the FDA stamp of approval for its technology, which involves using a low frequency and intensity ultrasound that focuses on delivering sound waves to skin cells.

The product’s website explains that the machine’s “micro-massage action generates an optimal acceleration of blood flow which causes a fundamental improvement in the structure and aesthetic appearance of the layers of the skin and its tissue.”

This, they say, translates into improved body contours, improved skin quality and complexion, and reduction and visual improvement of stretch marks.

Indeed, testimonials and documented cases claim an average reduction of body circumference of half an inch per treatment session, culminating in a total reduction of 2.5-3 inches.

Where hot bodies are a national priority

At $300 on average, a one-hour session with the Bella Contour doesn’t come cheap. While treatment length and results may vary, most people say that 10 to 15 sessions give noticeable results.

Founded in 2004 by Ilan Pribar, an Israeli university graduate with an MA in engineering, the 10-person company located in Jerusalem started out working with global distributors in countries like Brazil and Argentina – where hot bodies are a national priority. The company is now breaking into the American market as well, and has sold about 25 units in the State of Texas, each costing about $100,000.

The devices are being purchased by facilities that specialize in weight loss and by aesthetics centers seeking body toning solutions.

Ben Ari joined the company after seeing the Bella Contour in action in a beauty center in Israel. “I saw it working live on clients, I got interested and started researching for more information and now I am the main trainer globally,” Ben Ari tells ISRAEL21c.

Unlike traditional weight loss, where you only see results after a person loses around 20 pounds, Bella Contour results are visible early on, says Ben Ari. I was amazed [with the results],” she explains. “You could see only one or two kilos [2.20-4.40 pounds] drop on the scale, but people were losing sizes in pants, shirts and belts, and this is something I now see all over the world.”

Teaching the body to burn fat first

The company reports that according to research from Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem, affiliated with the Hebrew University, scientists Dr. Shachar Nice and Dr. Na’ama Constantini could demonstrate that the Bella Contour “changes metabolic fuel when doing treatment on a person trying to lose weight.”

A mini study has been completed by the scientists who are about to release the results of a larger study.

Instead of allowing the body to choose to burn glucose and carbohydrates as its initial energy source – that which is burned in the first part of a workout – the Bella Contour works to release fat cells from the reticular tissue where it is stored, so that it is more readily available to be burned off as fuel. “When we are doing a lower abdomen [treatment],” explains Ben Ari “we are releasing fat from that area.”

The Bella Contour can’t impact the body to stop using glucose, so she recommends that those receiving treatments eat fewer foods containing sugars and carbs.

Next up to check out Bella Contour treatments are body-conscious men and women in New York.