I have as many points of dissatisfaction with my body as there are stars in the night sky. Discontent with one’s self image seems to be a feminine curse. I recall, as a kid, finding my mother banging one hip against a bedroom wall, her face as solemn as a witness to a public hanging. “I’m breaking down fat deposits,” she explained matter-of-factly. “I read how to do it in a magazine.”
As my mother was shy of 100 lbs. at the time, I couldn’t imagine where the fat cells might be hiding; but as I’ve become older, through genetic coding, I grown a few cells of my own. The dented walls of my bedroom testify that I am my mother’s daughter. Unfortunately, the discipline worked for neither of us. I can’t speak for my mother, but over time, I’ve learned to live with fat cells, embracing them as my inheritance — except for one clump I’ve carried since infancy: my double chin. No amount of slapping my jaw or staring at pictures of Audrey Hepburn have made the deposits disappear.
When I was young and insecure, if a cute boy sat to my right or left so that I was seen in profile, I’d thrust out my lower jaw hoping the pouch would disappear. I don’t know if it worked as a side view, but my reflection head-on in a mirror convinced me I looked like Lon Chaney Jr. playing wolf man.
I didn’t need writer Fiorella Valdesolo to convince me that chin fat is, “’metabolically resistant’ being fibrous and stubborn, making it a poor candidate for liposuction.“ (“Chin Up,” Town&Country, September 2015 pg. 162,) But I’m glad to know a fix is in the wings — if one doesn’t mind bruising and swelling and is willing to pay a high price for suffering. Kygella, is a series of fat dissolving injections made from a synthetic copy of the body’s natural substance for processing fat. After 20 injections, the effect is permanent, though Valdesolo warns treatments require a medical expert because the area under the chin houses glands and nerves which could be negatively affected.
Even if I were rich, at this at this stage in my life I wouldn’t be tempted to try Kygella. I sag in too many other places. A tight jaw line would look absurd. Besides, I’m thinking If two heads are better than one, why not two chins?
(Oringally posted 10/9/15)
Courtesy of www.levland.net
