These days, not only actors but everyone can benefit from surgical enhancements—and in any region of the body. Cosmetic dentistry is responsible for the large number of sparkling, white smiles and perfectly straight teeth—or shall we say “veneers”–that seem so much more common now than they did 10 years ago. People can get minor procedures like a forehead lift to decrease wrinkles, but some cosmetic procedures also benefit patients’ feelings of physical comfort and well-being. Surprisingly, some of the most life-changing cosmetic procedures are also the most discreet.

Many surgical enhancements are visible to everyone; however, many are extremely private. Individuals who have their teeth whitened want the world to see their sparkling pearly whites. However, there are also people who want surgery in more private regions of the body for a number of reasons. First, women can experience physical effects of aging and childbirth that sometimes result not only in sagging skin, but even internal “sagging” called prolapse in which the pelvic muscles are damaged. When these muscles are weakened, organs sink—with this can come pain, urinary incontinence, and a host of other issues, some of which, though not fatal, can seriously impact the quality of a woman’s life if left uncorrected. There are surgical procedures that can mend conditions like these. Of course, there are also procedures that women can do to beautify their bust and nether regions as well!

The benefits of plastic surgery often include elimination of pain or discomfort, enhanced sense of well-being, increased self-confidence, and even improved sexual sensations from procedures, such as vaginal cosmetic surgery. Anyone considering plastic surgery should be sure to go with a reputable surgeon who has verifiable credentials and a long list of satisfied clients.

Studies show a link between obesity and lack of sleep. Now, I read just as many articles on losing weight as the next guy (or girl), and let’s face it—they tend to say the same things over and over. However, one article I read a few years ago was different. How? Well, for one it didn’t touch on the topics of calories or exercise. For another, it involved a holistic approach to health that actually can seriously impact an individual’s weight whether or not the person makes a concentrated effort to diet. It isn’t going to solve the epidemic of obesity—but it could make a difference that shows up on the scale.

Studies are showing a link between sleep and weight gain. People who don’t get enough sleep gain weight. People who do get enough sleep have an easier time regulating their caloric intake. There are physiological reasons behind this. There are two phases of sleep, REM (Rapid Eye Movement) during which an individual dreams and maintains a lighter level of sleep. The next level is non-REM sleep, which has four phases, the last two of which are deeper phases of sleep when the body releases regulatory and restorative hormones. Leptin and Grehlin are hormones that help the body control appetite and weight gain and loss. Leptin suppresses appetite, while Grehlin increases appetite and may prevent a person from losing weight.

When lack of sleep becomes a chronic problem, levels of Grehlin increases, causing greater appetite, and levels of Leptin decrease. As more and more studies indicate a link between these hormones and obesity, it seems more and more certain to scientists that sleep deprivation causes weight gain, or at the very least, worsens it.

So, if you want to lose a few pounds, and you are only sleeping five or six hours a night—as a first step, try making sure you get at least eight hours of sleep a night. It may not turn you into an underweight Barbie overnight—but it may jumpstart your efforts and benefit you in surprising ways. For those who have more serious challenges, consider contacting a professional center for medical weightless where you can learn additional, practical, life-changing tips and habits.

Do you know what I love? Discovering that I can afford luxurious things. I recently visited a tanning salon and spa—and guess what—it was completely affordable. Do you know how excited I am about this? Well, if you could see how hot I look right now, you would understand. Sorry—that sounds immodest. But it’s true–tans make people look attractive, thin, and healthy—and that’s exactly the effect this visit had on me!

For over a year, one of my close friends has been going to this salon called Planet Beach. They recently had a special (which they are still having); my friend gave me a coupon, and I finally went for a visit. My only regret—I should have done this much sooner. Planet Beach is the largest spa franchise in the world—they have 360 locations. You can tell because they clearly know what they’re doing. They have really state-of-the-art equipment and tanning methods like Mystic Tan (spray-on tan). I visited the location nearest my current humble abode in West LA. For readers in my area, this branch is located at 12203 Santa Monica Blvd. It is one block west of Bundy Dr. in the heart of West L.A. They have three levels of free parking.

So, I walk in and sense they must be doing aromatherapy—the place not only looks, but also smells exquisite. The attendant was really polite and told me about the different tanning beds: lay-down, stand-up, and the one I finally chose–the massage bed. Do you have any idea how nice it feels to lie down on a massage bed? If not, suffice to say you really should give it a try. My skin is still tingling. They also offer facials, skin care, and hydration therapy there. I am going to try each service.
If you want to try out any of these services, now is the time. The salon I visited is offering 3 Free Tans or 1 Free Spa Session. Coupons can be printed at http://www.westlatanning.com/coupons.html. I truly recommend it–I am so glad I visited!

Everyone wants to have the kind of perfect skin that they see on TV and in magazines day in and day out. Even though most people know that makeup, lighting, and airbrushing are actually responsible, it can still seem like we’re being inundated with perfection, brining our own flaws to the forefront of our minds. While it’s important to remain realistic about what we can expect from our bodies and ourselves, the fact remains that the beauty industry is a massive one as women like us (and men as well) try to reach for the unattainable, or at least be the most beautiful that we can be.

With so many skin care options available, it can seem impossible to narrow down the possibilities to the ones that are worth trying and buying. One new line that we feel looks promising is Skin by Monica. What makes this skin solution stand out from the rest of the pack? The line was founded by model Monica Olsen — who better to know what your face needs than someone who makes a living off of hers? The aim of the line is to provide the best nature has to offer and incorporate the latest scientific advances. You can check out all of the products in the line and learn more about Monica’s philosophy for skincare by visiting skinbymonica.com. Maybe you can’t achieve the flawless features of your favorite model or actor, but it doesn’t hurt to take care of your skin and put your best face forward.

With all the chocolates, cookies, and fine meals, it’s a wonder anyone manages to enter the New Year without the need to buy a whole new wardrobe! Fortunately, it seems that with each holiday season come numerous articles on tips for eating lightly at parties, exercising the right way, and holiday recipes for the weight-conscious home chef.

For candidates who are serious about weight-loss goals, it seems that options for methods, procedures, and guides are endless. While it can be unfortunate that society is so focused on weight, one of the upsides is that there is a health center, book, and weight loss professional for everyone—no matter what the weight-loss goal, specific needs, or budget of the individual.

Many women and men these days are looking to holistic methods for overall health, as well as weight loss. As holistic and alternative therapies gain popularity, acupuncture and laser therapies are increasingly used to help patients lose weight. One time-tested weight loss procedure that is gaining popularity combines alternative approaches by stimulating acupuncture points in the ear. The method has been shown to be 84% to 95% effective allowing for variables in the studies. Centers for holistic approaches to health and wellness, such as ALPS Medical Center in Los Angeles, offer this procedure. ALPS is run by Dr. Abraham Ishaaya, who is not only the Medical Director there but also teaches residents and fellows at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, which is part of the UCLA School of Medicine. Treatments take 20-30 minutes and are done over a three to six-week period.

With credentials and results like these, the method is bound to attract ongoing attention in the coming years. Hopefully methods like this will eventually make weight loss easier and more natural for individuals everywhere.

On October 29, 2008, a 26-year-old young woman named Kinjal Shah committed suicide in Ahmedabad, India by hanging herself from a ceiling fan. She left a suicide note behind telling her husband of 7 years, Shailesh Shah,  “I could not stand the debts you had to face. You can sell my ornaments and pay them off.”

It’s tragic that Kinjal Shah felt so hopelessly desperate about her and her husband’s money problems that she ended her life. It’s not easy to deal with money problems, particularly when faced with situations where you have debt to pay and the people you owe money to are making demands for their money every day. It really is enough to drive people to suicide as Kinjal Shah proved Monday.

If you’re facing a personal financial crisis and find yourself fantasizing about suicide, think of what Shailesh Shah must be going through right now. Kinjal Shah might have removed herself from the problem but she has left her husband to deal with it by himself. Yes, it’s frightening when you’re faced with debt and no means by which to pay your debts. It’s scary and you feel desperate to escape; but consider the people you’re going to leave behind when you start to think about killing yourself. Imagine what they are going to be going through having to deal with your suicide while at the same time dealing with the financial problems you’ve killed yourself to escape.

This is a time for you to be strengthening your mind and nurturing your body so that you can have the energy to battle your crisis and the clarity to come up with viable solutions. Meditate, take walks, exercise, eat nutritious foods, pray if that is something you do; find a way to solve your problem that doesn’t involve killing yourself and leaving your family to deal with it, or killing your family then killing yourself.

Note: Ahmedabad is reported by Wikipedia to be the largest city in the state of Gujarat in India. The city has a population of 4.5 million.

Image: hanging by my neck by Katie Dureault via Flickr

The headline reads Got an STD? Inform Your Partners by E-Card. The ecard service is provided by InSpot, a website project developed by Internet Sexuality Information Services, Inc. (I.S.I.S). The organization claims to be dedicated to “developing and using Internet technologies to prevent disease transmission and enhance the sexual well-being of individuals and communities”; but is an ecard an appropriate way to tell someone you might have exposed them to a sexually transmitted disease?

If you received an ecard that read “No one wants to be the bearer of bad news…but I got diagnosed with STDs (You might have one, too),” would you feel gratitude toward the sender for at least letting you know? Telling someone you might have exposed them to an STD via an ecard seems a little bit cowardly and almost borders on cruel.
Read more…

Do you believe that you deserve to be happy? Do you believe that you deserve to feel good in your skin? Then, if you haven’t done anything healthy for your mind and your body today, get up right this very minute as I’m about to do and spend an hour on yourself. Not five minutes, or ten minutes, twenty or thirty minutes. If you can, and I know some of you won’t be able to because life does not always allow it;  but if you can, go to a room where you’re going to be alone and spend the next hour on meditation.

You don’t have to know yoga or any other type of formal mediation. Just do your own stuff. Stretch your limbs. Don’t exercise (unless you prefer to do that). This is not about losing weight or toning your body or any of that stuff. It’s about clearing your mind and giving your body a little bit of relief from that pent up stress and anxiety.
Read more…

I live the reality of the connection between stress and overeating. It’s no theory for me. When things start to get to the point where I can’t fight anymore I eat blindly. I’m not overweight. From time to time I will gain some extra pounds but I always lose it. Today for a good example I battled valiantly against stress and depression and for most of the day I managed to handle things. I started the day with 30 minutes of yoga and stretching. That gave me a clearer head with which to start the day; but as the day progressed I began to feel panic growing over my financial situation. I tried to fight it but it grew progressively worse. Before long I was feeling a real need for something to balance out the feelings of panic. Eventually I stuffed myself full of Tostitos chips with Spinach dip, eating so much of it in a short a space of time that I ended up with a belly ache.

Did I overeat because I was greedy and couldn’t do without food? No, it had nothing to do with the food at all. It was all about combating the panic, the feelings of hopelessness, the depression with something that provides a feeling of relief or comfort and takes me away from the pressures at least for the time spent eating. I guess that’s why alcoholics drink, and drug abusers abuse drugs.

Image: Food! by clspeace via Flickr

Not everybody is going to like you or like your work. A friend of mine recently published a book and someone wrote a review of her book that wasn’t very flattering. It sent her into a state of depression. I tried to get her to see that it was silly to allow herself to become depressed over the opinion of one individual. I told her that not everyone is going to like her or like her work; and I’m telling myself the same thing right now after receiving an email from someone who read this blog and felt compelled to write me and tell me that I suck and that I’m an “ego trippin” fool.

People are entitled to their opinions; and it could be that most people will agree with the assesment of the individual who wrote me; but to what am I going to give importance? Am I going to give importance to my own agenda or to the agenda of someone who sends me an email meaning to insult me? If you give people the power to decide how far you go in life and people are of the opinion that you don’t deserve to go anywhere in life, where do you think you’re going to go in life? You’re going to go exactly where people think you deserve to go because you leave it to them to decide where you go.

Maybe I do suck and maybe I am an “ego trippin” fool. Will that be enough reason for me to quit trying to achieve what I’m trying to achieve? Even people who suck can succeed in life. Ego trippin fools can succeed in life; so sucking and being an “ego trippin” fool isn’t a fatal flaw.
Read more…