Holiday time is routinely associated with shopping, stress, family gatherings, bad weather, decreased physical activities and high calorie meals. However when the holiday season is finally over, the bathroom scale reveals that you’ve gained some weight again. Here are few tips to help avoid gaining those unwanted pounds.
1. Stay active – engage in regular and sustained aerobic activity to burn off those extra calories.
2. Don’t starve yourself – eat 5 to 6 small filling but low in calorie meals a day. Starving or one meal a day can result in “binging”. Don’t go to parties hungry.
3. Choose healthier options – eat more fruits, vegetables and meats that are more lean and high in protein. Avoid creamy sauces, high fat dressings and sugary sweets.
4. Refuse politely – don’t be forced to eat. Say “no thank you. Everything was delicious” or “I’ve had enough. Everything tasted wonderful”.
5. Socialize – away from the food and sweets table. Conversation is calorie-free.
6. Take time for you – reduce your stress which can result in overeating by doing things for yourself. Schedule a massage, exercise, yoga/meditate, read a book, ….
7. Planning ahead – Don’t make your fitness resolution after the New Year, start working out now.
8. Sleep well – have a good night sleep during the holiday seasons. Lack of sleep may make you cranky and you may take out your frustration by eating more.
9. Don’t rush – eat slowly and chew your food well. Not only it will fill you better it will also help you enjoy your meal better.
Best of Wishes & Happy Holidays from Beverly Hills Cosmetic Surgical Group.
The home of the Fat Freezing procedure, Coolsculpting by Zeltiq.
Tel 310.360.0504, www.PerfectSelf.com







Finally a report that might appeal to chocolate and sun lovers both. According to British researchers, regular consumption of chocolate rich in flavanol may provide significant protection against ultraviolet light (UV). In a study performed at School of Management and Science, London University of the Arts, 30 test subjects were randomly assigned to consume either chocolate specially made with high flavanol (HF) or chocolate with low flavanol (LF) content. During a 12 week period the subjects consumed 20 gr of the assigned chocolate every day. After this period the results revealed that subjects that consumed HF chocolate required almost twice as much energy to develop skin erythema (redness or skin burn) compared to the baseline dose determined prior to the chocolate consumption. The minimal erythema dose for the HF chocolate group was increased from 0.109 J/Cm2 at the baseline to 0.223 J/Cm2, whereas there was minimal change in the LF chocolate group (0.124 J/Cm2 baseline to 0.32 J/Cm2).
The most effective treatment for acne may be taken away from teenagers and young adults suffering from severe acne. In June Roche Holding pharmaceutical based in Switzerland pulled its blockbuster acne medication Accutane off the market due to its link to inflammatory bowel disease. The newly released studies show that using Accutane can nearly double the risk of developing serious bowel disorder compared to non-Accutane users. For the past 27 years on the market Accutane and its generic version Isotretinoin have been linked to serious birth defects when taken during pregnancy, severe depression, suicidal behavior, joint and muscle pain, hair thinning, increased sensitivity to sun, elevated cholesterol and liver toxicity.
More than 45 million Americans belong to a health club compare to 23 million in 1993 at a cost of close to $19 billion a year in membership fees. Even though according to most surveys number of people who admit to exercising has increased from 47% in 1980 to 57% in 2000 the number of obesity has risen dramatically in the same period. One third of Americans are overweight with another one third are considered to be obese.
The wrinkles and the lines on the face are formed as a result of underlying muscle movements and the aging process. These muscle contractions cause the skin to pleat resulting in lines and wrinkles in the skin. The popularity of the wrinkle removing injections come from the fact that the process is simple, virtually pain free with minimal to no down time. With a few injections and within days the lines are gone. Botox Cosmetics has been used for a number of years to erase lines and wrinkles, stop excessive sweating of the armpits and axilla and to relieve migraine headaches.
If you are tired of wasting money and applying fake eyelashes, now we offer Latisse (Allergan, Irvine, CA). The first and only FDA approved topical solution to promote thicker, darker and longer eyelashes in as little as 6-8 weeks. Latisse is available by prescription only and is applied once a day to the skin just above the eyelash line.
Dark circles around the eyes can be caused by the thinning and translucent lower eyelid skin overlying the Orbicularis Occuli muscle (muscle of the eyelids). In a small pilot study conducted by the researchers at Yonsei University College of Medicine in Seoul, fat cells were removed from the lower abdomen and the buttocks and injected under both eyes. The treatments were spaced about three months apart and resulted in up to 90 percent improvement in some patients. Given these findings, injections of fat appear to be a medically sound alternative to injection of other filler materials to provide thickening of the tissue space to reduce the dark circles.