Beach Body 2012
Summer 2012 has officially arrived…the question is…are you officially ready?
Memorial Day weekend kicked off this years summer festivities of pool parties, beach time, vacations, and outdoor activities in which you find yourself in bikinis, shorts, sundresses, and miniskirts. It is the time of year that hopefully everyone’s plan of dieting, working out, and eating healthy has paid off.
There are many people who will say that they simply aren’t ready or have not planned in advance for the warm summer days which are now here…so what to do?
Get a spray of self tan. Being tan makes you feel healthy, puts you in the summertime mood, hides flaws on your skin, and generally makes you feel more confident and glowing. Women actually say that they feel skinnier when they are tan. Tanning beds are not advised, so the DIY route is the best way to go. The formulas have now been so well perfected that they are no longer an orange colored, foul smelling product of years past.
Get a great facial. This will cleanse and hydrate your skin, making products easy to absorb and give you a fresh glow.
Use sunscreen at all times. Even when out driving in the car, running errands, and going to the gym. Sun exposure and sunburns will dry out your skin, cause wrinkles, and decrease the elasticity of the skin.
Weight loss:
There is no quick fix to weight loss. Juices, fasts, weight loss pills and aides will not make you lose weight. They temporarily help you lose water weight, and once you stop, the weight will return. The guidelines for a well-balanced diet still apply – a weight-loss plan shouldn’t be a ‘get out of jail free’ card for these principles.
Put simply, you can do many things to lose weight – but this doesn’t mean they’re good for you. And the problem with diets that exclude certain foods altogether is they may be nutritionally inadequate in certain areas, even if the diet is based on a ‘healthy food’ such as vegetables.
This is because the cornerstone of healthy eating is a variety of foods from five sources:
• meat, fish and vegetarian alternatives such as tofu
• fats and sugars
• fruit and vegetables
• milk and dairy products
• bread, cereal and potatoes.
1g of fat has 9 calories.
Your daily intake should be made up from foods in each of the five categories, but not in equal amounts. For example, less than 10 per cent of your calories should come from sugars – that’s about 150-250 calories a day.
The rigid food plans that are common with many of these diets can also be hard to fit into your everyday routine – especially if you have kids, it can turn mealtimes into a juggling act. There’s also the added complication that the weight loss won’t be sustainable once you stop following the plan.
A healthy lifestyle which includes exercise will keep the pounds off. The summer is a great time to take advantage of fresh fruits and vegetables. Especially when out in the heat and sun, it is important to hydrate and have calories or you can suffer from heat stroke, sun stroke, dehydration, and low blood sugar. Liposuction is not a quick fix. Liposuction is not a weight loss tool…it is a way to contour and perfect areas on your body when you are at your ideal weight.
Surgery:
Believe it or not, I always suggest to patients that if they are thinking of having surgery of any kind to have it in the fall/winter. Summer heat will make you swell more. Plastic surgery is not a quick fix, and your body needs time to heal. Swelling always happens whenever you have any type of surgery, and if the weather is warm, it will take longer for swelling to fully dissipate. Bruising is another product of surgery, and it usually takes up to 2 weeks for a bruise to fully vanish. Depending on what type of surgery you have is another factor. Facial surgery such as rhinoplasty, facelift, and blepharoplasty will take much longer to fully heal when the weather is hot. Liposuction and tummy tucks will have residual swelling that will last on your body for about 6 weeks, sometimes longer. If I had to choose a procedure for summer, a breast augmentation would probably have the least amount of downtime.
Laser:
Laser typically works the best on light skin. In laser hair removal, for example, the best candidate is someone with fair skin and dark hair. The light of the laser is attracted to dark pigment. This is true is your skin is tan or has a self tanning product on it. Burns from the laser can and do happen, so make sure that you tell your doctor or nurse if you are using any products or if you have recently had sun exposure. Also, sun exposure is not advised after any laser treatment as the skin is much more sensitive.
Injectables:
It is perfectly fine to have injectables such as Botox, Restylane or Juvederm and go on vacation. Sun exposure is not advised immediately after, but fillers and toxins will not have an adverse reaction if you travel a few days after the procedure.
A healthy body is the most attractive thing you can wear on the beach. Make the most out of your best assets, and be confident within yourself. Save the big surgery for fall/winter, and do your maintenance and smaller procedures through the summer.
