What Going To The Gym Can't Fix

What Going To The Gym Can't Fix
For many women, having a baby is one of the most exciting
times in their life, but pregnancy can and usually does
change your body in ways that no amount of diet or exercise
can correct. It is important for women to know what changes
have occurred and which ones they can fix by themselves and
by their own efforts, and which ones will benefit from
other options,such as cosmetic surgery.

The abdomen and breasts are generally the two areas that
are more susceptible to significant changes during
pregnancy but any area of the body can be affected. Many of
the changes that occur with pregnancy can be categorized
under the Post-Baby Body Syndrome, which is experienced by
many pregnant women.

The 3 most common things that working out at the gym can't
fix are: stretched skin, stretched muscles and sagging
breasts

Your Stomach:

Stomach muscles lose their tone after pregnancy because
both the muscles and skin have stretched to accommodate the
baby. When they shrink there may be extra skin remaining
after your pregnancy.

When abdominal muscles become stretched and abdominal skin
becomes loose, no amount of sit-ups will reposition these
muscles, and dieting will not shrink the skin. In many
instances only an Abdominoplasty (or a tummy tuck) can
repair the changes. By repositioning the muscles, removing
excess skin and improving the appearance of the belly
button, a tummy tuck can help you improve and regain the
shape you had. It is recommended that women considering
future pregnancies before deciding to have a tummy tuck
procedure.

Your Breasts:

Another common problem for women is during and after
pregnancy is sagging breasts or breasts that have lost
their shape. This is due to weight fluctuations and
hormonal changes. Despite your best efforts, sometimes the
excess skin and the ligaments simply will not stretch back
to how they were pre-pregnancy. Cosmetic surgery can help
restore your breasts to a more youthful appearing shape.

Breast lift vs. Breast Augmentation:

A breast lift will reposition the nipple and lift the
breast, and improve the shape without changing the size. A
breast augmentation will enlarge the size of the breast,
giving you a magnification of what you already have.

If you are one of the thousands of mothers who have wished
for her old body back, or to even just feel "normal" then
you owe it to yourself to have a consultation with a
board-certified cosmetic surgeon today.

----------------------------------------------------
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Board Certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery
and has over 20 years of experience. Patient safety and
satisfaction is our #1 goal. Our art is to help patients'
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Subtle, Undiagnosed Symptoms Could Be Signs of Subclinical Hypothyroidism

Subtle, Undiagnosed Symptoms Could Be Signs of Subclinical Hypothyroidism
Do you have vague, uncomfortable symptoms with no obvious
cause?

If so, you might be one of the 45 million people who have a
chronic medical problem that is both under-diagnosed and
under-treated.

Think about it...

Do you feel tired all the time and have trouble
concentrating?

Is your skin dry? Do you retain fluid?

Has your sex drive gone downhill?

Are your hands and feet always cold?

Is your hair thinning, your voice a little hoarse, your
fingernails a little thick?

Is your cholesterol high?

Do you have trouble losing weight or have you gained weight
recently?

Are you depressed or anxious?

Do you have really bad PMS or trouble getting pregnant?

Do your muscles feel weak, crampy, and painful?

Most of these symptoms aren't severe enough to send you to
the emergency room.

In fact, we usually accept them as a normal part of life --
and so do conventional doctors. They don't view these
symptoms as serious.

But they certainly affect your quality of life. And they
can lead to more serious problems, including heart attacks
and diabetes.

So what causes these symptoms?

It's called hypothyroidism.

In this condition, your overall metabolic gas pedal has
slowed down because the master gland that controls it, your
thyroid gland, isn't functioning at full speed.

If your thyroid slows down, every other organ and system in
your body slows down, including your brain, heart, gut, and
muscles.

Thyroid function is really a gray area. But most doctors
view it as black or white.

Conventional doctors tend to believe that you can diagnose
hypothyroidism only through one blood test, called TSH, and
that you only qualify for treatment if your blood level is
over 5.0.

But this ignores a whole group of people who have what we
call subclinical hypothyroidism. It is called that because
doctors have a hard time diagnosing it.

Subclinical hypothyroidism may trigger many low-grade
symptoms, like those described above. Yet it causes just
slight changes in your blood tests.

In fact, it often only shows up in tests that most doctors
never perform.

I see this all the time in my medical practice: Patients
come in with vague complaints that alone may not seem too
significant.

But when you put them all together, they tell an important
story.

For example, take the 73-year-old woman who had fatigue,
sluggishness, poor memory, slight depression, dry skin,
constipation, and mild fluid retention.

Her doctor brushed her off.

But I believe that most of the symptoms of aging that we
see are really symptoms of abnormal aging or dysfunction
that is related to imbalances in our core body systems.

So I act as a medical detective to find clues where no one
else is looking and put together a story about why a person
feels sick. This gets them the answers and tools they need
to get well.

In this case, we found that my patient had a sluggish
thyroid. Although she didn't meet all the conventional
criteria for hypothyroidism, she had an autoimmune reaction
that caused her thyroid to function poorly.

So we replaced her missing thyroid hormone, supported her
nutrition, and made some simple lifestyle changes. She soon
felt alert, energetic, and youthful -- and all of her other
symptoms cleared up.

Another patient was a 28-year-old chronically constipated
woman.

She also felt tired in the mornings, always needed coffee,
and had trouble staying up at night.

She thought this was normal. She didn't know she had a
sluggish thyroid.

But as soon as we supported her nutrition and eliminated
her food allergens (particularly gluten), which create
inflammation and interfere with thyroid function, she
improved.

Low thyroid function affects people of all ages.

It is very common because of our exposure to toxins such as
heavy metals and pesticides, nutritional deficiencies, and
chronic stress, all of which interfere with our thyroid
function.

And your thyroid isn't just linked to the symptoms
described here.

It is the master metabolism hormone that controls the
function and activity of almost every organ and cell in
your body -- so when it is sluggish or slow, everything
slows down.

Fortunately, we can diagnose and treat problem, with a
comprehensive functional medicine approach that uses the
concepts of UltraWellness.

First, I determine if you have any of the chronic symptoms
of hypothyroidism or diseases associated with it, such as:

* sluggishness in the morning

* poor concentration and memory

* low-grade depression

* dry skin

* hoarse voice

* thinning hair

* coarse hair

* being very sensitive to cold and having cold hands and
feet

* low body temperature

* muscle pain

* weakness or cramps

* low sex drive

* fluid retention

* high cholesterol

Next, I do a physical examination for clues to a
low-functioning thyroid.

I check for a low body temperature. Anything lower than
97.6 degrees F may be a sign of hypothyroidism.

I might also find fluid retention, a thick tongue, swollen
feet, swollen eyelids, an enlarged thyroid gland, excessive
earwax, a dry mouth, coarse skin, low blood pressure, or
decreased ankle reflexes. I might even find that the outer
third of the eyebrows is gone.

These are all physical signs that can be put together along
with other symptoms to form a story of what is causing the
problem.

Then I perform specific blood tests that give me a full
picture of thyroid problems.

Finally, I design a nutrition, lifestyle, and supplement
regimen and hormone replacement plan as needed to help
people regain their health.

In my next article, I will discuss the major preventable --
and mostly hidden -- factors that slow your thyroid down.
And I'll tell you more about the special tests I use to
diagnose thyroid problems, as well as how to specifically
treat low thyroid function.

----------------------------------------------------
Mark Hyman, M.D. is a pioneer in functional medicine,
practicing physician and best-selling author. A sneak
preview of his book "The UltraSimple Diet" is available.
See The UltraWellness Blog for more on Hypothyroidism:
http://www.ultrawellness.com/blog/

Dealing with a Heart Attack

Dealing with a Heart Attack
For anyone who has suffered a heart attack, you'll know how
difficult it can be to get back on your feet. Not only do
you have to make lifestyle changes to prevent the risk of
another heart attack, there are emotional as well as
physical demands on your body. It's not just a matter of
surviving a heart attack; it's the effects a heart attack
has on your life that can be just as big a problem.

Depending on the severity of a heart attack, the options
open to someone will be very different. A major heart
attack will mean some huge changes to your current
day-to-day routine, while a milder heart attack will offer
a bit more leeway. However, any kind of heart attack is a
serious warning about your overall health, and the need to
make life changes to prevent one from happening again.

Medical Aftercare One of the first things that will happen
is that you will need to go for more regular check-ups at
your doctor or family physician's. Here you will get advice
about how to reduce the chances of a follow-up heart attack
- unfortunately, people who suffer a heart attack are 50%
more likely to have another one within 12 months if they
don't make changes to their lifestyle.

You'll be encouraged to give up smoking if you haven't
already; what to eat, and what to avoid, will also be
covered; and you may even have to go on a heart attack
prevention course of medication. These can include drugs to
control blood pressure, as well as anti-stress medication.
Anything that controls the symptoms of a heart attack will
be covered with your medical follow-up.

Normal Activities Although you'll probably want to get back
to normal as quickly as possible, the very fact that you've
suffered a heart attack will prevent this to some degree.
Depending on the severity of the heart attack, it's likely
that you will be fine for walking after a week or so.
However, other day-to-day activities such as sexual
intercourse or driving may have to wait a few weeks more,
to make sure there are no complications or follow-up chest
pains.

Changes to the Family Life Perhaps the biggest hurdle
anyone that suffers a heart attack needs to overcome is the
emotional and psychological effect it has. This isn't just
on you, either - your family and loved ones will have
gotten just as big a scare as you by your heart attack. So
it's only natural that they may act differently around you
- more refrained, for example.

You need to ensure that they know that you realise it's
been a shock, but together you can ensure that it's less
likely to happen again. By getting everything in the open,
and discussing the reasons for your heart attack, it will
make sure that everyone is in a better position to help you
prevent what caused the heart attack in the first place.

Talking about it will also enable you to get back to
normality quicker. One of the biggest problems after a
heart attack is depression, and fear that you'll suffer
another heart attack. Having the love and support of your
closest friends and family will help you through this
difficult period, and hopefully prevent future symptoms or
heart attacks from happening again.

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About the Author: You are free to copy this article to
your site as long as you include the following resource
information with an active link to my site. Having a heart
attack can change your life- I had one 4 years ago at the
age of 42. Join the FREE newsletter called Heartbeat Enews
for information on how to deal with it or if you want to
tell your own story to inspire others. Visit
http://www.heartbeatenews.com/advertising.htm

Don't Eat It Just Because "It's Good For Me"

Don't Eat It Just Because "It's Good For Me"
Last weekend I went to the movies with my son. Of course,
we weren't seeing the same movie (my tastes don't quite
mesh with my 16 old), but we did drive over together. As I
was sitting in my seat, waiting for the previews, I
overheard a conversation a few seats down from me. It went
a something like this:

"Every night I sit down with my bag of dark chocolate bits
and I eat until I am full and can't eat another bite. I
know they are good for me and I'm supposed to eat them, but
I don't even like dark chocolate!"

This was sad to me on so many levels, perhaps the saddest
being that she didn't like dark chocolate!

But let's look at what this woman was saying, and why it is
sad-and very unhealthy.

First, she is sitting down every night and eating until she
can't have another bite. To be sitting down, probably in
front of a television set, and eating is not a good habit.
I call this type of eating "unconscious eating," because
you aren't aware of how much you consume. A movie theatre
is another example. How often have you bought the large
popcorn and it was finished before the previews? I call
those "wasted calories" because you probably didn't even
have a chance to enjoy them.

She did say she ate until she couldn't eat another bite-so
perhaps she wasn't in front of the television. Yet she was
making a point to sit and just eat, until she was so full
she couldn't eat another bite. This is another unhealthy
behavior. Chances are that if you eat until you are
stuffed, especially before going to bed, you are still
going to feel full in the morning. When people overeat at
night, they tend to decide to skip breakfast the next day,
which sets themselves up for a cycle of skipping meals and
then eventually overeating because they wait too long, and
feel famished. While this behavior won't hurt you if you
only do it on occasion, this woman sounded like she overate
every night, and I'm guessing she did not eat regular meals
the rest of the time.

Let's leave the chocolate part for last, but look at the "I
know they are good for me, but I don't like them" comment.
This is a terrible reason to eat food: because it is good
for me. The primary reason you should eat something is
because you like the way it tastes-the fact that certain
foods have potential health benefits is a bonus. But to
just eat something "because I should" is wrong. Folks who
do this wind up not appreciating all the wonderful foods,
tastes and flavors found in meals and snacks.
Unfortunately, food becomes like medicine-you don't take it
because you like it, but because it's good for you.

Now, let's address the last comment "I don't even like dark
chocolate." Nevermind that the research suggesting dark
chocolate may be heart healthy. Nevermind the fact that I,
personally, am only starting to accept that there are
people who don't like dark chocolate (and I can still be
friends with them). The amounts recommended are less than 2
ounces per day, and the plant chemicals found in the dark
chocolate can also be found in other fruits, like apples.
However, to force feed yourself dark chocolate while you
don't like it? This makes food more than medicine-it makes
food a punishment.

Please don't punish yourself by forcing foods into your
mouth you do not like. Food is one of the many pleasures
we have in our lives. Of course there are many reasons to
eat fruits and vegetables, chicken and fish. And there are
also good reasons to eat cake, ice cream and chocolate.

Just don't make the reason "because it's good for me."

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If you would like more information on becoming At Peace
With Food™, as well as access to interesting articles
and links to nutritional resource websites, visit=>
http://www.AtPeaceWithFood.com/freetips.html

Timing Your Cardio Workout For Maximum Fat Loss

Timing Your Cardio Workout For Maximum Fat Loss
There is a theory that you can time your cardio workouts to
burn more fat. Typically the theory goes that if you do
your cardio first thing in the morning on an empty stomach
you will be burning more fat. The idea is that after a meal
you will most likely be burning some of the sugars from
that meal instead of stored fat. From a scientific stand
point this doesn't make any sense. Let's review exactly how
we store and lose fat.

We store fat when we consume more calories than we burn.
Simple, end of story, no arguing this point.

We lose fat when we burn more calories than we consume.
Also simple, also end of story, also no arguing this point.

The timing of your workout is completely irrelevant for
either of these things to happen. We are only talking about
calories in vs calories out. It doesn't matter when those
calories go in, or when they go out, it just matter how
many go in vs how many go out.

Picture the following example.

Let's say your body needs 2000 calories per day for regular
functioning (in other words your basal metabolic rate).

Now let's say you eat 1900 calories today, and do a workout
that burns 200 calories. It won't matter if you ate 1 meal,
or two meals, or three meals, and did two workouts that
burned 100 calories each, or one workout that burned 200
calories. It still adds up to a 300 calorie deficit for the
day.

If your metabolism is going to burn 2000 calories today
regardless of how much you eat, then eating 1900 calories
will force your body to find another 100 calories from
stored energy, and likely most from fat.

Burn 200 more calories at a workout, and now you have
created a 300 calorie deficit for the day. If you can do
this for about 12 days you will have most likely burned off
a pound of body fat.

The time of day you do your workout or decide to eat will
have no effect on this overall fat loss over time. There is
no magic to doing cardio on an empty stomach in the morning
or any other time of day for that matter. Your body doesn't
store or lose body fat so fast that it will make any real
difference when you workout or eat over the course of one
day. Consistency over the course of weeks and months will
be the key to fat loss. Not the timing of any one single
workout.

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John Barban is a professional strength and conditioning
coach and nutrition expert. He has extensive experience
designing nutritional supplements and has developed his
trademark workout for women 6 Minute Circuits. John is an
expert contributor to
http://www.efit-today.com/public/department59.cfm and
recomends the diet program http://www.eatstopeat.com , and
believes it is the best new diet for easy and effective
weight loss.