Question: I feel I am looking older and tired; I do not want a face lift, what are my options?
Answer: Of course it is difficult to address your personal situation without a one on one consultation. In general as we age our skin starts to sag and we loose fat (fat adiposity). As skin sags accompanied with the daily stressors and free radicals we start to see fine lines and wrinkles which can turn into deeper depressions without preventative measures.
We normally see fine lines appearing in the forehead area, glabella area (between the eyes) and crows feet. These areas can typically be treated preventatively with BOTOX Cosmetic to prevent further lines and deeper depressions. If the area is left unattended the fine lines can become a wrinkle and a deeper depression which will require further attention. A dermal filler may be needed to fully address and correct the concern.
To address fat loss, normally occurring under the eyes, cheeks, nasiolabial and marinette lines, dermal filler can be discussed in detail. There are several fillers which will be discussed during consultation to determine your specific needs. Please refer to the table below for reference.
One important reminder is: upkeep and prevention along with a healthy diet and a skin care regiment, is also helpful. You can discuss all of these items during your consultation with Dr. Bootstaylor and her staff.
Contact us with your questions and concerns and we will answer you either on the Blog or via email. ~ Atlanta APC Plastic Surgery~
Some days, you just won’t feel like working out. Maybe you haven’t been able to get as much sleep as you need or you’ve been having some stress at work or in your personal life. No matter the reason, sometimes you just aren’t in the mood for moving and sweating. Whenever this happens to you, try these strategies for working up the desire to hit the gym:
Remind Yourself of Your Goals - Start thinking about why you started exercising in the first place and what the end results will be. Do you want to lose a certain amount of weight? Get more toned? Have more energy? A quick reminder of why exercise is important to you can be just the motivation that you need to eek out another set of reps.
Plan on Reducing Your Workout – If you feel that you won’t have the energy to do your complete routine, tell yourself that you will just do half of the work out. If you usually jog four miles, plan on just doing two. If you are weight-training that day, focus on just doing the compound exercises while leaving out the isolation exercises. Once you get going, you might discover that you actually have the energy to do your full workout.
Don’t Go Next Time - Give yourself permission to skip the next work out but not this one. If the next work out rolls around and you still don’t feel like going, you actually might be doing yourself some good by skipping it. Feeling consistently turned off by exercise is usually a sign of overtraining, and giving your body more time to rest can actually help you reach your fitness goals faster.
The trickiest part of any exercise plan is motivation. You can know all of the exercises and the proper techniques, but if you aren’t inspired enough to get to the gym, it won’t do you much good. Figure out what motivates you most, and make sure that you use that motivation to hold yourself accountable for regular physical activity. I’m not opposed to an occasional self-bribe either. It goes something like this, “If I workout at least 4 times this week, I’m going to treat myself to a spa pedicure next Friday after work.” Just make sure that your rewards are not food-based, and you’ll be good to go.
Brought to you by Amber O’Neal, Certified Personal Trainer and Owner of Café Physique, a fitness and nutrition company specializing in studio and in-home personal training, yoga & pilates and nutrition & wellness counseling in Metro Atlanta. For more information, please visit www.CafePhysique.com.
Quality Time Together
Many couples already spend considerable time apart because of career demands and other responsibilities, but the need for quality time together often increased dramatically when preparing for a wedding. What was once free time is now spent picking out invitations and meeting with vendors, so they are looking for ways to stay connected. Having a scheduled workout appointment with a personal trainer is a way to guarantee that they’ll have at least a bit of bonding time every week.
Bedtime Benefits
Exercise is known for causing the brain to produce chemicals that reduce stress, evoke feelings of happiness and increase libido. Studies show that couples who exercise regularly report better, and more frequent, sex with their partners. This is a huge motivator!
Through Sickness & Health
Couples recognize that working out together is an effective way to demonstrate a commitment to their wedding vows before they even take them. By taking care of their bodies, they show that they care about being their best for each other and that they’ll do what it takes to stay healthy and strong.
Accountability
When schedules start getting crazy before the big day, workouts are often among the first things to be let go in a quest for more time. Working out solo becomes increasingly more difficult because it’s much easier to break an appointment when no one is counting on you to be there. By working out together, and paying a trainer to be there with you, couple have a heightened level of accountability to each other – and to the trainer. This ensures that all of those extra cake-tasting calories don’t go straight to the hips (or tummy) before the wedding.
The Dress
This may be the #1 motivator for women to work out in the months leading up to their weddings, and oftentimes the men in their lives agree to join them in an effort to be (or at least appear…) supportive. Every bride wants to feel beautiful on her special day, and this often involves making it through a series of dress fittings with the hopes that bare shoulders and toned arms win out in the end.
Following any surgery a patient may risk developing Deep Vein Thrombosis or (DVT) also known as blood clots. Blood clots can be deadly and have the potential to cause pulmonary embolisms. Following surgery Dr. Bootstaylor may prescribe self-administered Lovenox treatments to prevent blood clots from forming. This prescription drug has been found to safely reduce the incidents of DVT in post surgery patients.
This video helps explain how to properly self-administer Lovenox treatments but is not a replacement for the clinical care documentation that will be provided following surgery.
Written By: Anaya Bennett-DuBrois, Elements Therapeutic Massage Therapist, LMP, NCTM, Reiki Practitioner
As with any cosmetic surgery, there are potential risk of side effects such as poor scaring, bruises, and swelling. To minimize these possible results there is a massage technique used at Elements Therapeutic Massage for our clients recovering from cosmetic surgery called Lymphatic Drainage Massage (LDM.) The benefits of LDM are sure to enable clients to make a smoother transition to a full recovery.
What is the Lymphatic System?
One of the eleven systems that make up our human anatomy consists of the Lymphatic System. This system is responsible for carrying excess fluid, proteins, bacteria, and waste materials from the tissues, thus cleansing the tissues of debris. Once fluid and particles enter the lymphatic system they are called lymph. The lymph is transported to lymph nodes where it is cleansed and filtered and then it is returned to the blood stream. The lymphatic system plays an important role in the body’s defense against infection.
In the healing phase following surgery, waste products can build up in the local tissues. These waste products can increase and prolong inflammation, swelling, and pain during the healing phase. LDM improves lymph flow and accelerates the removal of these waste products, and thus can speed up healing.
What is Lymphatic Drainage Massage (LDM) Therapy?
Lymphatic Drainage Massage is a technique used to provide relief from edema, an accumulation of fluids in the tissues that causes swelling. It is a gently, rhythmic style of massage that stimulates the immune system and improves the appearance of the skin. LDM is used before and after surgery, to help speed up healing and reduce edema/swelling. It increases blood flow and can reduce scar tissue. During LDM, muscles relax, heart and breathe rate decrease, and clients move into a state of relaxation that promotes healing and balance. Symptoms like fatigue, mild depression, and chronic soft-tissue pain call for the gentleness of lymph massage. It will stimulate the immune system and has an energizing effect on the body’s vital energy. Scar tissue becomes smaller, smoother, more flexible and stronger with LDM.
How is LDM applied?
• Usually, the first session of lymphatic drainage massage will consist of a consultation with the therapist, at which time the therapist can determine how many treatments you will need as well as how those treatments will be implemented.
• LDM is a series of very gentle, rhythmic massage strokes that increases the transport of lymph flow through the tissues. Every stroke is very light, not as heavy as the strokes of a Swedish massage. The goal of LDM is to reroute the lymph fluid around areas that are blocked and gently move it into areas with healthy lymph vessels where the lymph fluid can drain normally.
• Excessive pressure is undesirable. Each stroke consists of an active phase and a resting phase. During the active phase, pressure is gradually increased, stimulating the skin in a particular direction.
• This is followed by a slow, controlled decrease in pressure into the resting phase. Each stroke is directed towards the regional lymph nodes to stimulate appropriate lymphatic flow. Strokes last a few seconds and are repeated five to ten times in each area. LDM can be started several days after surgery and a patient can undergo several, to a few, treatment sessions.
Benefits of Lymphatic Drainage Massage (LDM):
• Decreases edema (swelling)
• Enhances the action of the immune system
• Reduces pain
• Improves skin health
• Promotes deep relaxation
• Speeds healing of injuries
• Decreases scar tissue
• Minimizes scar formation
When to have a Lymphatic Drainage Massage (LDM):
• Lymph edema
• Post-mastectomy edema
• Pre and Post Surgery
• Inflammatory conditions such as sprains, strains, and muscle tears
When it’s NOT safe to have Lymphatic Drainage Massage (LDM):
• Congestive Heart Failure
• Serious circulatory problems
• During acute infections and inflamed illnesses
• Untreated, malignant tumors
Best Candidates for this Massage:
• Patients who want to experience a speedy and smoother recovery from cosmetic surgery.
• Patients with postoperative swelling find LDM to be very soothing and effective in its resolution.
*If you are looking for additional assistance to make your transition from surgery a lot easier, an LDM trained therapist at Elements Therapeutic Massage would be happy to service your LDM road to recovery. Elements Therapeutic Massage is located in the Berkeley Heights Plaza, 1700 Northside Drive, Atlanta, GA 30326. The phone number to Elements is 404-389-0494. Call today and one of our client coordinators will make you an appointment.
It’s true that eating healthy can be more expensive than buying junk, but there are things you can do to lighten the impact on your wallet. Keep in mind that food is much more expensive in restaurants, take-out/delivery, and fast food chains than it is in a grocery store, so don’t use money as an excuse for not buying healthy groceries if you’re eating out multiple times a week.
a. Water is FREE! – Skip flavored drinks. Water is a natural diuretic and often suppresses hunger. Drinking water instead of soda or juice makes a huge difference on your calorie intake.
b. Purchase fresh fruits and veggies from the farmers’ market, wash them, cut them up and store in bags or a container. Look for fruits and vegetables that are in season because they typically cost less.
c. If the farmers market isn’t convenient, buy frozen fruits & veggies because they don’t go bad as quickly as fresh ones, and their nutrient content remains nearly the same.
d. Carry a cooler to work with an ice pack to avoid eating from the cafeteria and vending machine. It’s also easier to eat healthy when you prepare your own foods because you know exactly what’s in them.
e. When making lunch at home try to make enough for 2 days. Cook in bulk and freeze - saving time and money.
f. Cut coupons for you favorite meals.
g. Buddy up with someone else at work and bring food together or alternate days.
h. Buy meats in bulk and separate them into individual freezer bags after you get home.
i. Instead of buying small prepackaged snacks, buy snacks by the bag and then divide your portions into smaller snack size baggies. You remain portion control conscience and save money at the same time.
These tips were brought to you by Amber O’Neal, Certified Personal Trainer and Owner of Café Physique, a fitness and nutrition company specializing in studio and in-home personal training, yoga & pilates and nutrition counseling in Metro Atlanta. For more information, please visit www.CafePhysique.com. A collaboration between Atlanta APC Plastic Surgery and Cafe Physique.
Paying for a gym membership and the gas it takes to get there can be expensive, but there are plenty of other options for getting in shape. Here are some low-cost alternatives to help you get fit without breaking your budget:
1. Improvise by using ordinary household items for various upper and lower body exercises.
Canned goods. Many canned goods can serve double duty as hand weights.
Milk or water jugs. Fill empty milk or water jugs with water or sand and secure the tops with duct tape. To adjust the weights as your fitness level changes, simply add more water or sand. If you wonder how much weight you’re lifting, simply weigh the jug on your household scale.
Potatoes. A 5- or 10-pound bag of potatoes can provide added resistance for various exercises.
A low, sturdy step stool can become exercise equipment if you use it for step training — an aerobic exercise resembling stair climbing.
Chair. You can use a chair for many seated exercises with makeshift weights or use the seat as a platform for your hands while doing triceps dips. The back of the chair serves as a good place to hold on for extra balance when doing things like leg lifts.
2. You don’t necessarily need special equipment like a treadmill or elliptical machine to get a great cardiovascular workout. With a little planning, some of the daily activities you take for granted can become part of your exercise routine:
Get in extra steps whenever & wherever you can. Take a brisk walk every day, whether it’s a path through your neighborhood or laps in a local mall. Take the stairs instead of the elevator or make a full workout of climbing the stairs. Sneak in extra steps whenever you can by parking farther away from your destination.
Pick up the pace as you do your household chores. Mow the lawn, weed the garden, rake the leaves or shovel the snow, but make the movements intentional and try to maintain a quick pace while you’re working. Even indoor activities such as vacuuming and scrubbing count as a workout if you increase your heart rate.
Don’t sit on the sidelines. If you have children, don’t just watch them play. Join them for a game of tag or kickball. Walk them to the park. Dance. Take a family bike ride.
3. Invest in a few pieces of inexpensive exercise equipment that will allow you to get a total body workout at home or on the road.
Dumbbells. Dumbbells are small, hand-held weights that you can use to strengthen your upper body. They’re available in many sizes, but most women only need 3lb, 5lb and 8lb to start out with.
Resistance bands. These stretchy tubes offer weight-like resistance when you pull on them. Choose from varying degrees of resistance, depending on your fitness level.
Jump-ropes. Skipping rope can be a great cardiovascular workout, and you can get these for just a couple of dollars.
4. Buy used equipment. Check out listings for used exercise equipment on local online ad boards like craigslist.com. Online auction sites like eBay are also a good option, but make sure the shipping costs won’t put the item out of your budget.
5. Turn your home into a private aerobics class with a good selection of exercise videos. Borrow videos from your library or a friend, or rent them from the video store before you buy them to see if you like the routines. Another great option is signing up for Netflix or another mail delivery program that will allow you to keep fresh titles coming each week. Be sure to pick videos that match your current fitness level so that you don’t get discouraged by exercises that are too hard or too easy. Some small equipment may be required, depending on the activity you select.
6. Be a savvy shopper. If you’re interested in a specific exercise class or piece of equipment, shop around before committing.
Check out your local recreation department because many offer discounted fitness classes to local residents. If you live near a college with a fitness center, ask if the facility is available to community members. If you’re a graduate of the school, you may qualify for an even better rate.
Share costs with a friend. Some personal trainers let you split the cost of a session with a friend or two.
These tips were brought to you by Amber O’Neal, Certified Personal Trainer and Owner of Café Physique, a fitness and nutrition company specializing in studio and in-home personal training, yoga & pilates and nutrition counseling in Metro Atlanta. For more information, please visit www.CafePhysique.com
A collaboration between Atlanta APC Plastic Surgery and Cafe Physique
Start each day early, meditate and center yourself through prayer. Reduce stress by planning ahead and taking time. Identify your goals, and focus on them.
Don’t be persuaded by others.
Follow through .
Training:
Plan each workout.
Work each body part for total body symmetry.
Select 1-2 body parts per day: Chest, Biceps, Quads, Hams, Glutes, Shoulders, Triceps, Adductor, Abduction, Mat Work, Abdominals, Stretching, Pilates.
Go for the burn, some sets use heavy weight, then burn it out with high reps.
Mix in Cardio or out door drills to spice thing up.
Grave diggers, sprints, steps, jump rope, lateral movements, Leap frogs, jumping jacks, Plyometrics, treadmill, stepper, or bike. Maintain your target heart rate.
Maintain, proper form and a moderate pace.
Do not over train, Rest, Recovery, and Nutrition are essential for maximum results.
Nutrition:
Keep it simple, eat carbs when you exert.
Never say never, think moderation.
Keep it lean: Grill, bake, broil… Chicken Turkey, Fish.
Think fruits instead of sweets.
Vegetables and salads are free! Go crazy!
Essential fatty acids (EFA) are essential, don’t eliminate, incorporate.
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