Tummy tuck improves your silhouette while maximizing all the hard work you put in at the gym. Many men and women spend hours every day at the gym working out and choosing healthy food items at each meal. All of this discipline and self-sacrifice helps contribute to a healthy lifestyle, healthy heart and healthy body. And yet, sometimes a few stubborn pounds just refuse to cooperate. Or maybe you have recently lost a massive amount of weight and have a lot of excess skin. Either way, the tummy tuck abdominoplasty may be just the cosmetic enhancement you need. Take your weight loss even further while tightening the skin around your abdomen and improving the contours of your silhouette.

Also known in the medial fields as abdominoplasty, tummy tuck is a cosmetic enhancement procedure designed to improve the size and shape of a patient’s midsection. Whether you have recently lost a lot or a little weight, this surgery may be the perfect finishing touch to all of your hard work. It can even be combined with other popular aesthetic enhancements such as liposuction, breast enhancement, or buttock lift. Contact a plastic surgeon in your area today to discuss the options for a full body improvement package.

There are a few things you should keep in mind if you are considering tummy tuck surgery. As with any invasive surgical procedure, there are a variety of risks and complications that may occur. Discussing your questions and concerns with your surgeon will go a long way to appeasing your pre-operative jitters. Choosing a board-certified surgeon with a lot of experience with the tummy tuck procedure can also help alleviate post-operative complications and ensure you are fully satisfied with the results of your procedure. It is not wise to skimp on budget and choose a surgeon with less education or experience just to save a few bucks. You will likely end up spending more on revision surgery in the long run.

Risks and complications of tummy tuck surgery include negative reaction to anesthesia, blood loss or blood clot formation, excessive scar formation, delayed wound healing or separation of the wound edges, infection, inflammation, pain, swelling and redness. The last few side effects are common in the post-operative recovery period and should subside within a few short weeks. Any increases in pain, inflammation or redness should be immediately reported to your physician as it may be a sign of infection and should be treated with a prompt round of antibiotics. Delay in treatment of infection can lead to poor healing or even require revision surgery to remove damaged tissue.

Tummy tuck surgery is not for everyone and should not be considered an alternative to an appropriate diet and weight loss regimen. Instead, it should be viewed as a complementary addition to all of the hard work you completed in the gym and as a final reward to obtain the figure you desire. Men and women are more happy with their weight loss results when they can customize the final shape of their abdomen to fit their goals. Congratulations on losing all of that weight! Now treat yourself to a tummy tuck! You deserve it!

After the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) discovered health risks with the natural herbal substance Ephedra, they banned the use of the drug. Ephedra is a natural ingredient from Asian countries that has been used in many dietary supplements and over-the-counter asthma drugs.

Although Ephedrine alkaloids have been used in the treatment of respiratory diseases such as asthma, the use of Ephedra in dietary supplements is becoming a serious health risk. Dietary supplements are one of the largest areas in drugs and pills that Ephedra is found in.

Originally, the FDA could not regulate the production and distribution of Ephedra because it is a dietary supplement protected under the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 (DSHE). According to the FDA, under this Act, the manufacturer of the dietary supplement is responsible for ensuring that it is safe before it is marketed to the public.

The FDA is responsible for taking action against any unsafe dietary supplement product after it reaches the market. As such, most manufacturers are not required to register their products with the FDA, nor must they get FDA approval, before producing or selling dietary supplements.

The burden of proof lies on the shoulders of the manufacturers, and they are required to make sure that product label information is truthful and not misleading.

Despite the limitations the DSHE Act imposed upon the FDA to act as an agent of change, the FDA issued numerous warnings beginning in the early 1990′s detailing the health risks to consumers of products containing Ephedra.

Since the FDA was not able to regulate ephedra effectively until after millions of Americans had already consumed the stimulant, many consumers are unaware that suppliers of products containing the drug were able to make health and weight loss claims about these substances without a scientific basis. The use of this product and the intential neglect to avoid disclosing the serious side effects from this drug has been a serious issue affecting those taking the supplement.

In 1994, the FDA began receiving many reports regarding the side effects of products containing Ephedra. Although Ephedra is used in less than 1 percent of diet pills it is among the largest in sales, receiving 64 percent of all sales.

Between 1994 – 2002, the FDA received more than 800 reports of adverse effects from Ephedra and Ephedrine alkaloids. These included but are not limited to:

* High blood pressure.

* Heart rate irregularities.

* Insomnia, nervousness.

* Tremors.

* Seizures.

* Heart attacks.

* Strokes.

* Brain hemorrhages.

* Death.

Ephedra’s effects are similar to that of adrenaline and it affects the central nervous system. Ephedra acts as a stimulant and it can cause rapid or irregular heartbeats, chest pain, psychosis and tremors.

Ephedra dilates the bronchial muscles, contracts nasal mucosa, raises blood pressure, and is a cardiac stimulant. Complications from these adverse effects can result in strokes or heart irregularities that can cause cardiac arrest or death. New medical research has suggested that ephedra can also cause primary pulmonary hypertension, a disabling and fatal condition of the lung.

Reports of these adverse side effects have increased in recent years and include the deaths of a few high profile athletes.

Ephedra is a dangerous and potentially life threatening drug. As such it has become critical to monitor its production, distribution and use. Perhaps this is why, in 2003 the states of California, Illinois and New York individually took action and banned the use of ephedra products. This in turn encouraged the Federal Government to move more quickly towards a blanket ban on the stimulant.

The FDA and the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) began discussing the ban of Ephedra in late 2003.

The DHHS stated that Ephedra can be linked to numerous health dangers and the FDA then urged consumers to immediately stop consuming products containing the drug. Other products still on the shelves have been encouraged to be recalled by the FDA.

Effective April 12, 2004, the FDA banned the sale of all Ephedrine over the counter dietary supplements, having concluded,”the totality of the available data showed little evidence of Ephedra’s effectiveness except for modest, short-term weight loss without any clear health benefit, while confirming that the substance raises blood pressure and otherwise stresses the circulatory system. These effects are linked to significant adverse health outcomes, including heart attack and stroke.”

It is now against the law to purchae or sell all dietary products containing Ephedra. The FDA notified 62 companies that market products containing Ephedra of the ban. Prior to the FDA ban one of the most popular supplements containing Ephedra was Metabolife356, which was manufactured by Metabolife International, Inc.

Well, look at you go! You keep moving closer and closer towards your goal. How extraordinary are you? Do you want to know? You are the most extraordinary person on this earth!! To quote Wayne Dyer, we are human beings having a spiritual experience. With this in mind, how can you be anything but Divine as a spiritual being! Keep this in mind when you’re on your journey to achieve weight loss.

Did you do your homework assignment and include exercise in your routine? Was it great to dance around shaking that booty? Your body must have been in heaven shouting, “More, More, More!” For me, I incorporate a few different things: walking, dancing, yoga, pilates, walking and running. I have to get outside and breathe in all that God has created. In fact, I’ve been thinking about running a marathon. Can you imagine at the age of 49 doing this? I’m going to start out with a 5K in the Spring and then go from there. I have a person in my life who is serving as my coach to offer encouragement to let me know I can do it. I have to exercise as it boosts my energy level and makes me feel good. Turning 50 next year is transcending me into experiencing everything as if it is all brand new. I feel as if I’m 21 again. I have no wrinkles—ya, right!

I’ve been coming into contact with so many people who have forgiveness at the core of their weight issues. I know a previous lesson focused on forgiveness and I would like to focus on it again in this lesson.

Whom do you still need to forgive? Include yourself in this process. What thoughts do you still have that are not connected to God? Write them down now.

Writing will help you get your emotions out. Do you journal? If you don’t, I would highly recommend it. I journal each night and this is where I express my thoughts and then I also include gratitude for those things that I have and those things I have yet to receive. I believe everything is right there waiting for me.

After the first of the year, I will be offering a FREE one hour teleconference call—you only pay for the cost of the phone call. Isn’t this exciting? You’ll be on the phone call with others who are going through the same thing. What a great opportunity to connect. I can’t wait!

Don’t ever give up! I read something that Donald Trump said. If you’re going to think, you might as well think BIG! So think BIG weight loss. Those extra pounds are just melting away. You can do it! You’re releasing the pain, the stress so that you manifest all that is yours by Divine right. You’re going to look great in that slinky outfit. I’m so proud of you for focusing on yourself. God is so proud of you too! Go for it!