New Year’s Resolutions

The new year’s bell has rung, and gym memberships are up across the country. You are not alone if holiday eating has you thinking it’s time to tone down on the food consumption and increase your level of activity. The top New Year’s Resolutions involves diet, exercise, and weight loss but with only 8% of those that set a goal for the new year actually achieving it, it seems to be more popular to set the target than actually to meet it.

Statistics reveal that of the 41% of those that make resolutions, only 9% felt they were successful in obtaining the goal the set.     

Diet, exercise, and weight loss are all great goals to work towards and even if you are not in the 9% that will reach their target, just setting a goal will have you more successful than those that don’t even think about it. The best way to optimize your health can be crucial to your well-being and your waistline. Here are some ideas that can help you cross that finish line.

Write out your goals.

This is one of the essential parts of goal setting. Writing out your goal not only helps you to remember what the goal is, but it will keep you focused.

 

Smaller goals leading up to the larger goal

A year can seem like a long time when you are trying to lose weight or become more healthy. Rather than becoming overwhelmed or disheartened, break the big picture into easy to handle pieces and think in terms of a month or week.

Create a plan

If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. A program can help you see the steps you will need to take to achieve your goal. Celebrate each step’s success, and you’ll be pumped for the next one.

Stay motivated

Staying motivated is difficult when we don’t see any progress or feel stuck. Create a way that will encourage your motivation. A self-pat on the back. A new outfit in a smaller size. Something special you can set as a treat as you reach your goal.

Get back up if you fall down

When we fall, it can feel like a failure, but it doesn’t have to. Sure, we could set a pity party table for one, but then we will never move forward. It is hard work losing weight or eating better or working out, but it is worth the effort.

 

Don’t be afraid to ask for help or seek out different ways to achieve your weight loss or a healthier lifestyle. There are alternatives to the traditional methods of weight loss to help you as well. A physician-supervised program, the Hormone Therapy Program, utilizes normal physiology to achieve significant weight loss. This program is customizable to each individual and is overseen by Dr. Bakken. It works in conjunction with counseling, diet advising, and check-ins, so you are not alone in your journey.

The Laser and Skin Care Medspa offers free consultations and would be happy to discuss this physician-supervised program in greater detail with you. Call to book your appointment today and be on your way to meeting your weight goals in 2018.

 

 


 

The Importance of Me Time

 

It doesn’t matter what stage of your life you are in, a little time to yourself is not only an excellent way to recharge, but it is necessary. As a single person in their 20’s trying to carve out a niche, someone with little ones at home, a middle-aged professional, or a mature adult in retirement, all of us need a little time to just be with ourselves.

Self-care is fundamental to living healthy. Our lives are filled with endless running errands, finishing up that project, getting others to where they need to be that we often forget that we matter as well. It is difficult to give when we feel exhausted, run down, or neglected. When we make time for ourselves, we feel more energized, productive, and refreshed.

Many people feel that taking time for themselves is selfish. Me Time is anything but selfish. It is selfless. Making yourself a priority is essential to all those counting on you. Do you ever wonder why the airline stewardess reminds you to put your own oxygen mask on first? If you don’t, you’ll be no good to anyone around you when you are passed out. The same goes for a little recharge.

There are many ways that we can take a little time out from our busy lives to prioritize ourselves. Here are a few suggestions that require no planning and can be done in an hour or more:

  • Head to the bookstore and spend some time browsing
  • Buy yourself a cup of your favorite hot beverage and sit and really enjoy it
  • Go for a walk down a country road
  • Enjoy a movie
  • Call a friend

Sometimes we need to have committed to a program or scheduled an appointment to take some time for us. Here are ways you can practice self-care by scheduling it in:

  • Book a pedicure
  • Schedule time to meditate
  • Join a Yoga class
  • Ask for gift certificates for special occasions to your favorite spa
  • Put a reoccurring appointment in your calendar each week that is just for you

 

Whether it is scheduled or spontaneous, we all need to let go of the busyness of our lives once in a while. It is not uncommon to think we have it all under control until the balls we’ve been juggling start to fall all around us. Take the time to remind yourself that you are important and deserve a break. The people in your life that count on you will thank you.

 

 


 

 

 

Tattoo Removal Using the Spectra Laser

Tattoo removalOnce a permanent decision, tattoos are no longer everlasting or something you have to learn to live with. Whatever your reason for wanting to have a tattoo removed, with today’s laser technology it makes it possible to eliminate or fade most tattoos.

Reasons for wanting a tattoo removed are as unique as the reasons for getting the ink in the first place. Whether it is a bad or fading tattoo, what you once thought was cool is no longer suited to you, or your life has taken you in a different direction, you do not have to settle for a cover-up if what you really want is to have it removed.   

TattooingPainting of the human body goes back to the beginning of time. In the past, if you no longer wanted that ink the common techniques included cryosurgery, dermabrasion or excision. The variety of techniques used to apply tattoos is staggering; the source of the ink, where on the body the tattoo is applied, colors and designs used, even the depth into the skin can vary dramatically.  Thus the approach that the practitioner faces to remove tattoos must take into account that every person and every tattoo that is unique.

Laser and Skin Care Medspa is pleased to announce the recent acquisition of a Spectra Laser. This Q Switched laser is considered to be the gold standard in the removal of tattoos. There are a number of factors that must be taken into account such as the size, location, depth, and color of the tattoo before the number of treatments is decided upon. The treatment session each take from 10 to 30 minutes and most patients report no pain other than a warming of the skin and a light prickly feeling.

Tattoo removal with Lutronic

There is a waiting time in between each session to allow your body to remove the tattoo ink fragments and heal but after each session, you will notice the ink becoming lighter. This will depend on the colors of the tattoo and inks used. Black and dark green are the easiest colors to remove while yellow, purple, turquoise and fluorescent dyes are hardest to fade. With no downtime and minimal side effects, you can return to your normal activities immediately after a session.

 

Spectra Tattoo Removal

As with any procedure at the Laser and Skin Care Medspa in Red Deer, our consultations are free. If you have a tattoo you’ve been contemplating having removed, give us a call to schedule an appointment. We are the only clinic in Central Alberta with this Laser and look forward to hearing from you soon. 

 

To view a demonstration, please watch our video.