Houston Medical Center Health Blog

Many facing cholesterol challenges are distraught at the latest news questioning the effectiveness of Vytorin against cholesterol. The issue surrounding the effectiveness of Vytorin underscores the need for preventive health activities. While it it beneficial to have drugs that help to lower cholesterol one must question the indisputable effectiveness that healthy lifestyles can have on ones cardio-vascular system. While many do owe their high cholesterol levels to non-dietary factors such as heredity, there is no doubt that exercise and dietary discipline can make a significant impact.

Dwight Eisenhower is quoted as saying: “Our real problem, then, is not our strength today; it is rather the vital necessity of action today to ensure our strength tomorrow.”

Nothing better describes the role of diet and exercise on our future health and welfare. How we feel today is based upon past, but how we feel tomorrow is entirely in our hands.

We cannot pin our hopes on the effectiveness of pharmaceutical research, as it is not within our sphere of control. What is under our control is our daily actions and dietary choices.

Every year millions swear that this year they are going to lose weight, stop smoking or start an exercise program. Most have the best intentions of doing so but quit after the first failure.

Regardless of how you set out to achieve your goal there is one change you should consider making for 2008. It does not involve a personal trainer or eating Tofu it is simply a different perspective.

Let me start by asking a question; is an A on an exam a success or failure?

No need to think about that one as its a no-brainer. How many parents would be happy if their struggling child brought home an A on their exam? Rest assure that anything 90% or above would be cause for celebration!

What if your son or daughter came home from their first day of school in tears because they had to take every test and exam, including the final exam on the first day of school! Most parents would say that is absurd, how can you be expected to meet those standards on the first day?

Yet we do it to ourselves when set the expectation that we must lose weight or stop smoking for the next year. No chance for preparation, no opportunity to learn and no room for mistakes! The problem is we are applying a rather cruddy statistical model to our new years goal. We are also viewing slip-ups or down days in the harshest of light. Because of this unrealistic goal we give up at the first slip-up, and thus we set ourselves up to only measure failure not success. The solution is to establish a time period that allows us to learn, adapt and measure success.

Break it down to smaller time periods. This allows us real and authentic success while at the same time allowing us to see how little slip ups impact our goal even in the shortest of time spans. It is important to say that the success we achieve is an authentic success, because it is. There is nothing in the way of self-delusion or babying that occurs if when we crunch the numbers to compare our successes and slip-ups.

So I say a find the right time period for you even if it is down to the minute. If the office candy is calling you and you are able to resist it for the entire day then you have accomplished 480 conscious will power throughout the day. It sounds silly, but it is absolutely the truth. Even if you slip up and have one “bite-sized” Twix bar you still have over 479 moments of successfully saying no. Focus on that accomplishment as it is something to be proud of. You have an accumulation of legitimate achievement that serves as a building block for more.

So back to the A. If I were to make a New Week’s resolution and set out 90% as a target goal for my week that would equate to 6.3 days. Plenty of room for a slip-up or mistake and plenty of legitimate success to minimize the impact of a mistake. Even a 50% success would put 3.5 successful days to balance your week. Keep in mind that you must allow yourself time to learn and apply information in your pursuit of your goal. Just as you would give your child leeway when learning something new, you must do the same for yourself. If you were able to achieve a 90% target for a 30 day month you would have 3 days of “failure” and 27 days of success. How does that minute amount of “failure” feel in the face of overwhelming success?

90% is a high standard but I use it because it places the 3 days of the month you consider “failure” in a proper perspective. We tend to isolate our feelings of failure from the truth of our past successes. Viewed by themselves they are reasons enough to give up, but when reconciled against ongoing and increasing success they fade almost to the point of being immeasurable.

I will leave you with this to consider; Even a 99% success rate, the closest to “perfect” REQUIRES that you completely “FAIL” for 4 days of the year. That is 4 days to tell yourself that you have succeeded 361 times!

Hyperhidrosis is a condition in which an individual experiences excessive perspiration beyond the normal limits needed to cool the body. In most cases of Hyperhidrosis the excessive perspiration will be exhibited on the palms of the hands and soles of the feet. There are many treatment options available for Hyperhidrosis that range from oral medications to surgical procedures. Additional information can be found in our article on Hyperhidrosis.

Gastric Bypass Surgery and other weight loss surgeries are becoming popular topics in America’s battle for “waist management.” In the various TV commercials for Gastric Bypass Surgery before and after testimonies further the appeal of these types of surgeries. If you are interested in weight loss surgery we have compiled information about these procedures in our Gastric Bypass article.

Perlane is a Hyaluronic Acid based dermal filler that is utilized to improve facial lines and wrinkles by means of a non-toxic dermal filler. Besides the elimination of wrinkles Perlane provides a fuller appearance to the look of one’s skin. Perlane has a repulation of lasting twice as long as other dermal fillers. For additional information be sure to read our article on Perlane.

We have recently added a glossary containing Medical and Cosmetic Procedure Definitions to our site. The glossary can be found at our Medical and Cosmetic Procedure Definitions page.

ClearLight Acne Treatment is a safe and effective method of treating acne outbreaks. Clear Light is a light therapy that utilizes a “blue light” spectrum to kill acne bacteria. Read our article on ClearLight Acne Treatment for further information on this acne treatment

Plasma Skin Regeneration

Plasma Skin Regeneration is a new technique that helps to reduce wrinkles, tighten skin and improve skin tone and skin texture. No other procedure treats more conditions at the same time. Plasma has been used in the medical for many years. Plasma is a highly charged ionized gas that is often described as the 4th type of matter.

Read additional information on Plasma Skin Regeneration

Smart Lipo is a new advance in Liposuction that promises a more effective elimination of unwanted body fat. The Smartlipo procedure utilizes a laser to target and litraly melt away fat cells. Due to the use of a laser SmartLipo is able to avoid the unsightly bruising and use of special garments that older liposuction procedures require. To learn more about SmartLipo, read our article on Smart Lipo Liposuction.

ArteFill is the first permanent dermal filler approved by the FDA for those seeking non surgical cosmetic procedure options. Unlike Restylane, Sculptra, Radiesse and Juvederm, there is no need for continuous follow-up treatments with Artefill. Because of this many are finding ArteFill an alternative to surgery for such things a nose jobs, check implants, etc.

Read more about Artefill.