Face value: Why more men are getting Botox

A growing number of males are turning to injections and laser treatments in an effort to maintain job security.

Like many realtors, 60-year-old Toronto agent Sean had a tough 2009, but it wasn’t just a recessionary market and skittish buyers that preoccupied him.

A couple of decades older than many of the brokers in his circle, he felt that his younger colleagues had developed an edge over him when it came to attracting and keeping clients. To compete with them, however, he didn’t send out more pamphlets or bombard computer inboxes with e-blasts. Rather, the veteran broker decided to update a more personal calling card – his face – with regular laser treatments.

“It’s basically a facelift without the cutting,” says Sean, which is not his real name. (For privacy reasons, he preferred that his identity not be disclosed.) “The people at work didn’t notice I got anything done. They just noticed that I looked better.” Read more

HCG Diet

Is it the next big weight loss miracle? A hormone found in pregnant women could help you drop the pounds.

It’s called HCG. And if you haven’t heard of it, it’s probably because it’s new. It’s not exactly FDA approved for use in weight loss programs either, but people using it swear by it.

DJ Fink is one of those patients. The Chicago-area man is on the move a lot of the time, shooting his TV show in venues across the country. But lately, he said his bulk was slowing him down.

“I was just continuing to grow and being on TV, TV already adds 10 pounds and it was continuing to add,” he described his slow but steady weight gain.

Fink and his wife decided to try something new– A weight loss program offered at Complete Clinics in Gurnee. The difference between this program and everything else he’d tried is a hormone called HCG. It’s the chemical that makes the stick turn pink when you’re pregnant.

Dr. Scott Morris is one of just a handful of physicians offering an HCG program.

“HCG elevated in pregnant women had an association with weight loss, or at least with fat loss,” he explained. “It basically seems to mobilize those fat stores. The metabolism is increased by some of the dietary changes we use, but then it’s able to get to those fat stores especially around the waist more readily than without the HCG,” he continued.

Dr. Morris couples the HCG injections with a diet low in carbs and refined sugar, and recommends exercise.

DJ Fink and his wife started the program six months ago and have already seen a big difference.

“I am down 12 pants sizes and almost 58 pounds,” he said. “She’s down about 50 pounds.”

Skip, another patient, is also having success with the HCG diet. Recurrent spine injuries left him lethargic and overweight. Then he started the HCG injections.

“I’ve tried like every kind of diet in the world,” he told us.

But nine months into the new regime, he’s feeling great. “I lost 30 pounds in the first four months and six inches off my waist.”

So if it works this well, why haven’t you heard of it yet? HCG is approved for use as a fertility drug. But it’s not FDA-recommended specifically for weight loss. But Dr. Morris thinks that may change.

“In terms of really studying, researching for weight loss and other benefits, i think it’s just not become that popular and that common yet,” he said.

That could soon change. DJ Fink is so happy with his progress, he’s telling everyone he knows.

“My pants are still going down, I’m wearing t-shirts, big guys don’t wear t-shirts, if they do they wear a shirt over it.”

HCG could have other uses. It’s being tested right now as a way to prevent some types of breast cancer.

For more information, contact Complete Clinics. 
By Courtny Gerrish for www.todaystmj4.com

hCG Weight Loss Program – Day 34 and Beyond

Well, I’m on day 34 and I have a decision to make. I’ve lost 25.8lbs since I started this program, and the almighty BMI says I’m now “normal,” so do I end it now or keep going? Well I take a look at my calendar, and if I end now I will be able to spend most of the spring break holiday in the slowly add sugars and starches phase versus absolutely no sugar and starches. Since I know one of the most critical parts of the hCG protocol is locking in your new weight during the maintenance phase, I decide to end it today! What is the maintenance phase? For the first 3 weeks you can eat anything, but no sugars and starches; then you slowly add starches and sugars into your diet for the next three weeks. This process is going to lock in my current weight as my body’s new “normal” weight. Which is one of the key benefits of the hCG program. Read more

hCG Weight Loss Program – Days 27-33 with the Apple Day and Stevia

Well, I figured since I’m already taking hCG and following the strict diet, that I might as well give the “Apple Day” a try. Now the fact is, according to the manuscript you are not supposed to do an apple day unless you have hit a plateau for at least 4 days. But, I’m in the home stretch here and I just lost nothing! So I decide to see what eating nothing but apples for a day will be like! And the results… I lost 2.2lbs in one day! Wow, is sure appears to work! Of course this is mainly water loss (& psychological), but it’s supposed to put me on the right track so I can continue to lose my average 3/4 lb/day. So how was the next day? Up 1lb! Needless to say, I’m… Read more

Botox Injections May Help Avert Negative Emotions

 Botox, which is used to get rid of unwanted wrinkles, could have another surprising use - as an anti-depressant, a new study conducted by American researchers reveals.Undergoing botox treatment involves injecting the protein derivative, botulinum toxin type A, in areas which in which wrinkles and frown lines appear. Researchers from University of Wisconsin-Madison, led by Dr David Havas, interviewed more than 40 patients twice, immediately after the treatment and two weeks later. Read more

Botox May Prevent Some Migraines

Small study shows patients with ocular type benefit from treatment.

Botulinum toxin type A (Botox), the drug that can temporarily erase wrinkles, may also help prevent some types of migraines, a small study suggests.

Specifically, Botox may help reduce the recurrence of those migraines people describe as crushing or eye-popping, otherwise known as ocular migraines. However, the treatment does not appear to work for migraines that are experienced as pressure inside the head, the researchers added.

“In a previous study, neurologists discovered that most patients with imploding and ocular headaches responded to botulinum toxin A injections with a reduction of their headache frequency, while the majority of patients with exploding type migraines did not respond,” said lead researcher Dr. Christine C. Kim, a dermatologist in Encino, Calif.

“We tested this hypothesis in a cosmetic dermatology setting, using botulinum toxin A doses that were much lower than what is typically used by headache specialists, and found similar results,” she added. Read more

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