Forget Cosmetic Surgery: Change Your Lifestyle Instead

Thank you! Im so sick of people going directly to surgery when a simple change in diet could make drastic changes in their life.

The boost of confidence people get from losing weight and getting in shape on their own, far outweighs the actual weight loss.

Great blog guys, I love it!

-Vic
GymJunkies.com

Dr Gerald Pitman - I'm sending you some cyberbubbly and some cyberapplause! Think his tips make absolute sense to me. Now how do we get more of him?????

Dr. Maxwell Maltz, a plastic surgeon who wrote Psychocybernetics, wrote the book because he said that almost all the patients he saw needed INTERIOR remodelling (like a mind-makeover) rather than exterior remodelling. He made the point that even when you could see obvious changes to someone's (lets say nose) in before and after pictures and even when everyone else could see them - they often couldn't.

This makes me wonder how many people are just sort of dissatisfied with themselves overall versus those who have a strong aversion to a part of their bodies. The first group would benefit from lifestyle changes while the second likely would not. If you hate your nose, for example, all the healthy living in the world won't change its shape. How do people who feel like that factor in?

Good to see a doc preaching a healthy lifestyle instead of plastic surgery!

This is a breath of fresh air. A critical piece often missing, too, is why people are overweight to begin with. Yes, we can blame over eating and lack of exercise, but a lot of the time it goes deeper than that - some emotional issue the individual is not dealing with. That's why I hear a lot about people who have surgery often becoming alcoholics - they aren't dealing with the root of the issue.

Certain vitamins and amino acids can actually tighten the skin and reduce cellulite.

This doctor is indeed a breath of fresh air. People always want the quick fix. It's impressive that this doctor is encouraging people to get at the real root of their trouble, as opposed to just focusing on the surface. People can get addicted to plastic surgery just as easily as food, and for the same reasons.

I also loved the comment above about Maxwell Maltz. I've read his book, and I'd recommend it to everyone who is interested in improving themselves from the inside out.

Wow. I'm impressed. We need more docs saying this!

This is excellent, and I agree with Cari...where do we get more people like this???

This is nice, but there are some physical imperfections that diet and exercise will not take care of. I had cosmetic surgery to take care of some saddle bag bulges -- I was well within a healthy weight, but the largeness of my thighs in proportion to the rest of my body drove me crazy. My pants were always way to big at the waist because I had to get size 10s or 12s to fit over my hips and thighs.

I had the sucked out, and became a lot more self-confident and physically active as a result. It was worth every single cent (and then some) and I would do it again in a heart beat. We have the technology, why not love the way you look?

And this is absolutely they key to all weight loss, and healthy dieting. The problem that most of us face is that we cant control our urges.

I can eat all healthy home made food and I still gain weight. The problem is how much I eat in comparison to my daily activity and body type. I just eat to much.

Thats when I found www.myportionpill.com. Its a pill that you take with water 30 minutes before you eat, and it expands to 500 times its original size. Then 2-3 hours later it disipates to it original size. Its developed by doctors, FDA approved, and has no nutritional value. It just takes up room in my stomach and it helps me eat less.

It's good to hear some common sense coming out of the mouth of someone in a profession and social standing that Dr Gerald Pitman has.

But as usual, when human beings are involved nothing is as black & white as we would like it to be. We can't just say no one should have plastic surgery, or everyone should...

Some people have a real reason to seek medical help and all the psychological tutoring in the world won't change their physical appearance. Others just take the relatively easy path to solving a problem that, as Dr Pitman says, is not physical.

So I guess we're back down to individual case evaluations. Maybe the way we can make this problem better, is by creating industry-wide assessment standards that only let through the people that really need and can benefit from the surgery.

I know it sounds very idealistic, but it is a pro-active solution that works on the lowest common denominator, i.e. it's easier to exact change over 10 people than it is over 10,000...

That's true. People should not always think cosmetic surgery is the only option to solve their simple problems. They should try something out first for a couple of months.

It's nice to hear a voice of reason it the commercialised world of artificial beauty :)

Good for him, i commend his practice... although with the plethora of fitness products out there that don't work, im not surprised that people give up and resort to plastic surgery.

FlawlessFitnessBook.com

I agree in regard to the type of surgeries such as tucks and lipo, and that kind of thing. But as others have pointed out here, certain things, such as a nose, will not change at all without surgery. And trust me, if you have a REALLY bad nose, no amount of healthy living and primping will make up for the horrible distraction meeting people head on.

That said, my impression was that usually when you get something like lipo or a tummy tuck you are required to lose as much weight as possible naturally beforehand. I do know of at least one plastic surgeon in my area who required that. I guess I thought that was the norm.

This is a refreshing point of view in a society where people think multiple procedures will somehow bring them happiness.

I know that no amount of sleep or diet/exercise will make my boobs bigger. I think the only way it'd happen would be if I got implants, but when I think about it, I don't know if I'd like them or not. I can always wear a pushup bra with "chicken cutlets" to boost my cleavage or put on a sports bra to hold everything in place.

I get really frustrated with people that want liposuction just to lose weight. They don't really understand the procedure...it's not a quick fix, it's for people that have already lost the weight and are just trying to lose the extra skin they have left.

I agree with most of this. I have known overweight people who got liposuction while they were over 200 lbs. Obviously in that case you do whatever you can with diet and exercise, before resorting to surgery. However, some people have fat in odd places (while being at a healthy weight), or have lost so much weight that their skin is sagging. No amount of diet and exercise, or makeup or haircuts is going to fix that. If it makes them happy, well, they are paying for it.

Great advice! I am always stressing to do something yourself rather than "go under the knife."

Not only is it safer but the feeling you get of doing it yourself will be one of the best feelings ever!

Nothing can replace a good diet, not even vitamin supplements, although they can provide additional benefits, they are artifical, good excercise and a balanced diet of fibre, carbohydrates and minerals help the body to maintain healthy, skin, joints, bones, and CNS functions (central nervous system).