You’ve done the math – calories in is less than calories used – so why is the number on the scale not reflecting your hard work in the gym and kitchen? If this sounds like you, you’re far from alone. Lots of women and men alike struggle to lose weight, despite doing everything right in terms of getting enough exercise, eating healthy, and drinking plenty of water.

So what’s keeping you from reaching your goals? It could be one or more of these sneaky culprits keeping your gains down and your weight up.

1. You sit most of the day.

You’re shredding it in the gym for an hour (or two!) every day, but you’re still not seeing those pesky love handles diminish. Sound familiar? It could be that your desk job is hindering your weight loss and fitness efforts.

Studies have shown that long periods of inactivity significantly reduce the amount of lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activity within your body. LPL is responsible for a number of important functions, including converting triglycerides (fat) into fatty acids that your muscles and other tissues can burn as energy. When LPL is reduced, this ability to burn fat and gain energy is also reduced.

Thus, an hour-long workout in the morning followed by 11 consecutive hours at your desk can still result in reduced LPL activity.

To remedy this, try to get up from your desk and move for at least two minutes every hour. Some fitness trackers will automatically remind you to get up and move every hour, or you can set an alarm on your phone or computer to give you a little nudge.

2. Your diet’s a little too strict.

Limiting sweets and processed foods is a great way to improve your diet to stimulate weight loss. But if you’re restricting your diet so much that your body isn’t getting the nutrients it needs to function properly, you might actually notice weight gain instead of loss.

Along with many other unwanted effects, nutrient deficiency can lead to decreased thyroid function, causing your metabolism to bump the breaks. This often leads to a plateau in weight loss or even weight gain.

Instead of paying hyper-close attention to the number of calories you’re eating in a day, focus on the quality of those calories. If you feel famished at the end of the day, chances are, you didn’t get enough high-quality calories throughout the day and your body may be deficient in vital nutrients.

3. Your genes are storing fat in all the wrong places.

So, you’re telling me that my DNA is the reason I can’t lose weight?! Unfortunately, that’s the cold hard truth for many of us wishing we could trim our love handles or slim our bellies. We can be genetically predisposed to store fat in certain areas, which is why some people might be able to easily melt away belly fat, while others seem to have a belly pooch no matter how much they diet or workout.

While you can’t change your genes, you can adopt healthy lifestyle habits to help counteract excess fat storage. The obvious ones are, of course, diet and exercise, but other important lifestyle factors in losing weight include getting adequate sleep, managing stress, and taking care of your mental as well as physical health.

How to Get Rid of Stubborn Fat

If stubborn fat just won’t go away, despite addressing these sneaky reasons for weight gain and adopting healthy lifestyle habits, don’t sweat it. You could be a great candidate for nonsurgical body contouring treatments like CoolSculpting or EMSCULPT.

These devices can help you fine-tune your fitness results, getting rid of pesky fat in areas like your hips, waist, and thighs or helping your ab and butt muscles do double-duty for a sleek, toned look.

Neither CoolSculpting nor EMSCULPT require extensive downtime, needles, or surgery, so most people find that these treatments are easy to squeeze into their busy schedules.

To learn more about nonsurgical body sculpting options or to book a complimentary consultation, call our Boca Raton & Fort Lauderdale office at 561-886-0970 or request a complimentary consultation online today.

You’ve said “yes,” shared the happy news with your family and friends, and picked a date. Now, the planning begins! In between picking out venues, taste-testing wedding cakes, and, of course, finding the perfect dress, many brides strive to hit a fitness or weight loss milestone before the big day. Use this guide to help you stay on track, hit your goals and stay sane doing it!

1. Start 6 Months or More in Advance

The sooner you can begin a new workout plan, the better your results can be. Starting your workout plan at least six months before your wedding day will give you enough time to reasonably achieve your fitness or weight loss goals. Set yourself up for success by starting slowly, gradually building up the intensity, duration, and frequency of your workouts as you feel stronger and more flexible.

If you think you might want to work a body contouring treatment like CoolSculpting or EMSCULPT into your pre-wedding workout plan, you’ll want to book your consultation well in advance so you and your treatment provider can plan ahead. It will take some time for your full results to develop, so don’t make the mistake of waiting to schedule an appointment the week before your wedding!

2. Don’t Crash Diet

You’ll also want to start making healthy changes to your diet several months before the big day to reap the most benefits, see a more dramatic transformation, and feel your absolute best. Crash dieting two weeks before your wedding not only isn’t going to give you the results you’re looking for, but it’ll drain you of energy and make you even more stressed than you already are.

Instead, build lasting healthy eating habits over the course of several weeks or months and allow your body to gradually become accustomed to your new-and-improved lifestyle.

3. Make It Fun

You’ve got enough stress and chores to check off your to-do list right now, so don’t make fitting exercise into your busy schedule yet another headache. Instead, mix up your workouts, choosing exercises that are fun and stress-relieving so you’ll actually look forward to doing them. Plus, fun workouts make it much easier to stay on track and not talk yourself out of exercising.

Need some ideas? Try cardio dance programs, Pilates, HIIT workouts, or jogging outdoors if you’re a nature lover. Or, de-stress with yoga or tai chi.

4. Leave Some Wiggle Room after Your Final Dress Fitting

If you plan to lose weight before your wedding, make sure you leave enough time between your final dress fitting and your wedding day in case a quick alteration needs to be made to accommodate your slimmer figure. If you can, let your seamstress know that you plan to lose X amount of weight before the big day so that she can help you plan a reasonable timeline for your final fitting.

Finally, try to remember that your wedding day (and the journey leading up to it!) are supposed to be fun and enjoyable — so don’t let stress take away from the beauty of the entire experience.

We offer customizable bridal packages to get you picture-perfect for your special day. Whether you are the bride, groom, mother of the bride, a member of the bridal party, or a wedding guest, our bridal packages will help you look and feel great for the big day!
Learn all about our available wedding packages here.

Do you feel like summer is fast approaching and you haven’t quite hit all of your fitness goals yet? No sweat! We share five top summer fitness tips – beyond plain old diet and exercise – to help you get beach body ready.

1. Power Through Shorter, Higher Intensity Workouts

Crunched for time? You don’t have to skip your workout! Instead, make it a quick 20 minutes of high intensity interval training (HIIT) to maximize your results when you don’t have an hour or more to spend at the gym.

In fact, recent studies have found that HIIT can be even more effective than traditional cardio workouts. So if you don’t have time for long workouts, you can still crush your summer fitness goals. The most important thing is that you are maintaining a regular, sustainable exercise schedule that works for you.

2. A Reusable Water Bottle Is Your BFF

Staying hydrated is so important when it comes to reaching and maintaining fitness goals (not to mention great skin!) If you don’t drink enough water before, during, and after working out, you might experience symptoms like fatigue, dizziness, increased heart rate, or muscle cramps – all of which can get in the way of performing your best.

That said, it can be so easy to forget to drink enough water when it’s not readily available, especially when on the go. Get yourself a reusable water bottle so you can keep track of how much you’re drinking each day, and ensure that water is always an arm’s reach away, no matter where you are.

3. Book Hotels with Fitness Amenities for an Extra Boost

Whether traveling for business or leisure, being in a new place and out of your normal routine can make it difficult to stick to a regular workout schedule. Keep on crushing your fitness goals while traveling by booking hotels with fitness amenities so you can wake up to a quick yoga session or light jog before heading out for the day.

To stay safe and healthy, bring along disinfectant wipes and wipe down the equipment before and after your workout.

4. Kick Excessive Sweating to the Curb with miraDry

Does excessive underarm sweating keep you from maximizing your workouts or fitting in a relaxing walk during your lunch break? If so, you’re not alone. Hyperhidrosis, the medical term for excessive sweating, is a common condition that affects both men and women. If you can’t seem to find an antiperspirant that prevents sweat stains and body odor, hyperhidrosis might affect you.

The good news is that there is now a highly effective nonsurgical treatment for excessive underarm sweating called miraDry. MiraDry works by delivering electromagnetic energy to the targeted area, disabling sweat glands. But don’t worry, your body will still be able to cool itself off using the many other sweat glands located throughout your body.

5. Fine-Tune Your Beach Body with Body Work

You’ve been whipping up kale salads and green smoothies, working out on the regular, and mastering the art of stress management. So why aren’t you losing those last few pounds, or saying sayonara to your love handles?

The truth is that some areas – like your love handles, abs, and thighs – can be particularly challenging to tone and tighten, even with a healthy lifestyle. If you’re struggling to reach those last few fitness milestones because of this, nonsurgical body contouring devices like CoolSculpting or EMSCULPT could be the last little push you need to achieve your goals.

CoolSculpting and EMSCULPT do not require surgery or extensive downtime, so you shouldn’t have to take much time out of your busy schedule to freeze away stubborn fat or tighten and tone your abdominal or buttocks muscles.

To learn more about nonsurgical body sculpting options or to book a complimentary consultation, call our Boca Raton & Fort Lauderdale office at 561-886-0970 or request a complimentary consultation online today.

You may have heard that there’s a new nonsurgical body contouring device on the block: CoolSculpting Elite! Many people are wondering what makes CoolSculpting Elite different from CoolSculpting Legacy, the classic CoolSculpting option, and if this new CoolSculpting device could be right for them.

Find the answers to your burning (or should we say cooling?) questions about what CoolSculpting Elite is here, along with four big benefits of this upgraded body sculpting technology.

1. Dual Applicators Mean Double the Treatment

DualSculpting allows you to get two CoolSculpting treatments at the same time, essentially cutting your total treatment time in half. But previously, DualSculpting was only available from providers who had more than one available CoolSculpting device, so this option was not always readily available, depending on your location.

Now, every CoolSculpting Elite device comes with two applicators, so you can maximize every CoolSculpting appointment with the help of built-in DualSculpting. That means less time you’ll need to spend at your CoolSculpting appointment and more time you can spend doing the things you love.

2. “C”-Shaped Applicator Covers More Skin

Another major difference between CoolSculpting Elite and CoolSculpting Legacy is that CoolSculpting Elite now uses a “C”-shaped applicator, rather than the “U” shape of the Legacy device. This new shape allows for an astounding 18% more surface area coverage, so each treatment can be even faster and more efficient than before.

3. Precisely Target 9 Treatment Areas

CoolSculpting Elite now comes with seven applicator options in a range of shapes and sizes that allow your provider to more precisely treat nine areas of your body, including your chin and jawline, thighs, upper arms, hips, waist, back, bra rolls, and banana rolls (under the buttocks).

And because of the built-in DualSculpting we mentioned earlier, you can treat two of these areas at the same time.

4. Cutting-Edge Technology for Even Better Results

So many people’s most-loved cosmetic treatment just got a facelift of its own! Other changes to the CoolSculpting device include a sleeker, more compact Elite machine and more advanced freezing technology for the most efficient nonsurgical body contouring results possible.

If you still have questions about CoolSculpting Elite or would like to book an appointment, find out more information here or call our Boca Raton office at 561-886-0970.

Affecting an astounding 90% of women at some point in their lives, cellulite is one of the most common — and trickiest to treat — cosmetic concerns. Fortunately, the FDA has now approved QWO, the first injectable treatment for cellulite, making those bothersome lumps and bumps much simpler to get rid of.

To help explain the ins and outs of what QWO is and how it works, we spoke with one of the experienced providers at Sanctuary Medical Aesthetic Center.

What Is QWO?

QWO (collagenase clostridium histolyticum-aaes) is an FDA-approved injectable treatment for cellulite in the buttocks area. Because it is an injectable, QWO does not require surgery or extensive downtime.

How Does QWO Work to Treat Cellulite?

Cellulite occurs when bands of connective tissue beneath the skin become tight and pull down on the fat cells beneath them. This creates the uneven skin texture and dimples characteristic of cellulite.
Lennox explains that “it is believed that QWO works by breaking down the collagen-rich bands that tether the dermis to the facia below the skin.”

Once these tight bands are loosened, there is no longer downward pressure being placed on the surrounding tissue, creating much more even and smoother skin texture on the surface.

How Many QWO Treatments Do You Need?

Most people need around three QWO treatments to achieve optimal results. Each treatment should be spaced 21 days apart, explains Lennox.

Is There Downtime or Side Effects?

There is no downtime associated with QWO, so you should be able to get right back to work or other daily activities directly after your appointment. Bruising and some mild tenderness are common side effects after getting QWO.

When Will You See QWO Results, and How Long Do They Last?

Expect to see a noticeable improvement in the appearance of cellulite after just one QWO treatment. However, your final result will be visible approximately one month after your final treatment.

“The duration of the effect of QWO is still under scientific investigation,” explains Lennox. “However, we currently understand it to be greater than a year.”

My First-Hand Experience with QWO

Roxana, a patient at Sanctuary Medical Aesthetic Center, shares her first-hand experience with QWO treatments for cellulite:

My first treatment was a little scary, since this is not an area I have had treated before, but my provider made me super comfortable and managed my expectations very well. The injections are quick and do not hurt. The needle is small. After the first treatment, I experienced significant bruising at the injection sites. The bruises were very sore for a few days, but I still was able to work out, no problem. I do Olympic weightlifting and while it hurt a bit, I powered through it.

The bruises went away just in time for my second treatment, and the bruises after my second treatment were smaller and a lot less bothersome. By the time I had my third treatment, one dimple was already gone, so we did not need to inject that one.

I started seeing results about a week after my first treatment. Now that I am about two weeks out from my third treatment, I really see a difference. I was told that QWO lasts about a year or more, so I am really happy because I am so self conscious about my cellulite. I am 34, 5’4 and weigh around 135lbs. My fat percentage is around 25%. It does not take fat away from your butt, which I am happy about because I like my booty. I am very fair, and the residual stains from the bruising have almost disappeared. I feel WAY more confident now. I would do it again!

Could QWO Be Right for You?

You could be a good candidate for QWO if you are in good overall health and want to smooth away the appearance of cellulite in your buttocks area. Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding may not be good candidates for this treatment.

If you think QWO could be the cellulite treatment you’ve been looking for, schedule a complimentary consultation online or call our Boca Raton & Fort Lauderdale office today at 561-886-0970 for more information.