HAIRCUT STYLES FOR MEN & Woman

Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News

12-23-09

Dec. 23--New Year's resolutions for many Americans will mean the latest diets and gym memberships.

But losing weight and keeping it off might be as much about the psychological struggles as the physical changes.

"Some people say losing weight is in the mind," said Judith Horvath, director of the psychotherapy training program at Texas Tech's Health Sciences Center.

The HSC psychiatrist said giving yourself a mental workout can complement healthful eating and exercise regimens.

"I think they need to go hand-in-hand," she said.

Psychological feelings make the holiday season one of the worst times of the year to embark on a program, Horvath said.

"Food can be used as emotional nourishment and to calm anxieties," she said. "The holidays stir up unfulfilled longings in people. People are reminded of the things they are missing out on."

But other emotions make losing weight hard year-round, Horvath said. Feelings of depression, a loss of control, rationalizing weight gain and low self-esteem can make losing weight seem like an impossible task, local experts said.

"Some people don't think they can allow themselves to look their best because they feel like they don't deserve to be a more attractive person," Horvath said.

Most of the morbidly obese patients treated at Lubbock's Advanced Bariatric Surgery Center are depressed, said David Syn, a bariatric surgeon who opened the practice in 2002. Many of them give up the antidepressants when they shed their extra pounds, he said.

They might also feel like they're losing a friend, like they must reach their ideal weight to succeed, or like they've already failed.

"If you look at the laundry list of diets they've tried on their own and failed, that can't have a positive impact on someone's psyche," Syn said.

Syn helps his patients overcome their overeating through surgery, counseling and education, he said.

"One of the great misunderstandings about what I do is that it's just surgery," said Syn, who spends hours with his patients before surgery and follows most for many years after.

"We are empowering people to take back their lives," he said.

Horvath said people striving for less dramatic weight loss can benefit from including family and friends in the process or talking to a professional.

The Texas Tech HSC Psychiatry Clinic provides a free counseling program for patients planning to lose weight, she said.

People should try to find distractions that help them stay away from food, Horvath said.

"They have to find out how to deal with the loss of satisfaction eating provides them," she said. "It's about exchanging the reward of food for the reward of achieving their goals."

Athletes put their skin through more and are exposed to the elements (i.e., sun, wind, rain, chlorine) more than sedentary people. Athletes are consistently sweating, training and showering, which leads to excessive loss of moisture to the skin and hair. Most city water systems contain chlorine; once the pores are opened from a warm shower or bath, the skin absorbs chlorine like a sponge. Chlorinated water can cause or exacerbate dry skin and rashes, and the inhaled steam can aggravate sinuses and lungs.
But chlorine is not the only chemical of concern. Adults put up to 126 unique chemicals on their skin each day, and up to 60 percent of what is put on the skin is absorbed directly into the bloodstream. One of every five adults are potentially exposed every day to all of the top seven carcinogenic impurities common to personal care product ingredients: hydroquinone, ethylene dioxide, 1,4-dioxane, formaldehyde, nitrosamines, PAHs, and acrylamide. The top most common impurity ranked by number of people exposed is hydroquinone, which is a potential contaminant in products used daily by 94 percent of all women and 69 percent of all men. Although these exposures may be small, they add up within the body. How do these affect an athlete’s performance in the long run?
With the recent crop of media attention about chemicals in drinking water, lead levels in cosmetics and phthalates showing up everywhere, more athletes (whatever their performance level) are looking for an organic and natural approach to personal care products. This goes hand-in-hand with their already diligent approach to their exercise, food and supplement regimen.
Another good reason why athletes should also be using our Sense Beautiful Science skin care line in addition to other selected USANA nutritional products.