It’s difficult to live with passion if you don’t feel your best. We are all guilty at times of becoming so busy that we don’t truly pay attention to how we are feeling.  I recently posted on my Facebook page that “Ladies so often take care of everyone else first, while forgetting about themselves.” (And we all know men can do this too.) We often settle for the ‘status quo’, and when people ask us how we are, we tell them we are ‘fine’ or ‘ok’.  But if we are to live with a passion for life, we must feel our best.  When someone asks us how we are, our response should be ‘outstanding!’, ‘fantastic!’ or ‘wonderful!’

I encourage you to slow down for a moment and take inventory. Ask yourself some honest questions:

• How am I feeling…really?
• Is my energy level high?
• Have I been under a lot of stress?
• Am I happy with the way my skin looks? My body?
• How is my love life? Is it full of passion, or has the ‘heat’ waned?

Reflecting on questions like this from time to time (and answering yourself sincerely) is important in truly attaining a life of health, happiness and harmony…a passionate life!

What you feed yourself is important also, and I don’t just mean the food that you eat.  I mean what you listen to, what you watch, the thoughts you allow to ‘camp out’ in your mind.  It’s important to encourage yourself and surround yourself with things and people that build you up inside and feed your passion.

Here are a few encouraging articles I recommend:

• From Dr. Christiane Northrup’s site, written by the very motivational Crystal Andrus, that will exhort you to ‘Create the Life You Love’.
• From Oprah’s site, ‘How to Find Your Passion‘ by Martha Beck.

I hope you enjoy them, and if there is any way I can help you, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

This month I encourage you to ‘Live Passionately!’

One of our recent additions to the Dr. Shel team, Jessica G., has enjoyed a tremendous amount of success on the HCG Program. Here, she shares part of her journey with us:

“I have done so many diets in my life, I sometimes joke that I’m a ‘professional dieter.’ After trying the HCG program, I honestly feel like I have found something that will give me lasting results. No program I’ve ever done has worked as well, or as quickly, as the HCG program has for me.”

“I had my first baby just over 9 months ago and I have been on a quest to get back to my pre-baby weight ever since. By the end of my pregnancy, I was shocked to see that I had gained a whopping 65 lbs. (Ouch-that even hurt to type! LOL!) I figured that surely I’d lose a bunch of weight, you know, actually having the baby. And then there was breastfeeding-surely I’d lose a ton from that…I mean, doesn’t that burn like 1000 calories a day or something?  But alas, I found myself 10 weeks post delivery and only down 20 lbs (Yes, that was including the baby!). So, I had done the HCG program before and had a lot of success; I knew that it would be my best bet for taking off the baby weight. I began the HCG program and in 42 days I lost 25 pounds-I was on my way to getting back to my pre-pregnancy weight. I just completed a second, shorter round of treatment and successfully lost 15 pounds in 24 days! I’m so happy with the results and am looking forward to reaching my weight loss goals!”

We are thrilled that Jessica is doing so well on the program and we feel privileged to have helped so many other patients to reach their goals. It is very important that HCG treatment be medically supervised, so each of the patients that I treat are tested before beginning and are monitored on a regular basis throughout the process. We check our patient’s thyroid function to make sure their metabolism is ideal so they can lose the weight AND keep it off.  Another aspect that differentiates our program is that we also evaluate our patient’s hormonal status to see if there may be any hormonal, adrenal or lifestyle issues contributing to their weight gain. You can read more about our HCG Program here.

Dr. Oz was recently discussing the topic of HCG on his program and had some interesting things to say.  You can view his videos by clicking here.

For more information on our HCG Program, please call our offices to schedule a consultation.

As women, we always seem to be in limbo about whether or not we love our body. We tend to pick out the tiniest “imperfections” that others may not see but, to us, that imperfection can lead to our constant focus of attention to that area. My goal is always to empower women to look and feel their best at any age, and with any body type. This is a result of me teaching each woman to accept herself or to provide treatments to those who want

Belly fat, bumps, and bulges are always at the top of every woman’s list of aesthetic concerns to address. Diet and exercise are excellent ways to improve your lifestyle, overall health, and reach your goal weight. Unfortunately, we are all still susceptible to having less than lovable areas on our body that won’t budge with all of the fad diets and personal trainers at our fingertips. The only available option to eliminate these areas of concern is surgery. For most of us, this option simply is NOT an option for numerous reasons such as: anesthesia, downtime, risk of infection, scars, etc. Until now, it has been almost impossible to change our body shape or contours without going under the knife. Coolsculpting is the most advanced non-surgical, non-invasive treatment available that has no risk of undesirable side effects while it permanently and safely removes areas of unwanted fat.

Coolsculpting is an FDA cleared treatment which permanently removes up to 30% of fat in areas of the body that are resistant to diet and exercise. It is a non-surgical treatment that does not require any anesthesia and provides maximum results in 2-3 months with minimal discomfort and no downtime. Coolsculpting is a highly advanced technology that freezes unwanted fat cells causing them to crystallize and then be naturally removed through your body’s lymphatic system. The Coolsculpting treatments have been safely and effectively performed on hundreds of thousands of patients who all achieve remarkable results that help them fall in love with their body all over again.

We all have the best intentions in mind when we look towards a New Year with endless possibilities and New Year’s resolutions. Often times, we can get a little too ambitious with our goals and find that we run out of steam to maintain our lofty ideas only a month or two into the New Year. Give yourself a break this year and achieve your goals by turning to advancements in medicine, science, and technology to help you achieve your goals for 2012. The most common New Year’s resolutions are to lose weight, and to take better care of your body and feel more like yourself again. It is difficult to find the time to ensure your goals are being met and kept, which is why Dr. Shel has made this her daily mission and a possibility for every patient.

Losing weight seems to be everyone’s #1 priority going into the New Year. Until recently, it has never been easier to accomplish significant lasting weight loss than with hCG. You can safely, effectively and easily lose weight and start 2012 off right by achieving one of your goals by Valentine’s Day. Reducing areas of stubborn fat has never been more advanced. Coolsculpting is the most advanced technology that freezes areas of fat for good and preventing it from returning. Coolsculpting is ideal for the abdomen, inner thighs, love handles, virtually any area of your body. It is pain-free, has no downtime and requires as little as 1 treatment to achieve amazing results.

Taking care of yourself often times is the highest priority on your “to-do” list but it quickly falls to the bottom as your daily list grows. Reclaiming yourself by taking care of your body and keeping it healthy does not have to take as much time and effort as you may think. You can quickly restore your body with a natural approach to your health by balancing hormones, determining and correcting nutritional deficiencies, and eliminating allergies before Spring has sprung! Pair these approaches with 20-30 minutes of “me time” everyday by taking a walk or jog, meditating, reading, or taking a bath to experience a sense of renewal and create a positive attitude that 2012 is going to be your best year yet.