I have just been watching the TV and noticed that there are so many adverts which are related to the way that we look. More than those aimed at selling cars, clothes or any other item. It seems that every second advertisement that you see is telling you that you need to improve some detail about your appearance and that unless you buy their product as soon as possible, you will end up a social pariah.

There are adverts to help you look and feel better about different things such as your hair, your body and your skin. When it comes to your hair, there are things such as specialised shampoos and conditioners for the various hair types. There are also serums, lotions and sprays which deal with different issues such as frizz, split ends and thinning hair.

 As for the other things which people are concerned with about their appearances, it is usually their skin and how much they weigh. Both of these issues are also dealt with by the marketing people and you will find that there is a solution advertised for almost every condition that you can think of. These include remedies for being overweight, for being underweight, for having excess folds of skin, and for stretch marks.

When it comes to your skin, there are lotions and potions for every type of skin problem, from dry patches to acne. Some of these do actually work and it is just a matter of just looking around and trying to find the product that is suitable for your skin. The problems arise when you find that none of these remedies are suitable for the problem that you have and that you need to start looking around for some alternative method of dealing with your particular problem.

This is when you can start to look at the field of cosmetic surgery, which is a very popular field of medicine these days. The was a time when cosmetic surgery was a term which was not mentioned in polite circles, but these days you will find people discussing procedures at the dinner table. There are many things which can be sorted out with these procedures including being overweight and having sagging skin. These involve surgical procedures but there are also less invasive procedures in the field of aesthetic medicine.

As far as your face is concerned, there are various procedures which can help to make you look good and therefore to feel better and more confident about yourself. Some of these procedures include having skin peels and the newer green peels. These are treatments where the top layer of the skin is removed to leave behind newer, fresh looking skin, with the use of chemicals. In the case of the green peels, the substances used are organic and made from natural ingredients. These will yield swift results and have a very short recovery time. You will experience a little discomfort, itchiness and redness for a short while.

The first time I heard the word epiphany was during the viewing of “HOOK” when Dustin Hoffman mentions the word. Since then I have often used it as a part of my vocabulary and have even had the chance to use it as a revelation about certain parts of my own life. the last time I had a major epiphany was a few years ago and I found it to be a turning point of sorts.

Over the years since leaving college, I had put on weight steadily and because it was not an overnight thing, the realisation took some time to sink in that I had managed to gain a considerable amount of weight. Even then it was never a major issue since my partner never said anything and the subject was never raised.

Seeing photographs of myself during that time made me think that I should go on a diet but somehow it was never made into a priority and the pounds just kept piling on. Occasionally I would start to do something about it and half heartedly make a few attempts such as trying a new diet or joining some exercise classes and at one point even joined one of the slimming clubs where you are guaranteed to lose weight if you stick to their system.

 This was the problem; the sticking to something for the duration or time it would take to achieve lasting results. I would give up far too easily and then find myself back at square one. The turning point came when I read an article in a magazine which was a man who had recently recovered from a heart attack and had decided on drastic measures to try and reduce his massive girth. He was the same age as me and had children the same age as mine. He said that he did not wish to leave his kids with only one parent and what he said struck enough of a chord with me to join the gym.

Unlike him I did not want to go for the option of cosmetic surgery procedures such as stomach banding or liposuctionto help me in the battle to lose weight. I wished to do it the old fashioned way by controlling my calorie intake and increase my activity level. This is the best method of not only losing weight but of keeping it off, which is even harder than losing it in the first place. Even a few years later on I have found it easy to maintain the routine of diet and exercise.

I worked hard and even though it took me eight months of hard work and determination, I was successful in losing forty pounds. Also because I had done it the slow way by losing just over a pound per week, the weight loss did cause the skin to sag and require the need for skin rejuvenationprocedures which come under the heading of cosmetic surgery or aesthetic medicine.