Is it best to lose weight or shape up with diet and exercise or by going under the knife?
It's a shocking symptom of our 'instant gratification' society that many people believe that they can achieve the true body beautiful through the cosmetic surgeons' hands alone and don't need to concern themselves in the least with adopting habitual healthy eating and regular productive exercise.
A recent report and video on NBC news showed a woman who could 'turn' her buttock implant into the reverse position under the skin! (See link below) She is one of millions it appears who delusionaly believe unquestioningly, whether through anatomical ignorance or just poor understanding of post surgical consequences that cosmetic surgery can completely compensate for the neglect a bad lifestyle can inflict on the physique and visage.
This illusion has been somewhat ironically encouraged further by advertorial-style media stories of dubious 'celebrity'role models who claim they have not had any surgery but then appear in public to be photographed with a new butt/chin/ nose, etc. The poor misguided short-cut-to-beauty-seeker is then convinced that cosmetic surgery is the ultimate panacea and set out to completely change their corporeal profile and body shape by "cutting and stitching" rather than eating well and working out.
There are two major drawbacks with this approach. Firstly, the end result, the law of actions and consequences of plastic or cosmetic surgery invariably fails to live up to expectations (again see the backward butt lady in the link below!). Tummy tucks, liposuction and the like consistently leave aggressive scarring and possibly worse, they only heighten awareness that surrounding tissue and body parts appear more fleshy and without tone than before the procedure.
In other words the surgery looks completely false and out of place-a bit like putting Kate moss's head on the body of Dawn French. The second snag is even if someone is pleased with the results and yet continues with the same poor lifestyle habits that caused the droops then invariably problems will return and more surgery becomes required. Facelifts can be even more disappointing. Stretched, pulled and surgically lifted skin is in effect made older in its performance and the presentation of complexion. It has poorer circulation and significantly less elasticity. It's not freshly invigorated skin, rejuvenated by improved circulation and enhanced tone that can only be gained from drinking plenty of pure water, good cleansing and regular facials.
Throat and neck muscles gain tighter and more natural tone with regular weight bearing exercise and superior nutrition. Successful natural face and body rebooting is like reinventing ourselves. There's nothing wrong with that and wanting a better, more attractive body is fine and valid but also MUST be holistic. The girl in the video has hideous legs and torso and so in any case would not have been happy with a perfect butt implant procedure(whatever that is!)because like most who resort to surgery to change a persistant and historic physical defect she hit the law of diminishing returns-her lower body had slipped too far down the greasy pole of living like a couch potato to ever be revived.
The best bodies, the kind that we all admire have been achieved and maintained with disciplined eating and regular workouts with a professional trainer and maybe a little nip and tuck here and there - the surgery is never the cornerstone of the celebrity hot bod tool set!
Moreover, if we look deep down we find that the true reward for owning this fastidious kind of body is for the contented sensation of self mastery, or efficacy. That's the real reason behind all goal-achieving, to experience that feeling that only comes from achieving goals. You could see it on the faces of the Commonwealth Gold winners recently. They are fresh with the flush of endorphins that only appear when one truly feels in control of ones own destiny. When the strategic planning and execution of a successful operation, propelled by sacrifice and dedication and conceived and executed with military precision produces the euphoria of fulfilment solely consistent with and dependant upon overcoming obstacles or adversity in order to succeed.
They know the reward is worth all of the forfeit, the glory worth the pain. Even if we could have the great body just through surgery (which requires no great effort on our part) we would emerge the same person underneath, the same anxieties and lack of confidence in our powers to overcome personal hang-ups and inadequacies. We only achieve more confidence by gaining the knowledge about exercise and nutrition and applying the disciplines of avoiding junk foods and vice in order take control of our lives and thus become a more effective person.
As a Personal Trainer and experiencing women's vanity daily I can tell that women who feel that all they need is a boob job to feel better about themselves are not at all in a minority. Many insecure ladies feel compelled to become more cartoonish-like curvy in order to 'keep that man' and thus remain in a relationship that really isn't all that it should be-in short to become surgically objectified to meet some Neanderthals physical ideal and in the process experience no personal growth whatsoever but rather become the unwitting victim of a kind of surgically assisted arrested development. However, the most evolved people know that to attain truly improved and lasting self worth through physical change you need not only to work on your body but also learn to feed and train the mind in the correct philosophy for lasting happiness and self contentment. It's a cliché but still true.