While there's a lot of talk about love handles and muffin tops, there's another problem area that affects a significant percentage of women out there -- the back fat that bulges over your bra. Any shirt or sweater with the slightest bit of cling to it will show if off, and like that extra bit of belly fat that's so hard to get rid of, this is one of the last areas to tone up for many of us.

For women who are unable to beat this bulge, there's a new alternative -- plastic surgery. Twenty women have undergone a new "bra-line back lift" procedure to eliminate back fat, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS). Seven of the patients were followed-up on, with "uniformly positive" results -- however, there's no word on the other 13 patients.

The procedure takes just an hour and, according to the ASPS, removes all "dreaded back fat rolls and lumps." Dreaded? Really? I mean, a little lumpiness around the bra line isn't my favorite thing, but I don't think it would bother me enough to go through plastic surgery over. How about you?

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Whoever decided that big breasts, impossibly tiny waists, and curvy hips was a good look for a woman must not have had these features themselves. Well-endowed women often deal with aching backs, shoulder pain, and other issues due to their breast size. In fact, breast reduction surgery is one of the top five cosmetic procedures.

According to doctors at a London hospital, many surgeries could be avoided if women wore a properly fitted bra. The London Free Hospital started a bra fitting clinic and, so far, 100% of the women have been wearing the wrong bra size. For women with large breasts, an improper fit can lead to the shoulders bearing the brunt of the weight instead of the chest. This can create severe back, neck, and/or shoulder pain.

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Bubbly, well-liked, and college-bound -- 18-year-old Stephanie Kuleba had the world at her fingertips. But she elected to have cosmetic surgery to correct what she viewed as a flaw: asymmetrical breasts and an inverted areola. 24 hours after surgery, Kuleba died. She suffered a rare reaction -- called malignant hyperthermia -- to the anesthesia. The rare condition causes body temperature to skyrocket and is very difficult to detect pre-surgery. If the condition isn't recognized and treated immediately it is fatal, as it was in Kuleba's case.

Though Kuleba would likely have had this reaction regardless of the type of surgery performed, her death is bringing to light the numbers of young girls getting cosmetic surgery. In 2005, more than 3,500 young girls elected to have breast augmentation surgery.

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With our advances in medical technology many surgeries are no longer the dangerous and potentially life-threatening things they used to be, cosmetic procedures especially. And with the pressure to be thin and beautiful only increasing, people are going under the knife in record numbers for elective cosmetic procedures, with numbers up by 48% between the years 2000 and 2006.

So Forbes set out to find out which cities in America were "embracing" the trend the most, and they compiled their results into a top 10 list. Who do you think came out on top? My first thought was LA, but I was way off:

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Whether you're into cosmetic surgery or not, sometimes the only way to get a particular result is to have yourself altered surgically. But thankfully that's not always the case -- in many situations a little hard work can get you similar, if not the same, results. Want specifics? Well here's a great set of moves in slide show format from iVillage, including moves to help give yourself a bust lift, a tummy tuck, and even a tighter backside.

Think of all the money you could save by skipping the surgery and going for natural results instead -- that's one heck of a fun vacation or a lot of shopping for new clothes!

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Aging gracefully -- it sounds so poetic, doesn't it? Like those lines and wrinkles will slowly form to somehow make you more beautiful over the years. While that may certainly be the case, aging gracefully is less about how your body reacts to the march of time and more about how you react emotionally to the effects of those changes to your body.

Plastic surgery is an increasingly popular solution for people who are unhappy with their appearance, a billion dollar industry that included nearly 50% more procedures in 2006 than in 2000. But as our mothers taught us long ago, just because everyone else is doing it doesn't make it a good idea.

As Forbes recently pointed out, a body doesn't know why a scalpel is cutting it. Even if the elective surgery seems like "no big deal" to you, your body may have something different to say. Every surgery has risks, and plastic surgery comes with its own set of them: numbness, seroma, necrosis, hematoma, infection, and very rarely...death. Those are some scary words, and though not everyone will experience those nasty side effects, anyone who is considering going under the plastic surgeon's knife needs to be educated about them. Even the wildly popular LASIK surgery, which is quick and relatively non-invasive and painless, is garnering a second look from the medical community as some patients complain of chronic eye dryness, face pain, blurry vision, and difficult driving at night.

So you've got some new wrinkles, your lips don't look like Angelina's, you've lost some weight or have had a baby and are feeling a little saggy in your mid-section. You know what? We here at That's Fit love you just the way you are. We don't care if you fit into the classic definition of beautiful, but we do care about your health and well-being. We want you to feel good because you're taking care of yourself, and we want you to feel good because you're comfortable in your own skin. Though there are times when plastic surgery is warranted, if it's just those pesky trouble spots are bringing you down, we want to help you improve them, without unnecessarily putting your health at risk. That's why we spend so much time talking about good nutrition, resistance training, cardio, skin and hair care, sustainable living, stress reduction, and general overall health.

Now it's your turn -- would you consider plastic surgery? Use our poll to cast your vote!

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Anti-fat shots, better known as lipo-dissolve in most cases, are growing in popularity around the country -- but people may be making unsafe assumptions about both the risks and the results. In a strange circumstance of loopholes people are being prescribed and given these injections despite the fact that the FDA has not approved any injections for the purpose of dissolving fat. Experts have serious questions about things like where does the fat go? Is it really being flushed completely out of the body or just moved elsewhere (i.e. increasing cardiovascular risks)?

Of course there are also those out there who love this procedure and swear by it. Where do you fall? I'm not a big fan of cosmetic procedures anyway so it's no surprise I think people should wait until we know more.

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It seems that patients seeking an appointment with a dermatologist to ask about a potentially cancerous mole have to wait substantially longer than those seeking Botox for wrinkles. In a study published online on Tuesday by the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, the average wait time for someone with a suspicious mole in Boston was a horrendous 55 days longer than someone wanting to smooth out their wrinkles.

Even when patients reported a changing mole and were willing to pay out-of-pocket for a dermatology visit, the median wait time was 18 days longer than for botox in the 12 metropolitan areas that the research was conducted.

While I have no opinion on botox treatments, I do feel that the priority should be placed on the patients with life threatening concerns ... as one of those people who has to track color changes or irregular borders (yes, I was blessed with moles) and who has regular biopsies, I know that waiting is the worst part. And, while waiting times of a few weeks or more for a suspicious mole may not add up to significant progression of skin cancer if it is, indeed, present ... it's the not knowing that people have a hard time dealing with.

We are constantly told that early detection of cancer is key ... something is clearly wrong here.

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If you're wanting to look younger and are considering some of the more invasive and drastic procedures like injections or cosmetic surgery, have you thought about acupuncture instead? Although acupuncture has existed for thousands of years, it's only really been in use here in the U.S. for face lifts for about 20 years or so. And the technique may not be what you expect -- an acupuncture face lift isn't what I pictured at first, which was needles sticking all over a person's face. It's much more complicated and often the needles are put other places on the body based on where the acupuncturist determines the problems (the wrinkles) are originating from.

Have you tried it? Would you try it? Celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow, Madonna, and Cher apparently have. What do you think?

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The quest for the "fountain of youth" of age treatments to keep ourselves looking our youngest is not something new, but it's not going away anytime soon either. And although cosmetic surgery procedures are getting more and more advanced all the time, going under the knife isn't an option for many people for obvious reasons. So here's a list of some of the latest and greatest in non-surgical age-erasing treatments, ranging in price from free (quit smoking!) to upwards of $2500 (ArteFill injections).

• Artefill is a wrinkle filler injection for small lines.
• N.V. Perricone, M.D. Cosmeceuticals' Advanced Eye Area Therapy is a topical treatment that will be available this fall at Sephora, Nordstrom, and Neiman Marcus.
• Affirm laser treatments.

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Would you ever turn to Liposuction for a quick fix to your unwanted pounds? My answer is a resounding 'no', based mostly on the fact that I am too practical to spend thousands on something I can do for free. But does it seem like a miracle fix to you? Keep this in mind:

Liposuction may get rid of the fat, but it doesn't improve your health. The high blood pressure, high cholesterol and blocked arteries are still going to be there, and you'll still be at risk for all those diseases that obesity is a risk factor for: Cancer, heart disease, etc.

So while you might be over weight, at least without liposuction, your weight can be an indicator of your health. Your weight can also inspire you to make changes that are good for you health -- lipo seems merely to be the lazy way out. What do you think?

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Recently yoga instructor Annelise Hagen in New York city was hit with inspiration as she surveyed her classroom, which was full of students with contorted faces as they stretched and balanced in various yoga poses. Why don't we exercise above the neck? she thought. And so "yoga face" classes were born, and eventually The Yoga Face book, with moves designed to tone the facial muscles and perhaps reduce a person's need for Botox or cosmetic surgery as they grow older.

So with facial "poses" like the "Marilyn Monroe" and "Lionface," do yoga techniques for the face really work? Some say yes and some say no, what do you think?

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The technology improves every year, and as a result more and more people are electing to go under the knife for voluntary cosmetic surgeries. But did you know, that as commonplace as it has become, as many as 40% of people who had something done wish they had learned more about the procedure, risks, and healing process before they went through with it? That's not to say that they were all unhappy with how things turned out, in fact 80% report being satisfied with the overall experience. But there is definitely something to be said for understanding what you're in for and what to expect.

So if you're considering cosmetic surgery you might want to take a hint from those who've been through it -- do your homework, and then some.

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Radiesse is not actually new, having been used since 2002 in facial reconstructive surgeries, but the FDA has now approved it for a couple of new treatments. One is for HIV/AIDS patients who have suffered severe fat loss in their faces as a result of the disease, and the other -- more for the mainstream population -- is that it can now be used cosmetically to improve the appearance of moderate to severe frown lines. Supposedly Radiesse is longer-lasting than current wrinkle fillers, and has additional properties that stimulate the face to produce more collagen -- which in turn gives the face improved structure and fullness.

Yeah, we'll see! I won't be the first in line.

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A global survey done recently by ACNielsen revealed that as many as one in five people say they would consider having plastic surgery. The poll was conducted over the internet and surveyed 22,780 participants in 41 countries. Which country came out as the most receptive to going under the knife? Russia, with nearly half of respondents saying they would consider it when they get older. Second and third place go to Greece and the Baltics.

On the other end of the spectrum over 90% of Japanese, Malaysian, and Indonesian people said they would not be interested in improving their physical appearance with surgery. Overall, teenagers were more receptive to the idea -- although not until they were "older." And the older respondents were generally the least interested.

Personally, I think I'll just deal with what I've been given and not try to force any changes -- I would be especially scared of having some horrible complication and ending up worse off than before!

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