Our winner, Melissa Marcogliese, is getting results, thanks to tremendous support from the team, hard work, and the three-bite rule!
Melissa Marcogliese, Makeover Winner
When asked by friends about the makeover, I can only reply, “It’s unbelievable.” It has all clicked for me. I can feel the old me coming 
back and I love it! I have so much energy!
About my skin: I was always a La Mer girl, but now I’m using the wonderful products from SkinCentre, so bye-bye La Mer!
About my diet: Amy Peck, the nutritionist from the Saw Mill Club, has let me in on the “three-bite rule” (see below). It has changed the way I dive into foods I know are a no-no.
About my training: Jennie and Merv, you are both amazing at what you do! What an awesome feeling I have after each session!
About my motivation: Heidi Michaels, my life coach, puts NFL coaches to shame and keeps me on track. She is just so easy to talk to, and she has such a great way to approach any hurdles in life.
About my hair: Derrek at Paulo’s Atelier Hair Salon has done a great job on my color. The blond highlights have been so summery and fun!
About my teeth: Dr. Kenneth Magid is a master, as is his daughter, Dr. Sabrina Magid. I love his staff, and my teeth are picture-perfect.
RESULTS
Start weight: 193 lbs.
Last month: Rebellious Melissa’s weight ballooned to 199.25
Currently: Melissa’s hard work is really paying off, and she now weighs 189.5, which is about 10 pounds down from her heaviest.
Dr. Joseph Sozio
and the SkinCentre Advanced Medical Aesthetics team
The SkinCentre staff enjoys working with Melissa, who has been a pleasure to deal with. Our office hours are flexible, with evening and weekend hours available. This has helped Melissa, who has a busy lifestyle. At this point, Melissa has received additional laser treatments for facial hair and acne blemishes. She continues to progress beautifully. Her complexion shows significant improvement, and she is very pleased with the results thus
far. We will continue alternating appointments with each type of laser over the coming months at carefully timed intervals. Next, Dr. Joseph Sozio will be performing subtle lip augmentation using a dermal filler, something Melissa has always wanted. The filler is a safe and easy way to restore a more youthful look by giving her lips more definition and fullness. We also recommend that Melissa receive several chemical peels over the next few months to further improve her skin tone and pigmentation, and to enhance her already healthy glow.
Jennie Hendricks and Mervyn Tuendhaft
Personal Trainers, Saw Mill Club
Melissa has really hit her stride! She is losing weight and has made improvements in both muscular strength and endurance. We do many full-body movements and plyometrics, which elevate her heart rate throughout the workout. One major area of improvement for Melissa has been her core strength. She has shown her desire to adopt a fit and healthy lifestyle.
Andrew Guida
Fitness Director, Saw Mill Club
The focus has shifted for Melissa to make greater strides with her cardio program. There have been some scheduled summer vacations, and we all know summer schedules can get hectic, but her head is in the right place, and her heart is into the process. Therefore, for the next couple of months we will push Melissa to take her cardio head-on and the pounds will continue to melt off. She already looks and feels better, and that is half the battle.
Amy G. Peck
Nutrition Therapist and Personal Trainer, Saw Mill Club
Melissa no longer uses her whirlwind lifestyle as an excuse for poor planning. Now Melissa plans ahead, carrying healthy snacks in her bag to avoid last-minute temptations. She has also eliminated sugar-laden beverages and is finding she craves sweets a lot less. When she does want a little treat, she follows my “three-bite rule”: If you really take your time with no guilt and full enjoyment, then three bites of any treat can be enough to satisfy. More than three bites provides no additional sensory experience and is simply more — your body has had the full pleasure already. The trick is to keep the bite size reasonable and to remove the temptation after you have finished the three bites.
Heidi Michaels
Certified Life Coach, Saw Mill Club
I met with Melissa after a nearly three-week break and was so happy to be eagerly greeted by a happier, calmer, and more focused woman. Melissa has really committed to making changes in her time management by carrying a calendar with her. Instead of trying to remember all the various appointments she has in her head, she is writing them down and committing to them. In addition, Melissa continues to build her awareness around the choices she makes with regard to food and time commitments.
Paulo’s Atelier Hair Salon
For Melissa’s first visit, colorist Derrek Hawkins created a beautiful background color to complement her skin and eyes. A rich, cinnamon brown is wonderful for her. During the summer he wanted it to look as though she spent her days outdoors, but at the same time he wanted her to look glamorous at night, so he was a bit more generous with the highlights framing her face. Looking ahead, our end result will be a rich, beautiful, background color with ribbons of wheat and amber highlights, complemented by deep, warmer shades of color. In terms of her hairstyle, we are waiting on Melissa’s hair to grow out a bit more, and we are considering adding hair extensions. Stay tuned!
Dr. Kenneth Magid, DDS
Advanced Dentistry of Westchester
Melissa’s makeover is moving ahead with great progress. She came to the office and reviewed the photo which was sent to our lab and computerimaged to show what the “after” would look like. She couldn’t believe that the smile she saw could be hers! Our process included taking models of her existing teeth and essentially doing the entire makeover on the models to show it can be done and what the end result will look like. That convinced Melissa to go ahead with the actual treatment.
Melissa's teeth before (left) and after (right)
Preparation of teeth for veneers depends on existing conditions. We always favor very conservative, minimal preparation. In Melissa’s case, the main problem was the position of her upper teeth, which are shifted to one side, leaving unattractive spaces as well as asymmetry. Our minimal preparation for the veneers compensated for this asymmetry. Once the teeth were prepared and an impression taken, temporary veneers were created based upon the wax-up model that Melissa had seen and approved. The spaces that were so unattractive were now gone and the teeth were even, symmetrical, and beautiful. When we handed Melissa the mirror, she was so excited to see her new smile that she didn’t want to give it back!
As part of our usual process, Melissa went home for a couple of days to show her family and friends the temporary veneers and get used to her new smile. She then came back to the office to discuss changes she would like; there weren’t any. Her friends and family loved her new look and couldn’t believe these were just the temps! We took a model of these temps, which will go to our lab in California and give them an exact template to follow. Together with Melissa, we selected the color of the final veneers, which will be two to three shades lighter than her original teeth. Melissa will be bleaching her lower teeth to better match her new upper shade.
Sabrina B. Magid, DMD
Advanced Dentistry of Westchester
Bleaching teeth can be accomplished in many ways, from over-the-counter strips to dentist-provided custom trays and bleach, all the way to in-office power bleaching, such as Zoom Advanced. We are often asked the difference between these methods and the answer is time, effort, and money. All bleaching methods work by the same process but at very different speeds. Depending upon the starting color (yellow teeth bleach best), over-the-counter products can take months to get a substantial result; custom trays, which use a more powerful bleach, can take many weeks; in-office power bleaching takes about two hours, but works best if combined with home bleaching to continue the process. During the bleaching process it is best to avoid food and drink that could stain. We tell our patients that if they’re contemplating eating or drinking something that would stain a white shirt, it should be avoided. For longer bleaching programs, strict avoidance of these substances can be difficult.
Since we had the time, Melissa was provided the custom trays and bleach to do the bleaching process at home. After a few weeks, it has become obvious that this is not going to be sufficient. That may be because Melissa’s teeth are more resistant to bleach, or she may find it difficult to fit the nightly bleaching into her busy schedule. This is not uncommon. We’ve scheduled Melissa for a session of in-office Zoom Advanced power bleaching. This should jumpstart the whitening, which we will then continue with the home bleach.
