One Body, One Mind: A new wellness center brings it all together.

As any New Orleans native could tell you, staying healthy in this city is an uphill battle. Our party-centric culture encourages late nights, liberal drinking and lots of high-calorie foods. But once we start trying to make healthy choices, we encounter another issue: how to fit working out and eating well into an already packed schedule.

Dr. Mace Scott, co-founder of a new Metairie wellness center opening in October, says that this struggle is the reason he and Dr. Miguel Aguilera decided to open Chronos Body, Health & Wellness. A comprehensive wellness center, Chronos will offer fitness classes and personal training in a 24-hour setting, nutrition guidance and weight-loss coaching, day-spa services and medical-spa treatments — all at one location.

The goal, says Dr. Scott, is to provide an opportunity for balance. “The way we live, being New Orleanians, as part of our everyday social life, we drink alcohol and eat the best food,” he says. “We see what we can do for the community. We’re just very excited about bringing this whole thing together.”

He and Dr. Aguilar first found the building that would house Chronos in Oct. 2012; since then, the partners have been working to develop a community space that will help New Orleanians come together to strengthen and heal both body and mind.

Because one of Chronos’ main goals is to make it easier to get healthy, all of the wellness center’s offerings are designed for convenience — especially its fitness space. Along with enjoying 24-hour key access to top-of-the-line fitness equipment, Chronos members can take advantage of Fitness On Demand (on-call virtual classes available in the center at any time of day or night).

Outdoor classes will give the New Orleans community a chance to enjoy the fresh air while getting in a workout. “In about a year from now, we’re also going to have a big platform built for outdoor rowing, and boot camp and cycling,” Dr. Scott says. The center does currently have an outdoor fitness space; however, a bigger space, currently in progress, will help Chronos serve more members.

Physical wellness also depends on learning to eat well and manage body weight. As Drs. Scott and Aguilar investigated ways to help clients reach a mind-body balance, they discovered the Ideal Protein Weight Loss program. “We found this diet, and both my partners and I decided to try it,” Dr. Scott says. “We both lost considerable amounts of weight in a short amount of time.”
While the Chronos weight-loss program is currently available to New Orleanians who need help losing the lagniappe, the center’s day spa and fitness center are set to open this fall. The day-spa services will be based around results-oriented skincare and therapeutic massage, for head-to-toe health and relaxation.

As Chronos members balance living in New Orleans with living well, they can also take advantage of the center’s medical spa, which opened earlier this year. MedSpa treatments include laser hair removal; injections like Botox and Juvederm; and skin rejuvenation treatments, like microdermabrasion, chemical peels and state-of-the-art light- and laser-based offerings.

Why include a MedSpa in a wellness center? Along with physical health, appearance is deeply tied into overall wellness. Dr. Scott, whose own dermatological difficulties led him to seek the help of a medical aesthetician, has experienced this problem firsthand. “About five years ago, I noticed some issues that I was having with my skin,” he says. “I went to a couple of different dermatologists and found no great help.”

Then, Dr. Scott heard about medical aesthetician Lisa Lambert, who guided him through a series of skin treatments. “She changed my skin dramatically — and how I felt about my skin,” Dr. Scott remembers. Lambert is now one of two medical aestheticians on the Chronos staff, administering cutting-edge treatments in the comfort and privacy of the center’s MedSpa.

CoolSculpting, a noninvasive body-firming treatment that works by freezing fat cells under the skin, is another medical aesthetics procedure that Chronos offers its clients. “Because fat cells are much more fragile than other cells, that freezing process causes those cells to die over a period of four to six weeks,” Dr. Scott explains. “It is not invasive; there’s no significant pain. There’s no cutting, and there’s no downtime.” As the fat cells disperse into the body, the procedure’s results become apparent — and unlike liposuction, this process allows the skin a chance to regain its elasticity, resulting in firmer post-procedure skin.

The general manager of Chronos’ fitness center, Joseph Cao, says the company’s unique approach is based not just on its combination of health and wellness services, but on client commitment. “Ultimately, New Orleans has a unique lifestyle already,” he says. “We’re trying to make these small adjustments, helping people understand that we can enjoy this lifestyle — but it has to be balanced, so that we can enjoy it much longer.”