Alex Brecher

Haha, I love it. It is so interesting to see what people eat and find “weird” versus “normal!” I love the differences between cultures – some breakfasts that are completely normal in some cultures end up being another culture’s weirdest breakfast! I haven’t had anything too weird…probably because I’m not much of a chef! My strangest would probably be leftovers on an occasion when I’m pretty stuck for time and need something healthy. I might come up with something like leftover salmon and, since I love fruit, blueberries. I guess it’s like being an Alaskan bear.

I was worried about the same thing. That's why I purchased Apple care. I've broken multiple devices and Apple was always more than happy to replace them free of charge, as long as I had AppleCare. There's a bumper that you might be interested if you do get the Apple watch: http://actionproof.com/

I used two FitBit's over the last 3-4 years. Lost one and my dog ate the other! Waiting on my Apple watch to be delivered over the next two or three days. I believe it's going to be my new and permanent activity tracker. We're also working on our own food and activity tracker apps and I'll announce further info once we're closer to launch.

I had the original Lap-Band port when I first had Lap-Band surgery in 2003. Once my weight came off, it looked like I had a periscope poking out of my tummy. I had the original Lap-Band port replaced with a low profile Lap-Band port which sits under my stomach muscle. It's not protruding from my belly any longer, but at times it sure does takes my surgeon or Bariatric nurse time to find the port.

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style="margin:0;padding:0;background-color:#d8dde8;color:#5a5a5a;font:normal 13px helvetica, arial, sans-serif;position:relative;"> Hey BariatricPal Members! It’s May, which means the weather’s beautiful and the first fresh greens of the season are starting to appear in farmer’s markets. Maybe it’s even time to start to think about your goals for the summer! Before you do, though, why not take a look through the BariatricPal newsletter. It’s packed with inspiration and tips so you can you’re your weight loss surgery journey going strong – or get it back on track. Here’s what you’ll find in this month’s newsletter. Going on around the BariatricPal Boards Member Spotlight in the Newsletter – Meet Djmohr! Summer Fun, Summer food – Are You Ready? Enjoy the newsletter, then logon to BariatricPal and talk about it. We can’t wait to see you on the boards! Sincerely, Alex Brecher Founder, BariatricPal Weigh in on the Board’s Hottest Topics! Whether it’s to help out a WLS buddy in need of advice or encouragement, or you need to ask your own urgent questions, there’s always something of interest at BariatricPal. Recently, gastric sleeve patient Smye decided to generously share some of his WLS recipes in a thread he called, “Real Food, Real Weight Loss, Still Delicious.” Check these ideas out. They can inspire unimaginative WLS patients and gourmet chefs alike. Thank you, Smye, for sharing your ideas and for including the nutritional values, too! If you’re looking to give a little advice, there are plenty of BariatricPal members who need it! How about a little insight to help out a young lady who is considering WLS but worried about getting saggy skin? Or a few tips to help someone get over a serious stall? Considering skin removal surgery? Of course, if you’re looking to compare notes on weight loss surgery and related topics, or you just want to chat, there’s plenty of conversations for you, too. How many carbs do you eat per day…or do you only count Protein? Have you developed a replacement addiction for food? Want to become a pen pal who exchanges goodie boxes with another BariatricPal member? There’s something for everyone, so be sure to log in regularly! Insure Nutrition We are always thrilled to welcome a new newsletter sponsor into the BariatricPal family, and this month, Insure Nutrition is giving us the pleasure of doing just that. Our latest sponsor, Insure Nutrition, is an online company that specializes in getting health insurance coverage for nutritional supplements. Its Post-Bariatric Surgery Nutrition products includes Premier Protein shakes in chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry flavors and OptiSource High Protein drinks in caramel and strawberry flavors. Checking if you are eligible is easy. Insure Nutrition encourages you to use its online form to find out if you qualify. Our sponsors help make BariatricPal newsletters and other services possible. We encourage you show your thanks by considering them first for your bariatric needs. powders?utm_source=BariatricPal&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=CommentLink" target="_ad" data-id="1" >unjury and Opurity BariatricPal is proud and excited to announce two new sponsors for our newsletters. The new sponsors are Unjury, a supplier of wonderful tasting, highest quality protein supplements, and Opurity (from the makers of UNJURY), highest purity Vitamin supplements for bariatric surgery patients. Their support lets us keep BariatricPal newsletters coming to you each month. Unjury was founded by a master’s degree dietitian who has been helping patients since 1974. It is committed your health. You know the importance of getting enough protein after weight loss surgery, but you also know that meeting your protein goals can be challenging. Unjury makes your task not just easier but actually enjoyable. Product flavors include Chocolate Splendor, Chocolate Classic, Vanilla, Strawberry Sorbet, chicken Soup Flavor, and Unflavored. These ready-to-use protein powders come in single-serve and multi-serve containers, and contain high-quality whey protein to keep you full and nourished. Launched in 2007, Opurity is dedicated to using the purest ingredients in its supplements. Opurity Bariatric Multivitamins have two unique big advantages: First, each Multivitamin requires only one tablet per day*. Second, Opurity is so dedicated to quality that it is unique in using no ingredients from China. Choose from chewable orange-berry multivitamins for gastric bypass and gastric sleeve patients or for lap-band patients.Opurity also sells chewable Calcium, Vitamin D and folic acid/vitamin B-12 chewables. All supplements come with a 100% satisfaction guaranteed. They return policy is: “Yes you can return it.” Support from Unjury and Opurity helps us continue to bring you the services you enjoy on BariatricPal, so please support these two brands! When looking for your bariatric surgery supplements, first visit Unjury.com and Opurity.com. Purchasing from these companies helps support BariatricPal. Thanks to Unjury and Opurity for your generous sponsorship, and thanks to BariatricPal members who support our partnership! *You still need calcium and sublingual B-12. BP Deals: Affordable WLS Plus Support If you have insurance, you know which surgeon is going to do your weight loss surgery, and you’re sure you’ll have enough post-surgery support, read no further. If you’re still looking for a weight loss surgeon, keep reading. If you want weight loss surgery and think you’re going to be paying out of pocket, you might be wondering about Medical Tourism – getting your surgery done in another country. Thousands of patients travel across the border each year to get medical procedures done safely and for lower cost than at home. But how do you know which surgeons are trustworthy? How can you find a medical facility where the nurses speak English? How do you reserve accommodations and transportation? Where do you even begin? May we suggest BariatricPal Deals? It’s a way to get your bariatric surgery done for a lower price that we’ve negotiated for you. We’re confident the price is as low as possible because we’ve cut the middle man and bargained to get a bulk rate that you wouldn’t be able to get on your own. You don’t have to worry about reservations, appointments, and other details. We do it for you. We hand-picked the bariatric surgeons that work in our BariatricPal Deals program. Each is a top surgeons in Mexico. Your package includes: Lowest possible, all-inclusive prices. Gastric sleeve, gastric plication, gastric bypass, mini-gastric bypass, gastric sleeve revision, or gastric bypass revision surgery. Ground transportation, medical and surgical fees, hospital stay, and recovery condo stay included. Bilingual medical staff, wi-fi, cable television, and phone calls home included. You can discuss the program on the BariatricPal Deals Forum and get started with a free Skype consultation today. We would be thrilled to be the ones to guide you through your WLS journey! Member Spotlight in the Newsletter – Meet Djmohr! This month, we are pleased to feature Djmohr from Pewaukee, Wisconsin in our Member Spotlight section! Djmohr says she had been struggling with her weight since the birth of her second child…32 years ago! “That is a lot of yo yo dieting!” Djmohr had watched her mother die at age 66 from diabetes and sleep apnea complications. She herself was struggling with life-threatening health issues, including psoriatic arthritis, degenerative spine disease, Severe GERD, type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea, hypothyroidism, high cholesterol, and severe migraines. The final straw was her diagnosis of stage 3 kidney disease. She got her roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery in September of 2014. Djmohr considers herself lucky, since her family has been supportive. Her highest weight was 310 pounds. Since surgery, she has lost nearly 100 lb., and she has a goal of 165 lb. Things have gone so well she says her biggest challenge has been to occasionally stop talking about her surgery with other people! Her health has improved dramatically, with diabetes, high cholesterol, and kidney disease all resolved! She’s sleeping better, and is off pain, cholesterol and diabetes medications. She still has arthritis, but pushes through the pain and gets her workouts in. Djmohr says she feels better afterwards when she does get her exercise in, but doesn’t always hit her goals. She loves being able to keep up with family, and not be the one to hold them back anymore. She’s traveled with them to Las Vegas, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico since her surgery. Shopping is a pleasure now. Djmohr is grateful to have BariatricPal to visit every day to give and receive support. As she hits the 7-month post-op mark, she’s ready to put more effort into helping others the way she was helped before. She’s still focused on meeting the challenges of maintenance, though. Djmohr’s advice is to follow your doctor’s plan. It will help avoid complications, which will make the journey easier and will help you lose weight. Thanks, Djmohr, for being in our member spotlight! It is a pleasure to see the success of people like you who are positive and eager to give back! Good luck as you approach goal weight and maintenance! Let us know if you want to be in the Member Spotlight in the newsletter. Nominate yourself or someone else in the member spotlight forum or by sending a private message to Alex Brecher. We want to hear from you! Summer Fun, Summer Food: Are You Ready? Summer is around the corner, and summer activities are coming up fast. There may be trips to the beach, days at the mall, hikes, and vacations in your future. This could be your most active summer yet if you’ve lost weight recently and gotten into better shape. Are you ready to keep up the healthy habits to match the hard work you’ve already put in? Pack a Picnic For a family picnic, include plenty of high-protein, low-calorie options. The whole family can enjoy foods like hard-boiled eggs, celery with Peanut Butter, tuna salad made with Greek yogurt, or coleslaw made with Asian vinaigrette. Include in your picnic basket fruits and vegetables to munch on, whether it’s carrot sticks, grapes, or oranges. For a barbecue, include some turkey burgers or veggie burgers, and skip the bun. Fend for Yourself If you’re going on a day-long outing, make sure you think about your food ahead of time. There will be times when the family has lunch somewhere that does not have great options for your weight loss surgery diet. Think about the hot dog vendor on the beach or the snack stand at the fair…nope, fried anything-on-a-stick is not on your WLS diet! That’s when you whip out your beef Jerky, a low-fat cheese stick (string cheese), or your pre-measured serving of trail mix. Hope you’re getting ready to enjoy your healthiest summer yet! Keep on visiting BariatricPal so you can stay on track and get ideas for making the most of your efforts to lose weight and get healthy.

Good suggestion! We'll add it shortly.

You're very lucky! One night in the hospital and having our patients walking around with drains was a dealbreaker for us. I received an email this morning from one of the coordinators that worked for Dr. Almanza for many many years (I'm quoting her!) "He is scum of the earth. Doesn't care a thing about the patients. Only money. I went to X (redacted for privacy purposes) and almanza about the deaths and critically ill patients and they didn't care. 15-21 surgeries a day they're doing over there. Sometimes 2 at a time in the OR it's messed up over there."

Wow, what an inspiring and meaningful article!! Thanks, Kendra!!!

We received the following request recently..... "It would be nice to be able to select that as a surgery type in my profile and to upload progress pictures to MGB albums like you have setup for other procedures." This is now functional on our site. We appreciate all member feedback!

Here’s the scenario. You’re obese or morbidly obese, maybe 100 or 200 or 300 pounds overweight. You haven’t been able to lose weight on your own with diet and exercise. You don’t respect yourself. You’re looking at a future with joint pain, heart disease, diabetes, and sleep apnea, or maybe you already have some obesity-related health conditions. What do you do? Weight loss surgery? Or going “Biggest Loser” style? In the first part of the series, we looked at a recent study comparing results of weight loss with NBC’s “Biggest Loser” to weight loss with weight loss surgery. At least in the short term, weight loss was similar, with Biggest Loser contestants coming out ahead at 7 months with the gap narrowing by 12 months. Some articles and research are available, but wouldn’t it be nice if there were a way to compare Biggest Loser and bariatric surgery side by side? Here’s our summary of how the groups lost weight and what the results were. Methods In case you’re not aware, the “Biggest Loser” is a reality television show that is a weight loss competition. Morbidly obese contestant compete on the Biggest Loser ranch to lose the most weight. Every 7 to 10 days for 13 weeks, a contestant is voted off and eliminated from the competition. From week 13 to 30, the remaining contestants go home and return for the finale, where the contestant who has lost the most weight is crowned the Biggest Loser winner. They lose weight with intense exercise and a restricted diet. This study compared roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) patients. They lose weight because their smaller stomach forces them to eat smaller meals. In addition, they need to limit sweets and fatty foods to avoid gastrointestinal symptoms. Diet Biggest Loser contestants ate similar amounts of to RYGB patients. In the Biggest Loser, contestants ate at least 70 percent of their baseline needs, calculated by a formula based on their fat-free mass. A contestant who weighs 220 pounds and has 50 percent body fat would be asked to eat at least 1,000 calories per day. The diet includes lean protein, fruits, and vegetables, and restricts processed foods. In comparison, RYGB patients often eat a similar number of calories. They too focus on protein, followed by vegetables and fruits. Also, they limit sugary and fatty processed foods. Exercise Here’s the big difference. Four hours of exercise a day, anyone? Biggest Loser contestants exercise 90 minutes per day six days a week with the trainers, plus up to 3 hours daily on their own. That adds up to up to 31.5 hours a week – basically a job! Weight loss surgery patients are asked to exercise, but to work up to it. They may have goals such as working up to 20 or 30 minutes daily, and getting up to 60 to 90 minutes most days over the long run. The Logistics: Support and Cost Biggest Loser contestants have a lot of support. On the show, they see a trainer six days a week. They have a doctor – Dr. Huizenga – to monitor their health and progress. In contrast, most RYGB are on their own – they don’t have the luxury of a trainer each day. They tend to follow-up with their surgeon once or a few times over the months following surgery. They may have support groups to help. Bariatric surgery is expensive, no question. The procedure, plus pre-op workups and post-op appointments, can be thousands or tens of thousands of dollars. Biggest Loser? Diet and exercise sound inexpensive, but can you afford to exercise for 31.5 hours a week? Can you afford to see a doctor whenever you want? What about the cost of benefits provided to contestants, such as having room and board at a weight loss resort for several weeks? The list price for a guest at a Biggest Loser Resort is about $2,500 weekly. For 13 weeks, as on the Biggest Loser, that’s a cost of $32,500. Makes RYGB seem cheap! Weight Loss What about the important thing – weight loss? Turns out the results are pretty similar…at least in the beginning. After 7 months, the Biggest Loser group lost an average of 108 pounds, while RYGB patients were at an average of 78 pounds down. By 12 months, RYGB patients were down by 89 lb. on average. And Biggest Loser patients? They were no longer being followed – who knows what happened after their season of the show ended? It stays a little cloudy later on, too. Biggest Loser hasn’t published statistics on the long-term success of its contestants. In contrast, RYGB has been shown to be successful in studies that have tracked patients for 5 or even 10 years. Health Effects Both groups had improvements in some measurements of health. Blood pressure, blood sugar, chronic inflammation, and “good” HDL cholesterol improved. Strangely enough, Biggest Loser contestants had an average increase of total cholesterol from 168 to 192, and of “bad” LDL cholesterol from 105 to 126. Also curious was the decrease in metabolic rate – or the number of calories burned at rest. Biggest Loser contestants’ metabolisms dropped more the RYGB patients’, even though Biggest Loser contestants maintained more of their lean tissue while dropping more fat. Okay, so what’s the take-home message? One might be that the way that is best for you to lose weight depends on your individual situation. If you have the time and money to train Biggest Loser-style, maybe you would prefer that to going under the knife. If you need a permanent tool for long-term assistance with losing weight, and maybe even if your health insurance will chip in, weight loss surgery may be for you. What do you think?

Dear BariatricPal Member, We've received numerous requests over the last few months to add live chat rooms back to BariatricPal. We're happy to announce that we've added Chat back to the site and invite you to test it! Come by whether you are a veteran chatter, or whether you are a chat newbie who is just learning the ropes. See who else is around and have a good time sharing ideas and advice and just hanging out. Thanks for your continued support of BariatricPal!

TeacherMommy, Sorry to hear about your struggles – it’s tough! Try not to get down on yourself, although I know it’s easier said than done. The problem with getting down on yourself is it encourages you to give up…and that never helps! It only makes things worse. Know that all of us have had (or will go through) multiple stalls. The advice I always give is to go back to the basics…back to the very beginning when you just had surgery, when you were so scared to take a bite (or sip) because you didn’t know how it would affect you, or if your surgery was going to help you lose weight, so you didn’t want to overeat. Go back to counting every single crumb. Be brutally honest with your calories. And do what your doctor and the others say: go for Protein, do (but not overdo) your exercise, stay hydrated. And be patient. The weight has to come off if you’re eating fewer calories than you burn – it has to. There’s just no telling when. But it will.

We can't wait to hear how it goes! If you know of any others getting VBLOC, please direct people to our forum.

We're trying to research (and possibly work with) the top plastic surgeons in Mexico. I've found that our members are usually right on target when it comes to this kind of info. Which plastic surgeon in Mexico have you used or are looking to use, in the near future? Please provide all contact info for any plastics surgeon you're recommending.

Where are you receiving this info from, please? We try really hard to make sure info like this isn't posted, unless it's 10000% accurate. Please provide us with more info and details. If anyone has further info, don't hesitate to chime in.

Absolutely! We have two lenders jockeying for our members business. i'd suggest trying each of them.

Thanks for this article and for linking to and explaining the research behind the recommendations for amount of Protein intake. If I’m understanding correctly, it looks like it’s very possible to achieve the recommended ranges for protein intake within each window of meal plus snack as long as you’re a little careful with what you choose. That’s right in line with what I’ve been taught – choose protein first at meals and Snacks, then go for veggies since they’re nutritious, filling, and low-calorie. Then go for fruit and healthy starches. It looks like as long as you try to include high-protein options at each eating occasion, the numbers should work themselves out – even if you don’t want to eat meat 6 times a day. Thanks for going over the numbers so carefully and providing meal and snack suggestions! Very useful information.

Thanks for your article and advice – right on point! It is always great to have delicious and healthy recipes that you can re-use in different ways! It’s also easy to add spinach to bolognaise sauce. You can layer it with eggplant and/or zucchini slices. I also like to use it as a dressing for salad sometimes. For the Mexican style mince – sounds great! Another Pasta substitute is spaghetti squash or even shirataki noodles. Great ideas here – it’s always easier to motivate yourself to cook if you know it’ll be easy, healthy, and reusable. Thanks for your article!

Where are you located? We're able to finance Canadian citizens and we're working on other options for our international members.

Faxxy, This is a topic that comes up regularly. Don’t be embarrassed about WLS! Of course it can be embarrassing. We all want to succeed at everything we try, including lose weight. Especially lose weight, because it’s so visible. Everyone can see you! But it’s just not reality. The reality is, some of us have to fight obesity harder than others, and we need WLS to lose weight and get healthy. If you chose not to have WLS and stay overweight, that would probably be something to be embarrassed about. But getting WLS and saving your life? Be proud! And it’s certainly not an easy choice, so don’t feel like you’re going to be taking the easy way out. You’ll be working plenty hard at your diet. Now, of course it’s your right to tell or not tell whomever you want. As you can see on this thread, everyone has their own reasons for telling or not telling certain people about WLS. As long as you are getting the WLS because YOU want to and YOU know it’s the right thing to do, that’s all that matters.

Wow, it’s amazing how people can talk and hurt people so effortlessly. I’m sorry you (and all of us) have had these experiences. The way I try to approach these types of situations is to think about it logically – not easy in the moment, but maybe after a day or two when you’ve cooled down. First I ask myself whether the person really meant to be mean. If they did, that’s enough. Why would I want to be friends with a mean person or care what they think? If it’s a friend or family member who I know didn’t mean to be mean, I try to figure out what to say. Maybe they honestly didn’t realize what they said was mean? Maybe they didn’t realize it would hurt me so much? I might try to explain my point of view to them, and even find out what they were thinking. Sometimes – not always – it’s just a question of thoughtlessness. They just didn’t realize. It’s hard to look at it rationally, but it can be helpful. You can even open the door to some meaningful conversations.

Smye, Thank you so much for this thread! First, I am so glad you brought up the topic of processed foods. You are right – we get the surgery to lose weight and become healthy and then we are bombarded with messages to eat processed instafoods that aren’t necessarily healthy, natural, or even filling. You clearly have talent in the kitchen. Thank you for your generosity in sharing these recipes and including the nutrition information – a must for us. I love how you use spices to make your recipes so interesting and even healthier. Can't wait to try some of these!

Ahhh…the replacement addiction! Looks like shopping is pretty popular around…and that’s great choice compared to alternatives like alcohol and smoking! I’m solidly in the “loves working out” crowd of WLS’ers. I love how many of you combine shopping with working out as an addiction – buying new workout clothes and looking good in them! Personally, I’m not really one for shopping. I’d have to say my replacement addiction for food is life. It meets the requirements…I chase it until I overdose on it. I love it and since getting the lap-band, I just keep going whether it’s with BariatricPal or working out or taking care of my kids. I let life run me into the ground before I stop, so I guess it counts as an addiction. A great one, though!

Not sure why it wasn't added (back) yet! I'm going to get my guys/gals to add it back over the next week or two. My bad! Please bug me again if you don't see it up Sorry about that!