Alex Brecher

When I downloaded your photo to my local computer, it showed the picture as sideways. I rotated it on my computer and re-uploaded for you. Not sure why you're having this prob. You can't delete the photo but you can definitely replace any photo. Just select the new photo and save.

I wasn't aware of this!

Members used to have this ability but I believe it's been disabled for quite some time now.

Member title and rank are calculated by the # of posts you've made. This is going to be changing in the near future.

Here are some spell check info and resources for the browsers mentioned above: Chrome: Built in. See this article on how to use it. Safari: Enabled usually by default. See this discussion on how to enable it. Firefox: Built in. See this article on how to use it. IE: Requires plugin like iespell etc.

This hasn't been a feature on here for quite a few years now. Most modern day browsers have them built right in. Which browser do you use please ?

Please private message me and we'd be glad to include you in one of our publications.

Great question! Here's is an explanation of each. Notification list: This feature can be found at the top right of every page, if you're logged in. Instead of receiving an email, you can be notified about items you select, only when you log into our community. Email: This is pretty self explanatory Push Notifications: These notifications are meant to only work if you have our mobile app installed on your smartphone or tablet device.

I see it, thanks! What type of phone are you using please ? Can you try to reboot and see what happens please ?

What's the error you're receiving please ? I tested your account and was able to send/receive PM's.

I deleted it for you.

SleevePlicationTalk Newsletter Hey, Sleevers!Happy New Year! It’s time to leap into 2013. You might have slipped a little during the holidays, but January is a great time for a fresh start! Of course, SleevePlicationTalk.com is here for you as you work to lose weight and get healthy. Allow the January Newsletter to motivate you to get back on board if you lost your focus in December, or to inspire you to keep up the good work if you were able to stay on track during the holidays. Here’s what we have in this newsletter. Looking Ahead to 2013! Want to be in the Newsletter? New Year’s Resolutions that Work! Sleever Challenge: Make Your New Year’s Resolutions! Casting Call: Looking for SleevePlicationTalk.com Members to be in a Book! As you get back into the swing of everyday life and your commitment to your health, we hope you continue to make SleevePlicationTalk.com a regular part of your day. So, enjoy the newsletter and then talk about it or anything else on the forums! See you there! Sincerely, Alex Brecher Founder SleevePlicationTalk.com Looking Ahead to 2013! 2012 was a phenomenal year for SleevePlicationTalk.com. The forums grew tremendously and we came out with mobile apps for the Android, Kindle and iPod, iPad and iPhone. We have plenty more changes in store for 2013! Keep watch for even more improvements. We’ll be sure to let you know in the newsletters and on the forums, too. 2013 will be an exciting year! Thanks to you, our members, for continuing to support the community. Want to be in the Newsletter? The Member Spotlight Forum is the place to go to nominate another member to be in the spotlight section of the newsletter. You can also nominate yourself – everyone on the boards will be pleased to meet you! You can even send Alex Brecher a private message telling us that you want to be featured. Everyone has a great story to share. Thanks! New Year’s Resolutions that Work! What are your New Year’s resolutions? Whatever else you’re resolving to do in 2013, your resolutions almost certainly include losing weight or maintaining your goal weight. Too often, we stop following our New Year’s resolutions pretty soon and fall back into old bad habits. How can you make New Year’s resolutions that you’ll stick to so that you can meet your goals for 2013? Try out these simple tips as you make your resolutions. Make them specific. You want to get healthy and lose weight. Those are great goals, but those resolutions aren’t specific enough to be helpful. Instead, choose resolutions that will help you meet those goals. Resolutions to help you get healthy might include exercising at least three days a week and choosing olive oil instead of butter for your servings of fat on your bariatric surgery diet. To lose weight, you might resolve eat at least 80g Protein per day so you feel more full. Make them doable. Keep your resolutions realistic so you’re not setting yourself up for failure. Nobody’s perfect, and your resolutions’ success shouldn’t depend on you to be perfect. Instead of resolving to drink more Water, resolve to drink an extra 8 ounces of water in the morning at least 5 days per week. This resolution gives you some room for error just in case you forget your water a couple of times in the week. Plus, the resolution is specific, so it fits with the first tip! Make them controllable. You can’t control whether you lose a certain amount of weight within a certain amount of time. What you can control are resolutions such as sticking to your diet or exercising to burn off an extra 300 calories per day, 3 days per week. Keep these tips in mind when you’re making your own New Year’s resolutions. Solid resolutions together with your best intentions can help you make 2013 a great year for your health, weight and happiness! Sleever Challenge: Make Your New Year’s Resolutions! This is the part of the newsletter where we challenge SleevePlicationTalk.com members to take a step forward by doing something new. The experience can help you grow and gain confidence when you do something you hadn’t even thought about before, or you find out that you can do something you hadn’t even realized that you could do. This month, we’re sticking to the theme of New Year’s resolutions. The challenge for this newsletter is to make one or more resolutions based on the advice in this newsletter. We challenge you to make your resolutions specific, doable and controllable – and we’re eager to see what you decide to do in 2013! Tell us about your resolutions in the Sleever Challenge Forum. We’d love to hear about why you chose those resolutions and how you think you’ll do on them. When you post, you get to help other members who may need ideas for their own resolutions. Of course, if you ever miss a challenge, you can always go back to the archived Newsletter Forum to check out the old ones. It’s never too late to try – or retry! – a Newsletter Challenge! Casting Call: Looking for SleevePlicationTalk.com Members to be in a Book! Are you eager to have your gastric bypass story published in a book? This is your chance! Our first book was focused on the lap-band, and it is called “The Big Book on the Lap Band: Everything You Need to Know to Lose Weight and Live Well with the Adjustable Gastric Band.” It was inspired by our sister site, LapBandTalk.com, and we’re so pleased with its success that we’re going to increase the series with a book that includes the sleeve plication! If you want to have your story published or you have advice, tricks or recipes to share, let us know! All you have to do is contact Alex Brecher (username Alex Brecher) via SleevePlicationTalk.com’s private messaging system. We’d love to hear from you no matter where you are in your sleeve journey, even if you’re just thinking about the surgery. Thanks! That’s it for this month’s newsletter. We invite you to head on over to the forums and get a head start on a healthy 2013. Again, Happy New Year to you and your loved ones! May 2013 be the best year so far. Take care of yourself and each other. Sincerely, Alex ==============================================================If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter, you may unsubscribe by going to your Control Panel and clicking on the Newsletters tab, or clicking on the following link: {unsubscribe}

Hey, Banders!Happy New Year! It’s time to leap into 2013. You might have slipped a little during the holidays, but January is a great time for a fresh start! Of course, LapBandTalk.com is here for you as you work to lose weight and get healthy. Allow the January Newsletter to motivate you to get back on board if you lost your focus in December, or to inspire you to keep up the good work if you were able to stay on track during the holidays. Here’s what we have in this newsletter. Looking Ahead to 2013! Member Spotlight: Meet CHEZNOEL! New Year’s Resolutions that Work! Bander Challenge: Make Your New Year’s Resolutions! LapBandTalk.com Publishes The Big Book on the Lap Band! As you get back into the swing of everyday life and your commitment to your health, we hope you continue to make Alex Brecher Founder LapBandTalk.com Looking Ahead to 2013! 2012 was a phenomenal year for food and being “hooked on Diet Coke.” The lap-band seemed perfect for her. She started eating like a bandster by avoiding liquids before, during and after meals. She’s a “doer rather than a waiter,” and instead of waiting for six months to follow the supervised diet required for insurance reimbursement, CHEZNOEL opted for self-pay. She got the surgery in October of 2011. Her highest weight was 256 pounds, and she was already down 20 pounds by surgery. She’s now at 173 pounds, only 8 pounds shy of her goal weight of 165 pounds! One of the biggest changes since losing so much weight is that “the knee pain is almost completely gone. I am now back to what I lovingly call ‘age appropriate aches and pains!’” CHEZNOEL has more energy and no longer feels like she embarrasses her husband. She “can travel with the youngsters, including a trip to Disney this past Easter with the grandkids.” She can keep up, she sleeps and eats better and she enjoys life more! Some of CHEZNOEL’s great moments have been getting a little black dress – a lifelong dream! – to wear for New Year’s Eve, getting under 200 pounds into “One-derland” and shopping in almost any store! This skinny grandma proudly notes that she has been seen in public in a bikini! CHEZNOEL faced the challenge of getting the lap-band even though neither of her daughters wanted it for her. Their lack of encouragement was disheartening. On the bright side, her husband has been supportive. It was a bit of a challenge “training him not to ask me if I wanted more to eat, or worrying about him sitting there watching me finish my meal, but we made it through all those.” Her husband has even lost a little bit of weight by following parts of her diet! The “hidden costs of weight loss” included a new wardrobe and resizing her jewelry! CHEZNOEL started off using LapBandTalk.com to ask questions from veterans. She started to realize that she’d already learned so much that she was able to help others, too. Now she says she makes “a special effort to encourage newbies.” She has “been called tough, honest, snarky (whatever that means,) rude, a life saver, a hero, a success. Take your pick.” She is honest and blunt – and always helpful! She is also proud that some of the shy Banders private message her with their questions and she’s willing and able to help. She even encourages them to get over their shyness and help others! She’s a member of the Banded B*****s social group – members are dedicated, honest and supportive. Tips for other members? Of course CHEZNOEL has a few – and they’re great ones. She recommends following your surgeon and nutritionist’s guidelines and not try to cheat. She says if she can do it, anyone can. She also suggests seeing the surgery as the start of a new lifestyle, and not just another diet. CHEZNOEL, congratulations on your success. Thank you so much for being on the boards to share your wisdom and encourage others. Thanks for being in our Member Spotlight! The Protein per day so you feel more full. Make them doable. Keep your resolutions realistic so you’re not setting yourself up for failure. Nobody’s perfect, and your resolutions’ success shouldn’t depend on you to be perfect. Instead of resolving to drink more Water, resolve to drink an extra 8 ounces of water in the morning at least 5 days per week. This resolution gives you some room for error just in case you forget your water a couple of times in the week. Plus, the resolution is specific, so it fits with the first tip! Make them controllable. You can’t control whether you lose a certain amount of weight within a certain amount of time. What you can control are resolutions such as sticking to your diet or exercising to burn off an extra 300 calories per day, 3 days per week. Keep these tips in mind when you’re making your own New Year’s resolutions. Solid resolutions together with your best intentions can help you make 2013 a great year for your health, weight and happiness! Bander Challenge: Make Your New Year’s Resolutions! This is the part of the newsletter where we challenge LapBandTalk.com members to take a step forward by doing something new. The experience can help you grow and gain confidence when you do something you hadn’t even thought about before, or you find out that you can do something you hadn’t even realized that you could do. This month, we’re sticking to the theme of New Year’s resolutions. The challenge for this newsletter is to make one or more resolutions based on the advice in this newsletter. We challenge you to make your resolutions specific, doable and controllable – and we’re eager to see what you decide to do in 2013! Tell us about your resolutions in the Bander Challenge Forum. We’d love to hear about why you chose those resolutions and how you think you’ll do on them. When you post, you get to help other members who may need ideas for their own resolutions. Of course, if you ever miss a challenge, you can always go back to the archived Newsletter Forum to check out the old ones. It’s never too late to try – or retry! – a Newsletter Challenge! LapBandTalk.com publishes The Big Book on the Lap Band! Our first book is The Big Book on the Lap Band: Everything You Need to Know to Lose Weight and Live Well with the Adjustable Gastric Band. The title says it all, and the book is a guide from the beginning of the journey through life with the band. These are just a few topics that are covered in the book. How obesity can harm you and millions of others. Why it’s so tough to lose weight without surgery. The lap-band: what it is, how it works and the surgical procedure. Looking at the risks and benefits to decide whether the Lap-Band is for you. Choosing a surgeon and preparing for surgery. Your post-op aftercare program. Your post-surgery recovery diet progression from liquids to solid foods. The lap-band diet: healthy eating and weight control for life. Starting and continuing an exercise program. Life changes to expect after the lap-band surgery. Using LapBandTalk.com and other resources for support and information. Since we released the book in November, it’s been a huge success. How can you get your hands on a copy of the book? It’s available in print, for the Kindle and as an ebook. All the information you need to know is available on LapBandTalk.com! Check it out and spread the word! Several of our LapBandTalk.com members are featured in this book. Thanks to everyone who helped out – we couldn’t have done it without you! If you didn’t get involved this time around but you might like to be featured in another book, contact Alex Brecher via LapBandTalk.com’s private messaging system. We’d love to hear from you! That’s it for this month’s newsletter. We invite you to head on over to the forums and get a head start on a healthy 2013. Again, Happy New Year to you and your loved ones! May 2013 be the best year so far. Take care of yourself and each other. Sincerely, Alex ============================================================== If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter, you may unsubscribe by going to your Control Panel and clicking on the Newsletters tab, or clicking on the following link: {unsubscribe}

VerticalSleeveTalk Newsletter Hey, Sleevers!Happy New Year! It’s time to leap into 2013. You might have slipped a little during the holidays, but January is a great time for a fresh start! Of course, VerticalSleeveTalk.com is here for you as you work to lose weight and get healthy. Allow the January Newsletter to motivate you to get back on board if you lost your focus in December, or to inspire you to keep up the good work if you were able to stay on track during the holidays. Here’s what we have in this newsletter. Looking Ahead to 2013! Member Spotlight: Meet Velena! New Year’s Resolutions that Work! Sleever Challenge: Make Your New Year’s Resolutions! Casting Call: Looking for VerticalSleeveTalk.com Members to be in a Book! As you get back into the swing of everyday life and your commitment to your health, we hope you continue to make VerticalSleeveTalk.com a regular part of your day. So, enjoy the newsletter and then talk about it or anything else on the forums! See you there! Sincerely, Alex Brecher Founder VerticalSleeveTalk.com Looking Ahead to 2013! 2012 was a phenomenal year for VerticalSleeveTalk.com. The forums grew tremendously and we came out with mobile apps for the Android, Kindle and iPod, iPad and iPhone. We have plenty more changes in store for 2013! Keep watch for even more improvements. We’ll be sure to let you know in the newsletters and on the forums, too. 2013 will be an exciting year! Thanks to you, our members, for continuing to support the community. Member Spotlight: Meet Velena! We’re delighted to start off 2013 by shining the spotlight on Velena from Madison, Alabama! She says she spent most of her adult life obese. She didn’t want to spend “second half” of her adult life obese, too, and set the goal of weighing under 200 pounds by her fiftieth birthday. She lost about 25-30 pounds through dieting, doing fitness DVDs and taking weight loss pills, but was still 30 pounds short of her weight loss goal. She wanted to lose weight to be able to enjoy life instead of being limited because of her obesity. Velena wanted to be able to ride a motorcycle and enjoy hiking with her husband; the final straw for her was on a hike when she couldn’t follow him down to the falls because of the steep stairs. She had high cholesterol and high blood pressure. In addition, Velena has diabetes and needs to eat well to control it. She says she always ate healthily, but portion control was a problem. When Velena started looking into weight loss surgery two years ago, her insurance didn’t cover it. This year, she attended another seminar and found out that now her insurance would cover the sleeve. She didn’t like the idea of bypass “rearranging my plumbing,” and a friend had had a bad experience with the lap-band. Velena did like the idea of the gastric sleeve, and got her surgery in September of 2012. Her top weight was 264 pounds. Now, Velena is down to 197 pounds! She feels light on her feet and her balance is much better after losing so much weight! Velena now has her own bike to ride around the neighborhood. Some of her great moments have been buying a jacket in the Misses section, instead of the plus size section, and trying on a winter coat at costco and finding out that it was too big. Of course, stepping on the scale and seeing a number under 200 was a thrill for her! She faced some challenges along the way, such as having trouble swallowing right after surgery. She got dehydrated and had to get hooked up to an IV! Eating slowly enough and ending her meal before she’s too full are still challenges for Velena, but she’s working on them and it’s paying off. Velena uses Vertical Sleeve Talk daily to catch up with friends, get ideas and encouragement and provide support. She says the forums keep her focused on her nutrition. We’re sure that you’re keeping up with your nutrition because you even managed to lose weight during the holidays! Congratulations on your success so far! Thanks for being in the Member Spotlight, Velena! Welcome to 2013 and the second half of your adult life! The Member Spotlight Forum is the place to go to nominate another member to be in the spotlight section of the newsletter. You can also nominate yourself – everyone on the boards will be pleased to meet you! You can even send Alex Brecher a private message telling us that you want to be featured. Everyone has a great story to share. Thanks! New Year’s Resolutions that Work! What are your New Year’s resolutions? Whatever else you’re resolving to do in 2013, your resolutions almost certainly include losing weight or maintaining your goal weight. Too often, we stop following our New Year’s resolutions pretty soon and fall back into old bad habits. How can you make New Year’s resolutions that you’ll stick to so that you can meet your goals for 2013? Try out these simple tips as you make your resolutions. Make them specific. You want to get healthy and lose weight. Those are great goals, but those resolutions aren’t specific enough to be helpful. Instead, choose resolutions that will help you meet those goals. Resolutions to help you get healthy might include exercising at least three days a week and choosing olive oil instead of butter for your servings of fat on your bariatric surgery diet. To lose weight, you might resolve eat at least 80g Protein per day so you feel more full. Make them doable. Keep your resolutions realistic so you’re not setting yourself up for failure. Nobody’s perfect, and your resolutions’ success shouldn’t depend on you to be perfect. Instead of resolving to drink more Water, resolve to drink an extra 8 ounces of water in the morning at least 5 days per week. This resolution gives you some room for error just in case you forget your water a couple of times in the week. Plus, the resolution is specific, so it fits with the first tip! Make them controllable. You can’t control whether you lose a certain amount of weight within a certain amount of time. What you can control are resolutions such as sticking to your diet or exercising to burn off an extra 300 calories per day, 3 days per week. Keep these tips in mind when you’re making your own New Year’s resolutions. Solid resolutions together with your best intentions can help you make 2013 a great year for your health, weight and happiness! Sleever Challenge: Make Your New Year’s Resolutions! This is the part of the newsletter where we challenge VerticalSleeveTalk.com members to take a step forward by doing something new. The experience can help you grow and gain confidence when you do something you hadn’t even thought about before, or you find out that you can do something you hadn’t even realized that you could do. This month, we’re sticking to the theme of New Year’s resolutions. The challenge for this newsletter is to make one or more resolutions based on the advice in this newsletter. We challenge you to make your resolutions specific, doable and controllable – and we’re eager to see what you decide to do in 2013! Tell us about your resolutions in the Sleever Challenge Forum. We’d love to hear about why you chose those resolutions and how you think you’ll do on them. When you post, you get to help other members who may need ideas for their own resolutions. Of course, if you ever miss a challenge, you can always go back to the archived Newsletter Forum to check out the old ones. It’s never too late to try – or retry! – a Newsletter Challenge! Casting Call: Looking for VerticalSleeveTalk.com Members to be in a Book! Are you eager to have your gastric bypass story published in a book? This is your chance! Our first book was focused on the lap-band, and it is called “The Big Book on the Lap Band: Everything You Need to Know to Lose Weight and Live Well with the Adjustable Gastric Band.” It was inspired by our sister site, LapBandTalk.com, and we’re so pleased with its success that we’re going to add a vertical sleeve book to the series! If you want to have your story published or you have advice, tricks or recipes to share, let us know! All you have to do is contact Alex Brecher (username Alex Brecher) via VerticalSleeveTalk.com’s private messaging system. We’d love to hear from you no matter where you are in your sleeve journey, even if you’re just thinking about the surgery. Thanks! That’s it for this month’s newsletter. We invite you to head on over to the forums and get a head start on a healthy 2013. Again, Happy New Year to you and your loved ones! May 2013 be the best year so far. Take care of yourself and each other. Sincerely, Alex ============================================================== If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter, you may unsubscribe by going to your Control Panel and clicking on the Newsletters tab, or clicking on the following link: {unsubscribe}

RNYTalk Newsletter By Hey, RNYTalk members!Happy New Year! It’s time to leap into 2013. You might have slipped a little during the holidays, but January is a great time for a fresh start! Of course, RNYTalk.com is here for you as you work to lose weight and get healthy. Allow the January Newsletter to motivate you to get back on board if you lost your focus in December, or to inspire you to keep up the good work if you were able to stay on track during the holidays. Here’s what we have in this newsletter. Looking Ahead to 2013! Member Spotlight: Meet Jenneliza! New Year’s Resolutions that Work! RNYTalk Member Challenge: Make Your New Year’s Resolutions! Casting Call: Looking for RNYTalk.com Members to be in a Book! As you get back into the swing of everyday life and your commitment to your health, we hope you continue to make Alex Brecher Founder RNYTalk.com Looking Ahead to 2013! 2012 was a phenomenal year for Water skiing. Then, as she says, “it was a no-brainer” when her daughter told her “she was being teased for having a fat mom.” She got her bypass surgery in July and is already down 104 pounds, from a high of 286, less than six months later! Since getting the surgery, she feels more motivation to exercise because it feels like it’s helping. This time, she’s confident that she will lose the weight! Her son already has more room on her lap, her children can wrap their arms around her and she loves seeing herself in the mirror – without the double chin! Jen’s biggest challenge is staying hydrated every day. Another challenge is going to the grocery store and seeing all the tempting and forbidden foods! Jen uses RNYTalk.com to get information and find support from members. As she says, the “forum is full of great people who offer all kinds of viewpoints and discussions.” She loves using the app for iPhone because it is so convenient. Jen’s advice for members who may be struggling with their weight is not to give up – the journey is tough but worthwhile! Thanks, Jen, for sharing your story and offering your advice. Congratulations on your own weight loss! The Protein per day so you feel more full. Make them doable. Keep your resolutions realistic so you’re not setting yourself up for failure. Nobody’s perfect, and your resolutions’ success shouldn’t depend on you to be perfect. Instead of resolving to drink more water, resolve to drink an extra 8 ounces of water in the morning at least 5 days per week. This resolution gives you some room for error just in case you forget your water a couple of times in the week. Plus, the resolution is specific, so it fits with the first tip! Make them controllable. You can’t control whether you lose a certain amount of weight within a certain amount of time. What you can control are resolutions such as sticking to your diet or exercising to burn off an extra 300 calories per day, 3 days per week. Keep these tips in mind when you’re making your own New Year’s resolutions. Solid resolutions together with your best intentions can help you make 2013 a great year for your health, weight and happiness! RNYTalk Member Challenge: Make Your New Year’s Resolutions! This is the part of the newsletter where we challenge RNYTalk.com members to take a step forward by doing something new. The experience can help you grow and gain confidence when you do something you hadn’t even thought about before, or you find out that you can do something you hadn’t even realized that you could do. This month, we’re sticking to the theme of New Year’s resolutions. The challenge for this newsletter is to make one or more resolutions based on the advice in this newsletter. We challenge you to make your resolutions specific, doable and controllable – and we’re eager to see what you decide to do in 2013! Tell us about your resolutions in the recipes to share, let us know! All you have to do is contact Alex Brecher (username Alex Brecher) via RNYTalk.com’s private messaging system. We’d love to hear from you no matter where you are in your bypass journey, even if you’re just thinking about the surgery. Thanks! That’s it for this month’s newsletter. We invite you to head on over to the forums and get a head start on a healthy 2013. Again, Happy New Year to you and your loved ones! May 2013 be the best year so far. Take care of yourself and each other. Sincerely, Alex ==============================================================If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter, you may unsubscribe by going to your Control Panel and clicking on the Newsletters tab, or clicking on the following link: {unsubscribe}

Just a little reminder about the rules we all agreed to abide by when signing up for LapBandTalk.

If you’re still considering the lap-band after learning about it in detail, it’s time to think even more deeply about whether the lap-band is right for you. Before you decide, it’s best to consider the amount of weight you can reasonably expect to lose with the lap-band, and balance that with the potential medical risks, or complications, of getting the band. You’ll also need to find out whether you’re eligible for the surgery. Risks with the Lap-Band First, let’s take a look at some of the possible risks or complications that can happen with the band. Nearly all patients get some sort of complications or side effects, but not necessarily severe ones. Excessive bleeding and blood clots are risks that you take with any surgery. Of course you’ll have abdominal pain as you recover from lap-band surgery; after all, your surgeon had to make cuts in your stomach to put the lap-band in place. These are some of the other risks with the lap-band: band slippage leakage band erosion esophageal dilation nausea vomiting trouble swallowing (dysphagia) obstruction constipation Many of the complications are more common in patients whose starting weight (or BMI) is higher. That’s obviously a potential drawback for higher-BMI patients, but it’s also important to look at the alternatives. If your BMI is higher, you’re at higher risk for obesity-related health problems if you don’t lose weight. Also, many of the complications are preventable if you carefully follow your surgeon’s post-operation instructions, especially regarding your diet. Weight Loss to Expect We know; here’s what you’re really interested in! How much weight will the lap-band help you lose? The numbers vary, but within a year of getting the lap-band and following the lap-band diet, you might expect to lose a significant amount of your excess weight. Your excess weight is the number of pounds over your goal weight, and you might be able to lose 40 percent – or more – in a year. Many patients have been able to maintain their weight loss for five or more years. That’s great news if you’re sick of watching your weight cycle as you try diet after diet! The amount of weight you lose and whether you keep it off depends on you. To control your weight, you need to stick to your lap-band diet. These are the basic requirements of the lap-band diet: Choose nutritious foods Avoid high-calorie, low-nutrient foods Avoid beverages with calories Eat small portions Limit snacking Exercise helps burn calories and speeds up weight loss, too! Are You a Candidate for the Lap-Band? Not everyone is eligible to get the lap-band. You have to meet certain criteria before you can get the lap-band. These are some of the normal requirements. Some of them are set by the FDA; others might be required by your insurance company or surgeon: Being at least 30 pounds overweight, with a BMI of at least 40 or a BMI of 30 to 40 along with an obesity-related health condition. Having struggled with your weight for at least five years, and having a history of unsuccessful dieting attempts. Being willing to attend educational seminars about the lap-band to learn about the procedure. Following a special diet program before your surgery to demonstrate that you’re able to do it. Promising to follow your surgeon’s aftercare program, which may include follow-up appointments, dietitian visits and group support meetings with other lap-band patients. A contraindication is a condition that makes you ineligible or a poor candidate for getting the lap-band. These are some of the common contraindications: Heart or lung problems that can make your surgery dangerous Drug or alcohol addiction Low pain tolerance (you will feel pain after getting banded) Unwillingness to commit to the lifestyle changes and lap-band diet necessary for losing weight and preventing complications Pregnancy or planning to become pregnant within a year Since the lap-band has such a long history, there’s been a lot of research done on the risks and benefits of the procedure. Chapter 4, “Is the Lap-Band the Right Choice for You?,” in The BIG Book on the LAP-BAND, goes through this research in more detail than this short summary. You’ll get to see some of the particular numbers, such as average pounds lost or percentages of patients who have specific complications. This information, together with seeing the eligibility criteria, can help you make an informed decision about whether the lap-band is right for you.

On July 09, 2012 at exactly 6:33 PM, you clicked UNSUBSCRIBE at the bottom of an email we sent you. I've removed your email address from our unsubscribe list and you should start receiving emails from us immediately.

Great suggestion!! We're adding to our (ever growing) list.

Great suggestion! It's on our todo list. If you select the countdown to surgery ticker, it should accomplish this already.

You're doing it right. There aren't any "groups" set up based on age yet. We do have support forums based on age. Check them out here.

Can you gals try restarting the app and worst case try reinstalling to see if that resolves your issues ? Is this happening only when you're sending PM's ? What's the error message ? It just crashes and that's it ?

We're working on getting it fixed. The only way it works correctly is if the iPad is in portrait mode when the app is first run. Work around: 1. Press home button 2. Double tap home and press and hold on LBT app until it wiggles and then tap X (I.e. kill app) 3. Hold iPad in portrait mode (short end of iPad on top and bottom) 4. Run LBT app again.

Awesome! :-)

Hi Shannon, What's your surgeons full name please ? As you type, you should see names starting to appear. It works via auto complete. See the following example: Are you on a desktop computer ? The likes you see are when people like your post (like I just did to yours above.)