Alex Brecher

Hi! Are you by any chance using a mobile device ? Try accessing them from your desktop. That should resolve you problem.

Our current app doesn't allow for most of what you're looking to accomplish. We're working very hard on V 2.0 of our app which should offer Ticker and Tracker management. Drop me a PM if you'd like to see something in future versions of our app that's currently lacking.

They're called "tags." When you start a new topic you have teh option of adding them. If you put your mouse over them you'll notice you're able to search based on the tags entered.

Dr. Christine Ren-Fielding was my Lap Band surgeon at NYU. All the surgeons in the practice are first class. Best of luck and don't worry, you're in great hands!

Her procedure is called Band Over Bypass AKA BOB. This revision procedure is great for people that regained weight lost after having the gastric bypass. Carnie got the Lap Band placed over her Gastric Bypass procedure. She's now a spokeswomen for the Lap Band.

A new blog has recently been launched for Australian LAP-BAND patients and/or prospective patients. It’s unique as the articles are written exclusively by experienced bariatric healthcare professionals. You can share any article you'd like using social media. The intent of this blog is to give Australian’s accurate and helpful information on gastric banding and weight loss surgery in general. I think the Australian LAP-BAND talk community should be aware of this new blog: http://blog.gastricbandingprocedure.com.au/

Hey, SleevePlicationTalk Members!Now that the Fourth of July has passed, we’re well into summer. Hopefully those of you who are experiencing record-setting heat waves have been able to keep cool. Our thoughts and best wishes go out to our members whose power has gone out or who are affected by the wildfires. While we can’t cool you down, SleevePlicationTalk.com can cheer you up…so here’s the next edition of the newsletter that keeps you in touch with the happenings on the boards. Here’s a taste of the newsletter. Addressing a burning question – why can losing weight too fast be unhealthy? Member Spotlight: Meet Pranjala! Sleeve Plication Challenge: Summer refreshment! Tip to improve your Boarding skills – do you know how to use the chat room? Do these stories pique your curiosity? Then keep reading – and when you’re done, come on by the boards to lend a hand and get some encouragement in return! Of course, contact us if you have any questions or comments. Take care of yourselves and each other! Sincerely, Alex Brecher Founder SleevePlicationTalk.com Burning Question: Why is it Dangerous to Lose Weight Too Fast? We’ve all heard it about a million times by now – your weight loss goal should be one to two pounds per week. That’s the goal after the plication: losing one to two pounds per week while eating your prescribed diet and feeling good. There’s nothing dangerous or wrong with losing less than a pound a week, but it can be a little discouraging. And losing more than two pounds per week? It feels great because you feel so much better as you lose weight. But, there are some good reasons why the doctor cautions you to stick to about two pounds per week. First, losing weight too fast can set you up for long-term weight struggles. Of course one of your goals during weight loss is to lose weight – obviously! But another goal is to develop the eating habits that will last you for the rest of your life so that you never gain that weight back. If you’re restricting your food and calories so much to lose weight very fast, you’re probably not eating the same way you will be once you hit your goal weight. Once you hit your goal weight, you’ll need to form a whole new set of eating habits – and that can be tough. It’s much better to take a little longer to get to your goal weight and already have the dietary tools you need to keep the weight off. Another reason to keep your weight loss to around two pounds per week, unless your doctor suggests otherwise, is for your long-term bone health. So many of us think that this is just an important issue for 90-year-old ladies – but it’s not! Everyone needs to be concerned now about their bones so that you don’t get osteoporosis later. Osteoporosis is a condition with low bone mineral density and weak bones. That means you can break your hip, rib, wrist or back very easily. It takes years to develop and probably won’t show up until you’re older. Rapid weight loss can lead to serious losses of bone mineral density and the risk for developing osteoporosis later. Keeping your weight loss to two pounds per week really supports your bone health. Something else you can do to protect your bones is to take the calcium and vitamin D supplements that your dietitian recommends. You need about 1,000 milligrams of calcium per day and 2,000IU of vitamin D. So these are just a few reasons for keeping your weight loss moderate. The sleeve plication surgery is all about a healthy lifestyle – not just losing weight as fast as possible in the beginning. Your health always comes first, and the number on the scale will reflect your commitment to health. Member Spotlight – Meet Pranjala! This week’s Member Spotlight is on…Pranjala! Growing up on traditional Indian food, Pranjala struggled with her weight her whole life, from being a chubby child to an obese teenager to a young woman trying every diet under the sun. She yo-yo dieted for years as her weight continued to climb. Finally, enough was enough after she hit 207 pounds. She barely had enough energy to care for her young son, whom she had just weaned, and knew she had to do something drastic and permanent. First, she scheduled a gastric sleeve resection surgery, or vertical sleeve gastrectomy. But, she wasn’t ready to lose so much of her stomach function. She continued to look around for other options and cancelled her sleeve resection. She discovered the sleeve plication surgery and looked into it. The new procedure wasn’t offered in India and she’d have to pay for it herself, but she managed to convince her husband that the cost of the trip to the U.S. and the sleeve plication was worth it. Only 20 days out from surgery, Pranjala was already 12 pounds. She’s learning to shift from a high-carbohydrate to a high-protein diet and to focus on eating only what’s on her meal plan. Pranjala knows that any diet will work if you can follow it, and she’s confident that the sleeve plication was right for her. She recommends it over the bypass or gastrectomy because it’s better for maintaining your natural ability to absorb nutrients. Don’t forget to say hi to Pranjala when you see her around the boards – after all, she herself said that this is the most welcoming and encouraging sleeve plication community out there. Thanks for being in our member spotlight this week, and we’re all eager to follow you on your weight loss journey! We feature a different SleevePlicationTalk.com member each week in our Member Spotlight section. Is there someone you’d like to see highlighted? Maybe you would like to be our highlighted member! Let us know in the member spotlight forum. Don’t worry: it’s not bragging to nominate yourself. You’re helping others by sharing your own stories. If you’re shy, though, just PM Alex if you want to be in the spotlight. Use the messaging system by clicking on the icon of an envelope toward the top-right corner of the forum. Nobody will ever know that you nominated yourself, and you’ll get to be in the newsletter. Thanks! Plication Challenge: Summer Refreshment! Each newsletter, we challenge you with another Plication Challenge. It’s a chance to push yourself a little outside of your comfort zone or get you thinking about ways to make your weight loss journey even more successful. The challenge can help you do things you never thought you could, or maybe that you never thought of before! The challenge is completely non-competitive, but we hope you’ll post your results in the Challenge Forum so that others can be motivated by your own challenge actions. This week’s challenge is inspired by the weather – the summer heat can be pretty uncomfortable. Your challenge is to let us know what you do in the summer when it’s hot. Maybe in the old days the answer was to eat a banana split and go see a movie in an air-conditioned theater. Now, your answer might be to have a low-calorie snow-cone (shaved ice with sugar-free flavored syrup) and walk around the air-conditioned mall. Let us know how you stay cool in the Plication Challenge Forum. In the Challenge forum, you can always look back at the previous challenges and post your results. It’s never too late to try something new. Tips for the Board – Using the Chat Room We’ve got thousands of members at SleevePlicationTalk.com, and many of you count each other as some of your closest friends. You already know about using the forums, and you may already use the private messaging system to get in touch with your buddies. Do you know how you can communicate with them and others even more easily? The Chat Room! It’s a real-time chat room for instant messaging with anyone who’s in there. Once you enter, you can type and send messages instantly and have real conversations with the other members. When you’re logged into your SleevePlicationTalk.com account, all you have to do to enter the Chat Room is to click on “Chat” at the top of the page. Welcome! That’s all we have to this week’s letter. Don’t forget that you can catch up on the old newsletters in the newsletter forum. Come hang out on the boards and spend part of your summer with us! Take care of yourself and each other, 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: http://www.sleevepli...&tab=newsletter

Hey, RNYTalk Members!Now that the Fourth of July has passed, we’re well into summer. Hopefully those of you who are experiencing record-setting heat waves have been able to keep cool. Our thoughts and best wishes go out to our members whose power has gone out or who are affected by the wildfires. While we can’t cool you down, RNYTalk.com can cheer you up…so here’s the next edition of the newsletter that keeps you in touch with the happenings on the boards. Here’s a taste of the newsletter. Addressing a burning question – why can losing weight too fast be unhealthy? Member Spotlight: Meet Jen in SoCal – active on the boards! Bypass Challenge: Summer refreshment! Tip to improve your Boarding skills – do you know how to use the chat room? Do these stories pique your curiosity? Then keep reading – and when you’re done, come on by the boards to lend a hand and get some encouragement in return! Of course, contact us if you have any questions or comments. Take care of yourselves and each other! Sincerely, Alex Brecher Founder RNYTalk.com Burning Question: Why is it Dangerous to Lose Weight Too Fast? We’ve all heard it about a million times by now – your weight loss goal should be one to two pounds per week. That’s the goal after the bypass: losing one to two pounds per week while eating your prescribed diet and feeling good. There’s nothing dangerous or wrong with losing less than a pound a week, but it can be a little discouraging. And losing more than two pounds per week? It feels great because you feel so much better as you lose weight. But, there are some good reasons why the doctor cautions you to stick to about two pounds per week. First, losing weight too fast can set you up for long-term weight struggles. Of course one of your goals during weight loss is to lose weight – obviously! But another goal is to develop the eating habits that will last you for the rest of your life so that you never gain that weight back. If you’re restricting your food and calories so much to lose weight very fast, you’re probably not eating the same way you will be once you hit your goal weight. Once you hit your goal weight, you’ll need to form a whole new set of eating habits – and that can be tough. It’s much better to take a little longer to get to your goal weight and already have the dietary tools you need to keep the weight off. Another reason to keep your weight loss to around two pounds per week, unless your doctor suggests otherwise, is for your long-term bone health. So many of us think that this is just an important issue for 90-year-old ladies – but it’s not! Everyone needs to be concerned now about their bones so that you don’t get osteoporosis later. Osteoporosis is a condition with low bone mineral density and weak bones. That means you can break your hip, rib, wrist or back very easily. It takes years to develop and probably won’t show up until you’re older. Rapid weight loss can lead to serious losses of bone mineral density and the risk for developing osteoporosis later. Keeping your weight loss to two pounds per week really supports your bone health. Something else you can do to protect your bones is to take the Calcium and Vitamin D supplements that your dietitian recommends. You need about 1,000 milligrams of calcium per day and 2,000IU of Vitamin D. So these are just a few reasons for keeping your weight loss moderate. The gastric bypass surgery is all about a healthy lifestyle – not just losing weight as fast as possible in the beginning. Your health always comes first, and the number on the scale will reflect your commitment to health. Member Spotlight – Meet Jen in SoCal! For this newsletter, we’re banana split and go see a movie in an air-conditioned theater. Now, your answer might be to have a low-calorie snow-cone (shaved ice with sugar-free flavored syrup) and walk around the air-conditioned mall. Let us know how you stay cool in the Bypass Challenge Forum. In the Challenge forum, you can always look back at the previous challenges and post your results. It’s never too late to try something new. Tips for the Board – Using the Chat Room We’ve got thousands of members at RNYTalk.com, and many of you count each other as some of your closest friends. You already know about using the forums, and you may already use the private messaging system to get in touch with your buddies. Do you know how you can communicate with them and others even more easily? The Chat Room! It’s a real-time chat room for instant messaging with anyone who’s in there. Once you enter, you can type and send messages instantly and have real conversations with the other members. When you’re logged into your RNYTalk.com account, all you have to do to enter the Chat Room is to click on “Chat” at the top of the page. Welcome! That’s all we have to this week’s letter. Don’t forget that you can catch up on the old newsletters in the newsletter forum. Come hang out on the boards and spend part of your summer with us! Take care of yourself and each other, 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: http://www.rnytalk.c...&tab=newsletter

Hey, Banders!Now that the Fourth of July has passed, we’re well into summer. Hopefully those of you who are experiencing record-setting heat waves have been able to keep cool. Our thoughts and best wishes go out to our members whose power has gone out or who are affected by the wildfires. While we can’t cool you down, LapBandTalk.com can cheer you up…so here’s the next edition of the newsletter that keeps you in touch with the happenings on the boards. Here’s a taste of the newsletter. Addressing a burning question – why can losing weight too fast be unhealthy? Member Spotlight: Meet Moonlitedi – recently banded and losing fast! Bander Challenge: Summer refreshment! Tip to improve your Boarding skills – do you know how to use the chat room? Do these stories pique your curiosity? Then keep reading – and when you’re done, come on by the boards to lend a hand and get some encouragement in return! Of course, contact us if you have any questions or comments. Take care of yourselves and each other! Sincerely, Alex Brecher Founder LapBandTalk.com Burning Question: Why is it Dangerous to Lose Weight Too Fast? We’ve all heard it about a million times by now – your weight loss goal should be one to two pounds per week. That’s the goal for your Green Zone with the lap-band: losing one to two pounds per week while eating your prescribed diet and feeling good. There’s nothing dangerous or wrong with losing less than a pound a week, but it can be a little discouraging. And losing more than two pounds per week? It feels great because you feel so much better as you lose weight. But, there are some good reasons why the doctor cautions you to stick to about two pounds per week. First, losing weight too fast can set you up for long-term weight struggles. Of course one of your goals during weight loss is to lose weight – obviously! But another goal is to develop the eating habits that will last you for the rest of your life so that you never gain that weight back. If you’re restricting your food and calories so much to lose weight very fast, you’re probably not eating the same way you will be once you hit your goal weight. Once you hit your goal weight, you’ll need to form a whole new set of eating habits – and that can be tough. It’s much better to take a little longer to get to your goal weight and already have the dietary tools you need to keep the weight off. Another reason to keep your weight loss to around two pounds per week, unless your doctor suggests otherwise, is for your long-term bone health. So many of us think that this is just an important issue for 90-year-old ladies – but it’s not! Everyone needs to be concerned now about their bones so that you don’t get osteoporosis later. Osteoporosis is a condition with low bone mineral density and weak bones. That means you can break your hip, rib, wrist or back very easily. It takes years to develop and probably won’t show up until you’re older. Rapid weight loss can lead to serious losses of bone mineral density and the risk for developing osteoporosis later. Keeping your weight loss to two pounds per week really supports your bone health. Something else you can do to protect your bones is to take the Calcium and Vitamin D supplements that your dietitian recommends. You need about 1,000 milligrams of calcium per day and 2,000IU of Vitamin D. So these are just a few reasons for keeping your weight loss moderate. The lap-band surgery is all about a healthy lifestyle – not just losing weight as fast as possible in the beginning. Your health always comes first, and the number on the scale will reflect your commitment to health. Member Spotlight – Moonlitedi! This week’s Quest to achieve her goal of 140 pounds. Thanks for being in our spotlight, Moonlitedi! We feature a different LapBandTalk.com member each week in our banana split and go see a movie in an air-conditioned theater. Now, your answer might be to have a low-calorie snow-cone (shaved ice with sugar-free flavored syrup) and walk around the air-conditioned mall. Let us know how you stay cool in the Bander Challenge Forum. In the Challenge forum, you can always look back at the previous challenges and post your results. It’s never too late to try something new. Tips for the Board – Using the Chat Room We’ve got thousands of members at LapBandTalk.com, and many of you count each other as some of your closest friends. You already know about using the forums, and you may already use the private messaging system to get in touch with your buddies. Do you know how you can communicate with them and others even more easily? The Chat Room! It’s a real-time chat room for instant messaging with anyone who’s in there. Once you enter, you can type and send messages instantly and have real conversations with the other members. When you’re logged into your LapBandTalk.com account, all you have to do to enter the Chat Room is to click on “Chat” at the top of the page. Welcome! That’s all we have to this week’s letter. Don’t forget that you can catch up on the old newsletters in the newsletter forum. Come hang out on the boards and spend part of your summer with us! Take care of yourself and each other, 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: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/index.php?app=core&module=usercp&tab=newsletter

Hey, Sleevers! Now that the Fourth of July has passed, we’re well into summer. Hopefully those of you who are experiencing record-setting heat waves have been able to keep cool. Our thoughts and best wishes go out to our members whose power has gone out or who are affected by the wildfires. While we can’t cool you down, VerticalBandTalk.com can cheer you up…so here’s the next edition of the newsletter that keeps you in touch with the happenings on the boards. Here’s a taste of the newsletter. Addressing a burning question – why can losing weight too fast be unhealthy? Member Spotlight: Meet Lissa! Sleever Challenge: Summer refreshment! Tip to improve your Boarding skills – do you know how to use the chat room? Do these stories pique your curiosity? Then keep reading – and when you’re done, come on by the boards to lend a hand and get some encouragement in return! Of course, contact us if you have any questions or comments. Take care of yourselves and each other! Sincerely, Alex Brecher Founder VerticalSleeveTalk.com Burning Question: Why is it Dangerous to Lose Weight Too Fast? We’ve all heard it about a million times by now – your weight loss goal should be one to two pounds per week. That’s the general goal after your vertical sleeve gastrectomy surgery: losing one to two pounds per week while eating your prescribed diet and feeling good. There’s nothing dangerous or wrong with losing less than a pound a week, but it can be a little discouraging. And losing more than two pounds per week? It feels great because you feel so much better as you lose weight. But, there are some good reasons why the doctor cautions you to stick to about two pounds per week. First, losing weight too fast can set you up for long-term weight struggles. Of course one of your goals during weight loss is to lose weight – obviously! But another goal is to develop the eating habits that will last you for the rest of your life so that you never gain that weight back. If you’re restricting your food and calories so much to lose weight very fast, you’re probably not eating the same way you will be once you hit your goal weight. Once you hit your goal weight, you’ll need to form a whole new set of eating habits – and that can be tough. It’s much better to take a little longer to get to your goal weight and already have the dietary tools you need to keep the weight off. Another reason to keep your weight loss to around two pounds per week, unless your doctor suggests otherwise, is for your long-term bone health. So many of us think that this is just an important issue for 90-year-old ladies – but it’s not! Everyone needs to be concerned now about their bones so that you don’t get osteoporosis later. Osteoporosis is a condition with low bone mineral density and weak bones. That means you can break your hip, rib, wrist or back very easily. It takes years to develop and probably won’t show up until you’re older. Rapid weight loss can lead to serious losses of bone mineral density and the risk for developing osteoporosis later. Keeping your weight loss to two pounds per week really supports your bone health. Something else you can do to protect your bones is to take the calcium and vitamin D supplements that your dietitian recommends. You need about 1,000 milligrams of calcium per day and 2,000IU of vitamin D. So these are just a few reasons for keeping your weight loss moderate. The vertical sleeve is all about a healthy lifestyle – not just losing weight as fast as possible in the beginning. Your health always comes first, and the number on the scale will reflect your commitment to health. Member Spotlight – Meet Lissa! This week’s Member Spotlight is on Lissa from Vero Beach, Florida. This 45-year-old has taken matters into her own hands with the help of a vertical sleeve gastrectomy. At her pre-surgery high weight of 352 pounds, she had sleep apnea, pneumonia, deep vein thrombosis, rheumatoid arthritis pulmonary embolisms. As she says, the surgery saved her life. She got her sleeve in August of 2011 and lost more than 100 pounds within 9 months en route to a her goal weight of a svelte 190 pounds. Food has gone from being the focus of her life to being a “necessary evil” that she is able to work into whatever activities she is involved in. She’s learning to cook for one person after growing up in a family of 17 kids. One of the biggest moments for Lissa was getting out of the Threes and into the 200-pounds. Exercise continues to be one of her biggest struggles, but Lissa’s starting to learn that it’s always worthwhile to try even if you don’t feel like it. Some of her best workouts come on days when didn’t think she wanted to exercise, and she always feels better afterward. Of course, now she thinks nothing of going to the mall and walking around a few times. Lissa loves to help other VerticalSleeveTalk.com members the way they help her, so feel free to PM her any time! She also has some other advice. Take your measurements before surgery (or now) so that you can measure your progress in ways other than the scale. Also, drink tons of water and get your protein in first each day. Thanks for the advice, Lissa, and thanks for being in our Member Spotlight! Congratulations on all your success! We feature a different VerticalSleeveTalk.com member each week in our Member Spotlight section. Is there someone you’d like to see highlighted? Maybe you would like to be our highlighted member! Let us know in the member spotlight forum. Don’t worry: it’s not bragging to nominate yourself. You’re helping others by sharing your own stories. If you’re shy, though, just PM Alex if you want to be in the spotlight. Use the messaging system by clicking on the icon of an envelope toward the top-right corner of the forum. Nobody will ever know that you nominated yourself, and you’ll get to be in the newsletter. Thanks! Sleever Challenge: Summer Refreshment! Each newsletter, we challenge you with another Sleever Challenge. It’s a chance to push yourself a little outside of your comfort zone or get you thinking about ways to make your weight loss journey even more successful. The challenge can help you do things you never thought you could, or maybe that you never thought of before! The challenge is completely non-competitive, but we hope you’ll post your results in the Challenge Forum so that others can be motivated by your own challenge actions. This week’s challenge is inspired by the weather – the summer heat can be pretty uncomfortable. Your challenge is to let us know what you do in the summer when it’s hot. Maybe in the old days the answer was to eat a banana split and go see a movie in an air-conditioned theater. Now, your answer might be to have a low-calorie snow-cone (shaved ice with sugar-free flavored syrup) and walk around the air-conditioned mall. Let us know how you stay cool in the Sleever Challenge Forum. In the Challenge forum, you can always look back at the previous challenges and post your results. It’s never too late to try something new. Tips for the Board – Using the Chat Room We’ve got thousands of members at VerticalSleeveTalk.com, and many of you count each other as some of your closest friends. You already know about using the forums, and you may already use the private messaging system to get in touch with your buddies. Do you know how you can communicate with them and others even more easily? The Chat Room! It’s a real-time chat room for instant messaging with anyone who’s in there. Once you enter, you can type and send messages instantly and have real conversations with the other members. When you’re logged into your VerticalSleeveTalk.com account, all you have to do to enter the Chat Room is to click on “Chat” at the top of the page. Welcome! That’s all we have to this week’s letter. Don’t forget that you can catch up on the old newsletters in the newsletter forum. Come hang out on the boards and spend part of your summer with us! Take care of yourself and each other, Alex

You had "Members" selected on the left side under "By content type" instead of "Forums"

We decided to create sister communities for other weight loss surgeries. We started with VerticalSleeveTalk.com for Gastric Sleeve Surgery in 2007. We recently launched, RNYTalk.com for gastric Bypass Surgery and SleevePlicationTalk.com for Gastric Sleeve Plication Surgery.

Ok, cool! I'm always curious how our members find us :-)

Ok, thanks for confirming! I'm going to have our designer and developer look at this issue.

Please see this article and let me know if that helps.

Spell check is normally browser dependent. Which browser are you using ?

Hey, SleevePlicationTalk Members! It’s time for another SleevePlicationTalk newsletter. This is your source for what’s going on at SleevePlicationTalk.com. Today we have the first newsletter after the official start to summer, and it’s a hot one! Here’s what you’ll find in this newsletter. We have a winner! Keep reading to find out who won the iPod Touch giveaway! Member Spotlight: Meet Bekrudz – although maybe you already have! Sleeve Plication Challenge: Take a photo! Write a review of your surgeon for our database. Keep reading to get the scoop on these stories. Of course, you get so much more when you log onto SleevePlicationTalk.com and participate, so come join us! As always, stay in touch and contact us if you have any questions or comments. Take care of yourselves and each other! Sincerely, Alex Brecher Founder SleevePlicationTalk.com And the Winner is… A few weeks ago, we announced the launch of our apps for Android and Apple iPhone, iPod and iPad. To Celebrate, we held a contest to give away a free iPod Touch. Everyone who filled out a complete patient profile was entered into the drawing, and you could increase your chances of winning by participating more on SleevePlicationTalk.com with things like forum posts, joining a group and referring a friend to SleevePlicationTalk.com. Now, we have a winner! Congratulations to sue! We hope you enjoy your new iPod Touch! The contest may be over, but you can still get your Apple iPhone, iPod and iPad app, your Android app and now the new Kindle app. They’re all fully functional so you never have to be without SleevePlicationTalk.com. Posting to the forums, updating your patient profile and photo gallery and blogging are just a few of the features that the apps offer. Member Spotlight: Meet Bekrudz! This week’s member spotlight is on Beckrudz. She’s about seven months out from surgery and down more than 50 pounds en route to her goal weight. She steadily gained weight and lost her self-esteem through her early 30’s. Beckrudz learned about the sleeve plication surgery and read SleevePlicationTalk.com member stories from patients who wished they hadn’t waited so long to get the surgery. She decided to get the surgery after finding out that her mother had cancer for the third time and that life is too short to waste – it was time to lose the weight and get active again. Beckrudz loves playing with her son at the park and enjoys it just as much as he does. The little things help, too; it’s no longer a problem to get up and down from the floor when playing with her son. She has pleasantly discovered “bones and muscles that I didn’t know existed” because of her weight loss. Her confidence has gone back up, and she no longer has plantar fasciitis. Beckrudz loves using SleevePlicationTalk.com because it’s such a good source of information. She can ask questions and get advice back from other members, and she wants to pass on everything she’s received to new members! Her first piece of advice is not to wait if you’re sure that you’re headed toward bariatric surgery: “every day I don’t do it is one more day I’ll be fat.” Thanks, Bekrudz, for being in the spotlight! We feature a different SleevePlicationTalk.com member each week in our Member Spotlight section. Is there someone you’d like to see highlighted? Maybe you would like to be our highlighted member! Let us know in the member spotlight forum. Don’t worry: it’s not bragging to nominate yourself. You’re helping others by sharing your own stories. If you’re shy, though, just PM Alex if you want to be in the spotlight. Use the messaging system by clicking on the icon of an envelope toward the top-right corner of the forum. Nobody will ever know that you nominated yourself, and you’ll get to be in the newsletter. Thanks! Sleeve Plication Newsletter Challenge: Take a Photo! Each newsletter has a different Sleeve Plication challenge. It’s an opportunity to push yourself a little outside of your comfort zone to make you stronger and give you more confidence in your weight loss journey. It can help you do things you never thought you could, or maybe that you never thought of before! The challenge is absolutely non-competitive. We encourage you to post your results in the challenge forum. This week, the challenge is to take a photo of yourself and describe it. Are you at your goal weight? Is it a “before” photo? How do you feel about it? What will you do to change it if you’re not happy about it? How will you keep yourself looking good if you’re happy with your photo? We’d love to have you post your photo in the photo gallery and describe your photo in the Challenge forum. Be an inspiration to others! In the Challenge forum, you can always look back at the previous challenges and post your results. It’s never too late to try something new. Post a Surgeon Review Of course you know that SleevePlicationTalk.com is an invaluable resource for peer support and information. It’s also a great place to find a surgeon for your bariatric procedure. We have a surgeon directory that helps you choose a surgeon based on location and reviews – and that’s where we need your help. If you’ve already gotten your surgery done, please take a few minutes to write and post a surgeon review. You can get to it from the front page by clicking on “Surgeon” and then “Select My Surgeon” from the drop-down menu. Your opinions will help other individuals who are looking for a sleeve plication surgeon make the best decision for their surgery. Thanks! That’s about it for this week’s newsletter. Thanks for reading and making the SleevePlicationTalk community as strong as it is. We and the other members couldn’t do it without you! Take care! 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: http://www.sleevepli...&tab=newsletter

Hey, RNYTalk Members!It’s time for another RNYTalk newsletter. This is your source for what’s going on at RNYTalk.com. Today we have the first newsletter after the official start to summer, and it’s a hot one! Here’s what you’ll find in this newsletter. We have a winner! Keep reading to find out who won the iPod Touch giveaway! Member Spotlight: Meet DLCoggin – although maybe you already have! Bypass Challenge: Take a photo! Write a review of your surgeon for our database. Keep reading to get the scoop on these stories. Of course, you get so much more when you log onto RNYTalk.com and participate, so come join us! As always, stay in touch and contact us if you have any questions or comments. Take care of yourselves and each other! Sincerely, Alex Brecher Founder RNYTalk.com And the Winner is… A few weeks ago, we announced the Celebrate, we held a contest to give away a free iPod Touch. Everyone who filled out a complete patient profile was entered into the drawing, and you could increase your chances of winning by participating more on RNYTalk.com with things like forum posts, joining a group and referring a friend to RNYTalk.com. Now, we have a winner! Congratulations to vamplover85! We hope you enjoy your new iPod Touch! The contest may be over, but you can still get your Apple iPhone, iPod and iPad app, your Android app and now the new Kindle app. They’re all fully functional so you never have to be without RNYTalk.com. Posting to the forums, updating your patient profile and photo gallery and blogging are just a few of the features that the apps offer. Member Spotlight: Meet DLCoggin! This week’s sleep apnea and heart disease, and decided to get the roux-en-Y surgery when he was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. He’s down more than 100 pounds since his gastric bypass surgery in October, and DLCoggin has a clean bill of health. He’s off nearly all of his medications and has enviable blood sugar levels. Life’s good for DLCoggin. He has the energy and stamina to do whatever he wants. He just got back from a fishing trip that involved tons of walking and hiking. He describes himself as a walking addict and uses his regular walks to stay focused and energized. He’s now looking forward to a healthy life of watching his 2-year-old grandson grow up and graduate from college. DLCoggin offers this advice for bypassers: don’t give up. You’ll have a few setbacks, and it’s okay to enjoy yourself at a party. Just log everything you eat and get back on track. DLCoggin invites anyone to PM him with questions. Thanks, DLCoggin, for being in the spotlight! We feature a different RNYTalk.com member each week in our Member Spotlight section. Is there someone you’d like to see highlighted? Maybe you would like to be our highlighted member! Let us know in the member spotlight forum. Don’t worry: it’s not bragging to nominate yourself. You’re helping others by sharing your own stories. If you’re shy, though, just PM Alex if you want to be in the spotlight. Use the messaging system by clicking on the icon of an envelope toward the top-right corner of the forum. Nobody will ever know that you nominated yourself, and you’ll get to be in the newsletter. Thanks! Bypass Challenge: Take a Photo! Each newsletter has a different Bypass challenge. It’s an opportunity to push yourself a little outside of your comfort zone to make you stronger and give you more confidence in your weight loss journey. It can help you do things you never thought you could, or maybe that you never thought of before! The challenge is absolutely non-competitive. We encourage you to post your results in the challenge forum. This week, the challenge is to take a photo of yourself and describe it. Are you at your goal weight? Is it a “before” photo? How do you feel about it? What will you do to change it if you’re not happy about it? How will you keep yourself looking good if you’re happy with your photo? We’d love to have you post your photo in the photo gallery and describe your photo in the Bypass Challenge forum. Be an inspiration to others! In the Challenge forum, you can always look back at the previous challenges and post your results. It’s never too late to try something new. Post a Surgeon Review Of course you know that RNYTalk.com is an invaluable resource for peer support and information. It’s also a great place to find a surgeon for your gastric bypass procedure. We have a surgeon directory that helps you choose a surgeon based on location and reviews – and that’s where we need your help. If you’ve already gotten the surgery, please take a few minutes to write and post a surgeon review. You can get to it from the front page by clicking on “Surgeon” and then “Select My Surgeon” from the drop-down menu. Your opinions will help other individuals who are looking for a roux-en-Y surgeon make the best decision for their surgery. Thanks! That’s about it for this week’s newsletter. Thanks for reading and making the RNYTalk community as strong as it is. We and the other bypassers couldn’t do it without you! Take care! 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: http://www.rnytalk.c...&tab=newsletter

Hey, Banders!It’s time for another LapBandTalk newsletter. This is your source for what’s going on at LapBandTalk.com. Today we have the first LapBandTalk newsletter after the official start to summer, and it’s a hot one! Here’s what you’ll find in this newsletter. We have a winner! Keep reading to find out who won the iPod Touch giveaway! Member Spotlight: Meet Quiltlove – although maybe you already have! Bandster Challenge: Take a photo! Write a review of your surgeon for our database. Keep reading to get the scoop on these stories. Of course, you get so much more when you log onto LapBandTalk.com and participate, so come join us! As always, stay in touch and contact us if you have any questions or comments. Take care of yourselves and each other! Sincerely, Alex Brecher Founder LapBandTalk.com And the Winner is… A few weeks ago, we announced the Celebrate, we held a contest to give away a free iPod Touch. Everyone who filled out a complete patient profile was entered into the drawing, and you could increase your chances of winning by participating more on LapBandTalk.com with things like forum posts, joining a group and referring a friend to LapBandTalk.com. Now, we have a winner! Congratulations to NWgirl! We hope you enjoy your new iPod Touch! The contest may be over, but you can still get your Apple iPhone, iPod and iPad app, your Android app and now the new Kindle app. They’re all fully functional so you never have to be without LapBandTalk.com. Posting to the forums, updating your patient profile and photo gallery and blogging are just a few of the features that the apps offer. Member Spotlight: Meet Quiltlove! This week’s member spotlight is on Quiltlove from North Carolina! She’s one tough lady who won’t let anything get in her way! This 63-year-old grandma has a daughter with lymphoma and a husband who fought lung cancer tooth and nail. And Quiltlove herself? Instead of letting these battles beat her down, she’s lost 125 pounds since getting banded in November of 2010. She says “results not typical,” but you can meet your own goals. Quiltlove wants to be a spokesperson for a positive attitude and success with the lap-band. She wants to help other achieve their weight loss goals while loving life to its fullest. This hot grandma isn’t quite at her goal weight yet, but she expects to be there soon. Her rewards will be a tummy tuck, a makeover and then…her first two-piece bathing suit! We can’t wait to see the beach photos. Thanks, Quiltlove, for being in the spotlight! We feature a different LapBandTalk.com member each week in our Member Spotlight section. Is there someone you’d like to see highlighted? Maybe you would like to be our highlighted member! Let us know in the member spotlight forum. Don’t worry: it’s not bragging to nominate yourself. You’re helping others by sharing your own stories. If you’re shy, though, just PM Alex if you want to be in the spotlight. Use the messaging system by clicking on the icon of an envelope toward the top-right corner of the forum. Nobody will ever know that you nominated yourself, and you’ll get to be in the newsletter. Thanks! Bandster Challenge: Take a Photo! Each newsletter has a different Bander challenge. It’s an opportunity to push yourself a little outside of your comfort zone to make you stronger and give you more confidence in your lap-band journey. It can help you do things you never thought you could, or maybe that you never thought of before! The challenge is absolutely non-competitive. We encourage you to post your results in the challenge forum. This week, the challenge is to take a photo of yourself and describe it. Are you at your goal weight? Is it a “before” photo? How do you feel about it? What will you do to change it if you’re not happy about it? How will you keep yourself looking good if you’re happy with your photo? We’d love to have you post your photo in the photo gallery and describe your photo in the Bander Challenge forum. Be an inspiration to others! In the Challenge forum, you can always look back at the previous challenges and post your results. It’s never too late to try something new. Post a Surgeon Review Of course you know that LapBandTalk.com is an amazing resource for peer support and information. It’s also a great place to find a surgeon for your lap-band procedure. We have a surgeon directory that helps you choose a surgeon based on location and reviews – and that’s where we need your help. If you’ve already gotten banded, please take a few minutes to write and post a surgeon review. You can get to it from the front page by clicking on “Surgeon” and then “Select My Surgeon” from the drop-down menu. Your opinions will help other individuals who are looking for a lap-band surgeon make the best decision for their surgery. Thanks! That’s about it for this week’s newsletter. Thanks for reading and making the LapBandTalk community as strong as it is. We and the other banders couldn’t do it without you! Take care! 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: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/index.php?app=core&module=usercp&tab=newsletter

Hey, Sleevers!It’s time for another VerticalSleeveTalk newsletter. This is your source for what’s going on at VerticalSleeveTalk.com. Today we have the first newsletter after the official start to summer, and it’s a hot one! Here’s what you’ll find in this newsletter. We have a winner! Keep reading to find out who won the iPod Touch giveaway! Member Spotlight: Meet PdxMan – although maybe you already have! Sleever Challenge: Take a photo! Write a review of your surgeon for our database. Keep reading to get the scoop on these stories. Of course, you get so much more when you log onto VerticalSleeveTalk.com and participate, so come join us! As always, stay in touch and contact us if you have any questions or comments. Take care of yourselves and each other! Sincerely, Alex Brecher Founder VerticalSleeveTalk.com And the Winner is… A few weeks ago, we announced the launch of our apps for Android and Apple iPhone, iPod and iPad. To Celebrate, we held a contest to give away a free iPod Touch. Everyone who filled out a complete patient profile was entered into the drawing, and you could increase your chances of winning by participating more on VerticalSleeveTalk.com with things like forum posts, joining a group and referring a friend to VerticalSleeveTalk.com. Now, we have a winner! Congratulations to our winner Lissa! We hope you enjoy your new iPod Touch! The contest may be over, but you can still get your Apple iPhone, iPod and iPad app, your Android app and now the new Kindle app. They’re all fully functional so you never have to be without VerticalSleeveTalk.com. Posting to the forums, updating your patient profile and photo gallery and blogging are just a few of the features that the apps offer. Member Spotlight: Meet PdxMan! This week’s member spotlight is on PdxMan from Portland, Oregon! PdxMan’s story is a familiar one to a lot of us. He yo-yo dieted for years, letting him lose a few pounds and gain them back with a bonus. He got a wake-up call when he saw that his weight was approaching 300 pounds. Soon his home scale wouldn’t even be able to weigh him because its capacity was 300 pounds! That, a few shocking photos and the fear for his future convinced him that he needed the vertical sleeve gastrectomy – even though he had to pay for it himself. At the time of surgery, PdxMan was pre-diabetic, hypertensive, on a CPAP machine for sleep apnea and experiencing pain in his daily life. Since his surgery in July of 2011, PdxMan has dropped more than 100 pounds. The health problems have disappeared, and the athlete in him has come out. He’s a runner who places highly in his age group at local road races. In fact, he won his age group in a recent 5k (3.1-mile) race by over two minutes! He’s shooting for his first half-marathon (13.1 miles) in July and his first full marathon (the big 26.2!) in the fall. Throughout his weight loss journey, people have increasingly been kinder to PdxMan instead of treating him like “the obese one.” PdxMan uses VerticalSleeveTalk to stay motivated and above all to offer advice for VSG patients. He gives back to the community by providing the truth instead of sugar-coating it. His main advice is to follow the rules exactly and have patience with plateaus. They’ll pass if you’re keeping up a calorie deficit – just keep moving and watching your diet. Thanks, PdxMan, for being in the spotlight! Good luck on your first half-marathon and let us know how it goes! We feature a different VerticalSleeveTalk.com member each week in our Member Spotlight section. Is there someone you’d like to see highlighted? Maybe you would like to be our highlighted member! Let us know in the member spotlight forum. Don’t worry: it’s not bragging to nominate yourself. You’re helping others by sharing your own stories. If you’re shy, though, just PM Alex if you want to be in the spotlight. Use the messaging system by clicking on the icon of an envelope toward the top-right corner of the forum. Nobody will ever know that you nominated yourself, and you’ll get to be in the newsletter. Thanks! Sleever Challenge: Take a Photo! Each newsletter has a different Sleever challenge. It’s an opportunity to push yourself a little outside of your comfort zone to make you stronger and give you more confidence in your weight loss journey. It can help you do things you never thought you could, or maybe that you never thought of before! The challenge is absolutely non-competitive. We encourage you to post your results in the Sleever challenge forum. This week, the challenge is to take a photo of yourself and describe it. Are you at your goal weight? Is it a “before” photo? How do you feel about it? What will you do to change it if you’re not happy about it? How will you keep yourself looking good if you’re happy with your photo? We’d love to have you post your photo in the photo gallery and describe your photo in the Sleever Challenge forum. Be an inspiration to others! I n the Challenge forum, you can always look back at the previous challenges and post your results. It’s never too late to try something new. Post a Surgeon Review Of course you know that VerticalSleeveTalk.com is an invaluable resource for peer support and information. It’s also a great place to find a surgeon for your bariatric procedure. We have a surgeon directory that helps you choose a surgeon based on location and reviews – and that’s where we need your help. If you’ve already gotten your surgery done, please take a few minutes to write and post a surgeon review. You can get to it from the front page by clicking on “Surgeon” and then “Select My Surgeon” from the drop-down menu. Your opinions will help other individuals who are looking for a vertical sleeve surgeon make the best decision for their surgery. Thanks! That’s about it for this week’s newsletter. Thanks for reading and making the VerticalSleeveTalk community as strong as it is. We and the other Sleevers couldn’t do it without you! Take care! 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: http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/index.php?app=core&module=usercp&tab=newsletter

What's your favorite brand of Bariatric vitamins and supplements and why ?

What's your favorite brand of Bariatric vitamins and supplements and why ?

What's your favorite brand of Bariatric Vitamins and supplements and why ?

Hey, Bandsters! Now that Memorial Day has passed and we’re well into June, it’s summer time! Why not use the warm weather and casual dress code for motivation to stick to your diet? Of course, the newsletter’s a great way to remind you to be good, too! We keep you updated on what’s going on at LapBandTalk.com, and we’ll jump right into this newsletter with: Alex Brecher, founder of LapBandTalk.com! Kosher bandsters…and way more. These groups are smaller discussion forums for bandsters who have a lot of things in common with you even beyond your lap-band. They may have great solutions to problems that you’re having, and they can be super sympathetic to your situation. You can make close friends on these boards because you already have so much in common, and because you can spend a lot more “one-on-one” time with them. Come on over to the food or recipe. It’s pretty simple. Come up with a new recipe or try a new food that fits on your diet. Tell us about it! Recognize your non-scale victory (NSV): An NSV is something that is an accomplishment during your lap-band journey, but it isn’t based on the number on the scale. It might be something like fitting into a dress you like or being able to keep up with your grandchildren without getting tired. It’s never too late to try the old challenges and write about them. Share what you come up with to brag a little and help out others. The New Challenge: Be an Exercise Buddy! This challenge is great for your health and the health of a lucky new or old friend. Why? Over the next two weeks, your challenge is to do a workout with a new person. Some ideas for the challenge are to: Ask your neighbor to take a walk with you Ask someone at your gym to be your partner while you both lift weights Go for a bike ride with your kids or spouse Take a new exercise class Be creative! The goal is to do something fun and healthy, and maybe make a new friend or two along the way. Don’t forget to post your challenge results in the Challenge Forum. The forum’s also great place to go if you need ideas or have advice for other Bandsters. Good luck! And Finally: We Need Your Help! We’d like to ask you to support us when you can. Hopefully you value LapBandTalk.com and all of its free services. We’d like to remind you to please ask your surgeon and other healthcare providers to post LapBandTalk.com fliers in their offices. The fliers are all ready to be printed in black and white or color. We’re always growing, and you can help. Thank you. That does it for this newsletter. Thanks for reading and for your continued participation on the boards. Take care! 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: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/index.php?app=core&module=usercp&tab=newsletter