Alex Brecher

Quite obviously, I don't write or select the member spotlights!!! My staff has a very good sense of humor

Quite obviously, I don't write or select the member spotlights!!!

I do :-) thanks for reporting this problem! We'll have someone fix this mañana.

Check out this article I just posted, highly appropriate based on this discussion! http://abcnews.go.com/m/story?id=16582225&sid=26

We hope to have all ticket issues resolved Monday or Tuesday.

I have two words for you: common sense! Use your common sense when reading posts. There's so much great information and it's usually pretty easy to discern good information from bad.

Titles are supposed to be awarded based on the # of posts you have: Newbie: 0 posts Member: 10 posts Advanced Member: 30 posts LBT Addict: 100 posts Junior Guru: 175 posts Lap Band Guru: 250 posts Aspiring Evangelist: 350 posts Lap Band Evangelist: 450 posts Lap Band Master: 550 posts You can edit your own user title after 500 posts. I'm not sure why our system didn't apply the normal user title to your account. We're looking in to this. In the interim, I've edited it manually. That's why your title changed

Relax people :-) We hope to have this resolved some time today.

Yup! These features aren't accessible via our mobile apps. We hope to have them available in the near future.

Fixed!

Happy to share the VST story I launched LapBandTalk in 2003, after my own WLS and started VST February, 2009. We had many members on LBT that were Gastric Sleeve patients and they wanted their own community. We got the word out through our members, surgeons, health pro's and good web site optimization. I get my own support by supporting our many members, pre and post op any WLS. My plan for the immediate future is to complete the launch of our integrated Tickers and Health Trackers (arriving very shortly.) Once that's completed we hope to launch a much better version of our Mobile Apps for iOS and Android, which will include these tickers and health trackers and other useful features that are designed for a better mobile experience. Over the last few months we've seen traffic from mobile devices using our apps overtake desktop browsers! That's a crazy metric and one most people never expected to happen so quickly. Stay tuned for further updates in our VST Newsletter!

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

Note: Some of you may have received a duplicate of our previous newsletter and we apologize for the inconvenience, please find the current newsletter below. Hey, Sleevers! 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 VerticalSleeveTalk.com, and we’ll jump right into this newsletter with: Gastric Sleeve Support Groups: Are you taking full advantage of special forum groups on VerticalSleeveTalk.com? To Tell or Not to Tell – Do you tell others about your vertical sleeve surgery? Member Spotlight – None other than Alex Brecher, founder of VerticalSleeveTalk.com! Sleever Challenge – This is a great one to kick off the summer. We encourage you to stay involved with VerticalSleeveTalk.com. Ask your questions, answer your peers and keep your profile current. All of your participation keeps you on track and helps everyone else! Always let us know when you have suggestions, comments and questions. Enjoy the newsletter. Sincerely, Alex Brecher Founder VerticalSleeveTalk.com Sleever Support Groups: What are They, and How Do They Help You? VerticalSleeveTalk.com can be a huge part of your life. Many of us check the boards every day or more, and depend on the site for support, information and encouragement. Joining one or more VerticalSleeveTalk.com support groups is a great way to get even more out of VerticalSleeveTalk.com. These support groups are like private clubs, but all you have to do to join is to participate! Just look at the different types groups we have. Monthly groups based on when you got the sleeve Groups based on your hometown, age and weight goals. The sleeve buddies and mentors forum in case you need a little extra help or want to help someone in their weight loss journey. And more…for African-American sleevers, diabetes patients, Christian sleevers…and way more. These groups are smaller discussion forums for sleevers who have a lot of things in common with you even beyond your gastric sleeve. 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 VerticalSleeveTalk.com support group page and see which groups you want to join! Hot Topic: Coming out of the WLS Closet To tell or not to tell? That’s a pretty sensitive question for a lot of weight loss surgery patients. It’s normal to feel embarrassed about the sleeve, especially when you’re dealing with people who look down on you. Always remember that you don’t have to let others make you feel bad. As long as you’re healthy and happy, you should feel proud of your accomplishments. Anyone who truly loves you will also be proud. It’s a personal decision about telling people about the surgery. You might tell your closest friends and family first, and let others in on the secret when they start to ask you how you lost so much weight. You don’t ever have to tell if you’re shy or just don’t want to. Or, if you prefer, you can tell everyone as soon as you set the date for your surgery. Maybe that’ll make you feel more accountable and inspire you to success. What are your thoughts? Do you tell people that you’ve gotten the sleeve? How do you choose when to tell, how much to say and whom to tell? Do you have any tips for other gastric sleeve patients? Tell us about it! First Member Spotlight – It’s Alex! We promised, and now we’ve delivered! It’s time for the first true Member Spotlight, and who better to be honored than…Alex! He’s the founder of VerticalSleeveTalk.com and the other communities belonging to WLSBoards.com. He manages and promotes the boards to make sure that they’re here for everyone. He is truly passionate about helping others reach the same weight loss success that he did. Here’s his story. He’s the handsome, friendly face you see hanging out on the forums, but he took the same journey as many of you to achieve those looks. Alex struggled with obesity and diets for years without finding permanent weight loss success. He finally realized that he needed to lose the weight if he wanted to be around for his children for years to come. Alex got the lap-band, lost more than 100 pounds and never looked back. Thrilled with his new energy and health, Alex had the motivation and confidence to stop smoking. Today he is an active, lean family man who loves to run, bike and spend time with his children. In 2003, Alex founded LapBandTalk.com, which quickly became the largest weight loss surgery community in the world. He started VerticalSleeveTalk.com in February of 2009, and the other WLSBoards, RNYTalk.com and SleevePlicationTalk.com, followed in 2011. Alex works hard to make sure that all members to have positive experiences and benefit from being part of the communities. Do you have someone you’d like to see featured in the Member Spotlight? Would you like to be our spotlighted member? Come tell us in the Member Spotlight forum! It’s a regular feature of the newsletters to let you learn a little more about someone in our community with an inspirational story or who helps out our members. Thanks for your nominations so far! Sleever Challenge! Challenge Yourself and Achieve Something New! We give you a challenge in each Sleever Newsletter. It’s not a challenge for you to compete against anyone else. It’s just a way to set a new goal for yourself to try something new or push yourself a little harder. Nobody’s keeping score, so try it! You can always find the old challenges in the Challenge Forum. So far, the two challenges have been: Try a new 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 weight loss 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. Congratulations to LBM! Her NSV is that she can cross her legs! What a great feeling – and thanks for sharing. 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 Sleevers. Good luck! And Finally: Please Support Us! Just as a reminder, we’d like to ask you to support us when you can. Hopefully you value VerticalSleeveTalk.com and all of its free services. We’d like to remind you to please ask your surgeon and other healthcare providers to post VerticalSleeveTalk.com fliers in their offices. 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.verticalsleevetalk.com/index.php?app=core&module=usercp&tab=newsletter

Hey, RNYTalk Members! 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 RNYTalk.com, and we’ll jump right into this newsletter with: Gastric Bypass Support Groups: Are you taking full advantage of special forum groups on RNYTalk.com? To Tell or Not to Tell – Do you tell others about your gastric bypass surgery? Member Spotlight – None other than Alex Brecher, founder of RNYTalk.com! Bypass Challenge – This is a great one to kick off the summer. We encourage you to stay involved with RNYTalk.com. Ask your questions, answer your peers and keep your profile current. All of your participation keeps you on track and helps everyone else! Always let us know when you have suggestions, comments and questions. Enjoy the newsletter. Sincerely, Alex Brecher Founder RNYTalk.com RNY Support Groups: What are They, and How Do They Help You? RNYTalk.com can be a huge part of your life. Many of us check the boards every day or more, and depend on the site for support, information and encouragement. Joining one or more RNYTalk.com support groups is a great way to get even more out of RNYTalk.com. These support groups are like private clubs, but all you have to do to join is to participate! Just look at the different types groups we have. Monthly groups based on when you got your bypass Groups based on your hometown, age and weight goals. The bypass buddies and mentors forum in case you need a little extra help or want to help someone in their weight loss journey. And more…for religious bypassers, PCOS patients, women, men, atheist bypassers…and way more. These groups are smaller discussion forums for bypassers who have a lot of things in common with you even beyond your weight loss surgery. 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 RNYTalk.com support group page and see which groups you want to join! Hot on the Boards: Coming out of the WLS Closet. To tell or not to tell? That’s a pretty sensitive question for a lot of weight loss surgery patients. It’s normal to feel embarrassed about your surgery, especially when you’re dealing with people who look down on you. Always remember that you don’t have to let others make you feel bad. As long as you’re healthy and happy, you should feel proud of your accomplishments. Anyone who truly loves you will also be proud. It’s a personal decision about telling people about weight loss surgery. You might tell your closest friends and family first, and let others in on the secret when they start to ask you how you lost so much weight. You don’t ever have to tell anyone if you’re shy or just don’t want to. Or, if you prefer, you can tell everyone as soon as you set the date for your surgery. Maybe that’ll make you feel more accountable and inspire you to success. What are your thoughts? Do you tell people that you’ve gotten roux-en-Y gastric bypass? How do you choose when to tell, how much to say and whom to tell? Do you have any tips for other gastric bypass patients? Tell us about it! First Member Spotlight – It’s Alex! We promised, and now we’ve delivered! It’s time for the first true Member Spotlight, and who better to be honored than…Alex! He’s the founder of RNYTalk.com and the other communities belonging to WLSBoards.com. He manages and promotes the boards to make sure that they’re here for everyone. He is truly passionate about helping others reach the same weight loss success that he did. Here’s his story. He’s the handsome, friendly face you see hanging out on the forums, but he took the same journey as many of you to achieve those looks. Alex struggled with obesity and diets for years without finding permanent weight loss success. He finally realized that he needed to lose the weight if he wanted to be around for his children for years to come. Alex got the lap-band, lost more than 100 pounds and never looked back. Thrilled with his new energy and health, Alex had the motivation and confidence to stop smoking. Today he is an active, lean family man who loves to run, bike and spend time with his children. In 2003, Alex founded LapBandTalk.com, which quickly became the largest weight loss surgery community in the world. He started VerticalSleeveTalk.com in February of 2009, and the other WLSBoards, RNYTalk.com and SleevePlicationTalk.com, followed in 2011. Alex works hard to make sure that all members to have positive experiences and benefit from being part of the communities. Do you have someone you’d like to see featured in the Member Spotlight? Would you like to be our spotlighted member? Come tell us in the Member Spotlight forum! It’s a regular feature of the newsletters to let you learn a little more about someone in our community with an inspirational story or who helps out our members. Thanks for your nominations so far! Bypass Challenge! Challenge Yourself and Achieve Something New! We give you a challenge in each Bypass Newsletter. It’s not a challenge for you to compete against anyone else. It’s just a way to set a new goal for yourself to try something new or push yourself a little harder. Nobody’s keeping score, so try it! You can always find the old challenges in the Challenge Forum. So far, the two challenges have been: Try a new 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 weight loss 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 RNY members so they can complete the challenge. Good luck! And Finally: Please Support Us! Just as a reminder, we’d like to ask you to support us when you can. Hopefully you value RNYTalk.com and all of its free services. We’d like to remind you to please ask your surgeon and other healthcare providers to post RNYTalk.com fliers in their offices. 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.rnytalk.c...&tab=newsletter

Hey, Sleeve Plication Talk Members! 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 SleevePlicationTalk.com, and we’ll jump right into this newsletter with: Sleeve Plication Support Groups: Are you taking full advantage of special forum groups on SleevePlicationTalk.com? To Tell or Not to Tell – Do you tell others about your sleeve plication? Member Spotlight – None other than Alex Brecher, founder of SleevePlicationTalk.com! Sleever Challenge – This is a great one to kick off the summer. We encourage you to stay involved with SleevePlicationTalk.com. Ask your questions, answer your peers and keep your profile current. All of your participation keeps you on track and helps everyone else! Always let us know when you have suggestions, comments and questions. Enjoy the newsletter. Sincerely, Alex Brecher Founder SleevePlicationTalk.com Sleeve Plication Support Groups: What are They, and How Do They Help You? SleevePlicationTalk.com can be a huge part of your life. Many of us check the boards every day or more, and depend on the site for support, information and encouragement. Joining one or more SleevePlicationTalk.com support groups is a great way to get even more out of SleevePlicationTalk.com. These support groups are like exclusive clubs, but all you have to do to join is to participate! Just look at the different types groups we have. Monthly groups based on when you got your surgery Groups based on your hometown, age and weight goals. The sleeve plication buddies and mentors forum in case you need a little extra help or want to help someone in their weight loss journey. And more…for religious sleevers, gay, lesbian and bi sleevers, crossover addicts, biker sleevers…and way more. These groups are smaller discussion forums for sleevers who have a lot of things in common with you even beyond your weight loss surgery. 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 SleevePlicationTalk.com support group page and see which groups you want to join! Hot on the Boards: Coming out of the WLS Closet. To tell or not to tell? That’s a pretty sensitive question for a lot of weight loss surgery patients. It’s normal to feel embarrassed about your surgery, especially when you’re dealing with people who look down on you. Always remember that you don’t have to let others make you feel bad. As long as you’re healthy and happy, you should feel proud of your accomplishments. Anyone who truly loves you will also be proud. It’s a personal decision whether to tell people about weight loss surgery. You might tell your closest friends and family first, and let others in on the secret when they start to ask you how you lost so much weight. You don’t ever have to tell anyone if you’re shy or just don’t want to. Or, if you prefer, you can tell everyone as soon as you set the date for your surgery. Maybe that’ll make you feel more accountable and inspire you to success. What are your thoughts? Do you tell people that you’ve gotten weight loss surgery? Do you explain to them what a sleeve plication is, since they probably don’t know? How do you choose when to tell, how much to say and whom to tell? Do you have any tips for other sleevers? Tell us about it! First Member Spotlight – It’s Alex! We promised, and now we’ve delivered! It’s time for the first true Member Spotlight, and who better to be honored than…Alex! He’s the founder of RNYTalk.com and the other communities belonging to WLSBoards.com. He manages and promotes the boards to make sure that they’re here for everyone. He is truly passionate about helping others reach the same weight loss success that he did. Here’s his story. He’s the handsome, friendly face you see hanging out on the forums, but he took the same journey as many of you to achieve those looks. Alex struggled with obesity and diets for years without finding permanent weight loss success. He finally realized that he needed to lose the weight if he wanted to be around for his children for years to come. Alex got the lap-band, lost more than 100 pounds and never looked back. Thrilled with his new energy and health, Alex had the motivation and confidence to stop smoking. Today he is an active, lean family man who loves to run, bike and spend time with his children. In 2003, Alex founded LapBandTalk.com, which quickly became the largest weight loss surgery community in the world. He started VerticalSleeveTalk.com in February of 2009, and the other WLSBoards, RNYTalk.com and SleevePlicationTalk.com, followed in 2011. That’s right – we’re only starting our second year, and we’ve already got thousands of great members! Alex works hard to make sure that all members to have positive experiences and benefit from being part of the communities. Do you have someone you’d like to see featured in the Member Spotlight? Would you like to be our spotlighted member? Come tell us in the Member Spotlight forum! It’s a regular feature of the newsletters to let you learn a little more about someone in our community with an inspirational story or who helps out our members. Thanks for your nominations so far! Sleever Challenge! Challenge Yourself and Achieve Something New! We give you a challenge in each SleevePlicationTalk Newsletter. It’s not a challenge for you to compete against anyone else. It’s just a way to set a new goal for yourself to try something new or push yourself a little harder. Nobody’s keeping score, so try it! You can always find the old challenges in the Challenge Forum. So far, the two challenges have been: Try a new 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 weight loss 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 Sleevers so they can complete the challenge. Good luck! And Finally: Please Support Us! Just as a reminder, we’d like to ask you to support us when you can. We know you value SleevePlicationTalk.com and all of its free services. We’d like to remind you to please ask your surgeon and other healthcare providers to post SleevePlicationTalk.com fliers in their offices. 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.sleevepli...&tab=newsletter

Forums that are within the "Social Groups" area of our site aren't accessible from our Apps yet and you'll receive this error when accessing them from your app. They are available when accessing our site from your computer.

We're working on developing our own app that would offer similar features like MFP but geared specifically towards the Bariatric community. What features do you use most often in MFP ? What features would you like to see added ?

You can do this right from our web site at http://rnytalk.com/tickers :-)

We hope to have these types of bugs fixed in the next version. There's never a need to reboot the actual phone or device. All you have to do is end and restart the app. That fixes any issues 99% of the time.

http://VerticalSleeveTalk.com And http://RNYTalk.com

What a great suggestion. What are you doing to maintain besides having an optimal fill ? Personally for me, it's about working out and eating (mostly) the right food.

We had server issues the last few days. Should be ok now....

We're planning on integrating our tickers and trackers to work with FitBit in the (hopefully) near future. I haven't tested BodyBug yet but we might be able to add that as well. I'm curious to know if people actually use these tools after a week or two ? :-)

SleevePlicationTalk Newsletter Hey, Sleevesters, It’s that time again…another couple of weeks, another newsletter! We keep you updated on the latest happenings on SleevePlicationTalk.com, and there’s a lot happening! Here’s a quick rundown of this week’s newsletter. Encouragement to welcome new SleevePlicationTalk.com members in the ”Tell Your Story” Forum. Tick and Track your way to success! ASMBS policy statement: what does the national organization say about Sleeve Plication? First Member Spotlight: Coming soon! Newsletter Challenge: summary of the previous one, and a new challenge to try. Visit SleevePlicationTalk.com often to stay on track with your weight loss journey and stay motivated to follow your diet and exercise program to get the success you deserve with the sleeve plication. Stay involved in the discussion forums, and always let us know if you have any comments, suggestions or questions. Take care of yourselves and each other. Sincerely, Alex Brecher Founder SleevePlicationTalk.com Contest Reminder: Will You be the One to Win a Free iPod Touch? Don’t forget about the contest to Celebrate the launch of our new apps. The contest to win a free iPod Touch is still on, and you can get the details in the first SleevePlicationtalk.com newsletter. There’s still time to enter; just complete your member profile and post to the forums to become eligible. The more you post and more involved you are on LapBandTalk.com, the better your chances of winning. Your chances improve when you post to the forums, join a group, upload photos or refer a friend. Wondering How You Can Help Out Other Sleevers Even More? SleevePlicationTalk.com has more than 100,000 members who regularly come here for information, support and advice during all stages of your weight loss journey. Some of you visit often to read the forums, but you don’t post very often. Some of you post regularly. Both kinds of members are fantastic because SleevePlicationTalk.com is dedicated toward helping everyone who needs it. We’re a welcoming, supportive community. We know that many of you Sleevers go above and beyond the call of duty, and want to know how you can use SleevePlicationTalk.com to become even more supportive of your fellow sleevers. A few of you have asked about it, and we know a lot more of you are wondering the same thing. A great first step is to reach out to new members. Greet them when they post on the “Tell Your Story” Forums, and answer any newbie questions to help them learn the ropes. And thanks! Tickers and Trackers Help You Be More Successful! What do you need to keep yourself on track, show the world who you are and remind yourself of what you’ve accomplished? Tickers and trackers, of course! Tickers let you mark your BMI, body fat, weight and countdown to surgery. They show your starting value, where you currently are and your goal value. Trackers are for recording your current body measurements. You get to customize them by choosing what they look like. We encourage you to make your tickers and trackers public, so that they are displayed when you post in the forums. That helps you stay and inspires your fellow bandsters. If you’re a little shy, you can make your ticker private so that only you see it. ASMBS: National Society’s Opinion on Plication You may already know that the sleeve plication, or laparoscopic greater curvature plication, is a pretty new procedure. That’s why you may have a little more trouble finding a surgeon in the U.S. or getting your insurance to cover it. That doesn’t make it a bad procedure, though. The American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, or ASMBS, states that more scientific data is needed before it can make recommendations about the procedure. The FDA is very cautious about approving any health claims. Before any drug or medical device goes on the market, the FDA conducts clinical trials to make sure that its claims are true. In the case of sleeve plication, the technique is so new that not much scientific evidence is available. So far, it looks like sleeve plication is comparable to the vertical sleeve, and your stomach tissue is not removed. In the article, ASMBS admits that it can’t make official patient recommendations because the technique is too new, but that gastric plication is worth investigating! What do you think? If you’re considering gastric plication, do you wish there were official national recommendations? Coming Soon: Member Spotlights! We introduced them in the previous newsletter, and they’re coming soon…Keep your eyes peeled for member spotlights! Each SleevePlicationTalk.com newsletter that comes out from now on will feature a different member. You’ll get to read all about our honorees. We’ll be Contacting You Soon! Don’t forget to post in the member spotlight forum to nominate yourself or another Sleeve Plication member! Don’t be shy about it. Your story can make the difference in someone’s life. Within the coming weeks, many of you will be contacted through the SleevePlicationTalk.com PM system about becoming a spotlighted member. Sleeve Plication Challenge! Highlights from the Last Challenge and a New Challenge to Try! Each Plication Newsletter, we’ll give you a challenge. You can always find the latest news about the current challenge and check out the old ones in the Challenge Forum. The Challenge is a non-competitive way to push yourself to try something new or unusual. We encourage you to let everyone know how you did on the Challenge by posting in the Challenge Forum. Roundup of the Previous Bandster Challenge: Try a New Food! In the last newsletter, we suggested trying a new food or recipe that was healthy and a good fit for your meal plan. In the last newsletter, we suggested trying a new food or recipe that was healthy and a good fit for your meal plan. You can check out member contributions in the Challenge Forum. How did you do? Let everyone know about your new food or recipe in the forum! Don’t forget that you can always go back to try the old member challenges and post your experience. Going public is a great way to motivate yourself, and other members can learn from your experiences! The New Challenge: Share Your NSV! Okay, first of all, what does NSV mean? It’s short for a Non scale Victory, and it’s just what it sounds like. It’s a victory related to your lap-band journey but not related to the number on the scale. We all have disappointing weigh-ins at some point, but it’s not all about the weight. The journey is about getting healthy, loving life and having new, positive experiences. Sometimes we get so wrapped up in the number on the scale that we forget to celebrate the other victories that are just as important. This Newsletter’s challenge is to recognize a new NSV and write about it in the Challenge Forum. An NSV can be anything that makes you realize what positive steps you’ve taken for yourself. Some possible NSV’s that you recognize might be: Going to a baseball game and fitting into the seat. Buying your new summer swimsuit in a regular store. Keeping your cool while you eat a meal with your hypercritical mother-in-law. Don’t be shy about sharing your NSV on the Challenge Forum. You can help other Sleeve Plication members learn to recognize their own NSVs and take pride in them! So that’s about it for this week’s newsletter, but there’s never a dull moment at SleevePlicationTalk.com! Come by and post often, and be sure to share your opinions, advice and feedback. See you on the boards! 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