LapBandTalk Newsletter 09/05/2012

Summer vacation’s almost over, and for most of us, it flew by! If you have children, they’re probably getting ready to go back to school or even back in school already. As you keep working toward your own weight loss goals, don’t forget to include your children in your healthy lifestyle! Have fun being a great role model as you teach them a few healthy habits like loving their fruits and vegetables and staying active! With the business of the late summer, this newsletter aims to keep you on track. Here’s what’s coming up.

• Member Spotlight: Meet Runnyf!

• Bander Challenge: It’s Time for a LapBandTalk.com Mixer!

• Are You Ready for Labor Day? Do’s and Don’t’s for the Barbecue Party

• Reminder – Keeping Track of the Latest Weight Loss Surgery News

Let’s get going with the newsletter! Whether you’re reading it on your laptop, desktop, iPhone, kindle or Android, we hope you love this newsletter. Let us know what you think about it or anything else related to LapBandTalk.com. I love hearing from our members and value your suggestions! Thanks as always!

Sincerely,

Alex Brecher

Founder

LapBandTalk.com

Member Spotlight – Runnyf

This newsletter, we’re pleased to feature runnyf, aka Renee. She was recently banded this April and has lost 33 pounds from her pre-surgery weight of 323 pounds on her way to her goal weight.

The trip hasn’t been so easy for Renee. It took a year to complete the requirements to get her insurance company to pay for the lap-band. She had to lose 10 percent of her initial body weight – which, she points out, wasn’t so easy because it if were, she’d have done it herself long ago and wouldn’t need the lap-band! She took an eight-week educational class.

food has remained one of her biggest struggles after the lap-band surgery. Her husband is supportive, but Renee admits that it’s challenging sometimes to live with someone who’s still eating foods that she can’t have any more. A major hurdle to her weight loss progress was when Renee spent some time with a dear friend who had lost her husband. Renee found herself putting her own needs last; she wasn’t drinking enough Water and she was having trouble resisting the pizza and other fast food that showed up every night for dinner.

Another challenge has been learning to eat the lap-band diet, including having portion control and choosing the right foods. She’s learning a lot, though, and says that she realizes that it is just “part of the process.” She knows now that the lap-band isn’t the easy way out, and that she’ll just keep having to learn. She’s persevered through the challenges so far and is back on track. She remains committed to her new lifestyle.

Since the beginning of her lap-band journey, Renee has used LapBandTalk.com to get information and support. The boards gave her the confidence she needed to make the decision to get the lap-band and also to be able to share her decision with her family and friends. She plans to continue on the boards as a source of support for new lap-band patients who have the same questions that she had. We’re grateful to have Renee here, and are looking forward to watching her continued weight loss! Thanks for being in our Member Spotlight, Renee!

We have the pleasure of featuring a different LapBandTalk.com member in the Member Spotlight section for each newsletter. Let us know in the Member Spotlight Forum if there’s someone you want to learn more about or if you want to be our spotlighted member! We want to hear about your nominations for yourself or another member. We’re all eager to hear more about you, so let us know who you are! If you’re shy and don’t want to post publicly, just PM Alex with the message that you want to be in the spotlight. This is our favorite part of the newsletter! Thanks for making it happen!

Bander Challenge – It’s Time for a LapBandTalk.com Mixer!

In the Newsletter Challenge, we suggest something for you to try that you wouldn’t normally do. It’s a way to think outside the box. Challenging yourself and trying new things helps you gain confidence, learn new skills and stay involved and interested in your weight loss journey.

What’s the current Bander Challenge? Join the LapBandTalk.com Mixer! We’re not talking about an in-person party here, but it’s time for a virtual mixer! What does that mean? It’s time to shake things up a little. We know you each have your own routines when you visit the boards. You go to the same discussion sub-forums daily. Occasionally, you update your profile, blog or photo gallery.

Your challenge for this newsletter is to vary your habits just a little. You might try visiting and posting on a section of the board that you don’t usually visit. More experienced members might try going back to the “pre-surgery questions” board, or newer members might check out some of the groups. Another idea is to introduce yourself, using the private messaging system, to one or more members whose stories grab your attention or whom you want to get to know better. Now’s your chance!

Let us know how it goes in the Bander Challenge forum. Tell us what you did and how you liked it. And, feel free to check out any of the previous Newsletter Challenges and give us updates on those. You can always see the old challenges in the archived newsletter. It’s never too late to try something new and exciting!

Are You Ready for Labor Day? Do’s and Don’ts for the Barbecue Party

Labor Day is coming up fast, and you’ve probably already had one or two barbecue parties this summer. How well were you able to stick to your diet? Are you confident that you’re going to stay on track on Labor Day? These do’s and don’ts can help you make good decisions at your next outdoor grill so that you can be confident and enjoy the fun.

Do:

• Choose lean Proteins, such as fat-free hot dogs, extra lean ground beef or turkey burger patties, shrimp skewers, salmon steaks and skinless chicken breast.

• Be a good guest. If you’re not sure that the host will be offering foods that are on your diet, bring your own. You can even bring enough to share – you’ll be surprised at how many people will be grateful for your healthy option.

• Eat your veggies. Enjoy corn on the cob (without butter, of course), green salad and other cut vegetables. Just go easy on the dip and choose low-calorie salad dressing.

• Watch your portions. As a weight loss surgery patient, you need to limit your portions even when you’re eating healthy foods. If you’re not careful, it’s all too easy to eat at a barbecue without realizing quite how much you’re eating.

• Have fun! Play volleyball, go swimming and run relay races with the kids. The more you move, the more you’ll lose and the better you’ll feel.

• Be sociable. You’re hanging out with your friends and family to enjoy their company…so enjoy their company instead of focusing so much on food.

Don’t:

• Go for high-fat meats, such as T-bone steak or prime rib, full-fat ground beef patties, pork or beef sausages and turkey legs with the skin.

• Let the sauces, dressings and dips sabotage your diet. Choose low-calorie options, and avoid coleslaw, potato salad, egg salad and other dishes with mayonnaise. Use onions and ketchup instead of cheese for toppings.

• Munch on chips, nuts and other high-calorie appetizers without even realizing it. They will barely fill you up and you can eat way too much. They can even make you feel sick later because of their fat.

• Drink your calories. Soda and beer are empty calories. Beer is worse because it reduces your ability to make good judgments. You might end up eating more than you intended if you drink beer at the barbecue.

• Endulge in ice cream sundaes. For dessert, have a spoonful or two of ice cream if you really want it. Otherwise, assess whether you are truly still hungry. If you are, have some watermelon.

• Hang out at the food table.

• Eat the leftovers while you watch television later.

These dos and don’ts are pretty easy to follow. With these tips, you can start planning your own end-of-summer parties without worrying that you won’t be able to stick to your diet. Have fun!

Reminder – Keeping Track of the Latest Weight Loss Surgery News

We know that many of our members like to know the most recent news and information on the lap-band procedure and weight loss surgery and obesity in general. That’s why we have the news forum. It gets updated daily with the latest news on weight loss, bariatric surgery and health. Check it out and discuss your own opinions in the News Forum!

That piece of information brings us to the end of this week’s newsletter. Thanks so much for reading it and for all of your participation on the forums! The Newsletter Forum has all of the old newsletters in case you missed one or want to talk about them.

Until the next time, take care of yourself and each other,

Alex