VerticalSleeveTalk Newsletter

Hey, Sleevers!

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 LilMissDiva!

• Sleever Challenge: It’s Time for a VerticalSleeveTalk.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 VerticalSleeveTalk.com. I love hearing from our members and value your suggestions! Thanks as always!

Sincerely,

Alex Brecher

Founder

VerticalSleeveTalk.com

Member Spotlight – LilMissDiva!

This week’s spotlight is on LilMissDiva. She was banded in September of 2010 in Mexicali. Now approaching her two-year anniversary, she’s a svelte 169 pounds – yes, 16 healthy pounds below her goal weight of 185 pounds, and down almost half of her original 330 pounds! Wow.

What’s her story? Well, LilMissDiva battled her weight from her teens until 2008, when she got the lap-band. She did okay with it, losing down to 225, but started to regain the weight until she was 281 pounds again. That’s when she got diagnosed with high blood pressure. That was only a few short years after losing an uncle to complications of high blood pressure after watching him suffer for years with kidney failure. Her doctor also told her to schedule two knee surgeries. She never even made the first call. Instead, she called a surgeon in Mexicali and went south for the sleeve!

She’s had so many great moments from being called skinny by a perfect stranger to weighing less than her husband to completing her first 5k. Along with the pleasures of enjoying clothes and relationships because of her beautiful looks, LilMissDiva says she feels like a new part of her has woken up since her vertical sleeve surgery. She’s planning to become a certified nutritionist and personal trainer, and she wants to become an inspirational expert in obesity and bariatric surgery.

LilMissDiva had the common post-op surgery troubles, including nausea, fatigue and vomiting. But, she says it’s been worth it and she’d “do it again a million times over” for the rewards. She used VerticalSleeveTalk.com to get her through the rough Patches and she continues to check in almost daily. She’s a moderator, so you may have seen her around the boards.

LilMissDiva is serious about wanting to help others. In fact, she’s so committed to it that she’s started her own I’m Happy to Help thread in the forums. She welcomes anyone who needs advice, encouragement or a little bit of tough love. LilMissDiva, a huge sincere thanks from all of us. People like you make the world better.

We have the pleasure of featuring a different VerticalSleeveTalk.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!

Sleever Challenge – It’s Time for a VerticalSleeveTalk.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 Sleever Challenge? Join the VerticalSleeveTalk.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 Sleever 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 gastric sleeve 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

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Im sure some of you have noticed that I deleted all my pictures.. and I will explain why.. Hopefully someone in an administrative position can give me insite on this.

Because of all the Identity fraud going on I always check my name on the internet. Using my screen names, my real name, my email just to see what pulls up... here's what I found.

I am on this site because I had a VERTICAL SLEEVE! not any other surgery.. and yet somehow my profile had been duplicated on the RNY, Gastric bypass and band website, because they are all run by the same people. all of my pictures that I had posted on here, all my information and all my posts!!!!

I AM NOT OK WITH THAT!!!

I had to go into each site and delete all my information and even though I absolutely think that VST is a great help and motiviational tool for all, I do not agree with sharing all my information on other sites. I have tried to email support on several occasions to delete my account permanently with no response from anyone. I don't know if any of you are aware that you information is being used on these other sites as well but if you didn't know... I hope this is informative to you. I would honestly suggest pulling your email address in google and see what pops up so you are aware of what information is being put on the internet regarding your personal information and life as well as pictures.

I have met soooooo many wonderful people on this site and I truely had people inspire ME as I hope that I have been able to inspire others... And I apologize to anyone if you felt i deserted you as a mentor. That was not my intention. I have had a few emails from people saying that they enjoyed the motivation that I provided and I hope that you can continue to receive the motiviation that you desire, but unfortunately I am removing all pictures of myself and all pertinent information regarding myself, for my own peace of mind.

But most of all I wanted to let others know just incase you weren't aware that your information is being shared with other websites that are owned by the same individuals.

YOU CAN LITERALLY USE YOUR SAME LOGIN INFO THAT YOU USE FOR VST ON THESE OTHER WEBSITES

RNYTALK.COM

SLEEVEPLICATIONTALK.COM

LAPBANDTALK.COM

SOMEONE PLEASE EXPLAIN TO ME HOW THATS RIGHT?!?!?!?!?!? OR ETHICAL!

Just wanted to say Congrats to Lil Miss Diva for being the featured member this month!!!