BariatricPal Newsletter - June 2014

[Alex Brecher 10,516]

Hey, BariatricPal Members!

Summer is quickly approaching, and we hope you are excited about it! Whether you are finalizing a summer trip or planning a little rest and relaxation, your summer plans are certain to include some progress toward your weight loss goals. To help you get motivated, this is what we have for you in this month’s newsletter.

• Member Poll: How Did You First Learn About Weight Loss Surgery?
• Member Spotlight – Meet Joatsaint!
• Are You Taking Advantage of Summer Produce?
• Meet Some New Friends on BariatricPal!

As always, we hope the newsletter is inspiring. Take a look at it, and then come on over to BariatricPal to discuss your summer weight loss goals and anything else that is on your mind. See you on the boards!

Sincerely,

Alex Brecher

Founder, BariatricPal

Member Poll: How Did You First Learn About Weight Loss Surgery?

You probably tried to lose weight through dieting and exercising for years before the idea of weight loss surgery ever occurred to you. Eventually, though, you started thinking about it. How did you first learn about weight loss surgery?

• My doctor recommended it or sent me to a surgeon to learn about it.
• I noticed that an overweight friend, work colleague, or other acquaintance was finally losing weight, and he or she told me that it was due to weight loss surgery.
• I came across the idea when researching diets and other treatments for obesity online.
• I saw the ads in the mail, on billboards, or on television, and suddenly realized that I should pay attention!
• Other (please tell us below!).

Go to BariatricPal to mark your answer, and then tell us about it in the discussion forum!

Insure Nutrition

We are always thrilled to welcome a new newsletter sponsor into the BariatricPal family, and this month, Insure Nutrition is giving us the pleasure of doing just that. Our latest sponsor, Insure Nutrition, is an online company that specializes in getting health insurance coverage for nutritional supplements. Its Post-Bariatric Surgery Nutrition products includes Premier Protein shakes in chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry flavors and OptiSource High Protein drinks in caramel and strawberry flavors. Checking if you are eligible is easy. Insure Nutrition encourages you to use its online form to find out if you qualify.

Our sponsors help make BariatricPal newsletters and other services possible. We encourage you show your thanks by considering them first for your bariatric needs.

Exciting News – We're welcoming Unjury and opurity to BariatricPal!

BariatricPal is proud and excited to announce two new sponsors for our newsletters. The new sponsors are Unjury, a supplier of wonderful tasting, highest quality protein supplements, and Opurity (from the makers of UNJURY), highest purity Vitamin supplements for bariatric surgery patients. Their support lets us keep BariatricPal newsletters coming to you each month.

Unjury was founded by a master’s degree dietitian who has been helping patients since 1974. It is committed your health. You know the importance of getting enough protein after weight loss surgery, but you also know that meeting your protein goals can be challenging. Unjury makes your task not just easier but actually enjoyable. Product flavors include Chocolate Splendor, Chocolate Classic, Vanilla, Strawberry Sorbet, chicken Soup Flavor, Unflavored, Protein’d cheese Sauce (seasonal, October through May). These ready-to-use protein powders come in single-serve and multi-serve containers, and contain high-quality whey protein to keep you full and nourished.

Launched in 2007, Opurity is dedicated to using the purest ingredients in its supplements. Opurity Bariatric Multivitamins have two unique big advantages:

First, each Multivitamin requires only one tablet per day*. Second, Opurity is so dedicated to quality that it is unique in using no ingredients from China.

Choose from chewable orange-berry multivitamins for gastric bypass and gastric sleeve patients or for lap-band patients.Opurity also sells chewable Calcium, Vitamin D and folic acid/vitamin B-12 chewables. All supplements come with a 100% satisfaction guaranteed. They return policy is: “Yes you can return it.”

Support from Unjury and Opurity helps us continue to bring you the services you enjoy on BariatricPal, so please support these two brands! When looking for your bariatric surgery supplements, first visit Unjury.com and Opurity.com. Purchasing from these companies helps support BariatricPal. Thanks to Unjury and Opurity for your generous sponsorship, and thanks to BariatricPal members who support our partnership!

*You still need calcium and sublingual B-12.

Member Spotlight – Meet Joatsaint!

This month, we are pleased to feature joatsaint in our member spotlight. After spending years at 270 pounds, joatsaint says he ballooned to 375 pounds in the three years after starting a desk job. His feet and legs were in such pain that he often used crutches, and he depended on caffeine pills to get through work because his sleep apnea would not let him sleep well at night. Normal activities like putting on socks and clipping toenails became almost impossible.

For years, the only bariatric surgery that joatsaint’s insurance covered was the gastric bypass, but joatsaint did not like the idea of alterations to his small intestine and the high risk of nutrient deficiencies. He opted for the vertical sleeve gastrectomy once his insurance started covering it because it would restrict his eating without changing his intestines. Surgery was in December of 2012. His starting weight was 375 pounds, and now joatsaint weighs 223 pounds en route to a goal weight of 200 pounds.

Joatsaint says that the biggest difference since getting surgery is that he does not get food cravings anymore. He does not feel the need to eat potato chips or cherry pies, and he says he can “walk past the rice, Pasta, and cake, and be just as satisfied by eating baked chicken and salad.” Many of joatsaint’s great moments have been small victories, such as noticing that his dress shirts were getting baggy, being able to buckle his seat belt more easily, and eating only 3/4 of a plate at a buffet.

The journey has not been completely easy. Joatsaint’s biggest challenge was getting over his dislike of going to the doctor, and admitting that he needed help losing the weight. He felt nervous about the gastric sleeve because it is a permanent operation, leaving him with no “plan B.” Joatsaint also had an underlying fear that this was just another “magic pill,” and he would not be able to lose the weight successfully. And, if he did lose the weight, how would he know how to act? He was used to being the heaviest person in the room.

Joatsaint says that BariatricPal is like his therapy group. Realizing that the same questions come up repeatedly, he likes to answer questions and share his experiences. Staying on the forums reminds him o his past and keeps him focused on his future, and he also gets to release some of his humor. Joatsaint invites BariatricPal members to visit his blog and YouTube videos.

For those struggling with weight loss, joatsaint suggests trying to figure out the real cause. Is it what you are eating, or how much? Are you following your diet? Are you exercising? He also reminds that the biggest thing is to keep trying.

Thank you, joatsaint, for being in our member spotlight! Congratulations on your weight loss so far, and thanks for all of your advice on the boards and our newsletter!

Do you know someone that you would like to see featured in our member spotlight? Do you want to be in the spotlight? Nominate yourself or someone else in our member spotlight forum. Shy? Send Alex Brecher a PM letting him know that you are interested.

Are You Taking Advantage of Summer Produce?

After protein, vegetables and fruits are top priorities in your weight loss surgery diet.

• They are filling but low in calories, so they help you lose weight without being too hungry.
• They have antioxidants and tons of other nutrients, such as Vitamins A and C, folate, potassium, and magnesium.
• They are high in dietary Fiber, which can help keep you regular – an important benefit for many weight loss surgery patients!

Vegetables and fruits are easy to come by and delicious when they are in season. Keep watching the ads from your local grocery store to see which seasonal produce is on sale. If you go to a local farmers’ market, ask the vendors for ideas on how to use the fruits, vegetables, and herbs that they sell.

In the late spring and early summer, look for lettuces, beets, spinach and other greens, and the beginning of the wide range of summer fruits that will be abundant.

• Make your salads more interesting. Try arugula, spinach, and spring mix lettuce instead of regular iceberg, and boost your fruit intake by adding berries or watermelon chunks.
• Use summer fruit to satisfy your afternoon sweet-tooth.
• Throw cabbage, asparagus, Brussels sprouts, carrots, and pretty much any other vegetable on the grill when you are making your protein. Try grilled peaches or watermelon for dessert.
• Cut raw beets into cubes and have them for a snack with goat cheese.
• Use a lettuce leaf to wrap low-fat feta cheese with diced red peppers, zucchini strips, and lemon juice.

Eating more vegetables and fruits can help you lose more weight and feel better. Make it fun by choosing in-season produce and trying new recipes. You might even find that since weight loss surgery, you enjoy produce more!

Meet Some New Friends on BariatricPal!

We started BariatricPal to encourage a more unified voice for fighting obesity with weight loss surgery. BariatricPal still has separate sections for the gastric bypass, vertical sleeve gastrectomy, and lap-band because we know it that sometimes it is important to talk to other members who know exactly what you are going through. But, we also know that members can have a lot to contribute, too, even if they don’t have the same kind of weight loss surgery as you do. So, we invite you to visit the other sections of BariatricPal.

You might meet some more amazing friends!

That is it for this month’s newsletter, but you can keep the conversation going on the boards! See you there!