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Alex Brecher can you help?



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So, this evening I sit down to watch ABC News with David Muir because I want to torture myself by listening to more about the Republic National Convention. (dabbing at my bleeding ears)

I noticed that there are many... many, many food commercials. Its the dinner hour so why not, right? Mentioning any of these foods would be completely unkind in this forum. But I have an idea. Probably an old idea, but I do not see evidence it has materialized.

@AlexBrecher, founder of BariatricPal, can you sponsor or produce television ads with healthy foods that are not dripping in butter, are not fried, or smothered in the words "all you can eat", please?

Can you be sure they run during the dinner hour until around 2am, please?

Maybe you could start a forum topic to get ideas about what kind of ads would help support the post-bariatric surgery person.

Perhaps you could partner with egg, chicken, or Protein Shake companies which would finance these ads?

Maybe there could be an ad sponsored by Rubbermaid to help us plan our meals?

You could produce a couple 20-second or 30-second public service announcements with encouraging tips for the growing population of people who have undergone/endured bariatric surgery. (Did you know that even Dr. Oz said that bariatric surgery is the best, but most under-utilized surgery offered to give people back their lives in the US today?)

How about PSAs about annual fundraisers to help those who have to self pay? Fun runs/walks, dog washes, blah blah blah

Autism Awareness Month is in April.

Muscular Dystrophy Awareness is over Labor Day.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month is in October.

Alex Brecher, you are in the perfect position to bring post-bariatric surgery people out of the dark. We need our own month to Celebrate our accomplishments and support others who have just started their journey!

We have tons of special needs after the surgery is behind us. Restaurants should offer very small portions for us and welcome us! We are growing in numbers every single day. I think I counted at least 25 people who on this website who have had surgery in the last month.

OMGosh, Unbridled... turn off your monkey mind!

I probably posted this in the wrong place entirely.

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I imagine that it is hard for people to see food given some of the food addictions people have. Not everyone is that way, I have no problem seeing those commercials. They don't entice me to eat. I want a healthier life and I made a commitment to myself to succeed.

I don't think it's a bad idea. But should we stop having ads about alcohol because there are alcoholics out there? I have yet to see an ad for AA on TV.

Sent from my SM-G930R4 using the BariatricPal App

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I imagine that it is hard for people to see food given some of the food addictions people have. Not everyone is that way, I have no problem seeing those commercials. They don't entice me to eat. I want a healthier life and I made a commitment to myself to succeed.

I don't think it's a bad idea. But should we stop having ads about alcohol because there are alcoholics out there? I have yet to see an ad for AA on TV.

Sent from my SM-G930R4 using the BariatricPal App

I don't think she was asking to stop the ads, I think she was asking for some healthier alternatives. And fwiw, there are plenty of PSAs about not drinking, not doing drugs, etc.

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I just don't believe on passing the responsibility to someone else.

As an individual, it is one's responsibility make better food choices and resist the impulse. It's not someone else's responsibility. I have seen plenty of commercials about healthy foods and getting healthy meals in the mail ready to eat or cook. What has that changed? From what I remember nobody put a gun to my head to make me eat the unhealthy stuff I did and get me to the point where I needed WLS surgery. I'm pretty sure so was the case for everybody else.

For alcoholics, not all the PSA in the world is going to make them go to AA and kick the addiction to the curve. They have to hit bottom and have the awareness to realize they have a problem. So it is not on the TV but on the individual's behavior and mental state. Otherwise, there shouldn't be thin people.

Sent from my SM-G930R4 using the BariatricPal App

Edited by missengineer

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I plan to make all of my TV watching DVR'd (skip the commercials) or Netflix post-op. :)

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The night of my surgery I watched my favorite station FoodNetwork. I know the hospital staff believed that I was crazy. It helped me cop. For my sleeved husband it only creates stress. It just depends.

Sent from my SM-G935P using the BariatricPal App

Edited by LadyK44

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Oh yeah, and while you're doing all that, @@Alex Brecher , would you please make sure Social Security's financial viability extends through the year 3,000? And please reverse global warming? And ask Joe Mangianello to give me a call tonight, please?

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How about you collect the funds and I'll produce the commercials? :D

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How about you collect the funds and I'll produce the commercials? :D

That's the cheap part! Then you have to purchase the media.

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Written partially tongue-in-cheek and partially from frustration, I love the feedback!

Seriously @AlexBrecher, thank you for providing this place for us, the mostly misunderstood. With in-your-face hatred and prejudice on the planet, even if we are anonymous strangers, its wonderful to have a place to be understood. Thank you for the foresight you had to create a space for us to gather. We all have multifaceted lives, but in this one place, we can come together for a single purpose and feel stronger when we leave.

(Not wanting to see the commercials about Olive Garden's Pasta lovers special again, I gather up my Kindle to read myself to sleep)

Sweet dreams all.

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When I was pre-op and newly sleeved even the pet food ads looked appetizing. Maybe it was all of that Protein?

Did you know that 7% of all canned dog food is consumed by humans?? Sad, but true. I know that Rachael Ray's dog food looks better than most of what I cook! :)

I love this thread! It's just for fun.

Sometimes I believe we need to take the time just to be --silly.

PS: Do you remember the "Kraft" specials around the Holidays??? I just know that the commercials were created by the "Fat Demons from the Five Circle of Hell"... OMG! I ate nothing but cheese for weeks!... :)

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    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. LeighaTR

        I hope your surgery on Wednesday goes well. You will be able to do all sorts of new things as you find your new normal after surgery. I don't know this from experience yet, but I am seeing a lot of positive things from people who have had it done. Best of luck!

    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

        Now I have a whole new big, bigger, biggest, best days ever. I am out there with those skinny people doing stuff i could never have dreamt of. Food is now an after thought. It doesn't consume my day. I still enjoy the good home cooked food but I eat smaller portions. I leave food on my plate when I am full. I can no longer hear my mother's voice saying eat it all up, ther are starving children in Africa who would want that!

        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

    • CaseyP1011

      Officially here for a long time, not just a good time💪
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
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