What happens to an Egg in NYC?

She gets BEAUTY-FULL!

Michelle says the professional make-over shots are much better.  O-o  DAMN, GIRL!  Look at you!  I can't wait to see!

 
 

Disclaimer - she's already gawgeous, they just put make up on her. LOL

GIVEAWAY - Are you a 'bad girl?'

GIVEAWAY - Are you a 'bad girl?'

Shame-based dieting helps with weight loss.

All I can say is, YEP.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Sarah Ferguson is a... shopaholic? Also on the cover of WLS Lifestyles magazine.

NPR -

Just days ago, a British tabloid reported that Sarah Ferguson was caught on video offering access to her former husband, Prince Andrew, for $724,000. 

Now, she's going to tell her side of the story to Oprah.  

Why?  Today.msnbc says -

 â€œShe’s totally broke,” one source told Us Weekly. “Her desperation led to the lack of judgment. What led to her financial situation? She never really made the transition from being a royal to being a civilian, according to the magazine.

“She’s a shopaholic, obsessed with designers like Chanel and Hermès,” the source told Us. “She didn’t know how to stop spending like a royal.”

Which is quite fitting, because I just noticed that she's on the COVER of the latest WLS LIFESTYLES magazine.  Yeah, we get it.  

 
 

Finding comfort in her own skin after losing 279 lbs.

This is just a bit of an article I just read online, but I identified with it very much, I thought I would share.

The Desert Sun-

When Carrie Hanenberger gets dressed, she pulls and tugs at her flesh, folding it over and tucking 

the loose skin into her clothing. 

 
 

“I just want to wear pants that fit,” she sighs. “I've worked so hard.” It's been two years since the 29-year-old had gastric bypass surgery, and she barely resembles the woman she once was. Her face, once round, now has strong, chiseled bones. Her figure is now slender, no longer husky. Overall, the Yucca Valley woman has lost 279 pounds, bringing her down to a sleeker, fitter 189. Still, this is not the body she wants. 

This size 16 woman would actually be a size 10 or 12 if it wasn't for all the excess flesh that hangs on her upper arms and around her abdomen. Hanenberger carries about 40 pounds on her frame in skin alone. â€œI feel like a melting candle,” she says. 

Hanenberger is self-conscious about the excess skin. However, the procedure to remove it is potentially dangerous and expensive. 

Hanenberger consulted with five plastic surgeons, and the lowest estimate was $85,000. â€œI can still get around and move, but it's difficult. The skin gets in the way. It's cumbersome,” she says. “People kept telling me that I'm young, it'll snap right back. But that wasn't the case.” 

BJ's Bariatrics Newsletter! (Tee-hee, you gotta read it.)

BJ's Bariatrics For all of your Bariatric needs and more, allowing you to Go The Distance™! Also announcing a new Face Book Group! Response to the  Syntrax Nectar Sample/Variety Packs has been incredible!  At only $12.95 for 11 full size single serving packets, one in each flavor, it really is a good deal and a great way to try all of the flavors in the Nectar Line. Each serving provides 23 grams of the best Whey Protein Isolate that is available.  It dissolves very easy, the Portable Drink Mixer that BJ's has is for OTHER protein powders!  And the taste can not be beat. But that's not really the point of this email.  The point is we are having a sale on Nectar!  Use the coupon code NectarDeal at checkout and you'll get 6.25% off all Syntrax products in your cart.  That is $2 off every 2.1 lb tub of Nectar, $0.81 off Sample Packs, $1.41 off Matrix 2.0 and a whopping $2.66 off Matrix 5.0!   No limit to how much you can buy, but this coupon will expire Midnight EST on June 15. Now into the kitchen Last newsletter, I hinted about expecting to see something about Chef Woody ... well, Chef Woody's first deck of recipe cards is ready!  But first, read Woody's Bio here.  Woody is "One of Us" and has been an incredible success at both life and WLS.   But it is in the kitchen where he shines and is able to express his artistic nature. And Woody is truly an artist when it comes to cooking. We are very pleased to announce the first in Chef Woody's Favorite's series of recipes.  These are in a 4 inch x 6 inch format and printed on high quality 110lb card stock so they'll stand up to the rigors of the kitchen.   Each deck in the series (to be released about every 4-6 weeks) will have at least 15 of Chef Woody's favorite recipes.  This first one is all about Chicken and includes favorites like Chicken Salad ala Woody and Barbecued Chicken, but also some different ones such as Mustard Baked Chicken orTomato-Basil Chicken Porcupines.  Cost is only $7.95 and ships via First Class Mail for only $3.23. We guarantee you'll like these.  If for any reason you are not happy, let us know and we'll promptly refund your money.  You can purchase yours from BJ's Bariatrics, do so today! Do you do Face Book? Come visit us on Face Book: http://www.facebook.com/bjsbariatrics     Become BJ's friend and you'll discover how large our the Bariatric Community is becoming!  Find out what is happening in BJ's world, random musings by Bob (The "B" in BJ), chat with Bariatric Bloggers and more. Melting Mama has a new group that is looking like a lot of fun...the  Bariatric Bad Girls Club!  Melting Mama (Beth) has said that if she gets 1,000 members by the end of Memorial Day Weekend, she'll do a give a way!  She hasn't said what she'll give a way, but it will be good.  She gets a lot of free stuff from vendors wanting her to do reviews. In Closing, our Store BJ's Bariatrics store is located at 622 S. Range Line Rd, Carmel IN 46032 in the Mohawk Place Shopping Center just north of 126th/City Center Dr and Range Line Road.  Hours are Tuesday 10am-7pm, Wednesday through Friday 10am-6pm, Saturday 10am-4pm and closed on Sunday & Monday. Any questions or problems with anything, send us an email to [email protected], call us at 877-WLS-STUF or 317-203-3089.  BJ & the Crew

CONSUMER REPORTS INVESTIGATION: TESTS REVEAL CONTAMINANTS IN MANY PROTEIN DRINKS

I love reading stuff like this.  O-o

   

Consumer Reports July 2010 via Bodybuilding Forum, it's not online -

TESTS REVEAL CONTAMINANTS IN MANY PROTEIN DRINKS 

Aren't you glad? "new weight lost surgery center"

new weight lost surgery center (Beverly Hills)

---

Date: 2010-05-29, 8:55AM PDT
Reply to: removed@craigslist.org ^{[Errors when replying to ads?]}

---

Surgeon needed for Beverly Hills new surgery center specialising in lap Band Gastric By pass .. any information is welcomed , if you have had any experience is weight loss surgery email you're resume to [email protected] 
very lucrative position find out about the comission structure , Best money making possibility in LA. 

• Location: Beverly Hills
• Compensation: one year contract plus commissions
• Principals only. Recruiters, please don't contact this job poster.
• Please, no phone calls about this job!
• Please do not contact job poster about other services, products or commercial interests.

/end craiglist posting

And, if that is FOR REAL, which it could be?  Aren't you glad the respondent might actually rearrange you?

GIVEAWAY - Are you a 'bad girl?'

 
Do you have what it takes to be a Bariatric Bad Girl?   

It's not about breaking rules.  It's not eating badly.  In fact, most of the BBGC girls ^{(and boys!)} are rule-followers, go figure.  We simply want long-term weight loss surgery success and happiness, for everyone, regardless of starting point, or RE-starting point.  We are all equal, we are all human, we all make mistakes, and nobody is perfect. 

Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.  ~Dr. Seuss

Join us on Facebook.

 
 If we hit 1,000 members by the end of the holiday weekend, it's giveaway time!  Currently at 666.  I guess we are pretty evil,  BE AFRAID!  RAAR!

 
 I am not TELLING.  You're just going to have to believe me.  

Deep, no?

Product Secret #2.

    

I told you so.  (Or I thought I did?)  

• ProJoe  $28.99 
• Believe $34.99

Months ago when I tried ProJoe from Bariatric Advantage, I knew where it came from, it's not a secret when the factory is listed on the bottle, it's in my review... "baby food jar!"  But I had to confirm where Believe came from, to confirm that it's the same thing from the same place.  So there.  I was right.

:P

QUIT LYING TO ME.

And just to confuse the issue?  There was THIS - the AchievOne in a glass bottle.  Which was the big sister of the first two products.  And, I hated it.  Though I was told it was a "test product."  Blech.

 
 

I want a mobile "office."

 
Next time I am in the market for a computer, please remind me HOW MUCH I DO NOT WANT A DESKTOP VERSION?  

I hate being tied to this location.  Not that I am forced to be here, it's not like What I Do requires any certain time/hours or checking in, but if I want to use the computer, I have to sit here.  I don't like it.  

This is why I could not work in a closed office.  I keep looking outside and thinking that it would be nice to bring the mac on the porch.  Can't do that. 

So, next time?  MAC BOOK.  I want to take off with it.  On the porch, on the swing, on the couch, anywhere but a desk.  A desk is not conducive to getting much done in my type of brain.  I might head outside with the iPhone - take a walk - and Get An Idea!  But, yeah, there's that thing about typing on a phone. 

Realistically, I know I chose this version of computer because it was cheaper than the laptop.  And, at the time, it made sense.

(Although macs, cheap?  HAHAHAHAHAHAHA.)  

Best and Worst Hospitals For Bariatric Weight Loss Surgery

 

In Adults With Anorexia Brain Volume Found To Change Following Weight Gain

Not that I am suggesting WLS = Anorexia, HOWEVER, as a person who has had WLS and serious neurological problems SINCE?  

I have always thought there was a cause due to the weight loss surgery, forced anorexia and following issues.  If so, perhaps a CURE, for me and for others DEALING WITH THIS.  Just throwing this out there.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/190092.php

My Diet Dinnerware

Starting with? My Diet Dinnerware. Because, regardless of what I say, it will sell. 

A little product secret, first of many.

I was let in on a little secret. 

It seems that even if someone rants about a product online, it sells, sometimes even better than if someone gives a shiny, bubbly, unicorn-glitter-piss RAVE! 

Okay, I admit that maybe a few times I felt coerced to write a fluffy review and I've deleted them after the fact, or gone back and edited them to add my real feelings. It's just not me to be Fluffy.

Remember that protein popcorn and low carb chocolate from forever ago?  I liked them a lot.  

Enough to rave! Post, post, post!  Enough to get sponsorships.  Both were some of my first advertisements on the blog.  I posted about them FIRST, with my real opinions, and then got ads.

The popcorn company never paid.  The excuses I heard for the refusal to pay for the ads I placed?  You would not believe me.  And, it's not uncommon.  What have I learned from this?  (A lot.  It's a different post.)

The chocolate company said this to me:

"Also, it seems to me that the focus of XXX is not the market that you serve.

I truly seek to reach customers who see that careful food choices result in overall good health.

The idea of "pimping" anything makes me sick.  Language is very revealing.

I regret that we do not have a match on business focus."

And refused to pay her balance owed.  But, the review?  It's still on her site from 2007.  It's 2010.  (I did not press on THEN because I was a much smaller entity online.)  I eventually got the balance, by pulling out the contract and sending it back.  But, this stuff is just.... gross.  BTW - I use that word constantly.  I was asking her what she might like me to POST ABOUT because she could have used the word of mouth.  It got nastier - and she told me about her weight loss surgery.  I gave up.

 
 

I don't "do" fake well.  I can't pull off a string of incessant chatter about a product on the fly unless I TRULY have a heart on for it.  There's no way.  I can't lie.  (I think I may be going into the wrong field, says she, one week into "Marketing.")  

I notice bloggers (in all areas, not simply this category of weight loss surgery) write *glowing* product reviews, make absolutely positive videos and beam sunshine and moonbeams out of rear ends when it comes to products that really do not call for such overwhelming adoration.  I often find myself wondering about the motivation for the initial review.

If a blogger comes out with a review that is so over the top for a product that you know is pretty much monkey poop -- do you question why?  Do you simply accept it as -

"Well, they really like that monkey poop!"  

Or, do you find yourself assuming they were paid to say it?  

Honestly, I almost always assume they are paid.  It's an automatic reaction.  Even though, I have never accepted payment for a review.  Which leads me to thinking that other people probably assume MM is paid to review monkey poop.  (She's not.)

If not paid, they are trying too hard to get a company to pay attention.  "LOOK AT ME!  I LOVE YOUR MONKEY POOP!  I DRINK IT THREE TIMES AND DAY AND NOW I LOOK LIKE A MONKEY!  Results not typical, your results will vary, I was not paid to say this, but I would accept payment, <wink!>"

I'm all for bringing humor into a review, but the straight faced  "I swear I was not paid to say this" - 100% OMG THE BEST VAGINAL CREAM EVAH! stuff completely makes me shut off.  That might be part of the reason why I don't say it.

I have learned!  A lot.  Many products and companies haven't taken notice of the WLS community and don't really a crap about a lowly MM (or you) promoting their wares.  We come off a little, desperate looking.

envision blinking lights here ->"LOOK AT ME, I AM USING YOUR MONKEY POOP!" <-envision blinking lights here

But, I don't.  I don't like your monkey poop.  I should not feel compelled to write sunshine and butterfly posts about your monkey poop if I truly do. not. like. it.   You are not my boss.

I should not. feel. guilty. if I pan something.  But, I do.  Sometimes.  A little.  Especially if I get an angry email later from a company asking for "wording to be changed."  Uh.

I know, you are shaking your head, "Hello?  You rant all the time."  Not really.  There are gads of products out there that I don't like.  I have simply not shared many to avoid pissing anyone off. 

But, evidently, it does not matter in the online world, merely mentioning a product and getting the buzz out there, gets it sold.  So even if it sucks, it sells!  Makes sense.

I guess this is to say -- you saw it coming -- that I plan to SHARE MORE.  

More honestly, more openly, and more product.  You have it, I review it.  I have long been avoiding 'stuff' because I was afraid to piss off customers or companies.  It seems they don't care, they get more business either way.  Two products that I really do. not. like. are huge sellers/referrals from this website.  Who knew?!

Try it sometime.  Google a product.  Look at the top link referrals.  Oops.

So, ON WITH IT!

The Nine Worst in Restaurant Eats: Center for Science in the Public Interest

*thud* Xtreme Eating Awards.

(Still haven't tried that DoubleDown.)

Forget childhood obesity, this toddler smokes 40 cigarettes a day.

EMBED-Ardi Rizal - The real SMOKING BABY !! - Watch more free videos

The Sumatran toddler was first given a cigarette when he was just 18 months old. 'I'm not worried about his health, he looks healthy,' shrugged the boy's father Mohammad Rizal. 'He cries and throws tantrums when we don't let him smoke. He's addicted.'

Bariatric Advantage Iron Chewy Bites Chocolate Raspberry

 
 "After weight loss surgery, many people are asked to take a daily iron supplement. At Bariatric Advantage, we recognize that iron may not be your favorite part of the day, but we try hard to make it better. 

We have now taken chewable iron to the next level with our delicious chocolate-raspberry truffle flavored iron Chewy Bite. Each decadent soft chew gives you 30mg of elemental iron and 60mg of vitamin C to support absorption. 

These chews are sugar-free as well, so you don’t have to worry about getting extra carbs while you get the iron you need. Each chew is individually wrapped so you can take them with you wherever you go."

______________________________________________________________________________________

Skeptical, I was.  Iron, chewy?  Then again I have had chewy calcium and have been blown away by the taste from Bariatric Advantage, so it's not like I should be scared to try this, you know.  

The chewy iron bites from  are the same size as the calcium chews, small squares, wrapped singly in foil for on-the-go.  

Nutrient Amount %DV Iron 30 mg 167% Vitamin C 60 mg 100% Sodium 10 mg ≤1% Dose = 1 Chew daily or as directed.

Each bite contains 30 mg. of iron  and 60 mg. of Vitamin C to aid in iron absorption.

I got this email just after I posted, also :  "FYI, I just chatted with a rep and the iron in these is Ferronyl and the sweetener is Sucralose, woot. So (at least for me) this means no tummy trouble/good absorption."

Directions are to chew ONE daily, or as directed. depending on your iron needs.

The chewy bite smells slightly chocolaty with just a touch of raspberry, but only the ^tiniest hint.    

   +  
 
 

Okay, biting it now, taking half.  It's a chewy --- smooth -- candy-like texture.  It's chocolate with a raspberry finish.  It's a lot like soft creamy Tootsie Roll with a touch of berry flavor.  

There is ZERO grit and no aftertaste.  

I am chewing the other half now, just to be sure.  

Waiting. Nope.  Totally good.  That's the way to make a chewy bite.

No photos?  'Cause I only had ONE.

• Product - Bariatric Advantage Iron Chewy Bites Chocolate Raspberry
• Via - Bariatric Advantage
• Price - $12.95 on Pre-order
• Pros -  Yummy!  Candy-like!  Sugar-free. 30 mg Iron.
• Cons - Candy-like!  Watch yourself.
• Rating - Pouchworthy, ^MM
• • Bariatric Advantage Calcium Citrate Chewy Bite Chocolate Flavored
  • Bariatric Advantage Calcium Citrate Lozenges
  • Bariatric Advantage Calcium Citrate Raspberry Chews
  • Bariatric Advantage Calcium Crystals with Vitamin D
  • Bariatric Advantage Chewable Iron 60 mg.
  • Bariatric Advantage Chewable Probiotic Strawberry Flavored
  • Bariatric Advantage Chocolate Calcium Carbonate Chew (500mg) 60 count
  • Bariatric Advantage High Protein Meal Replacement
  • Bariatric Advantage Lemon Calcium Citrate Chew
  • Bariatric Advantage Liquid Vitamin D-3 10,000 IU Supplement
  • Bariatric Advantage Pre-Operative Complete Vitamin and Mineral Formula - Chewable
  • Bariatric Advantage Sugar-Free Omega-3 Chew
  • Bariatric Advantage's ProJoe Review

A post filled with good news and a STFU.

 

CNBC - One Nation Overweight - Fat Facts

 
 From CNBC's "One Nation Overweight," some SHOCKING F A T FACTS.

-The annual healthcare costs of obesity in this country are $147 billion a year. This could rise to as much as $344 billion by 2018, according to one major study.