Allergan might sell off LapBand Arm - Surprised?

Allergan is considering selling out its Lap-Band arm of weight loss surgical devices -- after a rapid decline in sales and huge public perception fail.  Shocking, right?  Uh, no.

Walk From Obesity Final Update, Team Melting Mama + BBGC Raises $7050 and Awareness!

The Dallas Walk from Obesity was held in conjunction with the OAC Event, and Team BBGC ROCKED IT with the highest Team Fundraising with over $7050 brought in so far, and I had the highest individual amount also raised.

*PS - You can STILL donate if you missed out!  The donations are still accepted until the end of the year and you will be entered to win prizes!

Thanks to all who donated to the cause this time around, as always.

The OAC needs your voices.

Thank you!

Michelle Vicari and I were honored to receive awards at the Obesity Action Coalition's Inaugural Event last weekend.

I received the OAC's Award for Advocate of the Year -- and Michelle for Membership Recruitment.

Thank you OAC, and thanks to those who nominated us!

 

Leading an Active Lifestyle in a Sedentary World: Your Weight Matters 2012 National Convention by ObesityAction

Leading an Active Lifestyle in a Sedentary World: Your Weight Matters 2012 National Convention by ObesityAction

Event Welcome: Your Weight Matters 2012 National Convention

Event Welcome: Your Weight Matters 2012 National Convention

Hello Internet, I am stranded in Texas. #OACConference #hurricanesandy

This one time in Texas... I got stranded because of a little hurricane.   I live in MASSACHUSETTS.

I left my house to attend the Obesity Action Coalition last Wednesday morning -- and unknown to me, there was a hurricane coming in.  I am now trapped in the Dallas area until the planes can fly again.  Whelp. 

Luckily and thank goodness, I was saved AT THE TICKET COUNTER by a friend who lives here in the local Dallas-area, otherwise I would have been left in a puddle in tears AND SLEEPING ON A COT IN THE AIRPORT FOR FOUR DAYS.*

And, if you know Beth, she does not do very well without...

#1 - showering.  #2 - sleeping.  #3 - monies for coffee. 

*See also - no RX epilepsy medication. Very, very, BAD.  I had enough medication for a few days in case of emergency, but not HURRICALYPSE!

I almost lost my expletive deleted at the counter, and I was saved.  I also have my emergency supply of medication filled. 

*Thank you.  Because.  Really,  I would be on the floor in the airport for the majority of a week.

Beth Sheldon-Badore Honored with the Obesity Action Coalition’s “OAC Advocate of the Year” Award

Beth Sheldon-Badore Honored with the Obesity Action Coalition’s “OAC Advocate of the Year” Award.

Thank you, OAC.

Beth Sheldon-Badore Honored with the Obesity Action Coalition’s

“OAC Advocate of the Year” Award

 

Massachusetts resident Beth Sheldon-Badore was honored with the Obesity Action Coalition’s (OAC) “OAC Advocate of the Year” award during the OAC’s Your Weight Matters Inaugural Convention in Dallas.

 

As a longtime OAC member, Beth has been instrumental in leading the obesity advocacy fight on both National and state advocacy issues.

 

“Beth has been a key asset to the OAC this year in her advocacy efforts. Advocating for the OAC is a tireless effort and Beth exemplified the true meaning of ‘advocate’ in every sense of the word,” said Joe Nadglowski, OAC President and CEO.

 

About the OAC

The OAC is a National nonprofit charity dedicated to helping individuals affected by obesity. The OAC was formed to bring together individuals struggling with weight issues and provide educational resources and advocacy tools. For more information on the OAC, please visit www.obesityaction.org.

 

About the Your Weight Matters Convention

The Your Weight Matters Convention is a national convention focused on providing individuals with quality, evidenced-based education on weight and its impact on health. For more information on the Convention, please visit, www.YWMConvention.com.

Selenium deficiency may cause cardiomyopathy post-gastric bypass

Just an interesting tid-bit -

Selenium deficiency may cause cardiomyopathy post-gastric bypass.

Non-compliance with vitamin and mineral supplementation protocols after bariatric surgery could lead to nutritional deficiencies and related health complications, such as heart damage, according to two separate case reports unveiled at the American College of Gastroenterology's (ACG) 77th Annual Scientific meeting in Las Vegas.

Whoomp. BBGC Style.

I set the goal for $5000.00   Then I bumped it up.  We did it.  I promised this.

 

It will happen in Dallas.

:x

There is still a week until the Walk -- please feel free to drop a dollar in.

Remember - there are prizes.  You are appreciated.  

Peanut Butter Cup Protein Shake

Mr. has a new go-to drink.   He's been working out - and drinks this right after the gym.  This recipe is based off of a sugary-drink the gym makes.  

The kids BEG for it.  #winner.

• 1 scoop Protizyme Peanut Butter Cookie Protein
• 1 scoop Chocolate Whey Protein (He's using Chike right now)  
• Ice
• Skim milk (OR - Unsweetened soy, almond, water...)
• Optional - 1 TSP PB2 or Chocolate PB2  
• Optional - 1 TSP - .5 TSP unsweetened cocoa powder
• Splenda packet if needed
• Blend

OAC Members Make a Difference - October 2012

OAC Members Make a Difference - October 2012.

Pumpkin Protein Cookies

Pumpkin Protein Cookies via Yummly -

INGREDIENTS:

A highlight from the OH Conference in Atlanta - Living Thin Within!

Recently the Obesity Help Conference I met this great woman, Jill.  Jill was to speak during the event, but I did not know that, nor did she introduce herself as anyone of importance.  

And we just TALKED AS PEERS.

Let me tell you something --

Bullying is Bullshit.

When people get bullied - they GET PASSIVE AGGRESSIVE.

YES, INTERNET?  Yessssss?   *nodding with dramatic head nods*

End it.

Love.

Want a BBGC shirt? GIVEAWAY POST.

How cute is THIS?

You know you do.

Five pounds of mint chocolate chip protein? SURE! Enter now!

You want?

Weight-Loss Surgery Cuts Heart Risk More Than Drugs

Bloomberg - Weight-Loss Surgery Cuts Heart Risk More Than Drugs

For more than half of the almost 20,000 patients included in the research, risk factors for stroke, heart attack and heart failure -- such as high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol -- significantly improved or were resolved, said researchers led by Amanda Vest of the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. The survey was published yesterday in the U.K. journal Heart, which commissioned the research. At least 2.8 million adults die each year as a result of being overweight or obese, according to the Geneva-based World Health Organization. Candidates for bariatric surgery, designed to limit food intake, include those who are more than 100 pounds (45 kilograms) over their ideal body weight.

“The magnitude of effect on risk factors is impressive, and to date no pharmacological therapy for weight management or diabetes has shown a comparable effect over these short time periods,” the study authors said in the published paper. “In appropriately selected patients, especially those with a high cardiovascular risk, surgical weight loss could be life- saving.” Weight-loss surgery itself carries risks and can even cause death, the authors said. Complications include wound infection, bleeding, gallstones and nutritional deficiencies, according to the Cleveland Clinic.

Almost half of patients undergoing gastric banding for obesity needed to have the device removed, often because of erosion, according to a study published by the Archives of Surgery earlier this year. Severely obese people benefit from weight-loss surgery, the American Heart Association said in a policy statement March 14.

I am a little crazy - let's get it done.

Our Team goal was $5000.00.  I upped it.  Because I am a little crazy.

Help us reach $6000.00 before Dallas?  We got this.  It's only $630ish to go.  (A lot of eyeballs see this post.  Donate your $2 coffee money today?)

• Donate now!  To any Team Member or Any Team - Dallas as a whole, is at 91% to GOAL!

• If your business would like to GET ON Team BBGC - yes, I said it - you can!  Get us to goal or more -- throw some tee shirts/backpacks our way -- and we'll wear your swag during the Walk.  Totally at my discretion, however.  Thank you.  
• Email me ASAP and get the stuff to my hotel. Email [email protected] like yesterday, now.

• Thank you!
• Donators -- You could win a great prize, while helping a great cause!   The fundraising levels are: Raise $100 for a chance to win an iPod Nano, $500 for a chance to win a Wii Game System, $1,000 to receive an iPod Nano, or $2,500+ to receive an iPod Nano and Wii Game System.  Remember also -- there's still CLICK, and Proteins I've yet to pick winners for.
• I'll be GIVING AWAY whatever prize I get, as usual.  Thank you!

Sleeve Gastrectomy Surgery: LIVE Video! Ooooooooh.

Oooooh, tasty!  Warning, super graphic video!  (Some of us like this stuff.  We're odd.)

NJ Sleeve Gastrectomy Surgery: LIVE by Dr. Alexander Abkin from Alexander Abkin on Vimeo.

Substance Use Following Bariatric Weight Loss Surgery - Alcohol Is a PROBLEM.

Reuters - 

More (albeit just a little...) evidence points to WHAT WE AS PATIENTS HAVE BEEN TRYING TO TELL YOU, over and over and over and over.

People who had weight loss surgery reported greater alcohol use two years after their procedures than in the weeks beforehand, in a new study.

"This is perhaps a risk. I don't think it should deter people from having surgery, but you should be cautious to monitor (alcohol use) after surgery," Alexis Conason, who worked on the study at the New York Obesity Nutrition Research Center at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center, told Reuters Health.