Are you coming to the Obesity Action Coalition Your Weight Matters National Convention in Dallas, Texas?

Are you coming to the Obesity Action Coalition Your Weight Matters National Convention in Dallas, Texas?

Yes, yes you are?  Did I convince you prior to this blog post, to attend said event?  Did I?  

Please shoot an email to Kristy and let her know that, "Yes, Beth Sheldon-Badore aka Melting Mama.net sent me!"  [email protected]

Were you considering attendance at the OAC event?

"The OAC is so excited to embark on this endeavor, because this is our chance to let you experience the OAC for yourself and show you what we are about – solid and unbiased education, useful and hands-on tools, and empowerment that goes beyond what you’ve experienced before."

Join us!

Oh. Yes. She. Did.

Hold the Press Releases, Suz!  

How do you go from not paying your taxes, failure to ship orders since 2011, closing your store, foreclosure, shutting down all communication to... THIS?

2012: It's not the end. It's the beginning.

"What the eff, Beth?  2339 words?"  Yes.

Opinion - Weight Loss Surgery is the Easy Way Out!

Um. Wow. It's a bit too early to formulate a response the following blurb, as it feels almost like a flame to induce WLS bloggers to respond to get TRAFFIC to this Miami's newspaper's website. Holy shit.  

PS.  It will be my blog topic later.  Give me three coffees.

http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/shortorder/2011/08/weight_loss_surgery_is_the_eas.php

​US News & World Report recently noted that gastric bypass surgery not only cuts your appetite but also might reduce your desire for high-fat foods. Over the years, I've had friends who have suffered through gastric bypass or lap band procedures. They've all shed weight as if they had made a pact with Satan -- quickly and what appears to be easily.

People applaud their weight loss and congratulate them on how thin they've become and how good they look.

Not I.

I don't like cheating and I don't like short cuts, especially (at least) when it comes to such a big thing (pun totally intended).

My weight has yo-yoed during the years. I've been normal weight, thick, chubby, and obese. When I was at my heaviest, 250 pounds, I did the unthinkable. I cut my calories to less than 500 per day and began exercising two hours daily. Guess what? I also lost weight as if I had a pact with "he who must not be named." (Oh, wait, that's Lord Voldemoort; I mean the other guy.)

It was difficult, especially at first. But every day I -- and my will -- grew stronger. And after three months (in which I lost 80 pounds), I was very, very proud of myself.

How can I be proud of someone who takes the easy route? Someone who decides that having a surgeon cut them open and rearrange or modify their insides is easier than eating less and exercising more? It's just lazy.

And if you're too lazy to cut calories and exercise, you don't deserve to be skinny.

Before I get a ton of comments about how some people are so obese they don't have a choice -- chill, please. You're the type of person who enables drug addicts and criminals. I have the Learning Channel. I've seen those shows about the heaviest people on the planet, including Manuel Uribe from Mexico, who weighed more than 1,000 pounds and was dubbed "the Fattest Man on Earth." He began losing weight by exercising and cutting down on eating. Sure, his exercise consisted of doing arm circles while lying in bed, but it burned more calories than lying there eating tacos.

And if the fattest man on Earth can say no to food and yes to exercise, so can all of the self-indulgent, overweight, spineless jellyfish who take the easy way out.

Follow Short Order on Facebook and Twitter @Short_Order.

Defending my cupcake.

I know it's not required, you don't have to post back, "You don't have to explain yourself."   I know that people will misunderstand me, or things I post, at any point.  This is part of blogging.  It happens, boo-hoo.  It's also what happens more often than not with me, because I display a different view on many subjects about the post weight loss surgery life. 

"How could you//OMGWHATDOYOUMEANYOUDON'TDOTHAT/what do you mean eat a half-sandwich?"  

I'm used to being different.  I know that if changed my opinions to that of the bariatric majority <hack, hurl, gag!> I would be more mainstream and likely more "successful." (Whatever that means, because you keep asking me to Do Just That, "just change your opinions and be more positive.")

This is the reason why I am dumping the cupcake (pun absolutely intended) as part the Bariatric Bad Girls' logo.  I am in full understanding that we, as a group, cannot be taken seriously by a good part of the bariatric community if people are taking it LITERALLY.  (As in, totally literally, as if I were FORCE FEEDING THE WOMENS A CUPCAKE ON THE INTERNET.)  

Wait, WHAT?

marie claire + fit blogs

The women's magazine marie claire published an article:  

The Hunger Diaries: How Health Writers Could Be Putting You at Risk 

• Six popular bloggers advocate healthier living, but are they putting readers — and themselves — in danger?

This article has blown up on Twitter, as the healthy blogging community has lashed out, saying that the article has taken the bloggers out of context and twisted their words around.  

"Then there's the effect on readers. "The sheer number of food images and intense exercise descriptions can be particularly triggering to eating-disorder-prone followers," says Dr. Robyn Silverman, a developmental psychologist in Mount Freedom, New Jersey, whose book, Good Girls Don't Get Fat (published in October), addresses influences on female body image. Silverman worries readers could log on and "push their bodies to the extreme to match the workouts or eating habits of their idols, when it may be inappropriate."

Now, I have to admit, I am not a faithful reader of any of the six blogs they mention in the article, however, I do follow some of the bloggers on Twitter, and will read bits and pieces of what they post.

I find it difficult to read most typical health and fitness blogs, especially those high in "what I ate today" and "I ran ten miles today" posts because I cannot relate.  Simple as that.

If a mom of four, who was formerly 300+ lbs, with dietary restrictions, health concerns, and with a neurological condition started blogging about her fitness regimen, I might take notice.  But, for now, typical "healthy" blogs make me tired.

I live in a different world at the moment.

Without permission.

 
 I just noticed this on the RSS feed for Dooce.

© Armstrong Media, LLC. All rights reserved. Originally published by Heather B. Armstrong for dooce.com as Getting the soap ready to wash out her mouth. This post cannot be republished without express written permission.

It's great, but what is the recourse when people DO republish your stuff?  I've found my posts all over the place without permission, sometimes surrounded by Japanese.

Where can I find bariatric foods and supplements in Massachusetts?

  

I get a lot of "where can I find ____ in _______, MA?" queries here.  Thing is, it can be difficult to find specific WLS-friendly products out there in the stores, impossible at big-box stores, and don't get me started about getting help at a G N C.

Someone today wanted "chewable calcium for WLS in Wareham, MA."  Well, there's Wal Mart, Target and GNC.  Whoop dee doo.

Wouldn't you love a local bariatric-themed shop?  (Yes. Please.)  But, if that doesn't exist, and you cannot find what you need in your area -- my suggestion is to shop online.  There are a billionty places to do so. Many of which are linked Right Here.  I know, there are folks out there who plain refuse to do so.  

Or -- you need to get personal with the product before you purchase?  Well, as much as you can with a bottle of vitamins. 

There are a few locations that I am aware of that have some WLS-friendly goods.

First, you know about GastricBypassSupplements.com, right?  They are a super-cool sponsor of MM.net, but they are also sortakindabutnotreally local to me.  You can visit their actual store, Faunce Corner Nutrition in North Dartmouth, MA.

Marc, the store's owner, and his staff are very helpful and personable, and totally worth the visit.

Find them at:

Faunce Corner Nutrition 
350 Faunce Corner Road 
North Dartmouth, MA 02747 
(508) 998-2155

Next, Cape Cod Nutrition, in Hyannis and Plymouth, MA.  I haven't been in to the Hyannis location, but they do carry a host of things we can use.  The Plymouth store has a limited selection of protein items, and some vites and supplements, but they do not carry bariatric-specific items.  (Though I have asked.) I've met two of the employees, one seemed awfully new and didn't know what I was talking about when I asked for a certain protein product, but they were both pleasant.

Find them at:

Cape Cod Nutrition Corner 
75 Iyannough Rd. Hyannis, MA 02601
221 Colony Place Plymouth, MA 02360
1-888-666-3058

Up north?  You can visit Nashua Nutrition -- which may be the only bariatric-only shop that I am aware of in our area.  I've been there, they've got a nice spread of WLS foods and supplements, I left with a big bag of goodies when we visited.

Find them at:

Nashua Nutrition 522 Amherst Street Suite 1 Nashua, NH 03063

Apparently North Dakota Doesn't Have The Interweb.

How cool is this? A time-lapse video of internet usage to the New York Times site over the course of the day, this day that Michael Jackson died.

The New York Times site traffic, US, June 25, 2009 from Nick Bilton on Vimeo.

"...the traffic to NYTimes.com on June 25, 2009, the day Michael Jackson died. The 24-hour period is compressed into a little over a minute and a half. The top video represents readers coming to the Web site from the United States. The second video shows a map of our global readers. The circles indicate two things. First, the yellow circles represent readers coming to the main Web site from desktop or laptop computers, and the orange circles indicate readers using mobile phones to access our mobile site. Second, the size of the circles represents the number of readers at that moment in time. You can see the corresponding time stamp in the upper left corner of the videos. Just watching these maps glow can be a mesmerizing experience, but there’s another fascinating piece of data within this particular day. At about 1 minute and 10 seconds into the video, at 5:20 p.m., you can see a huge pulse of readers coming to the Web site, both from mobile devices and personal computers. This huge traffic bump happened after TMZ.com broke the news of Mr. Jackson’s death. As the news started to filter across the Internet, traffic continued to ebb and flow throughout the evening. It’s also intriguing to see the heartbeat of reader visits throughout any particular day. You can see more mobile traffic in the mornings and afternoons, as readers commute to and from work, and a large pulse of readers coming to the site around lunchtime."

A blogger finds success by pretending to be a guy.

Just, wow. I wonder what would happen in the reverse?  Like, if a MM announced she was actually a Mr. MM?  

Salon -

Today, Men with Pens blogger James Chartrand revealed that "he" is actually a lady with a laptop. After working under her real name for years, Chartrand was still struggling to make it as a freelance writer. Not only was her income negligible, but "I was treated like crap, too. Bossed around, degraded, condescended to, with jibes made about my having to work from home. I quickly learned not to mention I had kids. I quickly learned not to mention I worked from my kitchen table." Out of desperation, she started submitting work under a male pseudonym, just to see if it made a difference. And boy, did it ever.

Instantly, jobs became easier to get.

There was no haggling. There were compliments, there was respect. Clients hired me quickly, and when they received their work, they liked it just as quickly. There were fewer requests for revisions -- often none at all.

Losing Libby.

A new blogger to watch!  Meet Libby from "Losing Libby,"  she cracked me up with this post.

Deep Thoughts About My Job.

I am still thinking about it.  I think the Claritin is effecting my brain, which is currently falling out of my nostrils.

Getting to goal and weight maintenance as a job.

I slept on it.  Figuratively. 

I guess I could think about it this way:  If I had re-gained all my excess weight by now, at five and a half years post surgery, would I be blogging about my journey or about any other facet of weight loss surgery?

Probably not, probably not at ALL. 

Perhaps I would feel compelled to be completely anonymous and maybe if I DID blog about my situation, it would be entirely negative.  I am a pretty cynical person as is, but add to that a complete weight regain, this blog would be The! ANTI! WLS! page.

I know I am frequently glass is half-empty about surgical intervention, particularly roux en y gastric bypass, but that because from where I sit?  It feels that way.  It is difficult to be positive and promote something when it isn't working for you in every way.  I do find it funny when I am accused of Selling Surgery, or The Post Surgery Lifestyle.  o-O

So, yeah, the weight loss part?  THAT WORKED.  I have proved that I can maintain a certain level of success with obstacles being thrown at me.  All things considered, I should have failed. 

But, if I did not succeed or maintain any success, I don't think I would be blogging about any of this, it would be a lot harder.  I can't lie.  I am not a good liar, and I am not anonymous.  Yes, some days, I wish I had remained anonymous, and written from the anon standpoint, because it would be so much easier to spill the beans on many situations and such that make Such! Good! Content!  But, I can't go back now, and I have always written as if I knew my grandmother might read it - she's not offended.  ;)

The continual trial and error of maintaining some success has been directly impacted by this blog.  I wonder what my current state would be had I never started writing.  It would be much easier to give up and blend back into fat anonymity.  You betcha!   I keep a certain reign on myself knowing that I "have to" report back and be accountable to this blog.

I guess that means I have made it a "job" and the blog (aka the reader) is my "boss."  

My pay came first in the form of perseverance even when I could just give up.  I started blabbering here and there in 2004 about this experience.  That's a long time.

Much, much later, I earned actual income from partnerships with companies to promote their products because, I carried on.  Even when I don't want to, even when I have the urge to run for the penuche fudge, I stick with it, and even when I get duped, I come back, because, it's my job.

Please, stick around, I need to know it's my job, so I will continue to plug away every day and stay accountable to YOU.

Whoa.

Doesn't it figure that the day I start with a bitch session, Bing.com sends me like, 7000 hits so far today?

(A normal day here is 1300 hits.)

Uh, hi there searchers!  I'll be nicer soon.

Woulda been nice had it been something I WROTE, too.

Internet Bully.

If you're a dooce reader - you know of her recent washing machine saga.  She bought a machine, it broke, she Twittered about it, all sorts of people got cah-razy mean and start spewing at her that she's a big bully.

This is why I can relate, and I don't necessarily agree that she's a bully.

I have a small blog.  I have a small "following."  Last year I blogged (B.T. Before Twitter) about my toddler being told to "Shut The Fuck Up" by a car salesman.

Blog-arrhea!

There seems to be an onslaught of new weight loss surgery related blogs and sites out there.  Hi!

Are you writing?

Is please to add your link to the comments or here: 

WLS Related Blogs and Links!

Stepping back.

I need a goal.  Throwing everything else aside, I need a goal.  Not weight loss, not exercise, because those things are forever. 

I need a goal for what I am doing HERE, at this site, and overall.

A year and a half ago I decided that I would make mm.net a 'job.'  Why?  Because I found myself spinning like a hamster in a wheel sidelined with a health condition that kept me at home.  I'm still at home, on a countdown to driving very soon (knock on wood, swing a chicken, pray to the goddesses, I don't care - do it) and I need something to work towards. 

My goal was to increase my contributions to the family income, from home, because I cannot work in a typical sense.  How amazing to be able to do this, while doing something I enjoy!  I have, and I am grateful, and it's been more help than you could ever know.  Six people, dog and cat on one income, it's NOT okay.  Mama HAS to contribute.

In this same time, I have realized that once you start taking on opportunities like I have, you quickly get screwed. Seriously, you have NO idea how many screws I have gotten (those are old), and I mean that in the non-literal sense. 

You would think it's all very simple, and that people would follow through, but promises mean nothing.  I am not pointing a finger right now but I can see how this is a cycle. 

Again, I am not pointing fingers.  I have had GREAT experiences with many companies.  (I know that a few of them will read this, and they've been great to me.  Thank you.)

Company A wants this, promises you that, you follow through, sometimes immediately, and then they're nowhere to be found, or they reply that they can't follow through, but you did a GREAT JOB, kthanxbai!  OR - they're out there - but not following through at all, just stringing you along with promises.

Then, there's every email I get:

"Hi there!  I just read your post about __________, and I think that's great!  Would you be willing to share our line of <insert random product here> with your readers?  We think that they will really appreciate it!  For your participation, we'll send YOU a ONE OF A KIND dishrag, and ONE FOR YOUR READERS!  Imagine that!  Post NOW!"

Don't forget when I've been asked to change the way I do things. 

"You might want to consider saying it 'this way' - you know - you don't want to offend anyone."

"Don't use those words."

"Could you send us your post before you post it, we'd like a chance to read it and edit it before it goes live."

You might think those requests might come for PAID work, they don't.  They are from folks who might ask me for a favor.

I am an idiot.

Case in point, the popcorn guy.  He signed up for an ad.  I liked his product, tried it first, and we agreed on an ad for such and such a month.  He never, ever paid. 

"I can't afford it, sorry, can I pay you in popcorn?"

Do you have any idea how much business I sent him?  And, it's so little money, that legally, I have nothing.

He was not the first or the last, or even the one in between.  I still get links in from companies that screwed me.

I guess this is to say I have to look out for myself a lot better if I am going to be my own little entity.  I am a single person, and it's easy to take advantage of the silly little blogger. 

I need much more.  I need a goal.  I am going to succeed, regardless of how many popcorn salesmen there are in my way.  Just, how?  What's next? 

Grateful. Thank you.

I ended the last post kind of blah.  It's just that I have watched, sort of from afar, the snowball effect of job loss.  I hate to play, 'what if,' but 'what if ' you are not prepared for the possibility of loss?  My spouse is the kind of guy that will go out and apply for a new job on the way home from getting laid off, of course there really isn't any other choice.  But, he will not slack.  He would sooner take the trash out at McDonald's than let us miss a mortgage payment, I know that.  (Technically, he did already, one of his first jobs - Assistant Restaurant Manager of a Mickey D's.)  This is not a man who will take one minute on the couch bereaving his loss. 

Maybe it is because I feel somewhat helpless because I cannot get out there and help out.  If we get in a situation - and Mama must work?  What then?   I can imagine what he would have to do to keep us afloat. (Don't even suggest what I would do as a single parent.  I have NO idea.)

Which brings me to this site.  Thank you, thank you for being here.  By having traffic on the site, I have been able to help my family.  You have no idea how good it feels to pay bills.  (Eww, I said that.) 

No, seriously, I haven't made a regular paycheck from outside work that was enough to pay actual bills since 2006.   I was fired from that job.  (It's in the archives.)  I found myself pregnant.

Working here and there gave pocket change, I worked 30 hours a week to buy the groceries in 2007. 

2008 brought immediate change.  In one day I was no longer able to go to work.  What now?

By having this blog, and the fact that YOU COME HERE has allowed me to contribute beyond being the primary diaper-changer and dinner maker.  ;)  I appreciate every single one of you, and every single click on my sponsors.  ^{_{(Even Google thanks you, as Google pays my electric bill.)}}  I realize that a great portion of you reach the blog via feed readers and do not see the advertisements on my page, but know they are there and helping me immeasurably at this point.  I cannot depend on this, but for now, it's helping while I cannot go to work.  I am taking some of the income from the ads and paying it forward, of course paying bills, and starting new projects, which I will absolutely share with you.

I thank you.

I guess inappropriate would work for me.

I was online last night, trying to pick domain names for a new site.  Every single thing I pick?  Taken.  What blows about that - is - that most sites are just stashed away and unused.  Back when I snagged MM, MM dot com was squirreled away, and it still is.  Boo. 

Of course everything silly inappropriate or slightly offensive that I pick because I like the sound of it - is available.  Everything appropriate is long gone.

In the end, I chose a name that is a mix of appropriate and silly. 

A thank you.

I just want to take a moment and say thanks to the new readers, and welcome.  (My traffic has increased quite a bit in the last couple of days due to the Drama Llama.)  I did not anticipate a new group of readers from this, but I really do appreciate you joining me.

Grab a Diet Coke (giggle), sit down, read a bit, and feel free to email me with any questions.  My email is always open.  

Dead link zone.

This morning I was sifting through my list-o-links, and noticed that many of them were dead, password protected or just plain gone.  So I deleted the whole damn thing. 

Starting afresh, sort of.

I do wonder what happens to people when they are no longer tracking and journaling the journey, you know?  Do they continue on paper?  Do they stop paying attention?  Do they hit a goal, maintain it forever and move on?  (That would be AWESOME.)  I notice this with "diet blogs," people come and go.  They might be really excited to start a journey of weight loss and then they drop off, have a regain and come back.  Repeatedly.  I realize that personal web logs are typically self-serving.  We write them for ourselves, to motivate, track progress and things of that nature.  But, I do wonder what becomes of those who were REALLY into writing it - and then quit.

I am starting new link lists.  I would like to link to quality pre-post weight loss surgery sites, that have content to begin with.

If you have a suggestion - feel free to send it.  Thanks.