CoachCher

I love your enthusiasm Devotion. Great idea about the fill doctors for patients in Mexico, I will see what I can do to make that happen. The plan is to have a 3-5 star hotel so there should be plenty of pampering options available for you :welldoneclap:)

Hi Juli, I'm still in the planning stages and getting bids from hotels. I have this scheduled tentatively for Oct 3-5, 2008. I hope to have the dates and hotel no later than next week. Trust me I'm keeping everyone in the lope as to what is happening.

Hi Amsderb, The suggestions you gave are great. However time will not permit to bring in so many guest. We will only have guest speakers on Saturday and we also want to do break out sessions. If this was a week long event; it would be great to have these types of guest speakers speak to us.

Heather, Ahh good someone who has been in my shoes, I am sure I will be PM'ing you for more ideas and suggestions. It's always good to have someone who has done this before to brainstorm with:)) Great suggestions!! I have Mary Jo Rapini booked to speak to us about Body Image and Sexuality. I am still in the process of locating a Plastic Surgeon to be a guest speaker.

I thought of that as well. I am going to look into it to see if I can get one of the surgeon's to donate a band surgery. Keep your fingers crossed I can pull it off.

Please join us as we welcome Dr. Michael Snyder from Denver Bariatrics. Dr. Snyder is a board-certified, general surgeon in Denver, CO. He first became interested in Bariatric Surgery during his residency in Portland, OR, at Oregon Health Sciences University. Since establishing his practice in Colorado, he has further pursued this interest. He is an active member of the American Society for Bariatric Surgery (ASBS). His bariatric training has been comprehensive and methodical. He sought out and attended an ASBS certified preceptorship in Eugene, OR, in August 2000, in order to learn from one of the giants in the field-- Dr. Latham Flanagan, Jr. He returned to Colorado to establish the Denver Center for Bariatric Surgery, PC. Dr. Snyder is going to be discussing with us PB'ing and stratigies for diet control. Date: 05/14/08 Time: 8:00 pm ET, 00 pm CT, 6:00 pm MT and 5:00 pm PT Where: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/thewlscoaches Call-in Line: 646-716-9413

Hey Sugar bear, I have plans for the final day to have successful bandsters share their stories with us and how they stayed on course. Great suggestion. I will also have 3 LAP-BAND Surgeons speaking w/us so I will definately have one address the issues you mentioned. I am making a list of all the suggestions I'm receiving so I can try to cover everyone's request. You can check the tentative schedule on my website under the "Workshop" tab. Now keep in mind it's not complete but you can get an idea of what to expect thus far.

Thanks for all of the great ideas Aubrie. I am in the process of contacting vendors who have band friendly products.

It's open to pre and post op band patients regardless of what type of band they have. It could be the lap-band, the realize band and so forth.

I wear many hats, why not Planning Coordinator as well. Or better yet I'll need to vamp up my staff.. would you like the position tapshoes? *LOL*

Renee, Welcome aboard we are so excited you joined us here at lapbandtalk. We look forward to getting to know you better and supporting you. Please make plans to come to the convention; it will be life changing!

I posted this on Tuesday to get an idea if this is something Bandsters would be interested in. The response was amazing so I am going full speed ahead and planning an amazing convention for all the bandsters.

I'm still getting bids from the hotels in reference to the conference room rate and meeting rooms rates. I'm thinking this shouldn't be more than $100.00 plus the cost of the hotel room. Since this is going to be a large event I am going to negotiate a discount on our rooms as well. The cost will include admission, dinner Friday evening for the meet and greet and then lunch on Saturday. The Fall Fling will be set up buffet style so I will negotiate a reasonable price for this dinner.

We would love to have you Abby. I know how life changing these conventions are and plus you will get to meet a lot folks traveling the same roads you are traveling.

This year, don't want to put off a good thing )

I will be speaking at the event and plan on having other motivational speakers I.E. successful post-op patients speak and share their journey.

Ahh great so glad you enjoy the show. This is the perfect time to come out of your shell and meet people who are taking the same journey you are. Trust me you are not the only one who feels shy and insecure. I'm going to put a "Challenge" together for everyone to meet 5 new people before the weekend is up and then we can post about all about our experience. So see you will have to take me up on the "Challenge" )

Gotcha covered I have a friend who is a stylist and she will be there to help dress us. We can also do a clothing exchange and shop for "FREE"...now that's my kind of shopping )

I am thinking about late September early October, so we should miss the hottest of the hot portion of the summer )

Excellent idea about "Band" friendly products especially vits. I will make a list of things that are of interest and make sure to include at the convention.

Of course pre-banders are welcome. This would be a great convention for them to be involved in

Body Confidence: How to like what you see in the mirror From childhood we are sold on an ideal image of beauty, one few of us ever see reflected when we look in the mirror. This article will show you how you can look in the mirror and despite the ideal, see only a beautiful you. When you look in the mirror, what’s the first thing you notice, and how does it make you feel? If you’re like most people, the first thing that catches your eye is probably your least favorite asset. If so, don’t worry you’re not alone. Here’s why. Can you guess how much money is spent in just one year by advertisers to sell us on the concept of the “ideal” image of beauty? Well, I can’t either but I do know this—it’s a lot of money, certainly somewhere in the billions of dollars! So, technically, you can consider yourself brainwashed. From your earliest childhood days—whether you played with Action Man or Barbie—you’ve been receiving constant, consistent images telling you what beauty are supposed to look like. Never mind that these images are for the most part, anatomically impossible! Would you really want to look like Fabio or Pam Anderson, Honestly? I’m guessing probably not. So, here’s how you can build your confidence with the body God gave you. 1. Look in the mirror. 2. This time, really look at yourself. Reflect on the compliments you have received. Do people tell you how great your hair is, how beautiful your eyes are; that you have a nice smile? Try to see what they see. 3. Stand far enough away from the mirror so that you can take it all in. What do you see? Find at least three positive things. 4. Now, get up close; really close. Look at your eyes—the irises; what color are they? Are they all one color or are there flecks of various colors? How would you describe those using positive analogies or adjectives. 5. Now, smile. What does your smile convey; warmth- happiness? 6. Find at least three characteristics you like best about yourself, and then accentuate them as you dress to go out. * If you love your eyes, make sure your hair doesn’t cover them up. * Love your lips? Make sure to keep them soft and moisturized. * Your hair? Get a flattering cut and condition it regularly to keep it shiny and healthy. In short, amplify what you like, and don’t worry about the parts you don’t. Here are some ways to do just that. * Go shopping and bring a good friend. Ask them to help you pick out colors and clothes they think flatter you. Don’t worry if your first reaction is “that’s not me!” Experiment. * Feel better about whatever it is you don’t like about yourself by picturing the absolute worst-case scenario. Exaggerate whatever it is you’re hung up on and blow it up in you mind until it’s comical. Then look in the mirror—not so bad anymore is it. Accept yourself for who you are, how you look, and focus on what really matters—the things about you that can’t be seen—your heart, mind and soul. * What do you want people to praise you for? Is it really how you look? Probably not. You probably want people to think you’re funny, smart, nice, or generous—something along those lines right. * Make a list of your positive personal qualities and characteristics. Then ask yourself, what’s more important? Get involved in activities that build on your personal characteristics—volunteer, join a club, and take a class to sharpen a talent. These will help you emphasize and focus more on the more important qualities that get you through life successfully and with more fun.

Honey this story is probably about 30% of bandsters story. This is the exact reason I wrote this article, so the 30% know they are not alone. It really is up to us to work with our band to make sure we are receiving optimal results. Now get off your butt and help your band do what it's supposed to do :frown:

Hi Gina, I'm glad you found this article helpful. Just remember to make good food choices then chew chew and chew somemore :frown:. You will see the results you are looking for. 24 pounds is amazing you are doing amazing!!