LapBandTalk Newsletter 01/15/2013

[Alex Brecher 10,515]

Hey, Banders!

Happy New Year! It’s time to leap into 2013. You might have slipped a little during the holidays, but January is a great time for a fresh start! Of course, LapBandTalk.com is here for you as you work to lose weight and get healthy. Allow the January Newsletter to motivate you to get back on board if you lost your focus in December, or to inspire you to keep up the good work if you were able to stay on track during the holidays. Here’s what we have in this newsletter.

• Looking Ahead to 2013!

• Member Spotlight: Meet CHEZNOEL!

• New Year’s Resolutions that Work!

• Bander Challenge: Make Your New Year’s Resolutions!

• LapBandTalk.com Publishes The Big Book on the Lap Band!

As you get back into the swing of everyday life and your commitment to your health, we hope you continue to make Alex Brecher

Founder

LapBandTalk.com

Looking Ahead to 2013!

2012 was a phenomenal year for food and being “hooked on Diet Coke.” The lap-band seemed perfect for her. She started eating like a bandster by avoiding liquids before, during and after meals. She’s a “doer rather than a waiter,” and instead of waiting for six months to follow the supervised diet required for insurance reimbursement, CHEZNOEL opted for self-pay. She got the surgery in October of 2011. Her highest weight was 256 pounds, and she was already down 20 pounds by surgery. She’s now at 173 pounds, only 8 pounds shy of her goal weight of 165 pounds!

One of the biggest changes since losing so much weight is that “the knee pain is almost completely gone. I am now back to what I lovingly call ‘age appropriate aches and pains!’” CHEZNOEL has more energy and no longer feels like she embarrasses her husband. She “can travel with the youngsters, including a trip to Disney this past Easter with the grandkids.” She can keep up, she sleeps and eats better and she enjoys life more! Some of CHEZNOEL’s great moments have been getting a little black dress – a lifelong dream! – to wear for New Year’s Eve, getting under 200 pounds into “One-derland” and shopping in almost any store! This skinny grandma proudly notes that she has been seen in public in a bikini!

CHEZNOEL faced the challenge of getting the lap-band even though neither of her daughters wanted it for her. Their lack of encouragement was disheartening. On the bright side, her husband has been supportive. It was a bit of a challenge “training him not to ask me if I wanted more to eat, or worrying about him sitting there watching me finish my meal, but we made it through all those.” Her husband has even lost a little bit of weight by following parts of her diet! The “hidden costs of weight loss” included a new wardrobe and resizing her jewelry!

CHEZNOEL started off using LapBandTalk.com to ask questions from veterans. She started to realize that she’d already learned so much that she was able to help others, too. Now she says she makes “a special effort to encourage newbies.” She has “been called tough, honest, snarky (whatever that means,) rude, a life saver, a hero, a success. Take your pick.” She is honest and blunt – and always helpful! She is also proud that some of the shy Banders private message her with their questions and she’s willing and able to help. She even encourages them to get over their shyness and help others! She’s a member of the Banded B*****s social group – members are dedicated, honest and supportive.

Tips for other members? Of course CHEZNOEL has a few – and they’re great ones. She recommends following your surgeon and nutritionist’s guidelines and not try to cheat. She says if she can do it, anyone can. She also suggests seeing the surgery as the start of a new lifestyle, and not just another diet.

CHEZNOEL, congratulations on your success. Thank you so much for being on the boards to share your wisdom and encourage others. Thanks for being in our Member Spotlight!

The Protein per day so you feel more full.

Make them doable. Keep your resolutions realistic so you’re not setting yourself up for failure. Nobody’s perfect, and your resolutions’ success shouldn’t depend on you to be perfect. Instead of resolving to drink more Water, resolve to drink an extra 8 ounces of water in the morning at least 5 days per week. This resolution gives you some room for error just in case you forget your water a couple of times in the week. Plus, the resolution is specific, so it fits with the first tip!

Make them controllable. You can’t control whether you lose a certain amount of weight within a certain amount of time. What you can control are resolutions such as sticking to your diet or exercising to burn off an extra 300 calories per day, 3 days per week.

Keep these tips in mind when you’re making your own New Year’s resolutions. Solid resolutions together with your best intentions can help you make 2013 a great year for your health, weight and happiness!

Bander Challenge: Make Your New Year’s Resolutions!

This is the part of the newsletter where we challenge LapBandTalk.com members to take a step forward by doing something new. The experience can help you grow and gain confidence when you do something you hadn’t even thought about before, or you find out that you can do something you hadn’t even realized that you could do. This month, we’re sticking to the theme of New Year’s resolutions.

The challenge for this newsletter is to make one or more resolutions based on the advice in this newsletter. We challenge you to make your resolutions specific, doable and controllable – and we’re eager to see what you decide to do in 2013!

Tell us about your resolutions in the Bander Challenge Forum. We’d love to hear about why you chose those resolutions and how you think you’ll do on them. When you post, you get to help other members who may need ideas for their own resolutions. Of course, if you ever miss a challenge, you can always go back to the archived Newsletter Forum to check out the old ones. It’s never too late to try – or retry! – a Newsletter Challenge!

LapBandTalk.com publishes The Big Book on the Lap Band!

Our first book is The Big Book on the Lap Band: Everything You Need to Know to Lose Weight and Live Well with the Adjustable Gastric Band. The title says it all, and the book is a guide from the beginning of the journey through life with the band. These are just a few topics that are covered in the book.

• How obesity can harm you and millions of others.

• Why it’s so tough to lose weight without surgery.

• The lap-band: what it is, how it works and the surgical procedure.

• Looking at the risks and benefits to decide whether the Lap-Band is for you.

• Choosing a surgeon and preparing for surgery.

• Your post-op aftercare program.

• Your post-surgery recovery diet progression from liquids to solid foods.

• The lap-band diet: healthy eating and weight control for life.

• Starting and continuing an exercise program.

• Life changes to expect after the lap-band surgery.

• Using LapBandTalk.com and other resources for support and information.

Since we released the book in November, it’s been a huge success. How can you get your hands on a copy of the book? It’s available in print, for the Kindle and as an ebook. All the information you need to know is available on LapBandTalk.com! Check it out and spread the word!

Several of our LapBandTalk.com members are featured in this book. Thanks to everyone who helped out – we couldn’t have done it without you! If you didn’t get involved this time around but you might like to be featured in another book, contact Alex Brecher via LapBandTalk.com’s private messaging system. We’d love to hear from you!

That’s it for this month’s newsletter. We invite you to head on over to the forums and get a head start on a healthy 2013. Again, Happy New Year to you and your loved ones! May 2013 be the best year so far. Take care of yourself and each other.

Sincerely,

Alex

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[Maddysgram 6,159]

I always enjoy the LBT newsletter. Thank you for your continued effort to make us a LB success!

[LouisianaLiLi 231]

Thanks Alex..Great Newsletter.

[CHEZNOEL 4,061]

Thanks Alex... I sound almost normal in the newsletter! LOL!

[dee257 1,516]

~hugs~ great read Alex...and very proud of that sexy Grammy !!

[dandaman4 7]

Thanks Alex... I sound almost normal in the newsletter! LOL!

Nice write up Chez! I just got approved late today so now I'm panicking. Lol... I'm hooked on diet coke like you were. People laugh when I say that but it's a real thing... I don't drink, smoke, or do drugs but I DO drink way too much DC!! Any hints on how to 'kick the habit before the big day'?

[CHEZNOEL 4,061]

Nice write up Chez! I just got approved late today so now I'm panicking. Lol... I'm hooked on diet coke like you were. People laugh when I say that but it's a real thing... I don't drink, smoke, or do drugs but I DO drink way too much DC!! Any hints on how to 'kick the habit before the big day'?

Just find an alternative, otherwise, it's cold turkey. I hope you are at lest drinking caffeine free or the caffeine withdrawal will be an issue too!. Good luck. If you have questions feel free to contact me.