WLS Center E-Newsletter

A FREE publication from
http://www.wlscenter.com

Hosted by Barbara Thompson
Author of:
Weight Loss Surgery:
Finding the Thin Person Hiding Inside You.

Hello everyone,
At the end of June, Surgeons and Allied Health Professionals met in Orlando for the 22nd annual meeting of the American Society for Bariatric Surgery (ASBS). This year, two themes dominated all discussions – Centers of Excellence and what to do about the difficulty in patients getting insurance approval.

This issue of the newsletter will cover Centers of Excellence and in a future issue we will announce a new surgeon patient coalition that is forming which will among other issues, tackle insurance coverage of weight loss surgery.  But more on that later.

In This Issue

* Calories, Calarahs
* Research Article: Centers of Excellence
* Recipe: Tex Mex Lasagna
* Food Values: Knowing What You Are Eating
* Success Story: Amy Schwartz

Lane Johnston

Hi Lane,
When you are in such an early stage of your journey, your object is to get in as much protein and water as possible. Protein will help with your healing and help to eliminate or minimize hair loss. It will also help to keep you away from carbohydrates so that you will not experience carb cravings. You mentioned that your protein drink has 90 calories, but not how many grams of protein it is.  Strive for 60 grams of protein. 

Also drink lots of water.  Protein will deposit toxins in your system and you will need to flush those toxins out. Water will also keep you hydrated so that your organs will function properly and will burn the maximum number of calories.

As far as how many calories you should eat, for now try 600 to 800 calories. And yes, the calories you drink count! If you stop losing weight, for more than two weeks, then increase your calories. If you eat too few calories then your body may go into hibernation mode and hold onto every calorie and slow the burning of calories to the point that you plateau.

However, please check with your surgeon and a nutritionist if there is one associated with the practice.  What I have recommended is what most practices recommend, but you want to follow the rules of your own surgeon.

Be sure that you are taking very high quality vitamins. You can see that you are not getting the nutrients you need. Plus some of what you eat isn’t absorbed.  If you are looking for a good line of vitamins, check out those on my website http://www.wlscenter.com/Vitamins.htm. Vitamins are mandatory for the rest of your life following surgery.

Best wishes,
Barbara Thompson

http://www.barbarathompson.net/pdf/Centers%20of%20Excellence.pdf

Tex Mex Lasagna

3/4 cups salsa
1 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1 (14.5 oz) can no salt diced tomatoes
1 (8 oz) no salt tomato sauce
6 pre-cooked lasagna noodles
1 cup frozen corn|
1 (15 oz) can black beans (rinsed and drained)
2 cups Mexican cheese
1/4 cup chopped green onion

Combine first 4 ingredients. Coat an 8 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Spread 2/3 cup of mixture in the baking dish. Arrange noodles across the pan over sauce. Top with 1/2 cup corn and 1/2 of the beans. Sprinkle with cheese and sauce. Repeat layers. Top with remaining noodles. Spread sauce over noodles then cheese. Bake at 350 º for 45 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

If you have a recipe that you would like to share in future issues of this newsletter, please send it to me at Barbara@WLScenter.com

I want to offer a special thanks to Amy Schwartz     Here is her story:

Hi Barbara,
My name is Amy. I saw you speak in San Jose, CA at the Double Tree hotel and I loved your talk. I have to say it gave me a real pick me up, as I was at a plateau. Let me begin from the beginning.

I got pregnant 11 years ago and even though I never had any type of weight problem before, I gained a lot of weight. I went from about 120 pounds (I am 5 ft 10 in) to almost 200 pounds on the day I gave birth. Ever since that day my weight has gone up and down, but the smallest I was ever able to get down to was about 165 pounds.

I was unhealthy, had high blood pressure and was severely depressed. I started to learn about weight loss surgery in mid 2003. Research and more research later, I still was unsure. I was very nervous about surgery. What made me make the final decision was a phone call I got in mid July 2003. My sister called me very early on a Sunday morning. She had just gotten engaged and wanted to ask me to be a bridesmaid in her wedding. The very first thought that entered my mind was not congratulations, or happy thoughts for her, no; it was pure dread and fear. I had to wear a dress that would undoubtedly be unflattering and stand up in front of all my family and good friends and others that I didn't know and be the ugly fat sister. How sad that I couldn't even muster up a nice saying for my sister on her happy day. It took me until after her wedding in November and the holidays to be able to make some calls.

But, I made the decision to have surgery. I was going to have a Roux en-Y gastric bypass. I started the process to find a doctor, found a great one, and started the approval process with my insurance company. Well it happened fairly quickly, and I scheduled my surgery at the first available date which was April 6, 2004. I was almost 320 pounds.

As of today, June 1, 2005 I am now 130 pounds and a size 6. I did lose a lot of my hair, but other than that, I cannot tell you how happy I am with my decision. I am happy and healthy. I work out 5 days a week. I am involved in a healthy, loving, committed relationship with a great man. We are getting married later this year. My life is 180 degrees different than my old self. And surgery gave me the tools and outcome to gain the confidence I needed. I have a good job and love my life. It’s been a long road, but well worth it.

Thanks for the inspiration and information
Amy Schwartz
amynbrad@charter.net

After

I love good news.  If you have good news, a success story to share, or inspiration, please send it to me at Barbara@WLScenter.com so that I can include it in future issues.