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.

Barbara Thompson
The Voice of Obesity

Hello Everyone,
Next week is Thanksgiving. I have many things in my life to be thankful for. They include my family – my loving and supportive husband, my daughter who I love so much that she takes my breath away, my 91-year old mother who inspires me daily, my sister and the rest of my family. I am so fortunate.

I am also very grateful for all of you.  I often refer to you as 10,000 of my best friends.  You email me and share so much of yourselves. And best of all, I get to meet many of you as I travel around the country speaking, and get to know many of you very well through my retreats.

Many write to me and say that I inspire them.  Well, you also inspire me with your courage to have surgery and to face the tremendous change that we have all gone through. Next Thursday I will think of all of my friends.  Happy Thanksgiving.

In This Issue

All of the excess skin that remains following a massive weight loss can leave many of us feeling like deflated balloons. The results might be less than satisfying if we know that under all of that hanging skin is the body of our dreams. To remedy this, many have turned to body contouring as this Web MD article discusses:  http://www.webmd.com/content/article/128/117102.htm

Artichoke and Spinach Dip

15-to16-oz can cannelloni beans, rinsed and drained
4 medium green onions (green and white parts, chopped)
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
14-oz can quartered artichoke hearts, rinsed and drained or a 10-oz package frozen artichoke hearts, thawed and drained
10-oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 cup low-fat plain yogurt or fat-free or light sour cream
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
3 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions:
In a food processor or blender, process the beans, green onions, and garlic until smooth, scraping the sides several times. Add the remaining ingredients. Process until smooth.

Transfer the dip to a container with a tight-fitting lid. Refrigerate for 2 hours to 4 days before serving.

Per 2 Tablespoon serving:
25 Calories; 5 Carbs; 2 grams of Protein

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

My name is Anne Warner and I have been the co-moderator of the WLS Ashtabula Support Group in Ashtabula, Ohio for the last 4 years.  I assumed this position when the founder could no longer lead the group.  I started attending this support group 6 months before my weight loss surgery.  I was very scared and this group helped to give me the courage to go through with the surgery. 

I had open RNY surgery at the Cleveland Center for Bariatric Surgery in Cleveland, Ohio.  Dr. Schreiber performed the surgery on October 14th, 2002.  I stared at a top weight of 320 pounds. I had no complications and 18 months later I had lost 160 pounds, which was half of my total weight. I was very careful to follow all the rules.

In March of 2004 I had an extended tummy tuck and an upper arm reduction with a few minor problems with healing but nothing that couldn’t be handled.  I had my thigh reduction in January, of 2006. That was the hardest surgery of them all.  Hopefully this will be the last surgery for me.

Bariatric surgery has given me my life, health and happiness.  I can do things now that I couldn’t do since high school.  My husband is my best friend and my main support.  Together we now walk and ride bikes for miles.  We go to parks and beaches, we enjoy life together.  Before surgery I was a very bad diabetic, a severe asthmatic and generally hurt all over.  Now I am still a diabetic but in much better control with much less medication.  My asthma is gone and I feel great!

Through all this I have continued my service as co-moderator, secretary, and treasurer of the WLS Ashtabula Support Group.  I do this for two reasons. 

1) It helps me to stay on track and be honest with myself.  I believe in leading by example.  How can I tell people that something is good for them if I don’t follow it myself??  It also helps me to keep current on all the new findings and changes being made in the bariatric field.

 2) I want to help others the way people helped me those 6 months before my surgery.  I learned so much and was so supported by them.  That is what convinced me that I could actually have this surgery and be successful with it.  I was so scared and those people were there for me.  I want to be there for those people that come after me. 

Too often I find that patients are not given enough information or actually the wrong information to be able to live the remainder of their lives as successful bariatric people.  I believe that knowledge is power.  The right knowledge in bariatrics can give you the power to control your weight the rest of your life using your tool properly.  This surgery gives us a tool to work with if we know how to use it.  This is not just an 18-month commitment, it’s a lifetime commitment.  I hope to help people for as long as I can with currant education and plenty of support.

Anne Warner
annee@adelphia.net

Congratulations Anne

If you are a nurse and would like for me to speak on positive patient outcomes, patient satisfaction, or obesity sensitivity for your State Nurses Association, please have the conference planner for your State Association contact me. I have a corporate sponsor who will pay my fee and expenses so it is free for your Association. I also speak for many hospitals on the same topics. 

Contact me at Barbara@WLScenter.com or 412-851-4195.