1/2 way through the Oprah Show on Obese Teens

Oprah's show today is really bugging me. It is about intervention with obese teens and their relationships with food and their families. Blah blah blah OK? Everyone has family issues, some deal with it different than others, some eat, some drink, some cope. But enough of the psychobabble and get to a solution already. Not one mention about surgical options to deal with these obese children and their health. As if screaming at their parents is going to help them not eat as much. IT WON'T WORK OPRAH! Funny thing is that some of the kids they are showing have extremely obese parents too. But also nothing about genetics in this conversation either. I am turning it off now.

Ultrasound and Stress Test...kicked my butt!

One more thing to check off. Had my cardiac ultrasound yesterday as well as the stress test. The stress test started easy, but before I knew it I could hardly breath and was gasping for air. I am not sure if I passed or not because the technicians wouldn't tell me. But I did meet the marks that they were looking for. My heart rate went up to about 167, and the minimum they needed was 145. Other than that I will find out more when I see the doc next. Glad that is over.....next!

Prostate Cancer-this is my nephew and his story, Please Have Your Men Get Checked!

RE: My Last Post. . . a follow up.

Went to the Doc yesterday for consultation #3 of 6 needed for insurance approval. And the first thing she said to me was: "So what did you think of last week's Lap Band support group seminar?" I said, do you want me to be totally honest? So, I told her how obnoxious I thought the LP Rep was and how inappropriate her presentation was and she soooooo totally agreed with me. It was really funny because she totally ripped into the rep, was imitating her and thought she was dressed for a night out at the bar, and not a medical support group meeting. So at least I don't feel like such a #*&@$ for ripping on this woman so much in my last post. Anyway enough about her. I have to schedule my Stress Test for next week and get that done. I am kind of afraid of that test. How did you guys do with it?

1st Lap Band Support Group Meeting and she wore Fake Louboton's

Went to the first Lap Band support group meeting last night sponsored through the hospital where I am signed up. The have another group called "Club Bariatrix" but that is mostly RNY patients. So I am glad they formed this LB group. The group had both pre and post surgery patients. But unfortunately we didn't have much time to talk because this first meeting was moderated by the region's Alergan-Lap Band Sales Rep. Well let me tell you it was a bit of a turn off. It was basically an hour of this woman selling us on their band. Which really didn't make sense, because we are all getting that brand of band anyway. That is the only one this hospital uses. Then to really ad insult to injury, she was super duper in shape especially for her age. . . her body was amazing, almost like Jillian Michaels if you can picture that. Like a size 2 maybe? She definitely works out which is great. Then someone asked her if she was a Lap Band patient and she said no, that she was clinically obese at one time but lost it on her own through traditional dieting. (Why do I hate hearing that sooo much?) And that she actually put about 10 lbs back on because she was obsessed and got too skinny. (PLEASE) She had really strong cut- up Michelle Obama/or Madonna like arms, and had a very dark tan, rock hard boobies and no forehead movement. She said "OK?" a lot too when she was giving her speech which kind of bugged me. She had gorgeous David Yurman diamond jewelry on, and when I saw her leave she got into her hot little black Mercedes. OK, so I am sounding very bitchy now aren't I? I sound jealous don't I? Well maybe I am just a little. But I really wish they would have sent someone to speak on behalf of the company who knows what the whole lap band experience is like. It would have "sold" me more, if that was what they were trying to do. On a side note she did mention that Alergan also is the seller of Botox and some sort of breast implants....but that she doesn't get those for free just because she works for the company.

Weigh Loss Surgery Channel anyone?

Just ran across this site and although I haven't had a chance to check it out yet I thought I would share it with you.

http://www.weightlosssurgerychannel.com/

It is a web based WLS channel with diffenent shows and segments. . . . etc.

Haven't written lately cause I don't have much to write about as I am still in limbo, so to speak, with my plans. We are on Cobra Ins at the moment. . . .but the transfer is taking time. And now we found out that my husband's company is changing insurance starting July 1. So that means I have to start the process rolling with another insurance company and find out what the requirements are for them to approve WLS. I am still going forward with the pre-approval process and meeting with a Doctor every month so I can show that I have had 6 months of medically supervised WL counciling. (Did you all have to do this?) I know every ins company is different. Anyway, in the mean time I am still checking on your blogs to see how everyone is doing and enjoying hearing about everybodys success!

Biggest Loser Bugs Me

This article was on the front page of the Detroit Free Press yesterday. Helen Thomas, the most recent winner of the Biggest Loser is from the Detroit area. For some reason, her weight loss leaves me with an unsettling feeling. I almost feel like she became Anorexic in order to lose the weight. Her average weight loss was about 5-6 pounds a week. Of course she worked out like a crazy person, (6 plus hours a day) but even if I had time to work out like that I don't know if I would. I guess what bugs me is that what she did is next to impossible for most people as we all know, and reading her success, which I think is great, makes me feel like, "well if she can do it with out WLS, so should I". It made me feel a little bit like I'm a "big loser" for giving in to WLS. Anyway, here is the article if you want to read it:

Women and men can lose weight even when they're middle aged is the message and the example coming from Helen Phillips, 48, who beat out contestants half her age on "America's Biggest Loser: Couples," NBC-TV's weight-loss competition.
"No matter how old you are, you can make the change if you have the dedication and the drive," said Phillips of Sterling Heights, who lost 140 pounds since starting the competition in September.
Phillips defeated Mike Morelli, 19, of South Lyon and Tara Costa, 24, of New York to win the $250,000 grand prize.
During a teleconference with reporters, Phillips praised her husband, Russell, a Chrysler autoworker, for his support.
She credited celebrity fitness coach Jillian Michaels for helping her lose the weight during the approximately 18 weeks of the show.
But kudos for helping her continue to lose weight when she went home for 30 days went to Warren Mott High School football coach Shauhen Tahrebandi, formerly a Bally's personal trainer.
"I couldn't have done it without him at home," said Phillips, whose daughter, Shannon Thomas, 29, of Center Line, lost 92 pounds on the show.
Phillips slimmed down to 117 pounds from 257 pounds and went from a size 22 to 2. She lost 32 pounds after returning home to Sterling Heights.
At home, she worked out six hours a day -- two hours in the morning, two hours in the afternoon and two hours in the evening, often at the high school track in Warren.
Phillips, who recently shot a "Got Milk?" ad, offers the following advice for anyone trying to lose weight, but she says her message is aimed especially at the middle-aged crowd:
• Be prepared. Pack your food so you don't fall into bad habits like stopping at fast food restaurant drive-throughs.
• Never make excuses. "It's a priority now to go to the gym or do some kind of physical exercise every day," she said.
• Believe you can do it. "I was tired of doubting myself," she said. "Stop saying you can't and start saying you can."

Wellness center her next goal:
America's Biggest Loser wants to help metro Detroiters lose big and get healthy, too.
Helen Phillips of Sterling Heights, who won the NBC reality competition Tuesday, and her husband, Russell, plan to open a local spinning and wellness center, Phillips said Wednesday.
The $250,000 prize money comes right on time for the couple, who have two children including daughter Shanon Thomas, who lost 92 pounds on the show.
Russell Phillips is in danger of losing his job at Chrysler LLC if the automaker goes forward with a plan to shut down the Sterling Heights assembly plant, where he works, in 2010.
"This will give us a nice cushion," said Helen Phillips, 48, before hopping a flight for a Wednesday appearance on the "Today" show.
Before joining the competition in September, Phillips -- who went from a size 22 to a size 2 -- worked in retail management at Macy's.
In addition to opening the wellness center, Phillips plans to work as a motivational speaker, especially for older women trying to lose weight.
"Once I ... got on board and realized how important it was, the easier it became," she said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.