So yesterday I went on a walk/jog thru Piedmont Park which was really nice.  Then I felt like I ate a lot for dinner, so I went to the gym at around 9PM on a Saturday night before I met up with Stephen in East Atlanta.  I was proud of myself for channeling my boredom and stress into exercise.  It's hard when you *really don't feel like working out.  But, I told myself how much better I'd feel afterwards, and that I can't control other people or situations, I can only control my actions.  

I counted my calories for the day and had a rough estimate that I had already eaten my day's worth of calories in breakfast and lunch.  I went to brunch at the Flying Biscuit this morning with Edward and Simon.  I had an egg-white omelet and some chicken sausage.  I really wanted some orange juice but passed (too much sugar, although I will admit I had some later on in my day).  I guesstimated the calories for my Flying Biscuit brunch.  Then for a late lunch I snacked more than anything which wasn't very healthy of me.  I kind of grazed a few of a lot of different things with no real intention.  Tonight Sean and I went to Noodle and I was so tempted to order something.  Of course I would order something healthy, like the chicken wraps, but still...

I never realized how hard it was to sit in a restaurant and not order food (plus, it helped to think about how I didn't need to spend the extra money).  Since I was kinda restless today, I knew food would make me happy.  All I kept thinking about was the food at Noodle, which mind you, isn't like covered in gold or anything.  So Sean ordered a Miso Noodle bowl.  I did have a few of his vegetables.  I made the waiter take my menu so I wouldn't keep browsing it.  I was really proud of myself for not ordering food if I wasn't hungry.  I didn't want to be a sympathy eater.  

Last night at around 1AM Stephen and I went to the Midway in East Atlanta.  He was really hungry, I wasn't all that hungry, but I was kind of wanting to still eat.  I really wanted to order a burger or their veggie corn dog!  But, I got a chicken salad with balsamic vinaigrette.  I ate a few bites and then said to myself, "SELF!  I'm not all that hungry right now, and it's late, these calories won't burn off."  So I got my salad to go.  

Again, I don't think people who love food like I do know how difficult these moments are.  It IS like saying no to a cigarette, a drink or a gambling weekend if you know that in excess, it's not good for you.  It is hard.  Lately I've been feeling like these moments have been coming up a lot and it's been tough.  There is still a loss, I feel, with not eating certain comfort food at 1AM (usually cheesy and bready) like I used to.  

But food, when it's experienced right, is still so amazing!  It's hard being a social being b/c food is all around you.  But I am proud of myself.  I think when I am busy again my life will feel like more of a groove.  I also don't want to turn to food to deal with the stress and uncertainty of folks or situations.  I just want to feel how I am feeling and know that it'll be okay.  And so far...it's been alright :-)  

Thanks for listening.  I'm about half-way to my ultimate goal!!!

P.S. - TLC's how I Eat 30,000 calories A Day is on in the background.  Irony is bliss.

I snapped some pictures for my Blog.  I will say that the food was excellent.  Kind of a gourmet Southern style with a modern flare.  Unfortunately, RB wasn't there that night (he was in NYC for the Today Show...who does he think he is to not have been there on my Birthday?!), but the waiter promised me that next time I came in he would make sure I met RB and have him give me a tour of the kitchen!  This would be a total dream come true, since cooking has become one of my biggest passions next to Photography (and I've already met Annie Leibovitz...what more is there?!)  

I probably ate the most bad-for-me food here since I got my surgery.  I splurged a little bit, but couldn't finish everything so I didn't feel too guilty.  The menu had a lot of fish dishes on it, so next time I go I will surely get a fish.  But this time, I opted for some Southern goodies:

A watermelon Mojito!  Refreshing and anti-oxidants 

Biscuits are brought to the table.  I had a little bit and gave the rest to my dad.  Biscuits are my FAVORITE bread-item-food, so it was hard to say goodbye, but I didn't want to fill up on it.  It was damn good though.  It came with some honey butter and pimento spread.

The Arugla salad with goat cheese and grapefruit...yum!

My dad got these Fried Green Tomatoes for the table.  I had one of them.  I've never had FGT like this before.  They were amazing.  

It looks really yellow in the picture, but it was prettier in person :-)  I got fried chicken with honey vinegar and it came with fresh veggies a la carte and cauliflower mac n' cheese.  I could only eat about half of my plate.  I've never been a huge Fried Chicken fan, I have probably only ordered it once in my life and that was at KFC!  This was by far the best Fried Chicken I've ever had.  Apparently they soak it in Vodka and flash fry it and then get it back to room temperature and then cook it again.  It was so, so good.  The mac n' cheese was awesome.  

And for dessert they brought me out some Red Velvet cake :-)  I shared it with the table.  The ice cream was really awesome - I think it was like sour cream ice cream or something, which sounds awful but it was really rich and creamy.  If you watched Top Chef, you wouldn't be surprised by Richard Blais serving sour cream ice cream!  My mom got their famous home-made moon pie which I had a bite of and it rocked.  

All in all, Home was a terrific restaurant.  I can't wait to go back.

I JUST went to the trash chute and threw them down the chute!  Haha. I'll admit I had a few cashews on my way walking to the trash chute.  Am I some sort of tropical monkey?  It's like I can't separate from my nuts and banana chips!  

A part of me feels bummed that I let them get control over me like that.  I knew while I was eating them that I was...eating them!  I'm really stressed right now waiting to hear back to see if I got this job that I am so excited about.  And I have a few other things on my mind, so I think I let manifest itself through the nuts.  Plus, I just really, really like them!  

I made a good dinner for myself;  beef with corn and water chestnuts with some leftover eggplant.  I went to the gym today and did a little cardio but mostly lifted weights.  I just figured the calories weren't worth it.  Even though I feel pretty guilty about the calories I did acquire from the nuts and banana chips.

Well, they're in the trash now!  Tomorrow is a new day.

Golden Delicious she is not.  The woman is a pioneer on Food Network.  I get that.  But people always give her the benefit of the doubt, "But did you know she used to be agoraphobic and never left her house?"  Really?  I don't care.  She scares me!  

The episode we watched was all about CHEESE.  And I do *LOVE* cheese, myself.  But it's frightening what she cooks.  How does she still have a pulse?  Has she not had a cardiac arrest?  Are her arteries not clogged with fat and resentment?  

The best was the "Fried White Chocolate Cheesecake" she made.  As if cheesecake (which is my FAVORITE dessert) isn't fattening enough, why make it white chocolate?  AND WHY FRY IT?  How are you still alive, woman?  It was funny to watch because the audience was in glutton shock.  Every time you thought she was done with the damn thing, she'd continue in her southern drawl by going, "And that's not all!"  ... "Now we're gonna drizzle it with chocolate...and that's not all ... now we're gonna wrap it in a crepe ... and that's not ALL, y'all ... now we're gonna fry it.  And that's not all ... now we're gonna top it off with real whipping cream ... and that's not all ... now we're gonna drizzle it with chocolate and powdered sugar ... don't forget the fresh mint on top!..."  

Katie and I were in such horrific shock we were screaming at the television set as if Paula could here us, "Please Paula!  Make it stop!"  We added up all the calories on Katie's calorie counter on her computer and I think it came to about 2500 calories for just the cheesecake.  I'm supposed to have 1200 calories a day on my Lap band.  Most women are supposed to have 1700-2000 calories a day for a healthy metabolism.  WTF Paula!  One piece of your cheesecake is over double what I'm supposed to have in a day.  You are evil and I think your teeth are too sharp and pointed for you to be a human being with a heart (that's not clogged).  

I'm telling you that this charade of "And that's not all's..." went on for what seemed like my entire 26th year of life.  I could feel my heart clogging just watching this.  Her overly bleached teeth and blue hair and that scary smile revel with delight that she is an evil monster that hides beneath fat people's beds at night.  She is Paula Deen, dammit.  And this is her party.

I'm a sucker for strong flavor and sauces.  

Please note - my recipe's rarely are measured.  Hey - I'm an Artist!  I just go by look and taste.  This is why I'm not a good baker!

The Ingredients:

1.  Trader Joe's chicken strips (unbreaded)
2.  Fresh mango
3.  Soy Sauce, low sodium
4.  Garlic (I use lots of garlic)
5.  Bay Leaves
6.  Chestnuts
7.  Water Chestnuts
8.  Sea Salt & Pepper
9.  Red and Yellow Curry
10.  Sundried Tomatoes
11.  Lots of Ginger
12.  Touch of Splenda 

Side Dish:
Fresh fruit

Thinly cut eggplant
Spray with Pam or whatever (not butter or oil)
Sprinkle with lots of pepper and a touch of parm. cheese
Bake in oven at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes 

Voila!

I am a sucker for strong taste.  Since I am eating less with my Lap Band (rarely any seconds) I want to make sure that what I am eating is super satisfying.  That's why a lot of people who eat a lot of carbs might feel full and satisfied for a time being (carbs are the super comfort food) but rarely does your palate really get excited.  Therefore, your brain sort of never gets satisfied.  That's why I use strong flavor.  I keep a lot of the aforementioned ingredients in my place at all times, like the spices.  

Two of my favorite additions are this Trader Joe's Peach Salsa and of course Hot Sauce!

(Okay, I'm caught.  I was watching
So You Think You Can Dance) 

I came for my Bariatric surgery in India. I had been overweight all my life right from my childhood. I was used to getting embarrassed due to my body. I tried a lot of things to get rid of the heavy body but everything was turning useless. I tried dieting also but I was not getting any result out of it. Then after thinking a for a long time; I decided to undergo Bariatric surgery. But I was looking for a reasonable alternative. I searched the whole west Europe for the same. And while surfing on the internet I came across Forerunners Healthcare Consultants. I surfed on their website. I must say Forerunners Healthcare Consultants  has got a very much professional website with all the details about the Bariatric surgery in India. I was very much impressed with the experiences of the patients who got there treatment through Forerunners Healthcare Consultants . I decided to go with Forerunners Healthcare Consultants .

My main concern was the hospital in which I was going to get my Bariatric surgery in India done. And Dr Dheeraj Bojwani the head consultant of Forerunners Healthcare Consultants  gave the assurance of providing my surgery in the best Bariatric surgery hospital in Mumbai. And the quotes given to me for my Bariatric surgery in India. I got my Bariatric surgery in India arranged through Forerunners Healthcare Consultants . I took my flight and I was there for my Bariatric surgery in India. the hospital was very nice. He told me everything about my Bariatric surgery. I got the best treatment in the hospital associated with Forerunners Healthcare Consultants . The staff in the hospital was wonderful. I am very much happy with the result after my Bariatric surgery in India at the best Bariatric surgery hospital in Mumbai India.

The services I got from Forerunners Healthcare Consultants  were excellent and I want to thank Dr Dheeraj Bojwani and the whole team of Forerunners Healthcare Consultants  for providing my the best medical facilities and treatment for my obesity surgery in India at the best Bariatric surgery hospital in Mumbai India.

Five-year results from England and three-year results from the United States suggest the Vertical Gastrectomy has weight loss similar to other procedures with lower risk of complication. The stomach is restricted by dividing it vertically and removing more than 85 percent of it. This part of the procedure is not reversible. The stomach that remains is shaped like a thin banana and measures from 2-5 ounces (60 - 150cc) depending on the surgeon performing the procedure. The nerves to the stomach and the outlet valve (pylorus) remain intact with the idea of preserving the functions of the stomach while reducing the volume. By comparison, in a Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, the stomach is divided, not removed, and the pylorus is excluded.  This is the newest and most promising procedure for obesity with lower complications than Gastric Bypass and better weight loss than LapBand.  Currently it is approved by some insurance companies, but may be considered investigational by others. Visit here for surgeons of obesity surgery at hospitals of Bangalore in India.

Onto a serious note...

I have had friends who have struggled with addiction (i.e. alcoholism and drug abuse and cigarettes) so I read this article to maybe gain some insight on the subject.  The article asks, "What does it mean to be an addict?  For a long time the answer was that someone lacked willpower...In the current jargon of the recovery movement, addiction to alcohol, drugs or nicotine is a 'bio-psycho-social-spiritual' disorder..." 

I didn't know this but the term "addiction" comes from the Latin addictus, a debtor who was indentured to work off what he owed.  I thought this was so interesting and I can now draw so many interesting visuals in my head that play off this relationship.

There are some new drugs out there that completely erases an alcoholics desire to drink.  It's not the old one that makes you vomit once you've digested alcohol (Pavlov's Dog Syndrome), but it calms down the wiring in an alcoholics brain (their brains are wired differently than non-alcoholics brains) and causes them to simply not desire alcohol anymore.  There's also this new drug out that gets rid of the feeling of intoxication.  This would surely put every bar and college Frat house out of business, but for the sake of alcoholism, it's like, "What's the point if I can't feel drunk?"  

The article mostly talked about alcoholism, nicotine and drug addiction like heroin and cocaine.  It didn't talk at all about food addiction.  I thought this was interesting because the article's message is that people who suffer addictions have an illness, not just a crutch, and therefore, their illness should be treated just like any illness.  We don't shun our friend who needs to take their insulin shot, do we?  

What about food?  Our society looks at overweight people as lazy and fat.  It is so the opposite.  Unfortunately, fat is worn on the outside at all times.  This is the double crutch of obesity.  At least an alcoholic or a smoker can still look good on the outside?  But sucks for them that they don't really know what they're doing to their body.  

I was never teased for being chubby.  It was usually for my curly hair that got all of the attention.  I always had friends.  Well, except those middle school years where I only had one friend.  We both played the flute.  I think everyone in middle school had that "one friend who played the flute."  My family and our sense of humor was my saving grace in those years.  But I wasn't lacking friends because of my weight, it was because I was so shy (believe it or not!).  And luckily, my two best friends went to another middle school so on weekends, when it *really mattered who your friends were at 13, I had them to hang out with for pizza parties and prank calls.  

So not everyone who is overweight has these sob stories of having no friends and people yelling names at them at the bus stop or during that Red Rover game.  I always faired pretty well.  Just like, not every alcoholic has that wake-up call story of coming out of a blackout, waking up in their own vomit, at 3AM.  Sometimes, alcoholics and cocaine addicts are the life of the party.  

This Newsweek article just got me to think about addictions.  I know that alcoholics miss alcohol and drug addicts miss the drugs and smokers miss having their excuse to step outside, get away from it all, and pull out a drag.  

What about the social side of eating.  It's everywhere.  Is my LAP Band equal to one of these drugs?  A little plastic personal assistant?  When I eat too much I get this pain in my chest.  It's not really bad enough where I am on the floor, rolling around saying to myself, "Never again!"  But it's there.  My brain listens more closely now to when I am full.  

What do I miss about being able to eat like I used to?  I think I am still mourning the fact that I can't eat as much as I used to.  In all actuality, I am surprised how much I can still eat with my 2nd fill.  I don't have one pea and a carrot on my plate; I actually have a meal.  Just much smaller portions.  Sometimes, my urge is to keep eating.  To have seconds.  Usually when I am eating at home with my family or at a dinner party - when there's just so much leftover food.  Or after I go grocery shopping and have an amazing, beautiful array of fresh, colorful foods at my display.  So yes, I am still mourning my portions.  The idea that one serving is 99 percent of the time enough.  

People who really, really enjoy things that can put them in physical, emotional, financial or spiritual debt have to put off instant gratification for the long term reward.  A practice I think we can all learn from in many areas of our lives.

Now, I am looking forward to eating things like quinoa and sushi wrapped up in brown rice (a shout out to Whole Foods!).  I do miss those chicken tacos from Chile's.  Anyway, food still gives me a bit of a dopamine rush when I think about it.  Does it do that to everyone?  Everyone has to eat, right?  I am curious.  But I am working on keeping it in check.  Knowing I have a choice in how happy I'll be if I eat that piece of cheese.  It's still a journey, but I am so glad I am on it.  Right now my stomach is growling as I write this blog.  Oh, the irony.

The Newsweek article ends with this:

"The 12 Steps begin with a confession of powerlessness over addiction.  But there's hope that science may some day help put that power within the reach of anyone who needs it.  And then who would choose not to grasp it, and begin the long war for sobriety - a war without end, but one worth the fighting." 

As of today, I am officially down 53 pounds!   

My goal by my B-Day (July 15th) is to be down 60 pounds.

And this is how it looks around my stomach...
Although, I think my tummy is much cuter than this one!

She said she's actually had to stop herself from suggesting the procedure to others, for fear of seeming rude.`I don't want to offend anybody,'' said Miller, a law student at Western New England College in Springfield, Mass. ``But I want to let them know that this is an option. Before I had the surgery, I didn't even know it was out there. I wish I had known sooner.''

And her health problems are now better:

Her enthusiasm is understandable, given her response to the surgery. Before the procedure, she weighed 247 pounds. She also had Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, which led to a number of health problems, including high blood pressure, irregular glucose levels and irregular periods.

The syndrome also made it difficult for her to lose weight, even though doctors urged her to do so.

On the advice of a friend, Miller, who works in the medical records department at St. Vincent's, decided to explore bariatric surgery. However, she wasn't interested in the more highly publicized gastric bypass surgery. That surgery, made famous by high-profile patients such as ``Today'' show weatherman Al Roker, involves rerouting part of the intestine.

Unlike gastric bypass surgery, lap-band is minimally invasive with few risks. Gastric bypass surgery, on the other hand, is a more complicated surgery that carries more risks, including possible death. Another benefit to lap-band surgery is that, unlike the bypass, it's reversible.

Miller was deemed a good candidate for the lap-band, which is most effective for patients aged 18 to 65 and having a Body Mass Index of 40 or higher. Before surgery, Miller's BMI - measurement based on weight related to height - was 42. Her health problems also made her a good candidate for the surgery, so she signed up.

One year later, she's lost 72 pounds.

Since the procedure, Miller has gone from 247 pounds to 175 pounds. That's obviously garnered a lot of reaction — most of it positive — from friends, family, strangers.

And she finds herself being cheered on.

Throughout the past year, Miller's life has changed in many ways, but the thing that surprises her most is how supportive everyone has been.

"People are getting more and more cutthroat these days," she said. "But when people see me doing this, they're just so encouraging. I'm very happy.

It's a good story - always gratifying to see someone decent have things go well. In the last installment, she's about 20 pounds away from her goal weight - and wouldn't we all like to be there.

Today, they have, as their guest, Colleen Cook who is a weight loss surgery patient and founder of Bariatric Support Centers International. From the press release on the show:

Join Cher & Jeff as they talk with Colleen Cook about her story. Colleen is a weight-loss surgery patient from 1995.

She is the founder of Bariatric Support Centers International, an extraordinary company that specializes in providing long-term education and support services for weight-loss surgery patients. She is also the founder and former chair of the National Support Group Network for Allied Health Sciences, a committee of the American Society for Bariatric Surgery.

Colleen is a sought after speaker & former host of her radio show, “Obesity’s Surgical Solution”. She is the author of the internationally acclaimed "Success Habits of Weight Loss Surgery Patients". She has an extensive background in group organization, meeting facilitation, and leadership training. Known as Ms. Enthusiasm, Colleen helps men and women from all walks of life recognize their extraordinary potential and then inspires them to aspire even higher.

Her book, which I linked from my bookstore, is out of print and ridiculously expensive secondhand (not her doing). So, I'm going to spend some time at Ms. Cook's website and see what kind of things I can learn. We do know, as I remind you so endlessly, that people who have weight loss surgery and attend support groups lose more weight than those who don't. And this is all about the weight loss.

By the way, Jeff and Cher maintain podcasts of all their shows, so even if you miss one, you can catch up again later.

It's a beautiful day in Southern California and I have got a lot of running around to do. So, I'm gonna put on my running around clothes and go do it. It even smells good today. The flowers are blooming mad.

And for those of you who haven't clicked on Robert Morgan's 250 Pound Weight Loss story, do it now. He's a sports writer, who weighed over 500 pounds when he finally had a Lap Band procedure.

And I got that way by following the standard American diet. With a busy family and a job that keeps me constantly on the move into the evenings on most nights, I ate a lot on the run – McDonald’s, Chicken Express, Wendy’s and other such food.

I remember there was a time when we ate out more than we did at home. And I remember thinking at one point that I was getting healthier because I switched to Taco Bell. At that point I was getting burritos with lettuce and cheese rather than quarter-pounders. And boy, I thought that was a huge improvement.

But deep inside I knew better. I could not stand the pain shooting up the heel of my foot or that I was out of breath walking back to the car after a football game. Better yet, I knew I was in trouble last April when I was at Odessa’s Ratliff Stadium for the regional track meet. This massive, college-size stadium has no elevator and hauling a wide load up 50 flights of stairs several times a day about gave me heart failure.

I felt doomed to die of a heart attack by the age of 32, but I didn’t know what to do. I don’t overeat so I figured eventually it would all go away. I was certain that putting on a few extra pounds was something that happens to everyone when they hit their 30s.

It hit me like a ton of bricks this year, and I have one immature, rude, disrespectful Decatur High School student to thank for it. I was at my first volleyball game of the season in late August when I walked by the student body section. I noticed in my peripheral vision as I approached the group that one boy in particular kept staring at me. Just as my family and I passed, he quickly turned to two of his buddies and said, “Did you see how fat that dude was? What a freak!”

Well, that would definitely be a wake up call. I got one of my own the other night. A young friend came by and saw a photo on the wall that my husband had taken about ten years ago. It's a black and white shot of barefooted me in a long dress and denim jacket sitting on a stone bench. My hair is long and fluffy at the time. My hands are folded in my lap and my legs crossed. He looked at it for a second and said, "Wow, that could almost be you only much younger". Ouch. Ouch. Ouch.

Savin' mah pennies. Savin' mah pennies.

The news for bandees is good:

Adjustable Banded Gastroplasty or "Lap Band" isanother more restrictive procedure which reduces the size of the stomach. Following the surgery, the patient’s stomach may only hold 1-2 tablespoons in volume. This method drastically reduces the amount of food the patient can consume at any one time; digestion continues normally; and nutritional problems such as anemia and osteoporosisare almost nonexistent. The patient does not require as much ongoing medical supervision or dietary supplements.

Patients choosing this procedure must be very selective about the food they eat: since absorption is not altered, any foods high in calories, sugars and fat will have the same affect on the body as they did before the surgery. If a patient consumes too much food or large pieces of food, vomiting can result.

After surgery, some patients experience chronic acid reflux. Reflux and regurgitation of fluid and gastric liquid can present problems for a diver in the “head down” position, such as during descent. Divers can manage problems of regurgitation or vomiting through proper dietary considerations and possibly medications.

The estimation of "1-2 tablespoons in volume" is pretty extreme. In truth, you'll be eating 6 to 8 ounces of food per meal - or a "half glass" of food as Dr. Paul O'Brien likes to put it. In the real world, that's the equivalent of a McDonald's Double Cheeseburger and a small order of McDonald's Fries. Of course, you won't be eating at McDonald's if you want to lose weight, but you can see where a meal of that size would be perfectly satisfying emotionally. And of course, with the Lap Band, you'll be quite full as well.

So, for me, it's to Mexico for my Lap Band surgery, and then hopefully, one year later, back for a SCUBA trip. I can't wait. :) Palancar Gardens - here I come!

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Medicare program may expand reimbursement for bariatric surgery for the obese, in light of a study that found the treatment can help reverse diabetes, the agency said on Monday.

Recent research found the surgery can completely reverse type 2 diabetes, a metabolic condition spurred by weight gain and suffered by millions of Americans.

Medicare, the government health plan for the nation's 44 million elderly, "will assess the nature of the scientific evidence supporting surgery for the treatment of diabetes," the agency said on its Web site.

The agency will decide whether to set a "national coverage decision," that would set reimbursement policy for all Medicare recipients. It could also decide to not cover the weight-loss surgery for diabetes alone.

The government already pays for the surgery in certain patients, generally those classified as "morbidly obese."

Both my mother, and my grandfather had diabetes and died at the age of 64 from heart attacks. Neither of them were obese and both of them were quite active. My grandfather was a rodeo photograher - not a job for the unfit. He was taking down storm windows from his home when he died. My mother was digging a ditch and I'm guessing the combination of the diabetes, the smoking and the Arkansas summer heat took her. Still, 64 is awfully young. Here's hoping that we help keep parents, grandparents and aunts and uncles around longer.

I was googling "weight loss" + genetics + fat and found this study from researchers at Oregon State University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of Ottawa about SIRT-1 - a gene which can reduce the development of new fat cells and increase metabolism. Ooooo la la! Well, it seems this gene's activities can be increased by resveratrol, a compound found in grape skins.

The study was done with mice as a research model, and a remaining challenge will be to see if the same results are observed in a higher vertebrate model, including humans.
The research outlined the processes of fat formation and usage at a cellular and genetic level. It also analyzed the metabolic function of resveratrol, a polyphenol and antioxidant found at high levels in grape skins.

"When cells were exposed to resveratrol, our studies showed a pretty dramatic reduction in the conversion to fat cells and a lesser but still significant increase in the mobilization of existing fat, or the rate at which the cells metabolized stored fat," said Mark Leid, a professor of pharmacology in the OSU College of Pharmacy. "This clearly could be one of the explanations for the health benefits that some researchers believe can be linked to moderate red wine consumption."

And...

n trying to determine the molecular basis for this genetic link to longevity, the new study found that SIRT1 increases the use of fat and reduces the formation of new fat cells – apparently it represses one or more fat-regulating proteins and other genes that drive fat storage following calorie restriction. This may have been an evolutionary adaptation for the body to sense short term famine and counter it by increasing the burning of stored body fat, researchers say.

So, there ya go - I get to have a glass of red wine while I'm blogging and you get to have a glass of red wine while you're reading my blog. :)

One more in my series Why You Can't (Or Don't) Lose Weight and Keep It Off. I've got more to report comin' up in the next few days.

Lise the Loser came back from her weekend at Langley, Washington to discover that she has officially lost 30 pounds and now weighs - dun da da da! - 199. She is in Onederland to stay!

Achieving Me has bought herself a fabulous black ruffled dress (it is dreamy) for the Winter Ball she will be attending this July! She got it in a size 8 (12 for our Aussie friends) so that it fits in a few months.

Lastly, I think Gwen has some new photos up of herself in her photo carousel.

Happy Mother's Day to all. A documentary I co-produced a couple years ago on the training of opera singers is being screened for the board of the organization we worked for tomorrow night. I'm excited about that. My darling 29 year old son may, or may not, be aware of Mother's Day but you know, a mother's hope springs eternal.

Well, Mr. Lindstrom has a lot of advice on what you need to do to get your insurance to cover your lap band procedure. For starters, a lot of insurance companies mandate that you establish that you were on a supervised diet program and require that you provide them with notes. He has an entire paper on the importance of doing this. His basic point is that for many of us, getting insurance approval isn't that quick anyway. Most doctors want you to lose 10 pounds or so before surgery to make the liver smaller anyway, so Mr. Lindstrom says "do it". It will get you a little farther down the road while you work through the insurance issues, and will make you healthier for the surgery.

There are lots of articles and FAQ page as well. There were two questions that particularly caught my eye and I think will be relevant to many of you.

I'VE BEEN DENIED OBESITY SURGERY BY MY INSURANCE COMPANY BECAUSE CLAIM IT ISN'T MEDICALLY NECESSARY. CAN YOU HELP ME?

We are fortunate to be able to help most anyone in this position and have a success rate overturning denials based on "medical necessity" or failure to meet criteria for surgery that is in excess of 90%. We can be most effective if we get the case or claim right at the time of the first denial. If you wish to inquire about us advocating for you in that type of case, click here.

Oooo la la! A success rate of over 90%! That's what I want to hear!!!!!

And then this:

MY INSURANCE COMPANY DENIED ME BASED ON A LACK OF DOCUMENTATION OF WEIGHT LOSS EFFORTS AND I DON'T HAVE ALOT OF THAT INFORMATION....CAN YOU HELP ME?

This is one of the areas we spend a great deal of time and have had very good success. While it is very, very important for patients to go back to their various medical providers to get whatever historical records are available, the fact is many people don't have or cannot locate such records. That should not stop anyone from seeking surgery. First, you can always postpone the surgery until you comply with your company's requirements, whether they are 6 months, 12 months, 18 months or more. However, we also understand that many of you have "been there, done that" and don't want to wait anymore. We work successfully on a great many of those cases despite a client not having a great deal of documentation and we would urge you to give us a chance if this is the basis for denial you confront.

This was something I was wondering about. I live on a diet. I don't think there are that many changes I could make to my diet that would allow me to lose weight. But after reading this site, tomorrow I'm going to be figuring out ways to get on a supervised diet, just in case I wind up with insurance coverage and use it for my surgery.

And in case you need help but you're thinking you can't afford Mr. Lindstrom, he says this:

ISN'T HIRING AN ADVOCATE GOING TO BE VERY EXPENSIVE?

Fear of professional fees are unfortunately one of the primary reasons why many Americans, in our opinion, are denied access to health care they require. Many people cannot afford costly fees and many attorneys and other types of advocates charge fees which are greater than the costs of the treatment being denied. Obviously, in that case, it would make no sense to hire such a person or firm.

Our office has worked very hard to make high quality services affordable to anyone who needs them. We have kept our overhead extremely low and have streamlined our file handling to maximize results for our clients. We'll discuss our various fee options with you on an individual basis, but our current structure starts under $500, depending on what you require.

While it is important that this office charge and collect a fair fee for the work that we do, we have never allowed someone’s ability to pay fees to be the final deciding factor as to whether or not we can help them. We don’t want anyone to not contact us simply based on an erroneous assumption that hiring us is too expensive. We will work hard, if necessary, to create a payment plan which meets your personal situation.

And since most of you don't live in California:

I DON'T LIVE IN CALIFORNIA - - - CAN YOU STILL HELP ME?

The answer to this question is generally "Yes," but circumstances will differ from case to case. First of all, you must understand that you are retaining our services as a designated authorized "representative" to assist you with your appeal; we are not acting as an "attorney" on your behalf. In those instances, it is generally not necessary for us to be admitted to the bar for your state.

If we take on the matter as attorneys (rather than as lay advocates), we do have to be admitted to practice in the jurisdiction for that case. In those instances, we associate local counsel to assist with following the local rules and to sponsor our admission to that state’s bar for purposes of that particular case. That is called being admitted pro hac vice (for purposes of that case).

There are a few things to keep in mind. If you want us to help you with your appeal, you're not going to be obligated to file any type of lawsuit or arbitration or other type of litigated solution to the dispute. You're also never obligated to keep us as your attorneys if you wish to file such an action; in fact, we too retain the right to not move forward with a litigated case and, in some instances, we may be unable to take on that representation because we may be witnesses to the payer's conduct.

So. yes, he might very well be able to help you even if you live out of state.

There is a lot of great stuff to read there, so I'd encourage you to spend some time at his site. He has an entire paper on getting your insurance carrier to approve you. I'm going to read that tomorrow and report back as well.

The Northwest Weight Loss Surgery site has a link to one of the best pages ever - Obesity Law And Advocacy Center. Attorney Walter Lindstrom is founder, and he is specializing in laws and discrimination that impact the obese. Now, if you're reading this page, you're not planning on being obese for long so you may wonder how this impacts you!

Well, Mr. Lindstrom has a lot of advice on what you need to do to get your insurance to cover your lap band procedure. For starters, a lot of insurance companies mandate that you establish that you were on a supervised diet program and require that you provide them with notes. He has an entire paper on the importance of doing this. His basic point is that for many of us, getting insurance approval isn't that quick anyway. Most doctors want you to lose 10 pounds or so before surgery to make the liver smaller anyway, so Mr. Lindstrom says "do it". It will get you a little farther down the road while you work through the insurance issues, and will make you healthier for the surgery.

There are lots of articles and FAQ page as well. There were two questions that particularly caught my eye and I think will be relevant to many of you.

I'VE BEEN DENIED OBESITY SURGERY BY MY INSURANCE COMPANY BECAUSE CLAIM IT ISN'T MEDICALLY NECESSARY. CAN YOU HELP ME?

We are fortunate to be able to help most anyone in this position and have a success rate overturning denials based on "medical necessity" or failure to meet criteria for surgery that is in excess of 90%. We can be most effective if we get the case or claim right at the time of the first denial. If you wish to inquire about us advocating for you in that type of case, click here.

Oooo la la! A success rate of over 90%! That's what I want to hear!!!!!

And then this:

MY INSURANCE COMPANY DENIED ME BASED ON A LACK OF DOCUMENTATION OF WEIGHT LOSS EFFORTS AND I DON'T HAVE ALOT OF THAT INFORMATION....CAN YOU HELP ME?

This is one of the areas we spend a great deal of time and have had very good success. While it is very, very important for patients to go back to their various medical providers to get whatever historical records are available, the fact is many people don't have or cannot locate such records. That should not stop anyone from seeking surgery. First, you can always postpone the surgery until you comply with your company's requirements, whether they are 6 months, 12 months, 18 months or more. However, we also understand that many of you have "been there, done that" and don't want to wait anymore. We work successfully on a great many of those cases despite a client not having a great deal of documentation and we would urge you to give us a chance if this is the basis for denial you confront.

This was something I was wondering about. I live on a diet. I don't think there are that many changes I could make to my diet that would allow me to lose weight. But after reading this site, tomorrow I'm going to be figuring out ways to get on a supervised diet, just in case I wind up with insurance coverage and use it for my surgery.

And in case you need help but you're thinking you can't afford Mr. Lindstrom, he says this:

ISN'T HIRING AN ADVOCATE GOING TO BE VERY EXPENSIVE?

Fear of professional fees are unfortunately one of the primary reasons why many Americans, in our opinion, are denied access to health care they require. Many people cannot afford costly fees and many attorneys and other types of advocates charge fees which are greater than the costs of the treatment being denied. Obviously, in that case, it would make no sense to hire such a person or firm.

Our office has worked very hard to make high quality services affordable to anyone who needs them. We have kept our overhead extremely low and have streamlined our file handling to maximize results for our clients. We'll discuss our various fee options with you on an individual basis, but our current structure starts under $500, depending on what you require.

While it is important that this office charge and collect a fair fee for the work that we do, we have never allowed someone’s ability to pay fees to be the final deciding factor as to whether or not we can help them. We don’t want anyone to not contact us simply based on an erroneous assumption that hiring us is too expensive. We will work hard, if necessary, to create a payment plan which meets your personal situation.

And since most of you don't live in California:

I DON'T LIVE IN CALIFORNIA - - - CAN YOU STILL HELP ME?

The answer to this question is generally "Yes," but circumstances will differ from case to case. First of all, you must understand that you are retaining our services as a designated authorized "representative" to assist you with your appeal; we are not acting as an "attorney" on your behalf. In those instances, it is generally not necessary for us to be admitted to the bar for your state.

If we take on the matter as attorneys (rather than as lay advocates), we do have to be admitted to practice in the jurisdiction for that case. In those instances, we associate local counsel to assist with following the local rules and to sponsor our admission to that state’s bar for purposes of that particular case. That is called being admitted pro hac vice (for purposes of that case).

There are a few things to keep in mind. If you want us to help you with your appeal, you're not going to be obligated to file any type of lawsuit or arbitration or other type of litigated solution to the dispute. You're also never obligated to keep us as your attorneys if you wish to file such an action; in fact, we too retain the right to not move forward with a litigated case and, in some instances, we may be unable to take on that representation because we may be witnesses to the payer's conduct.

So. yes, he might very well be able to help you even if you live out of state.

There is a lot of great stuff to read there, so I'd encourage you to spend some time at his site. He has an entire paper on getting your insurance carrier to approve you. I'm going to read that tomorrow and report back as well.

This first YouTube video covers eating in the weeks following a Lap Band procedure. The first few days, it's warm liquids. After that, you can have some soft food like mashed potatos. Then you move on to solid food, and he gives a run down of what you should avoid. Lastly, he talks about how much you should eat, and the fact that you should sit down and eat it when you do. There is always plenty of good information with him.

In this video, he talks about how the Lap Band works. He has a animation of a Lap Band when the video first opens that is silent - so nothing has gone wrong with your computer.

What to do when obesity surgery fails
ABC Local

The number of people getting obesity surgery has more than doubled in the past eight years. But the highly popular and risky procedure doesn't always work for everyone. So can these patients be helped? One local doctor offers a high-tech solution.

Lap-Band offers additional weight-loss tool, but support plays vital role
Spokane Journal Of Business

Trotter says use of the Lap-Band is gaining momentum as a tool in treating obese patients. It’s employed along with a highly restrictive and specialized diet that Trotter says patients would be too hungry to withstand without the surgery. Patients who have the so-called bariatric surgery can eat only about 1,000 calories a day, he says.