Get back on the #WLS Track - 5 Day Pouch Test

Will you get back on the #WLS track with the 5 Day Pouch Test next week? After a holiday weekend and carefree summer the 5DPT is a terrific way to return focus to our healthy weight and health management with surgery. Order your supplies today and they ship tomorrow from the LivingAfterWLS General Store. We are here to empower your life-long WLS journey. Use Coupon Code: HOTSUMMER to take $3 off $29 orders - it expires 8/31 - so take advantage now! We are all in this together!!!

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Are you chasing the wrong WLS-Goal Weight?

LivingAfterWLS Weekly Digest - August 27, 2012
Are you Chasing the wrong WLS-Goal Weight
Link to Newsletter

Opening article: This is one of the most important topics we have ever addressed in the LivingAfterWLS Weekly Digest: Goal Weight. As we again focus on our health and weight loss goals as summer comes to a close I invite you to consider the emphasis we place on goal weight. Today I'm addressing goal weight as it relates to our experience with weight loss surgery. Prior to surgery patients are in cahoots with their surgeons as they plan for bariatric surgery, set the course and denote the finish line which will be crossed when goal weight is achieved. I don't particularly like to hear what I'm about to say and I know it is a tough thing for my WLS Neighbors to hear, but I'm putting it out there bluntly so we can face it and take action:

Few patients will ever reach goal weight.

There you have it. Numerous studies suggest that fewer than 20% of patients achieve goal weight. My work with patients of all gastric surgeries for weight management suggests the same thing. In fact, it is fairly common for me to meet someone who introduces themselves saying, "I'm one of those people who never made it to goal weight." Here is what you need to know about goal weight so it will cease to be a barrier to your pursuit of overall health.

Know This Truth:
It is the random method of determining goal weight that is flawed; it is not the patient who is flawed.

Goal weight is a random data point set arbitrarily with reference to standardized tables that are irrelevant to an individual's health history, age, co-morbidities and genetic profile. In most cases the goal weight creates unrealistic expectations for the patient. When patients do not achieve this random point of measure called goal weight they consider themselves a failure and "one of those people." Patients become hopeless and frustrated. These feelings almost always lead to rebound weight gain.

Why do we use weight as a measure of health?
From the time of our birth when proud parents happily announce our weight and height and throughout our life these two data points (weight and height) are used to assess our health. The reason? Cost and convenience. Collecting these two measurements is easy and cheap. Most medical professionals agree that the current standards for body weight measured by weight in relation to height (called BMI-Body Mass Index) does little to reflect disease risk, identify body fat, and in general presents a misleading argument for overall health. In reality, the most these data points reveal is change over time without indicating a decline or improvement in health. Yet we are encouraged with weight loss surgery, and by conventional diet programs as well, to focus on a goal weight and BMI that may have very little to do with the health of our body.

Today we go beyond goal weight to help you achieve better results that are health focused.

Please join me with an open mind as we look at goal weight as it is used by weight loss surgery patients. Bear in mind that I'm not anti-goal weight. I am simply sharing the knowledge I have collected in building my understanding of how such a tight focus on goal weight results in difficulty and disappointment for many patients. As you read with an open mind add this knowledge to your personal experience and understanding. You are a powerful person. Harness your strength and intelligence as you engage in the pursuit of  better health and better living with weight loss surgery.

This is a longer newsletter than our normal weekly digest. I know we are all limited on time and asking you to read this may be a burden. But the content here is very important to your life-long healthy weight management. I hope you find it worth your while. Please share it with your support groups as a means of encouragement and empowerment - We are all so much more than the bottom line measured by the bathroom scale.

Remember, We are all in this together!

Kaye

KayeBailey@LivingAfterWLS.com

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Back to School Refresher Course

Greetings Neighbors!

Where has the summer gone? Already the kids are headed back to school and the carefree days of summer will soon be replaced with routine schedules and a focus on learning. When

I was in school I always enjoyed the first week of school where lessons focused on reviewing what we learned during the last school year; things we may have forgotten over the summer. I loved that feeling of "EUREKA" when knowledge came back and it felt so basic, so fundamental I couldn't believe I had forgotten it in the first place.

Now I'm a few decades past the good old back to school days. But that EUREKA! feeling returns when I take a new look at the rules of healthy weight management with surgery. Just today I re-learned that starting my day with protein feels really good. I wonder, "How in the world did I forget that fundamental?" So I am capturing the spirit of back to school in this special edition 5 Day Pouch Test Bulletin and reviewing the EUREKA! fundamentals that keeps this WLS working for me. I hope you'll join me in this review and take some time to go back to school - the University of LivingAfterWLS - right this way - I saved you a seat!

Link to Full 5DPT Bonus Bulletin

Featured Articles:
Weight Loss Surgery Maintenance Secrets
Make Right Your Nutritional Wellness
How do I get empowered when I feel so hopeless?
Recipe: Chicken Satay Skewers with Peanut Sauce
Autumn Exercise Tips

Go to Bulletin

Cooking with Kaye: Fish Tacos

Link to Newsletter
Classic Fish Tacos 

Inspired by street cart favorites:
Made healthy for WLS Living    

August 15, 2012

Greetings!

Fish tacos can be purchased from vending carts in busy marketplaces. When fresh fish is seasoned and grilled it is a good source of protein that most weight loss surgery patients find easy to tolerate. However, when the fish is battered and fried, as often found on vending carts, it becomes unappealing, fattening and consumption may cause dumping syndrome due to the grease. (Refresher article: Foods that cause Dumping). It is easy to avoid unpleasant pitfalls and prepare delicious and affordable fish tacos at home.

This Cooking with Kaye features a light fish with Mexican seasoning and lime served in a romaine lettuce leaf with a sour cream sauce. Serve it with Seasoned Summer Squash with Cheese but save room for dessert: warm Spiced Peaches with Sweet Sour Cream. And try our surplus zucchini recipes to make the most of summer's bounty.

Have a great meal Neighbors. And remember, there is always something good cooking in the Neighborhood!

Thanks for cooking with me!

Kaye Bailey

Link to Newsletter with Recipes

Weekly Digest: Food Pushers & Food Police

LivingAfterWLS Weekly Digest: August 13, 2012

 

I hope you are enjoying a healthy happy Summer! Like everyone this time of year, our lazy-days of summer seem to be filled with more activities and gatherings than we can manage. Without fail, every event we have enjoyed has involved a meal as the central attraction. Also without fail, the "Food Pushers" and "Food Police" have been on patrol. Have you seen them at your summer gatherings?  

The "Food Pushers" are those who would have us eat more than we could or should eat. Sometimes they are well intentioned wishing only to share the bounty of the table; others are prideful cooks who consider food rejection a personal insult. And admittedly, some food pushers have unsavory designs for derailing our best weight management efforts.

The "Food Police" are those who monitor our plates and forks and pass judgment on us for what we do or do not eat. They too can be well intentioned such as a fellow health-watcher who may question the trans-fat or sugar content of a dish; she is looking out for the good of all. Other police are citation-hungry plate monitors hoping to catch us in the act of breaking rules and crossing dietary boundaries.

It has been a dozen years since my WLS and I have been a very public WLS-Advocate for the last 8 years. I know that for myself, and for many of you, there is not a time when we are not closely watched and critiqued as we engage in fueling our bodies with food. It's no wonder so many of us, myself included, seek to eat in privacy much of the time! Here are a few skills I've learned to use in coping with the food pushers and food police. I you find them helpful as you form your own strategies in dealing with the Food Pushers and Food Police.

Best Wishes & Good Health! 

Kaye

Link to the full Digest

Press Release: Must Have WLS Book

For Immediate Release:
On July 2, 2012 LivingAfterWLS published Kaye Bailey's all-new 180 page 5 Day Pouch Test Owner's Manual 2nd Edition - and the reviews are in: This is THE Must-Have book for every weight loss surgery library.

Surgeons and patients agree, "The information and advice is clearly presented and inspiring with an eye for detail and a voice of encouragement," said Cathy Burns, a weight loss surgery consultant from Philadelphia, PA and 14 year gastric-bypass post-op patient. "I read everything I can that comes out about weight loss surgery. Kaye knows her stuff as well as anyone in the field, but she tells it like a best friend who is sharing an experience.  I cannot imagine the struggles I'd face if I didn't have her books to flip through when I'm feeling frustrated or simply tired of trying. She really understands that this (WLS) is for life and she makes me want to keep trying. Thanks Kaye!"

The original 5 Day Pouch Test Owner's Manual was published in 2008 at 102 pages. When it was retired June 30, 2012 it was in the fourth printing and had been shipped to every US State and many countries around the world. The 5 Day Pouch Test plan has proven to be a highly effective back-to-basics approach to capturing regain following weight loss surgery. It is nutritionally sound and founded on the rules of weight loss surgery and the basic tenets prescribed by accredited bariatric surgeons.  In early 2012 Kaye found the time was right to update the Owner's Manual to include new guidelines from the FDA, the bariatric community, the US Surgeon General, and the freelance bariatric research community (research not affiliated or supported by pharmaceutical companies, doctors, or hospitals).  The result is an all-new 180 page Owner's Manual.

Link: 2^nd Edition Table of Contents

"Since the original manual was published the basics of the plan have not changed," said Kaye. "In fact, we have a greater body of knowledge and evidence that the 5 Day Pouch Test is highly effective when used correctly to get back on track with WLS. In the new Manual the format is different and the book is beautifully produced. It is seasoned with sidebars throughout for quick glimpses at important facts and reminders. There are 16 new recipes and an all-new 5DPT journal format. I think people who have read the first manual will find that even though the 5DPT plan is familiar the facts, enthusiasm and inspiration are fresh. People who have both the first and second editions of the 5DPT Owner's Manual will feel they have two very useful, very different books at their disposal for lasting WLS support. It is intrinsically important to me that we provide top-notch information to our readers in a manner that inspires and motivates. I think we have done just that with this 2nd Edition."

Read: Interview with KayeBailey

5 Day Pouch Test Owner'sManual 2nd Edition
The complete 5 Day Pouch Test plan including inspiration, instructions, and recipes in Kaye Bailey's classic empowering style. 180-page easy to read paperback with hints, tips and encouragement that enables you to take charge of your weight loss surgery tool. 2nd Edition includes new guidelines from the FDA, USDA, and the ASMBS. 16 new 5DPT recipes; more FAQ’s; more inspiration from Kaye. Improved format. Same great plan shared with Kaye's encouragement and enthusiasm. Same low first edition price $22.95. Get back on track with Kaye! You Can Do This!
View Table of Contents


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A Candid Interview with Kaye Bailey

5 Day Pouch Test Owner's Manual - 2nd Edition

All New Book: Same great back-to-basics

by Jennifer Ellis, Administrative Assistant

On July 3 LivingAfterWLS published the all-new 5 Day Pouch Test Owner's Manual 2nd Edition  by Kaye Bailey and retired the highly successful first edition which was originally published in 2008 and in the fourth printing. At right, Kaye receives cartons holding the all new 5DPT books. With the publication of the 2nd Edition Kaye has answered many questions from media and consumers about the new book. I have collected her responses and share some of the most asked questions and answers here.

Did the basic 5DPT plan change when you wrote the new book?

No. After five years the 5DPT is more solid than ever. Thousands of people around the world have enjoyed terrific success with the plan. When they had lost all hope they found new confidence in their pouch and in their personal power during and after the 5DPT. The plan, at its most basic level, continues to be 2 days liquid diet for pampering the pouch; 1 day soft protein; 1 day firm protein and 1 day solid protein. All the while observing liquid restrictions, avoiding slider foods, and focus on the Four Rules.

I noticed the subtitle has changed: What is the thinking behind that?

Yes! I did change the subtitle for the second edition. The new subtitle is "Find your weight loss surgery tool in five focused days." In the earlier edition the subtitle read, "Fix your weight loss surgery tool. Take control in 5 easy days." I found that more emphasis was needed on the focus and hard work required during the five days. The plan is not simply a matter of following a food plan and bam! you're done. It is a matter of following the deliberate food plan and practicing the WLS habits and rules that are proven to help us lose weight and keep it off. It really isn't 5 easy days; it is five focused days. Those 5 days, when done mindfully, truly pay off with many successful days beyond the 5DPT.  So many of us, when we minimize the effort into 5 easy days, we go right back to doing what got us in trouble in the first place.  So now it is five focused days. Has a nice ring to it, don't you think?

 "Simply not wanting to be overweight is a wish, not a plan. One way to motivate yourself is to recognize how gratifying it is to make a commitment to a goal, identify the specific steps to get there, follow your plan, and reap the rewards." (Judith J. Wurtman & Nina Frusztajer Marquis, 2006)

~Page 29 - 5DPT Owner's Manual 2nd Edition

If the plan hasn't changed, what is new in the book, I see it is 180 pages and the original book was only 100 pages.

Well, as you can imagine with a book that has been in print since 2008, we have received a lot of feedback from our readers and we listened. I am so proud of our LivingAfterWLS readers because consistently they have asked for more information, more knowledge, more inspiration. They seem to have an endless curiosity for self-improvement and health management. The original book was written to be a quick read with loads of inspiration and it served this purpose well. For the second edition I reorganized the presentation of information. For example, Chapter 3 is a quick overview of the complete 5DPT with a brief review of the WLS Four Rules and the tenets of successful weight management.  Then in Chapters 4, 5, and 6 each day is covered in detail. Chapters for each day include the dietary plan for the day, helpful and motivational sub-chapters, a summary of key learning points, the daily journal, eating out tips, and FAQ's relating to that day of the plan. Chapter 9 is a comprehensive chapter about health basics and dietary management with weight loss surgery, this is new from the first edition. And there are 16 new tested and proven recipes that work effectively with the 5DPT and beyond. The new book also includes new information from the FDA, the US Surgeon General, the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgeons (ASMBS), and the free-lance bariatric community. This is a rapidly changing field and it is important for all of us to stay current with the science and medical practice as it evolves. 

Simply put - the second edition is loaded with detail and inspiration that I think readers will find it useful in their effort to manage obesity with surgical intervention of any kind.

You developed the 5DPT in 2007: what is the most important thing you have learned since developing it?

Oh my goodness, there has been so much! I am so fortunate to learn from real people on the front lines of WLS. It is always comforting to learn that other people also have to work at this weight loss and weight maintenance like I do - even with this "easy-breezy" surgery! I mean, here I am more than 12 years post-op and I'm still trying to figure out the best way to manage my weight and secretly hoping to stumble on some easy trick keep my weight under control. I am so often amazed and awed at the resilience of others, the strength people have to rise again and again in the face of great challenge. There is truly so much goodness in the world and in the heart of mankind and I count my blessings many times a day that I work in this WLS community that brings me in contact with good and well-meaning people. It makes some of the darkness in the world fade to gray. I guess building on that I would say that we should never-ever Never-EVER stop trying. And we need to take care of one another: when we have strength to spare let's give back and when we need a hand it will be there. Ha! I feel like there should be orchestra music playing as I say this. But darn it! I do feel this in my heart. Next question?  

Where can the 2nd Edition 5DPT Owner's Manual be purchased?

Like all of our LivingAfterWLS publications, the 2nd Edition 5DPT Owner's Manual is available exclusively online in the LivingAfterWLS General Store. Link to Store

I already have the original edition. Is it worth it to get the new 2nd edition?

Tricky question to ask the author! I actually really worried about this because we have so many faithful LivingAfterWLS Neighbors who buy and read our publications. It is intrinsically important to me that we provide top-notch information to our readers in a manner that inspires and motivates. As I said earlier, the basics of the plan have not changed. The format of this book is different, and beautifully produced - I love the sidebars. It contains the most up-to-date information from the FDA, the bariatric community, and the freelance bariatric research community (research not tied to or supported by pharmaceutical companies, doctors, or hospitals). I think even though the actual 5DPT is familiar, the enthusiasm and inspiration will feel fresh. I believe that people who read both the first and second editions of the 5DPT Owner's Manual will feel they have two very useful, very different books at their disposal for lasting WLS support. I hope to hear from some of you who have both - what do you think?
KayeBailey@livingafterwls.com

Check out the 5DPT Owner's Manual 2nd Edition:
Table of Contents

I am also very tickled we were able to keep the price the same as the first edition at $22.95. A very good value, in my humble opinion.  Quick Buy

What is the status of your publications in electronic format for iPad, Kindle and other e-readers?

We have several full-length and short publications in production for electronic publishing and hope to have them available soon (4th Quarter 2012?) for our audience. The copyright and trademark processes are taking much longer than we anticipated, but we will announce the availability of these products in our email communications - please stay tuned. We appreciate your patience as ours is wearing very thin on this matter. You can also check the Support page in the LivingAfterWLS General Store for status updates on the electronic products. Link Here: Support Page

 
What is your next writing/publishing project?

Right around the corner on August 1 my 2009 book,

  Day 6: Beyond the 5 Day Pouch Test

will go into the second printing. I am so excited about this!  The Day 6 book has been so well received and the feedback has been quite favorable. After that, on Tuesday October 2, 2012 my new book, "Cooking with Kaye - Methods to Meals - Protein First You Will Love" is scheduled to be published. This has been a huge project, 156 recipes tested numerous times. A working cookbook that will build the skills of the cook so they can take the methods and go beyond the recipe to create a perfect meal for all who sit at their table. Watch your newsletters!

Healing Through Humor - Laugh Yourself Healthy!

Laugh your way to better health

Shared from WebMD

You’re lying in bed with some kind of health problem, taking medicine and maybe getting some kind of treatment or therapy. Or maybe you’re taking care of someone who’s ill, and it’s wearing you out. Sometimes life can feel pretty overwhelming. This might seem like a crazy idea, but now’s the time for you to laugh.

Think for a minute... Is there anything close by that might cheer you up? A TV show? A book? Your child dancing?

Whatever you’re doing right now, stop and find something that makes you laugh. Sure, laughter can help you forget about your troubles, but it also can help your body heal. That’s right. Laughter can help your body heal.
Your brain talks to your body

You probably already know that your brain is in charge of things like what you think about and your ability to walk, talk, breathe, and move. But did you know that your brain also produces chemicals that affect everything from how fast your heart beats to how well you fight off disease?

Thanks to something called the mind-body connection, the simple act of laughing can tell your brain to produce chemicals that:

    Lower your risk for heart attacks.
    Increase your blood circulation.
    Help your heart work better and pump more evenly.
    Boost your body’s immune system to help you fight off infection.
    Increase your deep breathing, which relaxes your muscles, gives you more energy, and lowers your stress.

Laughter is one of those things, like getting exercise or watching what you eat, that you can do yourself. Here are a few ways to laugh more:

    Ask your spouse, partner, or friends to help by telling you good jokes or bringing you funny movies.
    Spend time with the world’s leading experts on laughter: children.
    Surround yourself with people and things that make you laugh-whatever they may be.
    Surround yourself with humor: An Internet search for "stupid pet tricks" or "funniest home movies" will give you, as well as the people you care for or the people who care for you, plenty to laugh at.
    Ask at your local library or bookstore for funny books, audio programs, or movies.

It's easy to think that the only things that can help your health are things that others do for or to you-the medicines you take, the doctors you visit, the surgeries or operations you have. And these are all important. But laughter is effective treatment you can do for yourself. And you don't need a medical license to do it.