OH2017 Recap, Thank You for Making a Difference!

December 19, 2017

We'd like to give a big shout out of thanks to all of the amazing OH2017 attendees, speakers, sponsors, volunteers, and exhibitors. Also a big thank you to Diana Vogel, the emcee for the 2017 ObesityHelp National Conference. Every single person's enthusiasm and participation helped to make the 2017 ObesityHelp National Conference a huge success. Thank you for helping to educate, support, and inspire!

Speakers at the 2017 ObesityHelp National Conference

FRIDAY SESSIONS: Friday was such an inspirational day! We heard from bariatric surgery patients, each with their individual journey story and helpful insights. There was also a Post-Op Q&A Panel where attendees could ask questions about the bariatric journey from the patient perspective. In addition to that panel, there was an informative Plastic Surgery Q&A Panel, featuring four Plastic Surgeons that are experts in addressing the needs of bariatric patients struggling with excess skin after significant weight loss. Friday also was a day filled with activities including a morning walk with Michelle, a Mix 'n Mingle, rooftop training with Shane, and a Meet & Greet Costume Party.

Rocky Alexander: Finding Your New Normal in the Kitchen + a Cooking Demo
Kevin Stephens: My Bariatric Journey: One Day At A Time
Jo Diniz: A Journey of Weight Loss & Life Gains
Elizabeth Kilpatrick: Don't Give Up, It's Never Too Late to Change
Dan Benintendi: WLS & Living a Realistic Life; Keeping Roadblocks in Perspective
Post-Op Panel (Yelena, Patti, Dennis, & Heidi): Post-Op Life, Lifestyle Changes, Pitfalls to Avoid
PS Panel (Dr. Cardenas, Dr. Castillo, Dr. Domanskis, Dr. Katzen): Uncovering You, Plastic Surgery After WLS

SATURDAY KEYNOTE & FIRESIDE CHAT: On Saturday, we kicked off the day with a motivational keynote with Rosie Mercado! Rosie glowed with energy and strength as she talked about being Fearless. She shared her personal experiences as a plus-sized model, successful VSG post-op, being fat-shamed, and skinny-shamed. The room was full of emotion; there were tears, laughter, applause, and cheering! Immediately following the Keynote, Rosie also took the time to answer audience questions in a Fireside chat format.

SATURDAY SESSIONS: Next, was the line-up of professionals! Attendees got to pick which break-out sessions they wanted to attend. There was an educational and supportive session for every part of the weight loss surgery journey! In addition to the sessions, there was an informative Bariatric Surgeon Q&A Panel, where attendees got to ask questions about maximizing results, maintaining weight loss, and overcoming regain. Saturday also had it's fair share of activities including morning yoga with Bec, a Fashion Show, and a Red-Carpet After Party.

Kristin Lloyd, MS, LPC/LMHC, PhD-Candidate: Strategies for Staying Motivated Through Ups & Downs of Life
Bec McDorman, MS, RDN: Identifying & Managing Vitamin Deficiencies After WLS
Dr. Stapleton: Addressing Weight Regain & the Return of Old Habits
Lori Newlon, RN, CBN, NTP: Setting Yourself Up for Success While Traveling and Eating Out
Tiffany Haug, MS, RDN, EDOC: Understanding All Things Sweet: Cravings, Addictions, & Sugar Substitutes
Dr. Sowemimo: Breaking Through Barriers: Combating Genetics & Environment
Jorge Teller: Stop Working for Your Food and Make Your Food Work for You
Bariatric Surgeon Panel (Dr. Adeyeri, Dr. Keshishian, Dr. Ortiz & Dr. Suh): Maximizing Results, Maintaining Weight Loss & Overcoming Regain

Continuing Education Program for Professionals

This year, ObesityHelp incorporated a Continuing Education Program for Bariatric Professionals. It was a four-course program that included topics related to pre-op and post-op treatment of surgical weight loss patients. Through this program, professionals were able to achieve four Continuing Education Units. Our special thanks to the speakers for their enriching presentations!

Dr. Sameer Murali: A Pound of Flesh Lost & Gained: Weight Loss After Bariatric Surgery
Dr. Younan Nowzaradan: Psychological & Nutritional Aspects in Treating Your Patients for Weight Loss Success
Dr. Connie Stapleton: Pre & Post-Op Education, Management of Regain, Food Addiction & Cross-Addiction
Diana Vogel, MS, LMFT: My Therapist Doesn’t Get It

Plastic Surgery Consultations

For attendees that were interested in Plastic Surgery, there were four Plastic Surgeons that specialize in reconstructive plastic surgery after massive weight loss available for free consultations! Plastic Surgery is a vital step for many that are struggling with excess skin after weight loss. For both days of the Conference, in total, these remarkable surgeons met with 128 attendees to discuss their individual Plastic Surgery goals!

Dr. Carmina Cardenas: Beauty Enhance Surgical Center
Dr. Rodolfo Castillo: A Lighter Me
Dr. Edward Domanskis: Body Contouring International
Dr. J. Timothy Katzen: Aesthetic & Reconstructive Plastic Surgery

Giveaways at OH2017

We know our attendees LOVE contests and giveaways, so we made sure there were plenty of opportunities to participate and win prizes throughout the Conference. There were Ice-Breaker games such as a Conference Wide Photo Scavenger Hunt and Human Bingo. There was also an interactive trivia game called Kahoot, which featured trivia questions regarding bariatrics and nutrition. Our attendees had a blast!

There was also a Ultimate Prize Gift Basket from BariatricNutrition.com that everyone was very excited about! The basket was filled with protein, healthy snacks, bracelets, a year supply of multivitamin patches, a gift card, two 2018 conference tickets and a Cuisinart Gelateria. A total prize value of $854, Sharon R. was the lucky winner of that!

Beyond that huge Gift Basket, there were also prizes given out at the end of each of the speaker sessions! A raffle ticket was handed to attendees as they arrived for their selected session, then the speaker for that session drew the lucky winner at random. There were Instant Pots, Meal Prep Bags, Vendor Gift Baskets & Bags, an Air Fryer and so much more. Below are some of the Giveaway highlights!

Volunteers at OH2017

It takes many dedicated volunteers that work tirelessly to help make the ObesityHelp Conferences an event to remember. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

Clothing Exchange:  Kathy Mitchell, Kathy Black, Colleen Newhouse, Linda Wingard, and several others.
Registration: Dave Gyurina, Kelli Gyurina with the assistance of Nathan Lucas.
Audio Visual: Ray Stevens, assisted by Kristin Stevens, Nathan Lucas, Komai and Remy Vogel.
Overall Assistance:  James Habourn
Premier Protein Mocktail Bar Mixers:  Kelli Gyurina and Kristin Stevens.

OH2017 Swag Bags

At the ObesityHelp National Conferences, we love to make sure each of our attendees gets their hands on a Swag Bag full of goodies. This year was no exception, and the attendees loved them. So many attendees share with us that they look forward to the Swag Bags so that they can learn about new products that they might be able to incorporate into their weight loss surgery journeys. The OH2017 Swag Bags were put together through the collaboration of ObesityHelp and 24 amazing supporters of the bariatric community, thank you all!

A Lighter Me	BiPro USA	Devrom	Kay's Naturals	Pharmics, Inc.	Simply Protein
Bari Life	Chike Nutrition	Enlightened	Orgain	ProCare Health	Syntrax
BariMelts	ClickCO, LLC	FlapJacked	Parm Crisps	Primal Kitchen	Skinny Pop
Beanitos	Detour Protein Bars	IdealShape	PB2	Quest Nutrition	Torani Syrups

Exhibitors at OH2017

Attendees enjoy meeting the exhibitors that join us at the Conference. They love getting to know the exhibitors, asking them questions about the products, and checking out first-hand all of the products and services that are available to them as bariatric patients. To each exhibitor, we thank you for sharing your products and services that can support patients in their weight loss surgery journey.

A Lighter Me	L-Nutra, Prolon
Bariatric Advantage	Orgain, Inc.
Bacon's Heir	Ostrim
Beauty Enhance Plastic Surgery, Dr. Cardenas	PatchMD
BiPro USA	Portion Your Plate LLC
Body Contouring International, Dr. Domanskis	Premier Protein
Celebrate Nutritional Supplements	ProCare Health
Dr. David Stoker, Plastic Surgeon	Riverside Plastic Surgery, Dr. Childers
Aesthetic & Reconstructive Plastic Surgery, Dr. Katzen	Slimpressions
Dr. Younan Nowzaradan	SRD Nutrition
InBody USA	WLS Success Matters

Sponsors of OH2017

To the OH2017 Platinum Sponsors, Premier Protein and A Lighter Me; Silver Sponsors, Celebrate Vitamins and endo pharmaceuticals; and, Support Sponsors, PatchMD and L-Nutra, we appreciate your generous support and participation in the 2017 ObesityHelp National Conference. You made a big difference for everyone at OH2017, and we appreciate partnering with you in the fight against obesity.