Save the dates: October 5th and 6th!

Come to Atlanta, GA and ask our panel of experts the questions you want answers to!  If you are unable to atend the event, email your questions to:  [email protected] and we will ask the experts to answer your questions and then we will post them on the message boards after the OH event!

Click here to reserve your tickets today!  We hope to see you there!

Mixed Q & A Panel,  Grads & Professionals	Friday  2:00pm - 4:30pm
Dr.  Paul E. Macik Performing operations laparoscopically since 1991.  His practice offers Gastric Bypass, LapBand and Sleeve Gastrectomy options.  Also an Instructor for Quarterly In-Service Program of Bariatric Surgery at Emory Dunwoody Medical Center and Northside Hospital.	Jim Blackburn Jim lost 215 pounds and found a love for running.  With 58,038 Race finishers at an avg time of 01:17:35, Jim finished the 2012 Peachtree Road Race (10k) in 1:07:57, a goal he's worked towards since having Gastric Bypass.
Dr.  Michael Williams  Dr. Williams principal clinical and research interest include minimally invasive techniques, and the surgical therapy of morbid obesity.  He has been involved in training surgeons in laparocopic techniques in the United States and the Caribbean.	Beth Sheldon-Badore Blogger, & Founder of Bariatric Bad Girls. "Melting Mama" as she's known through her blog has been blogging about life since her WLS in 2004.  Her witty, honest approach to life after WLS has inspired and supported thousands.
Dr. Sheldon Lincenberg Double-board certified, plastic and reconstructive surgeon and a board-certified general surgeon.  In 1995, he created and began sponsoring Pink Ribbons, an annual October event during Breast Cancer Month to benefit breast cancer organizations.	Courtney aka tripmom02 An active OH member for 5 years and a frequent poster on the VSG forum! She's bringing her post-op experience as a Lap Band to VSG Revision. Courtney has lost 170 lbs and is training for her 1st half marathon in October. Her goal is to complete an Iron Man in 2014!

Professional Q & A Panel	Saturday  10:30am - 11:55am
Scott Steinberg, MD Fellow-ship trained advanced laparoscopic surgeon. A member of the American College of Surgeons and the ASMBS.	Qammar Rashid, MD Fellow-ship trained in Minimally Invasive and Bariatric Surgery.  A large part of her practice is breast and bariatric surgery.
Dr. Dennis C. Smith   The 3rd surgeon in the world to perform the totally laparoscopic DS and the 1st bariatric surgeon in the world to present the Hand-Sewn Duedenal-Ileal Anastomosis technique.	Connie Stapleton, Ph.D Dr. Stapleton is a licensed clinical psychologist, received her doctorol degree from Texas A&M University in Counseling Psychology.
Donna DeMild, LPBLC Post-Op and CEO of BodySmart, LLC. Donna works at NJ Bariatrics and is a licensed bariatric life coach. Her focus is lifestyle change after wls.	Jeremy Gentles A Ph.D Candidate in Sport Science at East Tennessee State University and for a number of years, served as ObesityHelp's Exercise Physiologist.

Its been over six years since we've launched our forums. During this time it has seen thousands of fresh faces, greetings, meetings, partings, arguments, kind words, life transformations, cathartic rants, and simply happy time pass. It has been with us throughout this time, silently observing and facilitating. But like any wise old man, its bones were getting old. Its joints were aching, and it has been needing a new jolt of energy.

A Mobile World
Did you know that over 30% of you visit our website using a mobile device? For those who do visit us via mobile, we owe you a sincere apology, because our forums have been horrendous on a mobile browser. But the big news is that things are about to change! Our new forums are completely mobile friendly and compatible with iPhone, Android, and pretty much any other modern smart phone.

Each post, topic, and forum shows up beautifully, with the full set of features, and in nice large font. See the screenshots for yourself.

You dont have do anything different, just browse to the forums like you normally would. This means that you can finally put these away:

Not Just for Mobile
The interface on your desktop browser has also been cleaned up a great deal. There is now less clutter on the page, and the overall experience is a lot cleaner. Check out some more screenshots here!

You will notice that each post no longer has 400 buttons below it. Only the buttons that are relevant to each post show up, making your screen space a lot less cluttered. Also, when you reply to another person's post, the entire post is indented inside, making it a lot easier to figure out who has replied to whom.

Launching soon! Maybe as early as next week! Maybe.
And do remember that this is not in any way a be-all-end-all when it comes to the forums. We are in the process of constantly learning and improving upon what we have, and this is just one step along the way.

Stay tuned for the changes! We look forward to hearing your thoughts on this.

Meet Our Speakers: Colleen M. Cook

 

Hope & Help for the Pain of Regain

Join 17 year WLS veteran Colleen M. Cook for both a shot in the arm and a kick in the seat as she shares lessons from long-term losers and imparts insight, inspiration, and hope for WLS patients struggling with extended plateaus or weight regain. Her thoughts, stories, and personal experiences will inspire and motivate you to reach and maintain your optimum weight loss.

Also, don't miss her Keynote on Friday: Nothing Succeeds Like Success

We hope to see you in Atlanta, GA October 5^th and 6^th! Click here to book your ticket today!

Fast Facts About Colleen

-Colleen is the author of The Success Habits of Weight Loss Surgery Patients.
- She is the president or Bariatric Support Centers International, a company that specializes in providing education and support services for weight loss surgery patients and the professionals who serve them.
- Colleen currently serves on the National Advisory board for the Walk From Obesity.
-Known as Ms. Enthusiasm, Colleen helps men and women from all walks of life recognize their extraordinary potential and then inspires then to aspire.

You look amazing, Jeanine!!! Keep up the good work!!!

-David

 So I'm 5 days post op and everything seems to be going well. The only worries that I'm having is I'm not feeling as much pain as I was when eating or drinking. I'm so afraid I'm going to stretch or harm my new belly. Has anyone else ever had this happen to them?