The Morbid Me

Weight Loss Drugs Produce Minimal Results

Here again a great posting from the DietBlog. This In short: There is still no magic bullet for weight loss. No drugs so far have proven to be real effective. Read here.

Lap-Band Success Story: Vicki

I often get emails from readers asking me to write more about the Lap-Band procedure, and sometimes you guys feel I talk too much about Gastric Bypass (Roux-en-Y). Yeah, you are right. So here is a nice little real life story about a 35 year old woman who decided to go with the Lap-Band. As you read along, I am pretty sure, you will discover that her motivations and her issues before the operation might be the same as yours.

Does Sleeping after a Meal lead to Weight Gain?

Body weight depends on a multitude of factors, and, as you might imagine, both lifestyle and genetics play critical roles. The key to weight control is balancing energy intake with energy expenditure, a relationship that is often referred to as the energy balance equation.

This  article in Scientific American Magazine, perfectly explains how the energy expenditure process works in our body. This is such an interesting article, I think it’s a must for your to read, even after Gastric Bypass surgery.

Amazing Weight Loss pictures

It is impressive to see how people change after losing weight. The story of David E. Smith is not very clear (some say he had gastric bypass, others say he lost weight because of personal motivation). It is incredible to see his transformation in pictures. Regardless of what he did, he lost weight and this should be a motivation for all of us.

States with Heaviest People. The Obesity Map.

Morphing map shows which parts of the U.S. have added the most pounds since 1985. Click here to see.

Back from Vacations

No! I am not lazy, and NO, I have not abandoned my blog. I am just a human being that needed some vacations. I went to Chile (the country where I used to live for almost 20 years and where my Roux-en-Y gastric bypass was performed back in November 2005). It was a great time and thanks so much for all of your emails and comments. Beginning today (actually in a few minutes) I will continue with my regular posts! I got a lot of new material I want to share with all of you. I also had the opportunity to speak with some local bariatric surgeons in Chile, I have fresh news, tips and tricks I will be sharing!

The "Foods Database" helps you Digest what you Eat

I just found this incredible valuable resource. I am still playing with it, but I wanted to share it with you, because it looks like it will be a winner. Not only because it is well organized and all tools available are for free, but also because it’s all about food, health, dieting, exercise and community.

Among the tools you can find a food log, a food calendar a weight log, nutrition fact labels and other food and exercise related tools.

What I like most so far is the ease of use, and the simple clean web 2.0 design. Check it out! (www.foodsdatabase.com)

I found it: The Brookhaven Obesity Clinic is here!

I could not imagine how much feedback that little “Inside Brookhaven Obesity Clinic” blog post I wrote almost two months ago would bring me. I received hundreds of emails and dozens of comments on the posting, and mainly, people asking where the obesity center is located.

Well, I did my research, and found it. It's really called the Brookhaven Rehab & Health Care Center located in Far Rockaway, NY (Queens). It's a nursing home basically, with a 60-bed obesity unit. (See map here).  They phone number is (718) 337-4009 and their website is: www.brookhavenrehab.com

Now I must say that almost 2 months watching the show, I really think it is not a good alternative. I don’t’ want to write about this now, but you can read the comments of other viewers here.

If you do decide to go there, do not tell them I send you there… Please !

What you need to know about Gastric Bypass

I just came across a very well written, news article from The Hartselle Enquirer, in Alabama. I would like to share it with you because it not only outlines clearly what Gastric Bypass is, but it talks about a few interesting points like “why" to get Gastric Bypass, a question we often forget to make ourselves.

It also suggests that High School students seeking surgery should look for alternative solutions first, a point I totally agree with. You can read about my view on this here.

Go here to read the full article, and if you have comments, as always, feel free to share it with me.

The Alli Hype Continues: Now on Video!

A few days ago I wrote extensively about my take on the Alli Diet Drug. Now, I have found many home-made videos popping up on YouTube. Here are a few of them, all related to Alli.

The Doctor with Perfect Patients

This doctor talks about Xenical (with references to Alli) and he says that none of his patients had the miserable side effects. What? A doctor prescribing Orlistat, a 9 year old drug, has never had patients  telling him about their bathroom accidents? Hmmm... Either he is only a few days practicing medicine, or he has only one or two patients:

The Muted News Report with a Marketing Doctor as a Bonus

This one is funny. It is a live news cast from KCRA 3 - Sacramento, CA: The news anchors not only try to be funny by introducing the Alli Drug and saying "Dieters have a new ally in the battle to loose wight" (got the joke? ally sounds exactly as Alli), but when they ask their expert doctor  "Does Alli really work?" ... a few seconds of silence, doctor moves her mouth, no sound... technical difficulties... Later Dr. Caroline Apovian not only tries to be unnaturally funny by also making the "Ally-Alli" analogy, but does, in my opinion a crucial mistake a doctor can't do: using the GlaxoSmithKline’s marketing phrase "Treatment Effects" instead of "Side Effects". Well, it's all about Marketing.

The Alli Poopy Pants TV Spot

From the makers of Leptopril, another of those  shady magic pills in the market, comes this anti-Alli TV spot. Not sure if it really airs on TV (I hope not, because it is really tasteless) but it is having a popular YouTube audience.