Angie Flores

2010-03-11T10:19:00.000-08:00

When was the last time you checked your BMI Body Mass Index? Find out what your BMI is today at www.AngieFlores.net

Waist circumference

2010-03-10T12:24:00.000-08:00

Waist circumference is another widely used measurement to determine abdominal fat. An excess of abdominal fat, when out of proportion to total body fat, is considered a predictor of risk factors related to obesity. Men with a waist measurement exceeding 40 inches are considered at risk. Women are at risk with a waist measurement of 35 inches or greater.
If you are looking for help with your fight against obesity visit. www.AngieFlores.net

Support BMI Student Health Report

2010-03-05T08:31:00.000-08:00

Schools play a critical role in preventing childhood obesity Governors, state agencies, and state boards of education can do much to help them. Please Help by Supporting BMI Student Health Report www.GiveObesityTheBoot.org

2010-03-03T02:05:00.000-08:00

Nothing can make you feel as beautiful as healthy does!
Visit http://WeightLossSurgerySeminar.com for your weight loss solution.
Seminars are held in ABG. New Mexico and Houston TX.

WLS Fashion Show (post-op models)

2008-10-27T07:07:00.000-07:00

We invite you to join Body & Spirit Expo: Celebrating the New You! at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Houston on November 29th.

Activities during the Body & Spirit Expo: Celebrating the New You! Featured activities include a WLS fashion show (models post-op bariatric patients), several guests speakers (plastic surgeon, post-op staying on track, ect.. ), the ever popular lab tests, and many exhibits by local healthcare-related vendors and professionals. We are also having weight loss surgery seminars, door prizes and educational material giveaways.

Body & Spirit Expo is an admission free, educational and informational event, promoting and encouraging healthful lifestyles and decision making, while specifically targeting the arenas of weight and health. America is facing an epidemic of obesity…statistics estimate that 50% of American adults are obese, and 1 out of 5 children suffer with Childhood Obesity.

Body & Spirit Expo’s goal is to prompt an awareness of this disease and its related obesity health issues. We believe that it is necessary for every person in every family to participate in healthy lifestyle changes, from infants to grandparents. We encourage Celebrating the New You! by offering tips and advice on preventative choices, sound health care practices, nutritional decisions, mental health support, and awareness of the access and availabilities of these services locally. Educational material distribution, hands on participation, and face to face question and answer opportunities will be readily available to all attendees, as is the format for health screening and self-assessments.

Body & Spirit Expo: Celebrating the New You! offers opportunities to professionals in all medical fields, and to related businesses that provide products and services for our targeted attendees. We have invited the whole spectrum of providers from counseling to health services, from beauty to cosmetic venues, clothing and accessory vendors, as well as fitness, sporting goods and educational providers. Celebrating the New You! embraces the holistic view of creating new and healthy lives.

For information, please email AngieFlores@WLSShelp.com

Body & Spirit Expo: Celebrating the New You!
Crowne Plaza Hotel
2350 South Loop West Freeway @ Kirby Dr.
Houston, TX 77054
Saturday, November. 29. 2008
Opened to the public from 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Thank You
Angie Flores
Founder of Weight Loss Surgery Specialists

Exciting and Important News for Bariatric Patients

2008-09-07T20:40:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,

I have something exciting and important to share with you!

Deciding to take your health and your future into your own hands was an enormous first step in becoming the healthy person you are today. Unless you have made that decision and gone through with it, it is hard to understand the emotional and physical changes your body and soul find themselves in. Bariatric surgery is not for the faint-hearted. You were strong, committed, and basically you decided to take charge of your life.

You went into this knowing your life would change, and knowing that there would be certain life-long commitments. Basically you were reinventing yourself and your life and your habits. Two of the requirements you may have overlooked, or undervalued were the constant need for good protein sources and the beginning of perpetual vitamin regimes….the necessary, costly, sometimes painful, and often insufficient routine that becomes a daily chore.

How many times have your health care providers reminded you or chided you for not following their supplemental recommendations and advised the consumption of more protein? Who would have imagined the potential of protein deficiencies causing hair loss and dental problems? Or the possibility that a lack of Vitamin B and potassium might damage nerves and create leg cramps.

Gastric surgeries cause a slower, less efficient absorption of nutrients and vitamins. Many of us have tried protein drinks from chain stores and local pharmacies, vitamins by the handfuls in order to bring our bodies into alignment. Products on the market are not meant for bariatric patients but for athletes and geriatrics. Lactose intolerance often makes traditional, commercial, whey products unusable.

We have all experienced this depressing cycle: take vitamins, eat protein, and don’t feel too good as a result. Who hasn’t searched for a product that would effectively address these issues in a pleasant, efficient manner?

You all know how I am constantly looking for ways to make our lives easier and healthier. I have literally travelled from one coast to the other, looking specifically for a protein/vitamin source that would apply itself to bariatrics. There have been NO SUCH PRODUCTS dedicated to our unique needs……UNTIL NOW!

While there are several manufacturers who do provide products for bariatric patients, they often seem to have developed lines that are not really created with our specific needs in mind.
I recently had the opportunity to meet with 2 individuals who have taken the time to identify the bariatric niche and who have developed a protein/vitamin supplement that holistically approaches our nutritional needs.

Jeffrey S. Bliss is a product designer, developer, formulator, holistic nutritionist, and compounding expert, who is well regarded in both the nutritional and pharmaceutical worlds. Early on, he confided to me, that his experiences with traditional medicine forced him to realize that the body is best healed and maintained with a mixture of both conventional and holistic approaches. He has written the seminal treatise on Acai as antioxidant, and is currently writing books on personalizing the integrity of your own health care.

Kersten Conway is an art teacher who has studied alternative health systems, energy healings, shamanic healing and lifestyle. Since the death of her father to misdiagnosed and mistreated cancer, she has pursued the methods available to our bodies to help heal themselves. She enjoys working with computers, graphics, and design.

I was approached by this dynamic duo who wanted my opinion on our special needs, and I instantly felt a connection to their commitment and integrity. We talked and talked and emailed and phoned and ended up discovering a mutual passion for helping others. Imagine how excited I was to talk to these two who listened, asked me questions, and answered my questions in turn! I was amazed by how quickly we seemed to bond, and how just as quickly an answer to a major bariatric problem was solved.

As a result, the three of us have created a product line that is uniquely geared towards bariatric patients and our needs. It is so exciting for me to be able to tell you this: We will be launching Basically You™ this fall in the Houston area. If you are familiar with the journal, My Story of Transformation, which I published two years ago for bariatric patients, you already know that this has been my heart’s desire. Basics™, a powdered power drink, will be introduced in November.

Anyway, now that I have shared this with you, I want you to please, share your thoughts with me…and if you have any questions, specific concerns, issues, or helpful suggestions….for Jeff or me, please also let me know.

I can’t wait for this next segment in our life to begin…do your research….stay healthy…be blessed, and remember, it’s basically about you…

Angie Flores
Founder of Weight Loss Surgery Specialists
Angie@WLSShelp.com
www.WLSShelp.com

NSW Health Obesity Strategy

2008-08-06T00:35:00.000-07:00

I wish our Government would implement something like this in the United States for people who suffer from the disease of obesity.

04 August 2008

New $36 million statewide strategy to tackle rising obesity

NSW Minister for Health Reba Meagher today unveiled a $36 million statewide Obesity Strategy to tackle the rising incidence of overweight and obesity across NSW.

Key aspects of the NSW Health Obesity Strategy include:
· A sustained statewide social marketing campaign promoting the importance of healthy eating and physical activity
· Establishment of a NSW Get Healthy Advice Line - a telephone help line to provide information and coaching for people who have decided to make the change to a healthier lifestyle
· A Parenting Program based on recent trials which showed good results in supporting parents of overweight and obese children
· Establishment of an Obesity Prevention Research Centre as a world-class centre of excellence in overweight and obesity research and policy development
· Specialised Medical and Surgical Clinics across NSW to provide multidisciplinary medical programs and bariatric surgery for those who are morbidly obese.

The Get Healthy Advice Line is the first of its kind to be implemented statewide in Australia.

"There's no doubt that behavioural change can be very difficult and this advice line means people won't have to do it on their own," Ms Meagher said.

"It's based on the very successful Quitline which has helped thousands of smokers quit the habit and start leading healthier lives.

"The advice line will provide one-off information and advice about healthy eating and physical activity, but people will also be able to sign up for a free coaching program with follow-up calls and individually-tailored counselling to help them on their way to better health."

Ms Meagher said the NSW Health Obesity Strategy includes programs aimed at helping people avoid becoming overweight and obese, but it also recognises that more needs to be done to help those who are already overweight or obese.

"Obesity levels across NSW have soared in the past decade and are now at record levels, with more than half of all adults and a quarter of all children overweight or obese," Ms Meagher said.

"Those figures are alarming - and unless we do something to address the rising number of overweight and obese people living in NSW we will see significantly higher levels of chronic illnesses such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and some cancers.

"Over the past few years the Iemma Government has introduced a range of obesity prevention programs aimed at encouraging children to lead healthier lives and avoid becoming overweight
"This comprehensive statewide strategy builds on those programs to provide support and treatment for people who are already overweight or obese."

"Reducing the level of obesity in the community is a clear priority of the Iemma Government, with State Plan targets to hold childhood obesity to the 2004 level of 25 per cent by 2010 and to reduce it to 22 per cent by 2016," Ms Meagher said.

"Surgical intervention for obesity is a last resort option that will be provided under specific conditions for morbidly obese people across the state.

"But there is clear evidence that drastic and determined action is needed to turnaround the obesity epidemic which is costing NSW around $7 billion a year, and this strategy provides the framework for us to work toward that goal."

Components of the NSW Health Obesity Strategy

Social marketing campaign
· Commencing in August with the When it comes to thirst, drink water first campaign highlighting the high sugar content of sweetened drinks including cordial, fruit juices and soft drink and promotes the importance of water consumption as a healthy alternative.
· This campaign builds on the healthy eating messages of the Go for 2 and 5 fruit and vegetable campaign which aired earlier this year.
· This campaign will be followed by a longer-term social marketing campaign aimed at adults.

NSW Get Healthy Advice Line
· Based on the successful Quitline for smokers, this help line will be the first of its kind to be implemented statewide in Australia.
· The NSW Get Healthy Advice Line will be staffed by trained health professionals such as dietitians, nurses and exercise scientists.
· Callers will be provided with individually tailored information about healthy eating and physical activity as well as the option of taking part in an ongoing 'coaching' program.
· The help line will commence in early 2009.

Parenting Program
· A structured parenting program which includes activities for children and educational programs for parents, with the focus on healthy lifestyle (not weight loss) and a whole-of-family approach.
· The program will be delivered by Area Health Service staff working with parents in their local areas.
· The program is based on evidence from two trials involving parents of 5 to 9 year olds which demonstrated positive results with reduction in children's BMI and waist circumference.
· The trial program lasted 12 weeks, but positive results were found for up to one year after the trial intervention program.

Obesity Prevention Research Centre
· The newly established Centre will operate as a single research centre of excellence to provide NSW Health and other government agencies with up-to-date evidence about obesity prevention.
· The Centre will be based at the University of Sydney and will also lead and support key intervention research activities across the state.

Obesity Medical and Surgical Clinics
· Medical clinics will be established over the next four years in all eight Area Health Services and the Children's Hospital at Westmead, with surgical clinics operating in six Area Health Services by 2011-12.
· The first clinic will be operating in the Sydney South West Area Health Service by the end of 2008.
· The clinics will provide a multidisciplinary approach, staffed by specialist physicians including endocrinologists, diabetes nurses, psychologists and physiotherapists.
· People will be referred to the clinics by a doctor and will only be considered for bariatric surgery after assessment and approval by the multidisciplinary team and an endocrinologist and after all medical options have been exhausted.
· Criteria for bariatric surgery includes aged 20 to 55 years; BMI greater than 35 with a co-morbidity of type 2 diabetes; absence of other serious medical illness; absences of acute psychiatric condition or drug dependency; unsuccessful medical weight loss attempts; and assessed as fit for surgery.

For a range of health information, go online to www.health.nsw.gov.au

Study Predicts Obesity Apocalypse by 2030

2008-08-05T09:54:00.000-07:00

Experts Weigh in on Fate of Rapidly Fattening Populace
By DAN CHILDSABC News Medical UnitAug. 2, 2008
Rising sea levels. Flying cars. Speculation about what the world will look like a quarter century from now are in no short supply. But if new research released this week is correct, we can at least be sure of one thing: The forecast calls for fatness.
The study, released this week in the journal Obesity, suggests that by the year 2030, nearly every American will be overweight or obese.
Currently, figures from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention put the prevalence of obesity in adults at about 66 percent. But lead study author Dr. Youfa Wang of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore says that if current overweight and obesity trends continue, 86 percent of Americans could be overweight or obese by the year 2030.
Even more troubling, the authors note, "By 2048, all American adults would become overweight or obese." "The results of the study show clearly how the future situation might become if current trends continue,"
Wang says that the increase in metabolic disease and other weight-related conditions could have a catastrophic toll on public health -- and on the public pocket. If these predictions come to bear, Wang and his colleagues estimate that the additional overweight and obesity burden could add up to an extra $860 billion to $956 billion per year in health expenditures to treat these conditions. All told, this would mean that $1 in every $6 spent on health care would be spent as a result of the overweight and obesity.
While some obesity experts are skeptical of the prediction that nearly all Americans will one day be obese, all agree that the problem is a growing one.
"It will never come to pass that all Americans are overweight, not even in 2048," says Keith-Thomas Ayoob, associate professor and pediatrics nutritionist at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, N.Y. "That may be a statistical possibility, but not a real one.
"However, the other prediction of 86 percent by 2030 could very well happen. We're almost there."

A new stage in my life

2008-07-23T08:34:00.000-07:00

Dear Bariatric Patients

We are friends, drawn together as we fight the affliction of obesity. And as friends I write to you to share with you a new stage in my life.

As they say I have some good news and some bad news. First the bad news…It is with much disappointment that I have left OSS.

If you have been to one of my seminars you know how I love to tell stories. Some of you may have already heard this one.

For thirty seven years I lived in the shackles of my obesity. I felt I was living a nightmare, cursed or being punished. At night I would reflect on the hardships of my day and I knew my poor body could not take another day of pain or another ounce of weight. I would ask the man above every night, while crying into my pillow "Why Me?"

One night I woke up. I sat straight up in bed. Finally I had the answer to that question. The question I gave up so many tears over and prayed about for so many years. The answer was….YOU!

What I thought was my nightmare, my curse, my punishment, turned out to be my gift.

I had to experience the life of obesity to be able to understand and feel true compassion for you and all those who suffer from the disease of obesity. To really help the obese I had to experience being obese.

I have shared my gift with you and thousands of others that suffer from obesity. I wanted to share this story about taking the biggest hardship in my life and changing it into a great positive because I am now facing another challenge in my life.

For the past 4 years, I practiced my passion of helping the obese at OSS. OSS was part of my gift.
But things change and I am no longer there.

While I can leave OSS I can’t leave you or my lifelong mission to help fight obesity.

Now the good news!

I am now going to practice my gift through my own organization, Weight Loss Surgery Specialists.

My Promise to You
· continue to be an advocate for the obese
· produce a newsletter specifically for bariatric patients to help bariatric patients return to
health and to maintain their new life
· do regular support groups, to keep bariatric patients compliant
· work with patients who want to fight obesity through a bariatric program

I will always be here for you and other bariatric patients. I will only be an email or a phone call away from you.

My Dreams for the Future
I have dreams and big plans for you and for those who suffer from obesity. Let me share them with you. Starting in Houston and Texas…

One day…I will have a camp for our children that suffer from obesity. A camp where our kids can
go and never feel ashamed of themselves. A camp where they can get out of life what they deserve.
A camp where children can have fun and participate in activities from baseball to ballet.
At the same time they are having fun they can learn healthy habits to better position themselves for the rest of their life.

One day…I will have a gym where bariatric patients and the obese can go and feel comfortable as they work out and improve their lives and health.

One day…I will have a place for the super obese. A place they can go to get the help they desperately need, so they will never be helplessly trapped in their home.

Thank you for letting me share my dreams with you.

I am here for you, and together we will Triumph over The Disease of Obesity.

PS: Send me a quick note and I will add you on to my online newsletter and calendar of events list for bariatric patients.

Angie Flores
Founder of Weight Loss Surgery Specialists
& Your Sister in Weight Loss Surgery
http://www.wlsshelp.com/
AngieFlores@WLSShelp.com

My Goal

2006-12-29T20:43:00.000-08:00

My experience of 37 years fighting the disease of obesity has placed me where I am at today. I have learned how to love myself, now I am able to share that love and experience with others.
After being featured on Discovery Health Channel's program Obese at 16 "A Life in The Balance", I received 100's of emails, letters and phone calls. There were many I could help just by providing advice or a kind word. Some I have been able to help get surgery, while others I haven't been able to help. I promise I haven't forgotten you. I know the need is there for someone to take a stand to help.
My goal is to one day have a charity that provides loving support, education, understanding, and financial assistance for the treatment of morbid obesity. My future desire is to open a Summer Camp for children and adolescents who suffer from the disease of obesity. I want our children to enjoy their childhood, and never suffer the way so many of us have.
To move forward with my dreams, I have many ideas on how to make the money; I need to make these dreams a reality. I am writing a book of short stories about people who have lived with and suffered from obesity, as well as patients who have had obesity surgery and want to share their stories of transformation. You and I both know the challenges I will have to overcome to make my dreams a reality, do too the prejudices and discrimination we face every day.
People who haven't lived with obesity will not understand my fight. I will work for my dreams until the end and even then, I know my children or one of the many patients I have worked with will continue my mission...

Angie Flores

The Reflection In The Mirror

2006-12-29T20:24:00.000-08:00

It was November 2006 I got off of work, I was so tired.
The second I walked in the door of my home, my youngest my daughter started begging for me to take her to the carnival that was set up at the mall.

I made the best of it and had my two boys go with us so they could help me with their sister. We were all having a great time, laughing, cutting up and just having lots of fun being together. I even forgot how tired I was.

My baby girl wanted to go into the fun house. So we went in. You will never understand how entering that door changed me. As we were walking through the house, she suddenly came to a dead stop.

She said "WOW LOOK MOM YOUR FAT AGAIN". Just hearing the words “YOUR FAT
AGAIN” sent chills down my spine, it made my knees weak, I felt like I had been punch in the chest. It was hard for me to breathe.

We were standing in front of one of those mirrors that distort your look. In a slow motion, I could actually feel the expression of my face change as I looked into the mirror. Wow she was back; she still looked the same, so sad. I felt scared, my eyes watered, and I could feel my heart racing. My daughter could see and feel, how seeing myself, like that again affected me. She grabbed my hand said come on mom, that’s not you any more, let’s get out of here; she had to pull me away from the mirror and out of the fun house.

My boys were already out of the house waiting on us. I asked to boys to take their sister onto the next ride. I needed a few minutes to myself. All three of them walked away, they were off to the next ride.
I wanted to see her again, I needed to see her, and she had to know!
I went back in the fun house, headed straight for the mirrors. There she was.
The fat, ugly, sad woman I once was. I just needed a moment alone with her. I just had to tell her that she was feeling healthier, that she was feeling better about herself; I needed her to know that she loved herself and that she could finally feel love. She had to know people don't call her fat and ugly anymore and if some was ugly to her she would not stand for it. She needed to know she found her voice, and was strong and was happy. I needed her to know life got better and easier for us. But her refection still looked so sad I could see the tears roll down her face. My heart hurts for her; no one should ever have to feel the pain that she had to endure.

I so wanted to see her smile, I had to smile at her so she would smile back at me. I felt so much better for seeing her. She made me the woman I am today. I love her but I don't miss her.