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Letter From The Editor-Spring 2012 on May 1, 2012 6:27 pm
Dear OH Readers,
I am a self-confessed world-class klutz! Without even trying, I have found creative ways to partially knock myself out by walking into walls, furniture, and even an innocent bystander or two. Heck, I have been known to injure myself while sleeping! Although I have come to embrace my inner klutz self, I have to wonder: Am I clumsy for a reason? Am I gravity-challenged and magnetically attracted to the ground due to a lack of mindfulness or unhealthy sleeping patterns?
As one of the clumsiest people in the free world, learning to be more mindful in maintaining a healthy lifestyle is another challenge that resonates with me. To quote from Sharon Salzberg’s Real Happiness: The Power of Meditation, “Mindfulness isn’t difficult, we just need to remember to do it.” Simply put, we all need to have a focused awareness of the present moment. Here are a few tips on how you can be more mindful each day:
1. Be mindful to practice portion control.
2. Remember to incorporate quality over quantity in choosing the foods you eat.
3. Be mindful of your feelings and emotional eating habits.
4. Be mindful not to over-indulge.
5. Remember to find time to exercise daily. (Walk your favorite canine companion – pet obesity is on the rise!)
And last, but not least, wherever you are on your weight loss journey, be mindful to celebrate your successes no matter how big or small! Have a great spring!
•Note to self: Buy Band-Aids and Neosporin!
•Note to OH Readers: Don’t miss the ObesityHelp Drug Discount Card Program on page 45! Not an ObesityHelp.com member? Sign up for your free membership today!
All my best,
Tammy J. Colter
Editor-In-Chief
Letter From The Editor-Winter 2012 on February 28, 2012 6:44 pm
Dear OH Readers,
Happy New Year, new you! Have you set your goals for 2012 yet? I have learned that I do better with a short list of realistic goals. Once I accomplish that set of goals, I set new ones. I must admit that I have been procrastinating a little on one of my personal goals, so I guess I will have to make “do not procrastinate” one of my goals!
As we all look forward to what 2012 holds for us, we have so much to celebrate. As of the writing of this editorial, the OH community has accomplished the following:
(See insert)
Now that’s something to celebrate! You can help us track the combined OH community progress by using the Health Tracker located on your OH profile or on the main website under TOOLS. Not an OH member? Join us on ObesityHelp.com and sign up for your free profile.
Speaking of celebrations, at our New York event, it was announced that OH member Jennifer Birch was the lucky winner of a free surgery (See page 20 for Jennifer’s story!) Jennifer is also this issues cover girl and we all look forward to following her WLS journey. We will soon be announcing a second surgery grant winner from our New Orleans event. Stay tuned!
Wherever you may be on your weight loss journey, take time to celebrate your milestones and goals reached, no matter how big or small. May you make great things happen for yourself in 2012. You deserve it!
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OH Magazine Fall Issue-Letter From The Editor on October 6, 2011 1:07 pm
Dear OH Readers,
I hope you all had a great summer and are enjoying the beautiful fall season. Soon, the holidays will be upon us and as we celebrate with family and friends, we will face those darn social eating challenges. Just remember to practice portion control and to make healthy food choices to try and maintain your weight loss goals. Jean McMillan, OH member and author, wrote a great article (about social eating) last year entitled “A Recipe for Holiday Eating.” To read her helpful tips, be sure to look for a reprint of her article on the ObesityHelp.com home page in November. Jean shared with readers: “My #1 rule is this: in any social eating situation, do not experiment with new foods (that is, new to the post-op you). You don’t know how well they’ll go down and you don’t want to disgrace yourself in public.”
In this fall issue of OH Magazine, we celebrate OH advocacy successes, the support of professional advocates, post-op mom miracles, and OH member weight loss successes. Our cover story features Yvonne McCarthy, a ten year post-op success and ObesityHelp/WLS advocate. Congratulations Yvonne, and thank you for your continued support and advocacy within the ObesityHelp.com community and beyond.
Has your weight loss hit a plateau? If so, don’t worry, you are not alone. Don’t miss Dr. Peter Henderson’s article “5 Plateau Busters,” on page 38. And New Yorker Frank Surace inspires us all with his story, “One Great Day!” on page 60. There are many other wonderful articles within this issue. I hope you enjoy them!
Have a happy and healthy holiday season!
All my best,
Tammy J. Colter
Editor-In-Chief
OH Magazine
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Letter From The Editor May/June 2011 on May 18, 2011 6:38 pm
MAY/JUNE 2011
Dear OH Readers,
Summer is upon us and just as the seasons change, we all need a little help staying or getting back on track once in awhile. Tracking your food intake, your activities, and body measurements, can be an important aspect of your weight loss journey. Have you been taking advantage of the OH (ObesityHelp) Health Tracker? If not, I invite you to sign on to your OH profile or join as a member. Your free membership and profile allows you access to the Health Tracker as well as many other tools to help you along your weight loss journey. You can share your journey with your peers, or choose to keep your journey exclusive to your eyes only.
There are many other tools to help you stay on track. In the Community section of ObesityHelp.com, you can join a “Stay On Track” OH group, or a group that best supports your journey, or you can start a group of your own. And don’t forget to browse the many forums that have been designed to support, inspire, and inform you.
Last but not least, I encourage you to blog your journey on your OH profile. Blogging is a great way to keep you accountable and to give back to the community. Your words, insights, and thoughts can make a difference in another OH community member’s journey. Sometimes, it just helps to know you are not alone. Support others, stay on track, and blog away! See you online...until the next issue of OH Magazine.
Have a happy and healthy Summer!
Tammy J. Colter
Editor-In-Chief
Phone: 866-957-4636 x 353
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Letter From The Editor March/April 2011 on March 3, 2011 5:03 pm
MAR/APR 2011
Dear OH Readers,
Full disclosure:
I am assembly-challenged. There, I said it! I am just not known to be real good with following directions and when I see the words, “assembly required,” I instantly panic. Therefore, an unopened box, which contains the bookshelf I wanted for Christmas, still sits in the living room where the tree used to be. And until recently, my on-the-whim, late night purchase of the Perfect Sit Up machine (as advertised on TV) was keeping the bookshelf company. But, after months and months of walking and running on the treadmill and exhausting all ways to entertain myself in the process, I finally decided to mix my exercise routine up a bit. I set aside an evening to tackle putting together my new exercise buddy. There were a few challenges along the way. Like when I put the blades and feet straps on backwards, or depending on how you look at it, I put the neck rest on backwards and the blades and straps on right! But anyway, I finally put that puppy together and now I think I am addicted to it! I have discovered long lost muscles and an exercise that I really enjoy doing.
Now that Spring is upon us, I am really going to add some fun, new exercises to my repertoire. I plan on joining a Zumba class and I don’t care if I look like the village idiot! It’s impossible not to have fun when dancing and exercising to that great Latin and International music. Don’t tell anyone, but I have been secretly preparing myself for my public Zumba artistry by practicing to YouTube Zumba videos. Our pets think I have lost my mind, but I am loving it while losing it. Oh, and I found another perfect exercise for me: Resistance Band training. They are light in weight, easy to pack away in your suitcase while traveling, and guess what? No assembly required!
All my best,
Tammy J. Colter
Editor-In-Chief
OH Magazine
Letter From The Editor Jan/Feb 2011 on January 30, 2011 6:45 pm
JAN/FEB 2011
Dear OH Readers,
I was walking on my treadmill the other day, thinking about my yesterdays and daydreaming about my tomorrows. I stared at the digital display as it counted the minutes, distance, and calories representing my great walking expedition to nowhere in particular, and I thought about the years and days in my life when I have had to start all over again, adjust to the challenges life threw my way, and how there were times when I was sure that I just couldn’t jump that next hurdle. Yet, somehow, with support, friendships, and determination, I did. I have come to learn that sometimes when we fall in life, we fall hard, but our tomorrows, our New Year, bring opportunities for new beginnings, new relationships, and new goals. We are never held hostage by old behaviors and previous life lessons. We have the choice to walk forward and to not fall back, on the treadmill, and in our life journey.
As 2011 begins, and we celebrate the past year and the year to come, we have the opportunity to embrace our past, to start anew, and to take that second chance, to strive to live longer, happier, more energetic lives. We deserve to be happy, to be loved, and to be healthy. It’s a new day, a new year. Walk forward with confidence. You can accomplish any goal if you set your mind to it. Wishing you and yours good health and happiness in 2011 and always!
All my best,
Tammy J. Colter
Editor-In-Chief
OH Magazine
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Letter From The Editor- Nov/Dec on November 21, 2010 5:09 pm
NOV/DEC 2010
Dear OH Readers,
Every year, until I was almost 20, mom got me the very same holiday gift. A package of colorful underwear with a day of the week written on each pair; Sunday was yellow, Monday was pink, and Tuesday a light green and so on. Of course, most years I couldn’t even fit one leg into those little underwear, but this was one of mom’s favorite holiday traditions and I looked forward to her creative ways to wrap and disguise the promised gift. Perhaps this was her way of letting me know I would always be her little girl.
Three years ago, my family knowingly shared what was to be our last Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve with mom. She was terminally ill and was given just a few months to live. Those last holidays together were precious to us and we held on to many family traditions to comfort our grieving hearts. We spent hours cooking our traditional meals and signature dishes. Mom, who made the best homemade bread ever, talked me through her recipe knowing that it would be up to me to carry on that tradition in the years to come. And she somehow found the energy to make her traditional holiday chocolate nut roll with Dad. This year, I am finally going to try to carry on her tradition. I will make her homemade rolls and bread and hope and pray that they taste half as good as moms.
Gone are the days of stringing popcorn for the tree and the little girl underwear gifts. Other gag gifts still live on, as do many other family holiday traditions. This year, I am thinking of starting a new tradition: drawing for chores! Prior to the holiday, I am thinking that I will make a list of the chores that need to be done after the meal, put them all in a hat and let family members draw a chore. And after the chores are done, we can all take a walk, as a family. We can walk off the calories and share memories of our holidays and of the loved ones who have passed on before us. I love family traditions!
Happy Holidays!
Tammy J. Colter
Editor-In-Chief
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Letter From The Editor September 2010 on September 3, 2010 6:30 pm
Dear OH Readers,
I recently ran across a quote by author, philosopher Albert Camus: Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower. It made me think about the WLS journey and how those who have accomplished amazing transformations (and all who are in the midst of) are like that second spring, getting a second chance at living a healthy, more active lifestyle. It also made me think about how we put things into perspective—how we see the things around us and even how we see our own bodies. Why can’t we think of the beautiful, colorful autumn leaves as the “flowers” of the fall season? Why is it that when we look in the mirror, we sometimes can’t see our own true reflection and celebrate the blossoming of all that we have accomplished? No matter where you are on your WLS journey, I hope that you will remember that you are a flower in each season. In this issue of OH Magazine, OH members and authors share their insights and thoughts on body image in the article entitled: Mirror, Mirror On The Wall...Who Is That? (Page 26) Our cover story, LOSS: A Story of Bariatric Surgery & Divorce (Page 56) features Jasmine Meyers who lost 200 pounds and, unfortunately, a husband along the way as her marriage crumbled post bariatric surgery. In her article, You’re Not The Boss Of My Body (Page 38) Dr. Michelle May provides tips on how to support healthy habits in children. Enjoy these articles and so much more in this issue of OH Magazine.
All my best,
Tammy J Colter
OH Magazine...March/April Editorial on February 15, 2010 8:15 pm
Dear OH Readers,
Kristi Hall and her husband Jim had been together since she was 16 years old. When she was just three months post-op and still learning to live her new lifestyle, her husband and number one supporter, was suddenly deployed to Iraq. In our cover story, It’s The Journey, Not The Destination, (page 54) Kristi shares her personal journey and provides tips and insights both as a pre-op and post-op patient. You won’t want to miss her many Wow moments and her tear-filled reunion with her husband after she lost over 100 pounds! Today, she has lost over 150 pounds and has formed many relationships in the OH Community and is an inspiration to countless others. (Congratulations on your weight loss beautiful Kristi!)
Also in this issue: nutrition, nutrition, nutrition! Don’t miss Chef Dave’s Recipes For Success (page36) and Vicki Bovee, MS, RD, LD’s article, Fresh Springtime Eating (page 39). OH Member, Megan Mejia shares a few of her fun and efficient muffin tin meal recipes. (Page 35) And Dr. Christine Gerbstadt writes about Nutrition Tips For Perfect Plastic Surgery. (Page 32) Don’t miss the inspiring Before & Afters, OH Event updates and other important and informative articles in this issue.
Our readers are very important to us and as we feature more and more of your photos and stories, we hope that you will feel free to tell us what you would like to see more of in OH Magazine.
Have a sensational Spring!
All my best,
Tammy J. Colter
Editor-In-Chief
OH Magazine
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We are having crazy weather here in California! on January 19, 2010 1:20 pm
Look's like I brought the rain and wind with me again! 
Letter From The Editor-Jan/Feb 2010 on December 28, 2009 9:14 am
Happy New Year, New You!
I am so excited about 2010 and anxious to learn what the year holds for all of us. I can’t wait to hear about your WOW moments, your weight loss journeys, to view your before and after photos and to learn even more about the issues that matter to you. On a personal note, I wonder: Will I lose more than the 15 pounds I lost in 2009? (Thinking positive!) What relationships and new friendships await me in the coming year? What life lessons are in store for me? Will the “scale” and I finally see eye to eye? The possibilities of the days to come are endless. Perhaps you share in my sentiments?
Speaking of the scale, we have a love/hate relationship once a year and I try at all costs to avoid the “truth teller” 364 days a year. With the exception of the forced weigh in at doctor’s appointments, once a year I “bravely” step onto the scale and let the truth be told. The proud (or not so proud) moment happens on New Year’s Day. Sometimes, the pounds staring back at me leave me speechless. Working out five days a week for 45 minutes a day has proven a success for me, but why am I not losing even more weight? Do I need to be more mindful of portion control (See page 28) and sticking to the exercise basics? (Page 22)
In this issue of OH Magazine, authors and experts share their insights and thoughts about scale obsession, success with and without the scale and OH Members talk about their weigh in preferences. Our cover story, “My Insurance Company Denied Me” features OH member, Brenda, as she writes about her struggles with her insurance company and her ultimate denial to be approved for surgery. And in the spirit of Valentine’s Day, Dr. Kathy Nickerson writes about how to “Make Love Last.”
To compliment the articles written for and about you, we are featuring even more photos of our readers and members. We want to continue this trend! Please feel free to submit you high resolution photos and/or stories to me directly at: Editor@ObesityHelp.com for consideration to be included in future publications.
All my best,
Tammy J. Colter
Editor-in- Chief
OH Magazine
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