Author:Dr. Ron Hekier
weight loss physician in Texarkana, TX.

In our weight loss practice we have seen a couple of
thousand patients over the years and I always ask them
why they want to lose weight. On this Mother’s Day, I am
remembered of a reason given by many of them.
“I don’t want to be that Mom.” or “I don’t want to be that Dad.”
They go on to explain that when they are out with their kids
at a Little League game or at the park, they don’t want to be
the parent that can’t keep up with their child.  When their child
says “Mommy, Daddy, let’s play tag, you catch me!” or “Mommy,
Daddy, let’s play basketball” they want to participate.  Too many
parents are seriously out of shape and seriously overweight to
the point that they can’t keep up with their small children.

Too many parents tell me “I can’t keep up with my kids,
so I have to stay behind as they run around and play.”

Their pursuit of weight loss is not for them, it is for their children.

I personally had an event which sticks in my mind and scared
me because I was terrified I would become on of those dads.
A few years ago, I was taking my kids on a bicycle ride with
them inside a stroller attached to the back of the bike.

We were riding around our house which is situated on a hill,
and I went down the hill, but when it came time to make it back
up the hill I was stuck.  I did not have the strength to pull the bike,
with the attached stroller with two kids, up the hill.  I tried and
tried, but I got stuck.  With the added weight of the stroller, and
my two kids in that stroller attached to my back, I could not
make it up the hill.  My oldest daughter, who was about 4 years
old at the time then said this:
“Forget it Daddy, we will get out and walk up the hill.”

Hill of Doom

It was shocking.  My 4 year old daughter was frustrated that
I didn’t have the physical ability to bring the bike up the hill,
so she and her 2 year old sister got out of the stroller and walked up the hill.

I was always very physically active as a teenager and young adult.
But like so many people, I let my physical fitness take a back seat to
work and other daily duties.

Over the past few years I have rededicated myself to improving
my physical fitness and staying in shape.  I want to be able to keep up
with my kids for a long time.  I exercise nearly daily and have more
strength in my 40′s then at any time in my life.   I have lost fat and gained
muscle, and my weight loss puts me close to my high school weight.
Most importantly, I am active with my children.  We go to rock-climbing gyms
together.  We exercise together on gymnastic rings.  We ride bicycles,
skateboards, and rollerblades together.  We play soccer together.

All parents wonder about the legacy we will leave for our children.

I hope for many things.  Among them, I know my children will be able
to say, “We had a great time growing up and playing with Daddy.”
If you won’t lose weight and get in shape for yourself,
do it for your children.  Don’t be THAT dad, or THAT mom.

Posted by Dr. Rachael Keilin a Texas based weight loss physician.

In the heart of every weight loss surgeon lurks a special
dream. We want all of our patients to lose weight, be
healthier and be happy.

Luckily our patients, by and large, have the same dream.
But somewhere between the dreaming and the reality it
seems like people get lost.

Just by decreasing portion size most people can lose about
half their extra weight. The band makes these smaller portions
easy to achieve. Sometimes it almost feels like the band
loses the weight for you.

But after that first 50% comes off, things get trickier. Smaller
portions alone are not enough to continue losing weight.  To reach
your ultimate goal, you’ve got to change what you eat, not just
how much.

I think of it like kitchen equipment. Your fridge will keep food
cold without any help from you whatsoever. But if you just
plop food down on the stove, it won’t cook all by itself.

The stove is a tool that provides heat for you to make a meal,
but it doesn’t cook the food. You still have to prepare the
ingredients, put them in a pot and stir them.

Can you cook a meal just by putting the food in the pot? No.
You need the tool -the stove- to help you. Weight loss is the same
way.

Many people can’t lose the weight without the help the
LapBand provides. But just like the stove won’t actually cook
the food for you, the band won’t choose the healthy meals
you need to reach your goal weight.

The LapBand helps control portion size, it helps you not feel
hungry while eating those smaller portions. But if you choose
to eat nothing but high-carb junk food, the band can’t force
you back on track.

If you don’t change what you eat in addition to how much
you’re eating, you’ll never reach that ultimate “OMG this is so
amazing!” dream weight.

So don’t use the band like a fridge, expecting it to work
without any input from you. Use it like the top of the line,
ultra-fabulous stove that it is. Put high quality food into it
and watch it help you whip up a gourmet meal beyond your
wildest imagination.

Author: Dr. Rachael Keilin, weight loss surgeon.

(polycystic ovarian syndrome). Thatʼs over 1 in 20!

These women, ranging in age from 22-39
suffer from PCOS symptoms

that we see commonly in weight loss surgery candidates:
excessive facial and body hair (hirsutism), irregular
periods (both excessively heavy and

Posted by Dr. Rachael Keilin

Sometimes even the most conscientious dieters are
sabotaged by forces outside their control.

We tell all of our patients to become nutrition label experts. All
the information you need to determine if a food will help you lose
weight is listed on the label on the back of the box.

But what many people don’t see is the fine print. In tiny letters at
the top of the food label the serving size for that particular food is listed.

Many people think that the calorie count and carb load listed below
describe what is in the entire container. But in reality, the calories, fat
and protein amounts refer to the portion size in those tiny
letters. This portion size is, more often than not, completely unrealistic.

Ever eaten just 12 Doritos? ¼ of a pint of premium ice-cream? Half a
can of soup? One measuring cup of cereal (which barely covers the
bottom of a bowl)? Neither have I.

But the nutritional information on the label of each of those
products refers to exactly that amount. So if you think you’re
making a good choice with a portion of cereal, think again.

Most average servings come out to twice or even more the
calorie load listed at the top of the label because most people
just don’t eat like the label describes.

One of the biggest offenders is coffee creamer. Even the “healthier”
fat-free or sugar-free flavors list 2 teaspoons, sometimes
1 tablespoon as a serving size. This makes all of us caffiends think
“hooray! just 10-20 calories to lighten the brew!” But since most of us
use closer to 5 tablespoons of creamer in our coffee, that can
come out to a whopping 100 calories per cup, even with the “healthy” creamer.

So the bottom line is that you need to become
a nutrition label detective.

You can’t just skip down the calorie count or protein grams.
You’ve got to look at exactly what amount they’re using as a portion,
then compare it to what you’re actually eating.
That way you’ll triumph over the sneaky food marketers trying to
pass off junk as healthy diet choices and be on your way to your goal weight.

Posted by Dr. Rachael Keilin

3 Exercise Myths LapBand Patients Can’t Afford to Ignore

1) Low intensity exercise for a longer period burns more fat.

While it is true that very intense bursts
of activity use the glycogen in muscle for energy,
not fat, the truth of the matter is that how much fat
you lose from doing exercise depends not so much on
how intense or how easy it is, but how many calories
overall you expend in doing it.

You need to walk three times as long as you need to run
to burn the same number of calories. So yes, long low intensity exercise will
burn fat, but high intensity exercise will burn fat, too,
but faster and may give you a metabolic “boost” for a
little bit afterwards, too. In the end, all of the glycogen
used by your muscles in quick, intense bursts of exercise
gets replaced by your body….by burning fat to create the glycogen.

2) Doing crunches will give you 6 pack abs.

Exercising a muscle makes that muscle stronger, leaner and
appear more toned. But you cannot reduce fat in a specific place
by exercising the underlying muscle. You can’t get a flat belly through sit-ups alone
because exercising the muscle doesn’t burn off the overlying fat.

Exercising any muscle helps burn fat and thus overall makes you
more fit appearing, but you won’t make all of the loose skin on
your arms disappear simply by doing triceps extensions.

3) If it doesn’t hurt, it can’t be working right.

This goes back to the days of “no pain, no gain”. It’s true that if
you lift heavy weights you’re likely to be sore the next day (this is called
DOMS or delayed onset muscle soreness). But the more fit you
become, the less likely it is that you’ll experience pain after
exercising, even exercising intently. It doesn’t mean that your muscles
and your heart aren’t getting a work-out, it just means that your body is
better at accommodating the strain.

This rule is especially true with pain during a work-out itself
- if you feel pain in the muscle that you’re exercising, or a sharp pain
in a joint or tendon when you’ve never had anything
like it before, then stop!

Feeling out of breath and uncomfortable as you reach for that last
round of a circuit or that last bend around a track is one thing -
that’s good discomfort. But chest pain or sharp knee pain is quite
another and is usually a sign from your body that it’s time to quit.

I had lap band in November of 2008. I have lost about 70 pounds. Recently I have been hungry all the time. During the day I think about food constantly. It is driving me nuts. I don’t feel like I need a fill because I’m eating about 2 oz. of protein at meals and about 1/2 cup of veggies at dinner. I have a protein drink at breakfast with my supplements mixed in it. I have figured the calories for the shake and it comes to approximately 250 calories. I know I am eating healthy foods, but this constant hungry feeling is worrying me. I watch my fat, carbs, and sugar intake. I only drink water and 2 cups of coffee in the morning. Do you have any ideas??

Morehead City , NC

Answered by Dr. Ron Hekier

Texas LapBand Doctor
I think you might need to eat just a bit more.
Yes, that’s right.

A weight loss doctor is
telling you to eat more!

Think about it. On one hand you say you don’t think
you need a fill because you eat 2 ounces of protein
and a 1/2 cup of veggies. But at the same time you are hungry
all the time.

In our experience with around 1,700 patients we have found that
a good meal generally includes about 3 to 4 ounces of protein, which
means meat, fish, or chicken, a 1/2 cup of vegetables, and at most
about 2 tablespoons of carbohydrates.

Ask your doctor if they have the LapBand portion plate,
like the one pictured below.

We give this portion plate to all of our LapBand patients.

If they don’t have it, just use an 8 inch plate and divide it
as shown in the image above.

If you are eating that much food, and not drinking with your meals
which might wash the food through the LapBand, that size meal
should control your hunger for almost 4 hours.

If it does not, perhaps you need another fill.

Speak with your doctor and keep up the good work!

I had lap band in 2007. Everything seems to be working fine with the exception that occasionally I have moderate to severe stomach pain (seems to be below the band) after eating or sometimes drinking. I will have a lot of belching but it or GasX does not seem to ease the pain. This is usually accompanied by a bout of uncontrolled dry heaves. This will last a day or more, and then be fine for several weeks or more. What can this be?

New Boston, TX

Answered by Dr. Ron Hekier

Texarkana Weight Loss Surgeon.

The first thing that I would suggest you do is to visit
your LapBand physician and go over your symptoms.

Generally you should have no discomfort while eating
and I suspect your LapBand might be a bit too tight
if you have stomach pain after eating or sometimes drinking.

We’ve written about having a Lap Band too tight on several
places on this site. Here is one link to an article about
a Lap Band that is too tight.

Would someone that is 5’4″ and approximately 200 pounds be within the weight range for this type of surgery, or does one need to be more seriously obese?.

Wiggins, MS

Answered by by Dr. Rachael Keilin a weight loss doctor in Texas.

One of the first things to check when you want to see if
you qualify for the Lap Band surgery is to check your
BMI or Body Mass Index. The BMI is a number that takes your
height and weight into account to see if your weight is in a
healthy range.

To qualify for Lap Band surgery your BMI needs to be 30 or above
with weight related illnesses. However, most insurance companies
don’t seem to cover the LapBand procedure until a person’s BMI
is 35 or above with related health issues.

Using an online BMI calculator, your BMI is 34.

Depending on your other health issues, you might be a candidate for
the Lap Band procedure.

Find a doctor close to you and consult with them.

Good luck!

]]> http://www.lapbanddoctors.com/does-my-weight-qualify-for-lapband.php/feed 0 http://www.lapbanddoctors.com/lap-band-doctor-medicaid-georgia.php http://www.lapbanddoctors.com/lap-band-doctor-medicaid-georgia.php#comments Mon, 02 Apr 2012 22:46:24 +0000 Dr. Rachael Keilin http://www.lapbanddoctors.com/?p=3576

I want to know which doctor will take Medicaid for Lap Band surgery.

Cairo, GA

Answered by by Dr. Rachael Keilin a weight loss doctor in Texas.

The first step in finding a doctor to take Medicaid
for Lap Band surgery is really not a doctor issue,
but actually a Medicaid issue. Medicaid is a program
that is administered differently by each individual
state, and has different rules and different coverage
for each state.

This is different from Medicare, which is a federal
program and has almost identical rules in all states
for coverage of procedures.
Our doctor locator for Georgia Lap Band doctors
does not appear to have doctors close to you.

For you first step, I would suggest you go to
www.lapband.com, the official site for Allergan
the manufacturer of the Lap Band. They have a
surgeon locator there and you can enter your zip code
and find surgeons close to you.

Another step you can do is to contact your Medicaid
case manager and find out if there is Georgia Medicaid
coverage for the LapBand.

Good luck.

]]> http://www.lapbanddoctors.com/lap-band-doctor-medicaid-georgia.php/feed 0 http://www.lapbanddoctors.com/kids-eat-healthy-batman.php http://www.lapbanddoctors.com/kids-eat-healthy-batman.php#comments Wed, 28 Mar 2012 00:32:18 +0000 ronhekier http://www.lapbanddoctors.com/?p=3563

Written by Dr. Ron Hekier
Texas LapBand surgeon

As the parent of two wonderful daughters, ages
9 and 7 years old, I can tell you that much of
my life is spent thinking about how to ensure
they grow up under the best circumstances possible
to ensure their health, happiness, and success.

Being a weight loss doctor, trying to ensure
that my children eat healthy foods is important to me,
so I found a certain study I read today quite
interesting.

Published in the medical journal “Pediatric Obesity”,
in the April 2012 edition, was a study titled:
“What would Batman eat?
Priming children to make healthier fast food choices.”

You can read the abstract of the article at the link
I provided above.

From the abstract that I have read, it appears that
the researchers took a grop of children and showed them
pictures of “admirable people” such as the superheroes
Batman and Spiderman.

Then they asked them if they thought the hero would
be more likely to eat apples or french fries? The
children picked the healthier foods.

Then when kids were offered a choice of foods to eat, and
they were prompted by asking “What would Batman eat?”,
more kids chose healthier foods!

Try it on your children! I know I will.

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