Monday, March 25, 2013

The Weight Loss Surgery Foundation of America and Me in May in Vegas

On Saturday May 18th I'll be speaking in Las Vegas on behalf of the Weight Loss Surgery Foundation of America (WLSFA) at their annual Meet and Greet. I certainly won't be the only speaker for this two day event and the keynote speaker this year is Carnie Wilson.

So who are the WLSFA?

They're a charitable organization that raises money to help pay for bariatric surgeries for those who can't afford them.

For those of you who don't know, I'm not a surgeon, but I am a supporter of bariatric surgery. Despite the public's regular knee jerk negativity to bariatric surgery (that folks who need simply aren't trying hard enough, that it's an easy way out, that it's the path of laziness, etc.), when performed by skilled surgeons, and when supported by well designed pre and post surgical education and appropriate patient selection, it increases life expectancy, decreases or cures many medical co-morbidities and improves many aspects of quality of life. I've covered this strange bias before on my blog when it came to the surgical management of diabetes, and if you're in the camp of surgery is just plain wrong, every time and for everyone, I'd encourage you to read it, as the message therein applies wholeheartedly to bariatric surgery as well.

Now bariatric surgery isn't a miracle and it has both risks and adverse effects, but I'll tell you, if I were unable to lose weight and maintain that loss any other way, and if my weight was negatively affecting my quality and quantity of life and health, I wouldn't hesitate to explore it as an option.

My talk will be the first one I'm giving from the pages of my upcoming book, The 10 Day Reset: Why Everything You Know About Dieting is Wrong and How to Fix It, and I'm excited to be able to donate my time, energy and thoughts to this worthy cause. If you or a loved one has bariatric surgery or are considering bariatric surgery, I'd encourage you to come on out.  If you'd like to attend you can either click that link up above, or contact the WLSFA directly by phone at 415-234-9074, or via email at: info@wlsfa.org