Chad

Friends, it gives us great pleasure to introduce the first delivery of OBCTips: Fighting obesity with knowledge. We hope you enjoy it. "Milk and Dairy, Does it do a body good?"

"Surgeons are looking to GP as a safe and simple operation in comparison with the regular bariatric procedures. The main advantages are preservation of the stomach, lack of anastomosis or bowel diversion, minimum need for vitamins and supplements, reversibility and lower cost." http://gastricplicat...r-almino-ramos/

By default, the forums only show topics that have been updated within the last 30 days. If you look at the blue bar along the top of the forum you should see some options that read: Recently Updated, Start Date, Most Replies, Most Viewed and Custom. If you click on the Custom link you can update this setting. Make sure you also check the checkbox to remember your selection if you want this setting to persist. Chad

I've removed troll posts that have nothing to do with the original topic. If you disagree with something a member is posting then respond with new links or with information that's helpful to the topic. There is no need to respond with personal insults. Keep on topic, please. Edit: Also, if it's a traditional Greek restaurant it's most likely pork. Lamb is popular in the US and Turkey and other places, but in Greece you'll usually get pork.

Anytime you see a "Forbidden" message it's caused by the security scanner that's running to protect our forum from spammers. Obviously, you're not a spammer so it's what would be called a "false positive". There is most likely some words or combination of words in your signature/post that's causing it. Look for medication names or too many occurrences of phrases like "weight loss" can sometimes also cause a problem. If you can let me know the approx time/day when it happens I can see exactly what security rule is firing off and make adjustments to that rule to loosen it up a little. Chad

It looks like there was most likely a bug with the forum software. I've just finished patching up the forum, gallery and blog with the latest versions. From what I can tell, the spammer/bot was able to send emails to a couple hundred of the members before I was able to stop it. It could be worse considering there are several thousand members.

It appears that someone was able to create an admin account on the forum and use the bulk mail feature to send mail to the users. I'm working now to resolve the issue. Chad

On another note...articles like this always bring this word to mind: Ethnocentrism: is the tendency to believe that one's ethnic or cultural group is centrally important, and that all other groups are measured in relation to one's own. The ethnocentric individual will judge other groups relative to his or her own particular ethnic group or culture, especially with concern to language, behavior, customs, and religion. These ethnic distinctions and sub-divisions serve to define each ethnicity's unique cultural identity. In short...People have a natural tendency to think the world revolves around themselves and their own culture (especially in the US). Those people will always see anything having to do with Mexico as inferior to the US. The OCC facilities passed the same surgical review as Princeton University, UCLA, Mount Sinai and some of the top facilities in the US.

I know Lori has already shared this in another post, but I thought I would throw in a little more detail (everyone at the OCC worked very hard for this!)... http://www.surgicalreview.org As one of the few hospitals in the world that are exclusively dedicated to weight loss surgery, Obesity Control Center is now considered as one the top ranking hospitals globally with its designation as an International Center of Excellence. We share this distinction with such prestigious medical centers as Princeton University Healthcare, New York University, University of California San Diego, UCLA, Washington University, Mount Sinai Hospital, and George Washington University among others. As one of the first International Centers of Excellence outside the United States, it means that patients receive exclusive and unparalleled care in the most advanced facilities in the world. This designation is awarded after a series of rigorous onsite reviews over a year-long period where every facet of the practice, the staff, the surgeons, and the facilities are examined by experts in the medical field to ensure that only the highest standards are consistently maintained. Very few international hospitals achieve this status, and many American Hospitals do not. As a result of this designation, patients are assured that they will not be sharing their environment with diseased patients or infectious diseases common in other hospitals that are not fully specialized in weight loss surgery. The Center has also passed the highest standards of excellence established in the United States that equate to safe and effective weight loss procedure. Because of our highly specialized environment we have a redundancy in all the necessary state of the art equipment and expert staff to meet any need the weight-loss surgery patient may require. Our pristine and modern facility is only surpassed by our compassionate English-speaking staff that takes care of patients every step of the way.

They're online now http://www.occforum.com/index.php?showtopic=11971

Recordings of these may now be viewed on the following thread... http://www.occforum.com/index.php?showtopic=11971

Learn To Recognize Trouble With The Band with Dr. Arturo Martinez Originally Aired On Thursday, May 6, 2010 at approx 6:00 PM PST The best way to not have a problem is by avoiding it. Dr. Arturo Martinez will be discussing how to detect signs early on and how simple it is to avoid them before they become a problem. http://www.occforum.com/media/2010-05-06.flv

How Much Exercise Is Enough? with Dr. Gabriella Miranda Originally Aired On Monday, May 3, 2010 at approx 6:00 PM PST Sometimes too much or too little is not right. Dr Miranda discusses the right dose of activity for you! http://www.occforum.com/media/2010-05-03.flv

Strategies To Insure A "Healthy Band" with Dr. Arturo Martinez Originally Aired On Thursday, April 8, 2010 at approx 6:00 PM PST This is a topic of general interest. A healthy band means a healthy, slim you. http://www.occforum.com/media/2010-04-08.flv

Anyone else seeing this problem? They appear to be showing up fine in my browser.

This is the patient support forum for a surgery center in Tijuana, Mexico (Obesity Control Center). So, it's probably safe to say that a good 95% of the active members here had their surgery in Mexico with Dr. Ariel Ortiz. As for the wait...I've seen patients have their surgery within 3 days of initial contact. It's all about how fast you can get your paperwork in, manage payment, etc. You can find out more info at www.obesitycontrolcenter.com.

I still haven't received a copy of the Webinars for April. Apparently, there was a hard drive replaced down at the OCC office and they may have been lost. We may need to wait until the next round on those particular subjects. I'll try to grab the May Webinars for next week a little faster and get them online. Chad

The May 2010 Webinars are coming up next week. You can register now using the links below! How Much Exercise Is Enough? with Dr. Gabriella Miranda Monday, May 3, 2010 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM PST Sometimes too much or too little is not right. Dr Miranda discusses the right dose of activity for you! Register Here: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/587628977 Learn To Recognize Trouble With The Band with Dr. Arturo Martinez Thursday, May 6, 2010 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM PST The best way to not have a problem is by avoiding it. Dr. Arturo Martinez will be discussing how to detect signs early on and how simple it is to avoid them before they become a problem. Register Here: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/923027688 Enjoy!

I don't see a problem with that. If we do get a lot of complaints I may need to remove them, though. We'll just need to say how it goes.