Texas Lap Band Surgeons Talk With You » Contests

Lap Band patients win a free trip to Washington D.C.!

Dr. Ron Hekier — Tue, 25 May 2010 03:10:50 +0000

Here are some details on an exciting campaign by Allergen, the manufacturer of the Lap Band. Part of the campaign includes a trip to Washington D.C. to meet with lawmakers.

Here are some excerpts from the email I received from Allergan:

Enter the Voice My C.H.O.I.C.E. Contest Program
This contest is for LAP-BAND® System patients. To enter the contest, which runs from May 12 through July 27, simply submit a short essay or video at www.LapbandChoiceContest.com about your weight-loss journey and how your choice to overcome your struggle with weight has changed your life.

Twelve winners will be given the opportunity to go on a 3-day/2-night trip to Washington, D.C. in September to share their personal stories with legislators and media. Allergan, Inc., will cover travel-related expenses for winners and a guest. More information regarding the contest, including rules and eligibility, can be accessed at www.LapbandChoiceContest.com.

Sign our Petition to Congress
Sign the online petition to Congress at www.mychoicecampaign.com to tell Congress it’s time to recognize obesity as a disease, NOT a choice, to focus on prevention and treatment, and to accept all treatments, including weight-loss surgery for those 100 pounds or more overweight. The petition will be delivered to legislators in September by the winners of our contest. We need your support to reach our goal of 250,000 signatures – that’s one signature for every dollar that Allergan, Inc., will donate to The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services’ Department of Health to support research on obesity through the Strategies to Overcome and Prevent (STOP) Obesity Alliance. The STOP Obesity Alliance is helping to change how we perceive and approach the problem of obesity, overweight, and weight-related health risks, including heart disease and diabetes.

Join our Facebook Cause Page and Follow us on Twitter
Join the campaign Cause page on Facebook – www.mychoicecampaign.com/facebook – to help you spread the word about the campaign and encourage your friends to join our movement.

Winner of Walk Away the Pounds Book and DVD!

Dr. Ron Hekier — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 03:49:00 +0000

Congratulations to GP! They are the winner of the drawing and were selected to win a free copy of “Walk Away the Pounds”. Lap Band weight loss goes through several stages. The initial stage is often easier because your body will lose weight simply due to the decreased calorie count. But after the initial weight loss, you might find yourself “stuck” at a plateau. I think the way to snap out of it and get back on the downhill slope of weight loss is to embark on a regimen of proper protein intake, and exercise. Remember, without adequate protein (and most of you need between 40 – 60 grams per day) your body will lose muscle mass and you won’t lose fat. Take a moment to check out our Estore at the website for protein supplementation sources. And don’t forget some form of exercise. Stay tuned for the next blog entry.
Congratulations to GP! Jamie at our office will contact you to verify your address and we will send out Walk Away the Pounds soon.

Walk Away the Pounds: Free Book and DVD

Dr. Ron Hekier — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 00:44:00 +0000

Tonight at the Texarkana Lap Band surgery support group meeting, our program coordinator Betty gave away a copy of the book “Walk Away the Pounds”. (It also comes with a DVD!) We have a few more copies that we want to give away to encourage you all to exercise and get healthier. As for our prior contests, leave your initials and date of surgery in the comments, and we will randomly pick a winner next week on Tuesday morning. Good luck!

Winner of Ironwood Grill Gift Certificate

Dr. Ron Hekier — Tue, 18 Sep 2007 04:00:00 +0000

Congratulations to NT, she was randomly selected and is the winner of the $50 gift certificate to the Ironwood Grill.
Remember living with the Lap Band should be fun and we want you to eat out and enjoy your meals.

Focus on the Lap Band helping you with hunger, don’t focus on restriction.
Some tips to our winner NT, and to everyone with the Lap Band when you eat out:

Remember not to drink while you eat. (See the earlier blog Losing weight with the Lap Band surgery.)

Pick healthy foods.

Don’t try to eat mushy foods that ball up in your mouth as you chew them such as white bread or soft tortillas.

Recognize the proper portion size. In most cases what you are served will last you for 2 or 3 meals, so box up one half to two-thirds of your meal right away so you won’t be tempted to eat too much.

Do you have any tips to share? Leave them in the comments section.
And one last thing, our next contest, to be announced in a few days, will be for a popular exercise book and DVD. Stay tuned!

Reward for healthy eating. $50 for Ironwood Grill

Dr. Ron Hekier — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 01:08:00 +0000

Dr. Keilin and I (Dr. Hekier) are always on the lookout for healthy food choices for eating out. Let’s face it, with so much fast food out there, it’s hard to find a place to eat that offers plenty of healthy choices so we want to help you make the right choices for you and your Lap Band. Remember, your success with the Lap Band is our success.
We strongly recommend the Ironwood Grill in Texarkana. The Ironwood Grill has plenty of healthy choices, and most importantly it serves a vast variety of fresh food choices including fish, salads, and vegetable dishes.
Check out their menu online at http://www.ironwoodgrill.com/ and you will find many choices and see why we call it the best family restaurant in Texarkana. It’s also a good place to have small parties since they have an outdoor patio and large sandbox for the kids to play in, and a private dining area indoors. We’ve been there a few times with our office and Lap-Band team from the hospital and everyone loved it.
We are giving away a $50 gift certificate to the Ironwood Grill. Just leave a comment with your initials and date of surgery, (so we can identify you) and we will randomly select a winner next Monday.
Good luck!

Winner of the Khalia Ali Lap Band book!

Dr. Ron Hekier — Tue, 14 Aug 2007 03:09:00 +0000

Congratulations to S.K.K., you are the winner of the Khalia Ali book, “Fighting Weight.”
S.K.K.’s name was randomly drawn from among our entries.
We will send it out in the mail to you in the next couple of days.

Thanks to all those who entered. Stay tuned for our next contest in the next week or two to find out what freebie you might come up with!

For those of you that want to buy the Khalia Ali book on Lap Banding, it is available at Amazon.com by clicking on the icon below.

See you next time!

Win a free copy of Khalia Ali’s Lap Band book

Dr. Ron Hekier — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 02:09:00 +0000

For those of you old enough to remember, Muhammed Ali was the self proclaimed greatest fighter of all time. Well, one of his daughters, Khaliah Ali has written a book called “Fighting Weight : How I Achieved Healthy Weight Loss with “Banding,” a New Procedure That Eliminates Hunger–Forever.”

Her book is about her experience with the Band. At her heaviest, Khaliah Ali, who is 5 feet, 8 inches, weighed 325 pounds and said she’d spent most of her life yo-yo dieting in an attempt to lose the weight. She is down to about 150 pounds after her Lap Band surgery.

We are holding a drawing for a copy of the book for our patients.

To enter simply respond to the comment, and leave your initials and surgery date in your message. If you haven’t had surgery yet, leave your initials and the date we first saw you in the office for an evaluation.

We will randomly draw a name from the list this weekend. Good luck!