Support Group Support is a site where information will be posted that can be used by WLS Support Group Facilitators to share with their groups on a variety of WLS related topics from diet & nutrition to mental health to exercise and more.

Even if you are not a group facilitator you are sure to find the information presented there useful and informative.

Also, there will be a live webcast happening Saturday starting at 9am. There will be two-way video and audio and it will be recorded for those unable to be there live.

Visit nawls.com for more information.

For more information visit asmbs2010.org

There’s a sign-up page on Facebook.

When you add an image to a posting, you have for “size” options, Thumbnail, Medium, Large and Full Size. Be default, thumbnails are set to 150×150 pixels, medium is set to a max size of 300, and large is set to 1024.

The thumbnails and medium are great for adding images where you want to wrap text around to the left or right of an image, but the 1024 for the large is way too large to include a decent sized image in the middle of a posting. I’ve found that 480 to be a good size for this.

So all you need to do is go to your admin panel, then under the Settings menu click on Media and change the 1024 under “Large size” to 480 (or whatever you really want), then click Save Changes.

Because of the limited storage available to regular blog accounts, you may want to think about resizing your photos down before you upload them… maybe to the 1024 width, and then you can always have the option to link your smaller image to that larger one if it’s one you think would look good full-screen.

It’s super-duper easy to you. When you go to add or edit a post you’ll see a row of buttons with different video site logos such as YouTube, Google Video, Vimeo and more…

Just click the button for the video the site is hosted on and enter in the web address of the page the video is on. In the case of YouTube, make sure you grab it from the main page, not the channel page. Paste this in to the box that pops up and click ok.

That’s it! The video will now appear on your posting.

You can find further information about the event at the ASMBS 2010 website, and more information on the ASMBS at asmbs.org or you can follow them on Twitter.

UPDATE: The postponed event is different than the June conference. Check the ASMBS website for upcoming details on the November event and the ASMBS 2010 website for info on their June conference.

Leave a comment here if you have any ideas.

Back by popular demand, offering new topics on main stage are speakers at the tops of their fields, such as Chef Dave, Dr. Garth Davis, Mary Jo Rapini and Dr. Connie Stapleton. We have also added a free form q & a period on Friday, hoping to address weight regain, vitamins and labs and other issues.

Some of this same information will again be addressed on Saturday in breakout rooms by individual speakers.

In addition, Jeremy Gentles will be offering his exercise physiology expertise, specific to bariatrics. Watch this page for the additional speakers to be announced as they are confirmed.

Event passes are $60 but get a $25 discount when purchasing online using the code “MeltingMama”

Visit the ObesityHelp website for more information.

Back by popular demand, offering new topics on main stage are speakers at the tops of their fields, such as Chef Dave, Dr. Garth Davis, Mary Jo Rapini and Dr. Connie Stapleton. We have also added a free form q & a period on Friday, hoping to address weight regain, vitamins and labs and other issues.

Some of this same information will again be addressed on Saturday in breakout rooms by individual speakers. In addition, Jeremy Gentles will be offering his exercise physiology expertise, specific to bariatrics. Watch this page for the additional speakers to be announced as they are confirmed.

We regret that due to scheduling conflicts, Dr. Zamprogno will not join us at this conference, but will be at the Houston conference.

Event passes are $60 but get a $25 discount when purchasing online using the code “MeltingMama“.

Visit the ObesityHelp website for more information.

Back by popular demand, offering new topics on main stage are speakers at the tops of their fields, such as Chef Dave, Dr. Garth Davis, Mary Jo Rapini and Dr. Connie Stapleton. Dr. Jay Calvert, local plastic surgeon is joining us with his team and will present in two breakout sessions. They will also be providing FREE private consultations. Dr. Timothy Katzen, plastic surgeon, has joined us and will be providing FREE onsite private consultations as well. Sign up at his table! We have also added a free form q & a period on Friday, hoping to address weight regain, vitamins and labs and other issues.

Some of this same information will again be addressed on Saturday in breakout rooms by individual speakers. In addition, Jeremy Gentles will be offering his exercise physiology expertise, specific to bariatrics. Watch this page for the additional speakers to be announced as they are confirmed.

Exhibitors: Dr. Timothy Katzen, Verdugo Hills Hospital, Dr. Siamak Agha, Bariatric Advantage, Lipo Express, It Works!, Celebrate Vitamins, Egg Whites International and more! Visit the exhibit table of ItWorks! to learn about toning.

**New Addition: 9 Year Post-Op, Yvonne McCarthy presents “The Self Esteem Game” in a breakout session! Geared to leave you feeling better about yourself!

Event passes are $60 but get a $25 discount when purchasing online using the code “MeltingMama“.

Visit the ObesityHelp website for more information.

Some of the things to look forward to include:

• Pre-Surgery information from different surgeons covering different surgeries.
• Dealing with the Head & Heart Stuff – we have a therapist on board as well as a psychiatrist who himself has had WLS.
• Getting the food right – a segment on post op food ideas and ways to make the most of our tool.
• LISA O’NEILL from Good Morning is also very excited to be able to provide a 2 hour session on how to look good through the different phases of losing and also finding your style post op. We are hoping that one of the local stores will also allow us and exclusive shopping hour on the Sunday morning so we can shop in piece & quiet….but that will depend on how many are interested and if the shop thinks it will be worthwhile….still working on this.
• A WLS friendly lunch.
• Vendor stands – from Supplements companies, home gym gear, support clothing, plastic surgeon, medical finance company, protein powder companies, gym memberships, sports shoe providers. – All hopefully offering conference specials or discounts.
• Information stands – such as the Real women’s Du-athlon and the Special K Tri series. Things that are not for profit goal related ideas that we want to be able to try when we get to goal and get healthy.
• A Clothing swap/sale.
• Giveaways and prizes from WLS supportive companies from both here in NZ and overseas.
• Testimonies from people who are at different stages of the journey who may or may not have had it plain sailing.
• Dinner & Dancing

For more information or to contact Janine check out her blog or find her on YouTube.

Currently they are planning on a Friday night dinner at The Crab Shack on Tybee Island with a full day of speakers as well as meeting and greeting on Saturday at the Holiday Inn Express located at I-95 and 204 in Savanna.

For more information you can check out their YouTube channel or Facebook page.

Thanks!

Currently, the plugins are also available for use by all Our WLS members, but they need to be turned on before you can use them. To do so, just go to your admin panel and look under the Plugins menu to see what Plugins are available and click activate for the ones you want to use.

There are a number of them there that will be of no interest to you, and some that as a member blog may not even be relevant, but they’ll all be listed there (until I find a way to only list selective plugins). Once activated, many of them may require some sort of set-up in order to fully use.

I will try to write up basic information on some of the more popular plugins as we get going here.

If you know of a plugin you would like to have access to, leave a comment below and we’ll check it out. And if you would like to write a review and/or tutorial on using a plugin, let me know that too!

You can search and browse all the available plugins in the WordPress library at http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/

Check out their OurWLS site at http://twincities.ourwls.com for more information!

If you find a specific theme out there that you would like me to consider including for you and others to use, leave a comment here and I’ll check it out.

Also…

Just so everyone knows… eventually all the approved themes will have some sort of general ads on them. The point of this site is not so much to make money, but to at least find a way to recover expenses. Right now, the primary ads will be focused on bariatric friendly stuff… it won’t be happening right away, but I want to make sure everyone is prepared for the eventuality of it.