Indianapolis Bariatric Clinic

This is a quick reminder that we will be having support group tonight at the Clarian Bariatrics clinic. This will be our divided group session and all new patients, one year or less post-op and band patients will be split into smaller groups starting at 6 p.m.

For all the one year or greater post-op patients, we will be taking a field trip! Please plan on meeting at Kroger (5025 West 71st Street, Indianapolis) for a grocery store tour! We will alos begin at 6 p.m. Call us at 317-275-7010 if you have any questions.

See you tonight!

Clarian Bariatrics is pleased to offer free support groups at various locations throughout central Indiana. Attend support group meetings to learn about ways you can build lasting motivation and overcome the biggest challenges to your exercise and nutrition success.  Learn strategies, ask questions and the receive support you need during your journey.  Participate in activities that help you discover new ways to stay motivated, cope with physical changes and incorporate lifestyle changes into your everyday life. Pick up a calendar or check the events section to see the different topics covered at each class.

Support groups are held at the following locations:

• The Clarian Bariatrics clinic located at 6625 Network Way, Suite 100, in the INTECH Park office complex, Indianapolis. Support groups are held on the first Tuesday (large group) and third Tuesday (small groups) from 6 - 7 p.m. and each Friday from 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. ("Walk the Talk" lunch group)
• Clarian Health Cicero located at 1160 South Peru St., SR 19 in Cicero. Support group is held on the second Thursday of the month from 6 - 7 p.m.
• Ball Memorial Hospital located at 2901 W. Jackson Street in Muncie. Support group is held on the first Wednesday of the month from 6 - 7 p.m.
• Pre-Surgery Coping Skills Group held each Thursday at the Clarian Bariatrics clinic from 4 p.m. - 5:15 p.m. This group is designed to explore changing family and friend relationships and social situations, including how to survive eating in social situations, how to respond to people who "push" food on you, and how to cope with people's reactions to your new weight loss and lifestyle. This group is free, but we ask that you please call 317-275-7010 or 877-275-2555 prior to attending.

Please visit A Call to Change Web site for the most updated support group schedule and topics. Teleconferencing is also available to Clarian affiliate hospitals throughout the state.

Did you know that lack of sleep can be related to weight gain? According to the July/August 2009 issue of WebMD magazine, women sleeping five or fewer hours per night are 32 percent more likely to gain weight.  One study showed as much as 33 pounds over 16 years.  They are also 15 percent more likely to become obese than women who sleep at least seven hour per night.

Although a study published by Columbia University and cited in "Sleeping off the Pounds" by Holly F. Lofton, MD, in the Obesity Action Coalition’s quarterly magazine, shows those numbers as 73 percent more likely to become obese with five hours of sleep then those getting seven to nine hours a night. They found that even increasing to six hours there is still a 27 percent chance of becoming obese over the adults who receive seven or more hours of sleep a night.

In addition to being the cause of weight gain, a consistent lack of sleep raises the risk of high blood pressure, diabetes, depression, heart attack, and stroke. Michael Breus, PhD, WebMD Sleep Expert, has the following recommendations to help increase your nightly hours of sleep:

• Avoid any caffeine after 2:30 in the afternoon. 
• Balance your life especially between career and family. 
• Be sure family time includes quality time with them and some for yourself as well, you time should include physical activity and maybe some pampering as well.  Avoid the computer and TV for at least an hour before bed, dim the lights, and relax.
• Avoid napping during the day, maintain a regular bedtime routine, and stick with the same waking and sleeping times seven days a week. 
• Avoid nicotine, alcohol, and stimulant medications close to bedtime, along with the above-mentioned caffeine. 
• Do your more vigorous exercise in the morning or late afternoon and more relaxing exercises at night. 
• Avoid large meals at bedtime; keep evening snacks in the 100-200 calorie range.
• Try not to read, eat or watch television in bed, also keep your sleep environment comfortable, pleasant, and climate-controlled. 
• For those on the night shift and the elderly be sure to get good light exposure during the “daytime” from indoor lighting, also close the blinds at least 1-2 hours before bedtime to help set the Circadian rhythm. 

If you would like to learn more, a copy of this magazine is available at Clarian Bariatrics clinic. Getting a good nights sleep  should help you on your weight loss journey in keeping the pounds off and maybe even assist in losing a few.

Whether you are a current/former patient or someone who is interested in learning more about Indiana weight loss surgery, there are tons of events happening at Clarian Bariatrics this week!

Support Groups
We will be having the following support groups this week!

•  Clarian Health Cicero located at 1160 South Peru St., SR 19 in Cicero. Support group is held on the second Thursday of the month from 6 - 7 p.m.
•   Pre-Surgery Coping Skills Group held each Thursday at the Clarian Bariatrics clinic from 4 p.m. - 5:15 p.m. This group is designed to explore changing family and friend relationships and social situations, including how to survive eating in social situations, how to respond to people who "push" food on you, and how to cope with people's reactions to your new weight loss and lifestyle. This group is free, but we ask that you please call 317-275-7010 or 877-275-2555 prior to attending.

Exercise Classes
We will be holding the following exercise classes this week!

"Walk the Talk" Walking Group - Join us weekly for a walking program and support group that will help you burn calories, make friends and keep you on track with your goals.  We meet every Friday from 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. at the Clarian Bariatrics outpatient clinic.  At these group we will walk, talk and get fit together!  Feel free to bring a sack lunch and chat with us during a support group meeting after the walk.  Make sure you bring a water bottle and wear your good tennis shoes!  In addition to our weekly walks, we participate as a team in charity walks related to disease prevention and research.  There is a small cost for to sign-up for the walks, but the experience is priceless. If you cannot make it to Clarian Bariatrics every week to walk with us, feel free to keep up with a walking program and join us for the charity walks as often as you can!

FREE Informational Seminars
Individuals will have two opportunities to learn about bariatric surgery this week. On Wednesday, August 12 and Thursday, August 13 you are invited to hear Indianapolis bariatric surgeons discuss the benefits of weight loss surgery procedures including gastric bypass and the Lap Band. Learn more by clicking here!

The sun is shining the birds are singing, and this morning I woke to an unbelievable sense of the “thankfuls."  I spent the morning at Clarian North with patients who would be having bariatric surgery today.  I remembered the moment I was being wheeled back to surgery, the nerves, the anxiety, the relief.  I now look back at that moment over two years ago as my donor moment. 

I have been set firmly in the present the last couple of months as my oldest child prepares to get his drivers license.  They asked my 6 ft tall baby boy if he would like to be an organ donor.  Being a mom my throat immediately started to constrict and the very thought brought tears to my eyes.  Before I could speak for him (he is just 15, such a decision for a child) he replied of course, a whole body donor.  The moment of pride quickly replaced that initial feeling of mortality.  I realized they have learned something from this journey. 

When I decided to go forward with bariatric surgery I was donating the rest of my life for a cause.  I want all of America to know that there is life after. After the pain of living and breathing with the shame of not controlling my weight.  I was not aware that it wasn’t all my fault, not all.  I own my part in the place I went to. I own the quick easy meals in the drive thru.  I own the soda pop and fried foods, that is all me. 

What I didn’t know and now understand is that I had sabotaged my body for years trying to do “good” diets, by trying to keep on an unbelievably low calorie diet and sweating out the yucky stuff.  Clarian Bariatrics, and Indianapolis bariatric clinic, brought a level of education to me I had never encountered.  The support and education and beliefs are priceless.  I am thankful for being brought into the Clarian family and now being able to help a patient or two with this journey. 

I am thankful for being allowed to work with people who are not just doing their job, but their life’s work. I am thankful that I am here to here the birds sing, the sun shine, my child grow into a giving young man, and a patient start the rest of their life.  This process triggers a change in your body, but one can only hope it will trigger a change in your mind and heart.  To wake up two years later and know that every day is a gift and every gift is given in the thought that no repercussion is needed.  But, I still feel that I have been blessed to be given the chance at a new life and I am thankful.  This morning, I was asked moments before one of my patients was wheeled into surgery (she was a bit nervous) if I would do it again. 

Honestly, I would not have changed a thing.  That was all she needed and off she went.  Smiles through her tears and her new journey has begun.  I am thankful for getting to be there as she has progressed and now I will be there as she triumphs.  Did you wake up today thankful, make a list and as you feel the sun and hear the birds, know there is a reason for the season and spring leads us to a wonderful time of growth and new beginnings.  Thankful, should and could be a season of its own.  Thankful for Clarian Bariatric Surgery Center and all of the people who make it a blessing to the patients. GO TEAM!

Hypertension (high blood pressure), one of the many common conditions associated with obesity, refers to the pressure that blood applies to the inner walls of the arteries.

It estimated that excess body weight (including overweight and obesity), accounted for approximately 26 percent of cases of hypertension in men and 28 percent in women, and for approximately 23 percent of cases of coronary heart disease in men and 15 percent in women. Obese individuals have an increase in fatty tissue that increases their vascular resistance and in turn increases the work the heart has to do to pump blood throughout the body.

To view the rest of this article from the Obesity Action Coaltion magazine, please click here.

If you have additional questions about health problems with obesity, Indiana Weight Loss, Indianapolis Bariatric clinics or gastric bypass or lap band surgery, then join us at a FREE informational session. Click the image at the top right of this page for more info.

Just a reminder that Clarian Bariatrics will be hosting its first FREE informational seminar at Clarian Health Cicero on Thursday, January 8 at 6:30 p.m.

These seminars are your opportunity to ask questions of Indiana bariatric surgeons and other Indiana bariatric patients about bariatric surgery costs, causes of obesity and bariatric weight loss. Plus, we encourage you to bring family and friends as your weight loss journey is one that will not be taken alone.

Clarian Health Cicero is located at 1160 South Peru Street, S.R. 19, Cicero, IN. Additionally, we hold informational sessions at the Clarian Bariatrics clinic located at 6625 Network Way, Suite 100, Indianapolis on Thursdays and Satudays throughout the year.

Please RSVP for a seminar by visiting this Web site.  If you have additional questions, please call 317-275-7010 or toll free at 877-275-2555 or by e-mail at bariatric@clarian.org.

Starting in 2009, Clarian Bariatrics will be offering FREE informational weight loss surgery seminars and support groups at Clarian Health Cicero. Join us on January 8 at 6:30 p.m. for the first session where you can learn more about problems caused by obesity, gastric bypass surgery cost and bariatric surgery financing.

These seminars are your opportunity to ask questions of Indiana bariatric surgeons and other Indiana bariatric patients. Plus, we encourage you to bring family and friends as your weight loss journey is one that will not be taken alone.

Clarian Health Cicero is located at 1160 South Peru Street, Ind. 19, Cicero, IN. Additionally, we hold informational sessions at the Clarian Bariatrics clinic located at 6625 Network Way, Suite 100, Indianapolis on Thursdays and Satudays throughout the year.

Please RSVP for an seminar by visiting this Web site.  If you have additional questions, please call 317-275-7010 or toll free at 877-275-2555 or by e-mail at bariatric@clarian.org.