This is NOT Brain Surgery! A Mental Health Companion for the Gastric Bypass Patient (Paperback)

~ Teri Kai Holtzclaw (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

You asked for it! Here it is. A condensed version of my philosophy on maintaining successful weight loss after weight loss surgery. This book is small yet worth it's weight in information and ease of understanding. It is self-published and originally created to introduce the coming book to interested publishers. Due to popular response, I am making this "primer" available to you.

This publication is a "primer" to a larger more in depth book due to come out in December of 2002.

I highly recommend this "easy to read" text to anyone interested in gleaning the "Basics" of my approach to successful weight loss after surgery.

This "Primer" is designed to provide new insight in to your own weight loss journey and inspire you to continue seeking out greater knowledge.

So many of my clients are hesitant to pick up my recommended reading because of the size or depth of the books I encourage.

This "Primer" is written with that client in mind.

I have put great care behind offering a book that will not intimidate the most discerning client -47 pages packed with quick and easy to understand lessons on weight loss success. It is filled with enough substance to create -even inspire, the most reluctant of readers.

About the Author

Dr. Teri Kai Holtzclaw, Ph.D. has a private practice in the Atlanta Georgia area where she specializes in Bariatric counseling and issues surrounding obesity. 5 Years ago Dr. Holtzclaw underwent gastric bypass surgery and lost over 150 lbs. Today, she is running a thriving practice serving clients who want help from a professional who knows what they are going through.

Product Details

• Paperback: 47 pages
• Publisher: Morris Publishing; 1st edition (September 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0971260109
• ISBN-13: 978-0971260108
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,333,430 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars What a Disappointment!, December 6, 2001

By	Suzy E. Zeigler "siennaz" (Petaluma, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is the first book in over 100 that I have returned to Amazon. Being that I am anticipating bariatric surgery myself in the near future, I have read everything I could get my hands on regarding the subject. This small book is just that -- small, with a lot of blank filler pages, and very little content. A thorough waste of time for someone like me with little time to waste!

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Holtzclaw's Primer Tackles Vital Emtional Issues, February 13, 2002

By	"teresasul" (woodbridge, va USA) - See all my reviews

I decided to review Dr. Teri Kai Holtzclaw's execellent primer "This is Not Brain Surgery" because I found it extremely informative, thought-provoking, and useful in my preparations for gastric bypass surgery.

It is a valuable tool because it helps the reader identify and begin to tackle important emotional issues surrounding morbid obesity and weight loss surgery that must be addressed if the patient is to have LONG TERM SUCCESS.

I purchased two other full-length books on the procedure itself -- which were excellent -- they explained the physical aspects of the surgery and the day-to-day life-style changes I will have to make, but they barely touched on the EMOTIONAL issues. I wanted more information and I got it in this booklet.

Even though it is only 47 pages (a full length version apparently is due out this year) Dr. Holtzclaw deftly and honestly discusses major emotional issues such as integrity, anger and food addiction. She also includes methods to strengthen self-esteem and the tools to develop skills needed to succeed before and after the surgery. She gets you ready.

She doesn't use high-brow psycho-babble, she tells it like it is, and supplies some self-help writing/journaling exercises which allow the reader to expound on the issues -- to personalize it.

Some of the exercises can be "gut wrenching" but that's the whole point, these emotional issues are not something you can just have explained to you in a nice, neat little package and that's it -- you have to be "in it" or you won't succeed, at least in the long term. That's what I learned from this little book.

I thought the primer was well worth the price because the author isn't just some skinny doctor telling me about my fat, she knows what she is talking about because she had the surgery herself several years ago and has successfully lost more than 150 pounds. Her "Before" and "After" photos are remarkable.

If you are thinking about having gastric bypass surgery, this booklet should be required reading.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is REALLY helpful to bariatric patients!, February 16, 2002

By	Elaine Levine (Atlanta, Georgia) - See all my reviews

I have gone through bariatric surgery and I KNOW how hard it is to lose weight and keep it off. This book succintly defines the problem in an accessible way and then helps the reader evaluate the mental issues involved with weight loss after surgery. There are no easy answers and lots of mental work to be done by surgery patients. Dr. Holtzclaw tells it like it is and this little book helped me, as a weight loss patient, come to grips with the issues facing us. I think this is a must-read for weight loss surgery patients and I look forward to more books from Dr. Holtzclaw.