Jerry Sutkamp’s name is on the wall plaque in my office that certifies me in obesity medicine, or in bariatric medicine as we used to call it. Jerry did my office inspection for board certification 25 years ago. Lisa Beale is Bob Beale’s daughter, one of the pioneers who trained me. Bob isn’t with us anymore, he passed away in 2004, but Bob came up with a revolutionary concept – the diet never changes. The diet you lose weight on (meat, fruit and vegetables in Bob’s case), is the diet you stay on. Denise Bruner was board certified in bariatric medicine in 1988, a year after I was. We’ve been in the trenches together for 25 years, watching America get fat. Tom Cooper is board certified in family medicine and board certified in obesity medicine. At age 70, Tom took the family medicine board again, just for fun. So it surprised me, that Tom believes the answer to our obesity epidemic isn’t medical but social. Tom believes the fix starts at home with good parenting, and by controlling the force feeders in your environment. Mike Steelman runs the largest medical weight loss practice in the west. He’s a past president of the American Society of Bariatric physicians, as are Jerry Sutkamp, Tom Cooper and Denise Bruner. Allen Rader has a unique way of looking at carbohydrate intake. He thinks in terms of teaspoons of sugar not grams of carbohydrate, which makes carbohydrate intake very real for you.