Cold Summer Treats That Are Weight Loss Surgery Friendly

Avoid the Bad Choices

There’s no doubt that ice cream tastes good, so you may need a little extra help gathering the willpower to resist it. The following scary statistics should be enough to make you think twice before indulging.

• An ice cream sandwich can have 360 calories and 10 grams of saturated fat (more than half the maximum you should have in a day).
  
• A cup of Ben and Jerry’s Chunky Monkey ice cream (half of a pint) has 600 calories and 20 grams of saturated fat. That’s like having two meals and only getting 8 grams of protein!
  
• A brownie sundae from Baskin Robbins has 920 calories and 97 grams of sugars. Eat one of those, and you’ll be near your calorie limit for the day.
  
• A fruit smoothie can seem innocent, but an original Mega Mango smoothie from Jamba Juice has 340 calories and 78 grams of sugars. You’re likely to feel pretty sick from all that sugar and hardly any protein.
  

The best way to arm yourself against these diet disasters is to have your own alternatives at the ready.

Try These Healthy Options

Fruit is high in fiber and low in calories, and is a great choice for frozen snacks. Add protein to your treat by using Greek yogurt or a small portion of nuts or peanuts. Try these ideas, or create your own variations.

• Roll a banana in chopped peanuts and freeze it. Mix the peanuts with cinnamon before rolling, if you want.
  
• Freeze melon or watermelon balls or grapes.
  
• Make raspberry lemonade pops by blending raspberries – or your choice of berries – and light lemonade. Pour into paper cups, stick popsicle sticks in the centers, and freeze them.
  
• Blend mango, peach, or another soft fruit with Greek yogurt, keeping it chunky. Freeze.
  
• Dip strawberries, peach slices, or cherries into light Greek vanilla yogurt. Put the fruit on wax paper on a cookie sheet, and freeze your treats.
  

Check the Ice Cream Aisle

The ice cream aisle has some options that are good for occasional treats.

• Sugar-free popsicles have 15 calories each.
  
• No sugar added fudge pops have 40 calories each.
  
• A small no sugar added ice cream sandwich has 100 calories.
  
• A half-cup of no sugar added vanilla frozen yogurt or ice cream has 90 calories.
  

Don't Get Tricked!

Never assume anything is healthy or low-calorie. Always read the nutrition facts panel and list of ingredients. Then make your own decision about whether the food belongs on your weight loss surgery diet.

• Low-fat and fat-free products can be high in sugar and calories.
  
• “Light” can mean light in color, light in calories, or light in something else.
  
• Low-carb and low-sugar products can be high-calorie and high-fat.
  
• Fat-free toppings, such as caramel or chocolate topping, can be high in sugar and contain 50 calories per tablespoon (that’s not a big serving size!).
  

Frozen Treats and Your Weight Loss Surgery Diet Rules: Solids and Liquids

After weight loss surgery, you are supposed to drink liquids separately from when you eat solid foods. This is true whether you have the gastric sleeve, gastric bypass, lap-band, sleeve plication, or another kind of surgery. The reason is that solid foods stay in your stomach, pouch, or sleeve for a while, while liquids flow through more quickly and leave your stomach empty.

When you eat ice cream or ice pops, they melt in your stomach, sleeve, or pouch. This means that you do not stay full for as long as you would if you ate the same number of calories in solid foods. This does not mean that you can never have frozen treats, but it does mean that you should be aware of the extra calories you are taking in when you eat them. If possible, eat them with solid foods, such as fruit or nuts, to stay full.

Frozen Treats and Your Weight Loss Surgery Diet Rules: Portion Control

Another weight loss surgery diet rule is to use portion control. An innocent 90-calorie half-cup serving of non-fat frozen yogurt becomes a 360-calorie mistake if you sit down with the pint or fill up a regular-sized bowl with frozen yogurt. Always measure your portions.

Treats for the Liquid and Pureed Foods Stages

Ice cream and fresh fruit are off limits during the liquid post-op stage, and you can only eat selected fresh fruit on the pureed foods diet. You can still enjoy healthy, refreshing treats this summer. For example, you can enjoy frozen juice pops or make a fruit slushie without the added sugars.

• Freeze one or more kinds of juice in ice cube trays.
  
• Mix and match flavor combinations, such as apple and grape, a citrus blend with grapefruit, tangerine, and orange juices, or a tropical mixture using pineapple and raspberry lemonade juices. Be sure to choose 100 percent juice instead sugar-sweetened juice drinks.
  
• When you are ready for your treat, grind the cubes in the blender until they are more like chips.
  
• If your surgeon has suggested that you avoid orange juice because of its acidity, look for a low-acid brand in your supermarket.