Happy Father's Day! 2014

[Alex Brecher 10,494]

Hey, BariatricPal Members!

Happy Father’s Day! Whether you’re a father, grandfather, son, or someone who has a father in the house, today is your chance to honor the dads in your life. With the tips in this letter, you can Celebrate Father’s Day properly while staying on track. We bet you can even finish the day stronger than you started! Here’s what we have in this newsletter.

• Renew Your Commitment by Thinking about Dad Today
• Father’s Day Celebration – Bariatric Style!
• Is It Time for…”The Talk?”
• Eat Healthy at the Ballpark!

We hope the newsletter gives you a chance to think about the dads in your life, and helps you figure out how you can work to keep everyone healthier together. When you have finished reading the newsletter and you’ve gotten in plenty of high-quality family time, come on over to visit your other “family” at BariatricPal. Happy Father’s Day!

Sincerely,

Alex Brecher

Founder, BariatricPal

Renew Your Commitment by Thinking about Dad Today

It’s easy to get lost in the regular pattern of daily life. Your actions can almost become automatic as you go through your day. Over time, you might start to lose focus and let some poorer choices slip in. You might eyeball instead of measure your food, let a few bites sneak in without recording them, or go for a little more starch than you know you should.

It is normal to become a little less focused on your weight loss surgery after a while if you do not occasionally stop to reconsider your motivations. Father’s Day provides a good opportunity for you to renew your commitment to your weight loss journey.

Think about your own father, or a father figure in your life, who gave or gives you unconditional love. How proud would your father be if you set this goal of losing weight and you were able to achieve it? How relieved would your father be to see his son or daughter gain back health and energy?

If you are a father – or a parent, or a father figure to anyone – think about the children that you influence. Every day you strive to be the best role model that you can be, and these efforts really pay off! Also consider how your relationships have the potential to become even stronger throughout your weight loss journey.

• You might have more energy to play with your children.
• You can teach them healthy habits for life by modeling them.
• Your children do not need to worry about your health.

Dedicating the next stage of your weight loss journey to the fathers and children in your life can help spur you on.

Father’s Day Celebration – BariatricPal Style!

Father’s Day can be disastrous if it includes a big lunch at a restaurant followed by some down time as you watch television and snack. You’re not doing your dad or yourself any favors by celebrating that way, and you can make the day just as special by making a few healthy changes.

Keep lunch Simple

If you want to go out for lunch, skip the buffet. Just order a salad with tuna or grilled chicken, or grilled chicken breast or broiled fish with steamed vegetables on the side. A fruit plate with cottage cheese or yogurt is another option.

If a buffet is a Father’s Day tradition in your family, remember that you are not obligated to overeat to get your money’s worth. It is worth far more to enjoy one plate of healthy food and feel proud of yourself for the rest of the day.

If you’re eating at home, make sure there is plenty of lean Protein around. Grill chicken breast, turkey burger, or shrimp and serve it with a tossed green salad and some fruit. You don’t need to dig into the bread, coleslaw, and cake as long as you have your own healthy options.

Burn a Few Calories

Keep the party going by getting moving. Toss around a football, bump a volleyball, or kick around a soccer ball. It doesn’t matter if you’re clumsy. The point is to have fun and remember what it’s like to get moving with your family. The games can inspire you to resolve to lose more weight so that you can enjoy many more moments like this in the future.

Is It Time for…”The Talk?”

Father’s Day is about relationships. You might want to take some time to strengthen your relationship with your father if he is not yet completely up-to-date on your surgery. Weight loss surgery is a huge part of your life, and today, you can consider having a serious conversation with your father to help him understand a bit more about it. You might talk about the following items, depending on what he already knows and how he feels about your surgery.

• Why you felt that surgery was best for you.

• How surgery helps you lose weight, and what you need to do to make sure it works.
• How your dad can help, whether that means being a sympathetic ear on the telephone or looking after your children for an hour on weekends so that you can work out with your spouse.

If you are a parent and are on the weight loss surgery journey, talk to your child about the surgery in terms he or she can understand. You can address the same points as above, but keep them simpler. You might explain that you are trying to get healthy and make sure that your child grows up strong and healthy, and that sometimes you may need your child to help with the chores if you are a little tired.

Eat Healthy at the Ballpark

“Take me out to the ballgame,

Take me out to the crowd.

Buy me some peanuts (510 calories) and Cracker Jack (480 calories).

I don’t care if I get way off track!”

Oh, wait. Yes, I do care! So what can you eat when you go to the game? Most of the traditional options are high-calorie and fatty, sugary or starchy. If you munch on them for nine innings, you can take in thousands of calories and will likely feel sick.

Avoid these choices.

• Nachos and cheese
• pretzels with or without cheese
• Ice cream
• Buttered popcorn
• pizza
• Hot dogs, corn dogs
• French fries

Many stadiums now offer healthier options than they used to. Check online before you leave home to see if you can plan a healthy meal or snack at the stadium.

• Green salads with chicken
• Hummus with vegetables
• Veggie burgers or hot dogs (skip the bun)
• Fresh fruit cup
• Vegetables with dip

If your ballpark doesn’t have many healthy choices, you can still get away by modifying some of the traditional choices. Just stick to your weight loss surgery diet rules of choosing Protein first and watching your portion sizes.

• Order a burger and just eat the beef, grilled chicken, or veggie patty, not the bun.
• Ask for a cup of shaved ice without snow cone Syrup. It gives you something to do.
• Get a bag of peanuts, count out one serving, and put the rest away.

Whether you go to a baseball game, another sporting event, or a show, the goals are to enjoy the event and the company. Focus on the great things about the day instead of worrying about the food that you used to eat. If you plan ahead and go in with a positive attitude, you might find that you have even more fun than you used to!

No matter how you choose to spend your Father’s Day, consider how you can make it a healthy holiday that is fun for everyone. We hope this newsletter gave you some good ideas and inspiration!

[Kelly Gonzalez 52]

Happy fathers day Alex!

[kll724 3,055]

Happy Father's Day Alex. Also, to all the men who are Father's and women who are taking the place of fathers for their children!

[Weeviegurl 81]

Happy Fathers Day to you Alex, and to all Fathers, Grand Fathers, Step Fathers, and Single Moms out there!