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Dear BariatricPal Members, Season’s Greetings! If you’re one of the 2 billion people in the world who celebrate Christmas, Merry Christmas! Happy Kwanzaa if you’re about to celebrate it, and, if you celebrate Hanukah, we hope it has been a happy one. Whether or not you’re in the middle of a celebration, we hope this newsletter finds you well and enjoying the season with friends and family. Here’s what you’ll find. Healthy Tips for This Joyful Day Try a Christmas salad Recent Weight Loss Surgery? Make the Most of It Read through the newsletter, then go enjoy your family and friends. When you need a break, head on over to BariatricPal.com and join the conversations. Have a wonderful holiday, and thanks for sharing it with BariatricPal and the other members! Sincerely, Alex Healthy Tips for This Joyful Day Christmas is supposed to be a day of celebration and thankfulness, but it can be a day that leaves you feeling guilty and sick if you’re not careful. If you celebrate Christmas or if you are just enjoying a slower, quieter day, there can still be a lot of temptations. Don’t let this day end Christmas with you at a higher weight and with dumping syndrome or a needing to visit to your emergency surgeon. Here are some tips to help you get through the day feeling happy and proud. Depend on Hot drinks. Hot drinks are calming, and they take a long time to get through. They’re an ideal defense against high-calorie foods because you’re not allowed to drink while you eat after weight loss surgery. You may need to turn to a hot drink: When your children are opening presents and nibbling on Christmas Cookies in the morning, When your family curls on the couch to watch a movie and everyone else is hitting the popcorn. Before or after Christmas dinner when there are appetizers or Desserts all around. Make yourself a low-calorie cup of coffee, cinnamon or other flavor of tea, or diet hot cocoa. Use Water and, if you need it a little creamier, add some unsweetened almond milk. It has only 30 calories per cup. Add a half-cup to each of four cups of coffee or hot tea throughout the day, and you’ll be only 60 calories to the bad for the day. A packet of diet hot cocoa has 50 calories. Compare that to the hundreds of calories you’re saving by sipping instead of munching! Make a nice breakfast. You know the importance of breakfast, but how often do you really make a gourmet one and take the time to savor it? Probably not often enough! While your family’s chowing down on Christmas casserole and sticky buns, you can be enjoying a high-Protein treat like an egg white omelet with red and green bell peppers or green spinach or kale and red diced tomatoes. Top it with nonfat cheese and serve it with a strip of turkey bacon, and enjoy your 200-calorie breakfast! Just be careful – you may need to make extra if your family starts asking for some! Stay Busy What do you do after the presents are opened and you’re back from church? You’re doing well as long as you choose anything besides eating! But after the long run-up to Christmas and the excitement of the morning, it’s easy to come back home and mindlessly munch. Anything you do to stay busy and prevent the munchies can only be a good thing. Here are some ideas. Write thank-you notes. Serve meals at a soup kitchen. Act out a play or have a reading with your family. Ask your children if you can watch them play with their gifts. Get Moving What are your top excuses for not getting enough exercise? Too busy? Can’t get to the gym? Don’t want to leave your family? Today may be your lucky day – it’s possible that none of those are a problem! You’re not working, the gym’s closed, and if you feel guilty leaving your family to exercise, don’t. Include them in your workout! A simple walk with the family is a good start if the weather’s cooperative. If you don’t live in a snowy climate, you can also ask your kids if you can play basketball or whatever sport they’re currently into. (If you don’t have kids, you get to choose the sport!). If you live in a cold climate, you can make snow angels or have a snowball fight. No matter the weather, you can always stay inside and dance to Christmas carols. They’ll be gone for the year soon enough. Try a Christmas Salad Do you have a Christmas dinner planned at home or at friends’ or a family member’s house? Whether you’re a guest or the host, there’s sure to be a lot of food. The problem is, there may not be anything you’re supposed to eat. How do you make sure you can stick to your weight loss surgery diet and still enjoy the dinner? Take charge by bringing or serving a green salad with some protein. Make enough for everyone and serve it with the main course or ask your host to do so. Then, pile up your plate with salad and have only small bites of some of the other treats. These are some ingredients you might consider. Baby greens, Romaine lettuce, or spinach leaves. Grilled chicken or low-fat mozzarella. Cranberries, pomegranate seeds, or strawberry slices. Toasted pecan pieces or sliced almonds. Water chestnuts or diced pears or apples. Cranberry or raspberry vinaigrette. Recent Weight Loss Surgery? Make the Most of It The holidays are tough enough after weight loss surgery, but they can be even more challenging if your weight loss surgery was recent. You may still be following the post-surgery diet progression. You’ll go from liquids to pureed foods to semi-soft foods before you can eat regular solid foods again. Things may seem bleak since you can’t eat most of the treats and you may still be in pain or discomfort from surgery. Worse, you still have a lot of weight to lose. Why even bother trying? Because it’s worth it, that’s why! If you make it through the holidays on your weight loss surgery diet, you have a lot to gain! Healing well so you don’t have setbacks. Laying the foundation for rapid weight loss in the coming year. Proving yourself that you can do this. Keep reminding yourself why you’re doing this. You want to lose weight and be healthy. These holiday foods will all be around next year. Maybe you can have some then. This year, you’re doing what you can to start a new lifestyle. You don’t get this kind of opportunity often, so try to be excited about it. Think about how much you’ll weigh by this time next year. Remind yourself that by the time January 1 rolls around, you’ll be proud of yourself for sticking to your post-surgery diet. You’re doing a good thing for yourself! Recent weight loss surgery or not, BariatricPal wishes you a happy holiday. Be safe, and be healthy. Thanks for being part of BariatricPal.

Happy holidays to you!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas!

Have a Good Holiday , my Deli got in a salad I had to try because I didn't think I liked Kale , but it is a Kale, Cranberry & Pear salad with Lemon juice & light virgin olive oil dressing &= I added some sliverd almonds so good had to be the red pears though v, think about it, it's Xmas colors in a Salad but it was good if you are a little ways out post op it does take a lot of chewing , so it will remind you to chew well .

Merry christmas to all. Have a great protein day...