Happy Easter from BariatricPal! - March 2016

Hey BariatricPal Members!

Happy Easter from BariatricPal – and if you don’t celebrate Easter, we’d like to take the opportunity to wish you a healthy and happy spring! It’s a time full of new hope and growth, and we’d like to be a part of whatever you have going on as you work towards losing weight and staying healthy. Here’s the run-down of the newsletter.

• A Healthy Easter Brunch and Beyond
• Your Weight Loss Surgery Spring Break Cheat Sheet
• Healthy Spring Recipes to Celebrate the Season
• Getting a Head Start on Your Fitness

Enjoy the newsletter, and take some time to focus on your family and yourself. Then come join us at BariatricPal! Chat with other members on the forums, and take advantage of the store for the best deals on great-tasting bariatric products. Thanks for your support, and see you around!

Sincerely,

Alex Brecher

Founder, BariatricPal

A Healthy Easter Brunch: Top Do’s and Don’ts

You may look forward to Easter Sunday all year if you’ve been celebrating it all your life. There are the treats from the Easter bunny, maybe an Easter egg hunt, and an Easter brunch or dinner. Along with all that, unfortunately, can be 1,000 or more extra calories, and enough sugar to give you dumping syndrome.

This year, don’t let Easter sabotage your weight loss plans. Here are our top tips for coming out on the other side just as you should: lighter, energized, and proud of yourself.

• Do prep some healthy foods. Have healthy alternatives on hand, and you’ll be less likely to sneak in the chocolate Easter eggs and cheesy potato casseroles. Ideas that you and everyone else can enjoy include hard-boiled egg whites, fruit salad with herbs, and fresh radishes, carrots, and sugar snap peas.
• Don’t steal from your children’s Easter basket. You don’t need their jelly beans, marshmallow chicks, and chocolate bunnies, and they don’t want to share them with you. If you can’t help but nibble as they go through their baskets, opt for grown-up treats instead, like fresh strawberries and toasted snow peas.
• Do ham it up. Ham isn’t the best choice, since it’s high in sodium and it can be full of cancer-causing nitrates. Still, it’s far from a disaster, especially compared to some other holiday choices. It’s pretty low in calories and high in protein, which is just what you want on your WLS diet. If you can, go for an all-natural, uncured ham, and consider getting it low-sodium.
• Don’t let your guard down. Lent may be over, but it’s not time to add back candy, alcohol, or whatever indulgence you gave up into your diet. You did just fine without it for over a month; you can keep up the smart choices now!
• Do celebrate the season. Add spring greens, strawberries, arugula, carrots, and other seasonally fresh produce to your Easter menu.
• Don’t get lazy. Whether you’re on your own, with your family, or together with friends, you can get active before or after brunch. Go on an Easter egg hunt, or walk to a supermarket or, better yet, a farmers’ market to pick up some healthy fresh food for the day.

Just like you always do, think about the WLS basics so your Easter turns out well. Plan your food ahead of time, go for protein and vegetables first, and watch portion sizes. And, enjoy the company!

Your WLS Spring Break Cheat Sheet

Spring break…a time to sit back, relax, eat some good food, throw back some drinks…and gain a few pounds. No way! You can recharge this spring without getting off track. Just make a few minor changes to your usual vacation routine, and you can feel proud of yourself this year.

Don’t Play “Invisible:” Keep Your Doctor in Mind

Spring break seems like a nice chance to hide yourself from the realities of life, but that’s when you can get in trouble. A good way to keep yourself on track is to plan to tell your doctor or nutritionist exactly what you ate and how you exercised on your vacation.

If you’re post-op and beyond the point where you are in close contact with your team or if your surgery is far enough in the future that they’re not monitoring you too much, just pretend. Imagine that you are going to tell them all of your dirty little secrets…and you may find that your secrets aren’t so “dirty.” You may eat clean and exercise regularly!

Swap Out that Drink

Alcoholic beverages and spring break go hand in hand, but alcohol can really wreck your good intentions. It’s high in calories, with 100 to 200 or more calories in a mixed drink. It gives you a buzz pretty fast if you have the sleeve or the bypass. It forces you to break the golden WLS diet rule of separating food from beverages, since it’s unsafe to drink alcohol on an empty stomach. And, it lowers your inhibitions, so you’re more likely to overeat unhealthy foods while you’re drinking alcohol.

Bottom line: don’t do it! And if you do need a drink, keep it way smaller than you used to, and plan out your food carefully.

Get Moving! Take Advantage of the Time and Place

You’re on break. You have a little extra time. Don’t spend all of it laying on your beach chair. Take a few minutes in the morning, at mid-day, and in the evenings to get moving. You can walk around town or the beach to explore, or swim a few laps in the pool, or splash around in the ocean. Those few minutes add up to more energy, faster metabolism, and a clearer head so you can make good eating decisions, too.

Explore the Local Cuisine

Be like the locals and eat fresh and healthy. Ask the servers what is in season and how they can prepare it simply for you. You don’t need to tell them about your WLS if you don’t want, but don’t be afraid to let them know you have a small appetite and that you can’t have too much sugar or fat.

You can still explore the local cuisine if you’re on spring break at home rather than away. Visit a farmers’ market to see what’s in season, and ask the vendors for ideas on how to use their fare. Gather the ingredients you need, and take your time making a meal you’ve never tried before.

Stash Your Own Meals and Snacks

You never want to take the chance of being caught off guard without the foods you need for your WLS diet. You may need to take protein powders and shakes and protein soups and gelatins if you’re on the liquid diet, or stash a few protein bars in your suitcase for travel days. It’s easy to make yourself instant protein oatmeal using hot water in a hotel room to start each day off right.

Everything you could need for travel is available at The BariatricPal Store. You can even find handy shaker bottles to carry your protein shakes. There’s no reason not to have a healthy spring break!

Spring: Fresh Start, New You

Spring just screams of new beginnings. You can see new green leaves on trees, and watch flowers budding and blooming. People are coming out again after settling in for winter, and you may even be thinking about your summer plans.

What better time than now to rededicate yourself? You can get back on track if you’ve fallen off in recent weeks. Take advantage of spring cleaning to clear out your kitchen and restock it with healthy staples and fresh foods. Get out and about to burn a few calories now that the great outdoors is a little more welcoming compared to the snow and ice storms of recent weeks. Compare your goals and habits now to what you’d hoped when you set New Year’s resolutions a few months ago, and make any changes you think would be helpful.

It is also a good time now to set a few new goals for the summer. Maybe you’re ready to commit to your first 5k run/walk, or you want to fit into a certain summer dress. Maybe you’re hoping to fit onto the amusement park rides when you go with your nieces and nephews, or you want to be included when the family goes for a hike or scuba diving. Maybe you want to lose a few pounds so you can be approved for surgery! Whatever it is, it’s not too early to start. Good luck!

I hope you are having a great spring and your goals are within reach. Thank you for all of your support for BariatricPal, and I can’t wait to see you on the boards!