Come Out a Winner on Super Bowl Sunday! - February 2017

Hey BariatricPal Members!

I hope you are having a great winter and are getting closer than ever to your weight loss surgery goals. It’s a good time of year to hunker down and focus on the end goal, but there’s still plenty of room for fun. We hope this letter gives you a nice balance of work and play. Here’s what you’ll find:

• Come Out a Winner on Super Bowl Sunday!
• Hydration: an Underestimated Weight Loss Tool
• Get Out of the WLS Rut this Groundhog Day

Savor the newsletter, get motivated for some fun times, and then come talk about your progress and anything else on your mind at the BariatricPal forums! Thanks for your support, and see you on the boards!

Sincerely,

Alex Brecher

Founder, BariatricPal

Come Out a Winner on Super Bowl Sunday!

The stats on Super Bowl Sunday food are no surprise. It’s the country’s biggest day for pizza restaurants, and Americans also down millions of pounds of chips, wings, and nuts, not to mention the billions of burgers and millions of cases of beer.

Of course, none of those numbers will reflect what you eat on Super Bowl Sunday, do they? Your Super Bowl LI can be your healthiest one yet, and still be filled with food and fun.

Focus on the Game

Not a fan of football? Then focus on the commercials and half-time show, or put yourself in charge of running the betting pool at the party. Do everyone a favor and watch the kids as their parents focus on the big game, or do a little cleaning up and serving as the game goes on. In short, keep yourself busy doing anything but eating!

Love the Healthy Treats

Skip the aforementioned staples, and provide your own healthy but delicious treats to nibble on when the mood strikes. Bump up the Protein and cut back on carbs whenever you can.

• Veggies with salsa or guacamole.
• chicken and veggie skewers.
• Sweet and salty snack mix with Protein Cereal, Protein Cookies, Protein pretzels, and Protein Zippers.
• Parfaits with Greek yogurt, Protein Granola, and berries.

Get what you need at The BariatricPal Store and use coupon code BPNewsletter10 for a 10% discount off your entire first order!

Hydration: An Underestimated Weight Loss Tool

Your weight loss surgery diet gets the most attention before and after surgery, but other factors definitely contribute to your weight loss success. One of those is staying hydrated. When you get enough Water, you:

• Feel more full without getting more calories.
• Have more energy so you can be more active and burn more calories.
• Burn more calories at rest.

Talking about drinking fluids may not be as glamorous as discussing your protein sources, but it can be well worth the conversation!

Fluids Morning, Noon, and Night

You can be sipping on water and other low-calorie drinks all day except for within 30 minutes of eating solid foods. Aim for 8 8-ounce cups of fluids each day, and more if you sweat heavily or the weather is warm.

Staying Hydrated Can Be Fun

Getting your fluids in can almost be fun to think about because it does not involve depriving yourself of anything. Instead, you get to experiment with all kinds of hydrating drinks to see which you enjoy most and find easiest to get down. You can try:

• Plain water or water flavored with flavor drops or fresh herbs.
• Sipping broths.
• Decaf tea.
• flavored water such as Stur Drinks.

Get Out of the WLS Rut this Groundhog Day

Have you seen the 1993 movie “Groundhog Day” starring Bill Murray? In the classic film, Murray’s character, a weatherman, wakes up to relive the same day, February 2, over and over again. Do you see any similarities between your weight loss surgery journey and the repetition of the circumstances of this weatherman?

Going Around in Circles

You can find yourself running around in circles at any stage of your weight loss surgery journey. Pre-op, you might be struggling with your decision with whether to get WLS and which kind you want. Post-op, you could be hitting a plateau every time you let those good habits slip. Or, you might be experiencing regain and loss of the same few pounds over your goal weight as you try to move into maintenance.

Changing Season, Changing Habit

This Groundhog Day may signal the end of winter or not. Either way, you know the end of winter is in sight, so you might as well take advantage of the new season to shake things up a bit. A small change or two may be all you need to get out of the rut. These are a few simple ideas that might do the trick.

• Add a regular treat to your diet. Looking forward to a guilt-free dessert such as a Protein Brownie at night, or a bag of Protein Chips with some Cheesy Dip while watching TV on the weekends, can be motivation enough to keep you away from the less virtuous treats.
• Recruit help to target your weakness. Have a sweet tooth after dinner? Get your spouse to listen to music or watch TV with you so you both leave the table and have something to do. Love the Mexican joint down the street from work? Ask a coworker to eat lunch with you so you aren’t tempted to sneak out for a burrito.
• Try a new activity. The feeling of using your muscles in different ways together with the rapid progress you are likely to make at first can increase your motivation compared to doing the same workout day in and day out. Hip-hop, kickboxing, and boot camp can be new and exciting, and never fear: any good instructor will show you how to keep the moves at your fitness level.
• Do something fun. Treat yourself well with a massage or pedicure, and you may find it easier to treat yourself well when it comes to eating right.
• Get a new perspective on WLS if you’re still waffling. You can set up a video chat with surgeons across the country to find out their recommendations for your situation. Let them know up front that you’re unlikely to become their patients, and you can be more confident that their advice will be in your best interest and not theirs.

Often, a few tweaks can lead to big progress, especially if you are in it for the long run. Pinpoint a few changes you can make and commit to them, and see how well it pays off!

February can have some dark days after a long winter, but there’s no reason to feel like you’re in a tunnel with your weight loss. Take some inspiration and ideas from this newsletter, and come join the fun conversations on BariatricPal!