Happy Memorial Day from BariatricPal! - May 2017

[Alex Brecher 10,516]

	Hey BariatricPal Members! Happy Memorial Day from BariatricPal! The day is officially the chance to remember those who died serving in the country’s armed forces, but it also serves as a long weekend, and the first unofficial day of summer. Most of us experience Memorial Day as some combination of all three of those purposes. It is also a chance to get your weight loss on track or keep the momentum going. Start here! • Your Memorial Day Barbecue – A Weight Loss Blast • Build a Better Burger • Your Summer Start: The Time Is Right! Use the newsletter for ideas and motivation, and have a wonderful day with friends or family. Keep up the healthy fight, and feel free to visit BariatricPal to talk on the forums anytime, and visit The BariatricPal Store for the best deals on great-tasting bariatric products. Thanks for your support, and see you around! Sincerely, Alex Brecher Founder, BariatricPal Your Memorial Day Barbecue – A Weight Loss Blast Memorial Day is a welcome holiday for so many of us, and a chance to hang out with friends outdoors for the first time in a while. Make sure to not to let enjoying your friends’ company get in the way of your weight loss goals, though. Your Memorial Day picnic or grill can be healthy and fun. The Barbecue Cheat Sheet You get to choose what the start to the outdoor grilling season means for your health. It can be an absolute disaster if you go traditional and do not pay attention. On the other hand, the grill and a picnic offer all kinds of opportunities for healthy, filling choices. You can have fun, eat well, and lose weight on this day! Skip the Bad… Keep an eye out for the worst of the worst, and replace them with lower-calorie, lower-carb, or higher-protein choices that fit into your WLS diet. These culprits can make you regret the day’s indulgences. • Potato salad with 300 calories per cup. • Baked Beans with a day’s worth of sodium and sugar in a cup. • Fried chicken, with half a day’s worth of fat in a piece. • Flag cake, frosted brownies, and red, white, and blue pies. …And Go for the Good Eating right at the picnic can be both easy and delicious. You do not have to work hard to create gourmet dishes, or be stuck with tasteless choices that leave you feeling hungry. Here are some quick ideas for sides and Desserts to pass around, dieting or not. • Pasta salad with Protein Pasta and Low-Carb Italian Dressing. • Broccoli salad with Greek yogurt, walnuts, red onions, sweetener, and pepper. • Vegetarian Sloppy Joe as a topping for burgers. • Soft-baked Protein Brownies or Chocolate Chip Protein Cookies. • Key Lime Tarts. Burn It Off Now and Later Bring a volleyball, beach ball, or soccer ball to pass around. Grab a friend or a relative and go for a walk. Or, hop into a 5k run/walk. If you are not quite in shape to do one now, check the calendar and sign up for one on July 4 or Labor Day. There are sure to be plenty of choices in your city or in a nearby city, and committing yourself now will help motivate you to train. Bonus points for choosing to walk for charity! Build a Better Burger That beef burger or frank in a bun seems so natural when you are grilling, but you are not doing yourself any favors. Fatty beef gives you unneeded calories and artery-clogging fat, while a hot dog is typically a source of cancer-causing nitrates. That bun adds refined starches, and toppings such as bacon, chili, and mayo can come together to create a package that has more calories than you should get in a day…not to mention a source of a stomachache or worse for WLS patients. You can easily build a better burger with more nutrients and fewer carbs and calories as the old go-tos. They can be so tasty and easy to prepare that everyone else at the picnic wants the healthy version, too! Where’s the Beef? The beef is not in your new healthy burger, but who cares? Choose another star of the show! What about… • Turkey burger, either plain or seasoned with Italian seasonings, soy or teriyaki sauce, or Low-Calorie Italian Dressing. • Soy crumbles with Low-Carb Pasta Sauce in Asian, Garlic and Herb, or Tex Mex flavors. • Portabello mushrooms. • Frozen, ready-to-cook, salmon, black bean, or soy burgers. Top It Off You can pile on the character without piling on the guilt. Try these substitutions. • Sweet and Sour Slaw for regular coleslaw. • Fat-free cheese for full-fat. A slice can have as little as 25 calories, and melt so nicely! • Avocado or guacamole for mayo. • Protein Potato Chips for fried chips (some of us just love a little crunch in the burger…). Lettuce, tomatoes, and any other vegetable is always a “go,” and grilled mushrooms and onions are satisfying choices. Keep toppings and spreads light, and luckily classics like mustard and low-sugar ketchup work well. Wrap the Package A regular bun spread with butter or mayo can add 300 calories and the potential for dumping syndrome, without much benefit in terms of protein or other nutrients. Why bother? Instead, go for a minimum of extra calories with a naked burger or a burger wrapped in a leaf of lettuce, and plan to use a knife and fork to eat it. If you are in maintenance mode or are allowed to eat healthy grains, have a low-calorie, high-fiber whole grain bun – or half of one for an open burger. Grilled eggplant is another option if you have a knife and fork handy. Your Summer Start: The Time Is Right! Any new season is a chance for a fresh start. Memorial Day is no different. Summer is unofficially here, so take advantage! What are your goals for this season? Where do you want to be on Labor Day? Take Stock of Your Situation Sit down and be honest with yourself. Where are you now, and where do you want to be? What do you need to do to get there? It could be that… • You are doing great with your WLS diet and you just need to keep up the good as you lose weight. • Your weight loss has stalled, and you need to get back to weighing food and tracking it to get back on the weight loss path. • You are ready to get started on your WLS journey, and you need to schedule your surgery. • You are not sure how to lose weight for good, and need to find out more about WLS to decide whether it is the right choice for you. Reach Out for Help No matter where you are and where you are going, you can find help. The BariatricPal forums are filled with helpful members who can give you support and advice at any stage of your journey. You can phone a surgeon and schedule a consultation to learn more, or ask your doctor for recommendations on whom to ask. Your journey is in your hands! This summer can be the best of your life, and you have the power to make it happen. Give yourself a good start on Memorial Day, and let the momentum carry you through. Stop by the BariatricPal forums whenever you need a lift, and see how well you can do this summer!