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	Hey BariatricPal Members! I hope your summer is going well and you are finding ways to stay cool while you pursue your weight loss/maintenance and health goals! It can be hard to stay focused during the summer season if you have vacation plans, your kids are out of school, or the world just seems more relaxed, but maybe this newsletter can help. This is the run-down. • Balancing Act: Long-Term View versus Weight Loss Urgency • Summer Refreshment: Delicious and Nutritious • Get the Scoop in BariatricPal’s WLS Magazine! Enjoy the newsletter, and maybe you will take one or two ideas from it to make your weight loss surgery journey easier or more fun. To that end, we also hope you will logon to the BariatricPal Forums for more ideas and inspiration. Thanks as always for your support! Sincerely, Alex Brecher Founder, BariatricPal WLS Balancing Act: Long-Term View versus Weight Loss Urgency Weight loss surgery is a life-time commitment. You have probably heard that a million times before, and hopefully you believe it. Now, take a second to think about how you are using that information. Are you using it to help you lose the most weight possible and to keep it off? Or are you using it as an excuse to delay taking action? Slow and Steady It is absolutely true that slow and steady wins the race. To begin with, do not jump into WLS before you are ready. Consider your options carefully, from whether you want WLS to which kind is best for you to whom you want as your surgeon. Then plan your surgery date at a time when you can take some time away from work and prepare your home and kitchen for recovery and the post-op diet. Once you’ve committed to weight loss, you’ll need to make serious changes, but they will only work long-term if they are sustainable. You will not be able to avoid all sugar for the rest of your life, and you probably cannot commit to an hour of exercise every day if you have never been a big exerciser. Stalls will happen, and you will make mistakes. Take a long-term view, and you will realize that these setbacks are nothing compared to the big picture. Today Is the Day On the other hand…carpe diem! You may have the rest of your life to lose weight, but that is no excuse to delay taking action. How many years have you postponed that healthy choice: a first phone call to a surgeon, or giving up your lunch-time trip through the drive-through? How many months has it been since you dared to step on the scale? How many weeks has it been since you lost weight? Start today, and it can be the first day of the rest of your healthiest life. Summer Refreshment: Delicious and Nutritious! Summer is a welcome break for some, and a three-month sweat-bath for others. Love it or hate it, though, it is here, so you might as well thrive. As a WLS patient or pre-op patient, thriving means losing weight and staying healthy – and in the heat of summer, staying healthy largely depends on staying hydrated. Here are a few ideas for getting your fluids, staying on the weight loss path, and getting to enjoy a few summer treats along the way. Cold Drinks for Hydration Water can actually taste pretty good, especially when you are hot, thirsty, and sweaty. Sometimes, though, it does not taste so good. You might have never been a water drinker, or weight loss surgery might have changed your taste buds so plain water is no longer a favorite. That’s okay. There are plenty of alternatives that are calorie-free or low-calorie and refreshing. • Flavor enhancers, with or without extras such as vitamins or electrolytes. • Iced tea, plain or with additions such as lemon or orange, mint leaves, or even a little unsweetened almond milk for a creamier but still low-calorie drink. Just make sure you choose decaf versions of tea. • Flavored water - noncarbonated, of course. You can work towards getting your 64 or more daily ounces by having a pitcher in the fridge for whenever you need it, plus carrying around a bottle filled with your favorite drink. You can also carry around a bottle that you fill with water and add flavor enhancer drops to whenever you are ready. Magic Moment: Swap Protein for Sugar Summer treats are not really known for being good for weight loss. Ice cream comes to mind (think: up to 300 calories for a half-cup, or 500 or more for a good-sized cone from a scoop shop), as do blueberry and peach pie (got room for 500 calories and 60 grams of carbs?) and smoothies (nothing like drinking 1,000 calories and 140 grams of carbs from a healthy-sounding fruit concoction). But wait! You do not need to say a painful goodbye to summer treats. You do not even have to give up your social engagements. Just swap protein for sugar while keeping some of your favorite flavors. Here are a few examples. • Protein Smoothies with up to 15 grams of protein and a minimum of sugar and carbs. Make them anywhere by taking a single-serve powder packet with you and stirring it into your water, milk, almond milk or other beverage on the spot. Enjoy the taste of berries, yogurt, bananas, and more. • Peach Mango Cooler with only two ingredients and a load of flavor. • Swiss Chocolate Root Beer Float, which tastes as good as it sounds, delivers satisfying protein, and has nowhere near the sugar you might expect. • Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Shake, which kind of speaks for itself. Check out our other Recipes for great-tasting and healthy refreshing ideas. BariatricPal WLS Magazine! BariatricPal is a community of weight loss surgery pre-op and post-op patients who are here for information and encouragement, but there is more to discover! You may visit BariatricPal for the discussion forums, but there is a whole other section you can enjoy: the WLS Magazine. Straight from the Experts Our contributors know what they are talking about. • Registered dietitians (RD) who know what to eat, what not to eat, and how to approach eating in a healthy way. • Successful bariatric surgery patients who are now inspiring others through writing, speaking, personal training, and life coaching. • Clinical psychologists who can help you win the mental games and keep an eye out for pitfalls such as depression and replacement addictions. • Bariatric surgeons who know, well, pretty much everything about prep and recovery. Answers to Burning Questions… Some of the articles are on topics you might be wondering about or are worried about. They might be on the pre-op or post-op diet, getting ready for your pre-op consult or surgery, or getting in your exercise. Every WLS patient wants to avoid Weight Regain, so make sure you know the signs! Other recent articles in the WLS Magazine are on Chia and Hemp, and Finding the Light Within so you can be your own best guiding light in your journey. …And Questions That Come Up Out of the Blue What should you do when you are lying awake in the middle of the night and you suddenly decide you want to exercise tomorrow? Read how to get started with Exercise at Any Level in the magazine! When you are at the Farmer’s Market and you are tempted by the berries, check out The Benefits and Uses of Berries for WLS Patients using the BariatricPal app! Or if you find yourself at a summer party, make sure you stay on track with your diet with some tips in an article on Navigating Your Summer Social Calendar. Whether you have burning questions or you want to browse, come by BariatricPal today! Check out the WLS Magazine, join the chit-chat on the forums, and spruce up your profile! Thanks for sharing your summer with us!
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