Protein and Bariatric Surgery.....

It is important for everyone to have high quality protein and nutrition every single day. It is even more important for a Lap-Band patient since the amount of protein that can be consumed at one time is decreased. We cannot live without protein, it is the main cell building-block. It builds and maintains muscle and is responsible for the repair of many parts of our body, including organs, skin and hair. Studies have also shown that low levels of protein in the body can create a situation where a body will decrease its Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR). This is the rate that our bodies burn food for energy. We want to increase this rate, to help burn fat more effectively and faster! Increasing exercise will also accomplish this same goal, but combining with adequate protein in the diet will bump it up even more. I know very successful Lap-Band patients who faithfully get 60 or more grams of protein daily and that combined with other Success Habits have helped them watch the scale go down consistently.

So what is adequate protein and how can we get it? Most dieticians I know recommend a minimum of 60 grams of protein a day and even more. Some recommend 90 grams per day or approximately 30 grams per meal. As a Lap-Band patient, I know that it is difficult to get that much in the form of food, although I do try. I recommend getting a small calorie-counter type book that also lists protein amounts in foods just to carry with you. It's difficult to know how many grams of protein you are getting in food without something like that. Online resources are very valuable as well.

Next post: Discussing High Protein Meal Replacements

Help to Stop Constant Food Cravings

Why is it so hard to stop eating the overly high-processed foods? I am talking about fast-foods, like burgers and cheese fries and chicken strips as well as refined carbohydrates such as most breads,(we love our bread products), pastries (think freshly baked cinammon rolls you can smell in the malls), sugary treats (almost everything Starbucks sells!) and chips...like nachos (excessively salty foods). To continue with Dr. David Kessler's explanations, here are some real scientific reasons for this. All these flavors hit full force. Health-sapping sugar, salt and fat, -plus additives such as hydrolyzed vegetable protein, ratchet up taste far beyond what you'd find in nature. Texture can also tantalize. Processed foods are engineered for optimal "MOUTH FEEL", whether crunchy, creamy or gooey. These fun-to-eat qualities can quickly override your better judgment. Plus.....these foods are super easy to eat! No bones, no pits, no peels, just instant gratification. Do we stand a chance? Can we fight back? I think we can.

Here is one idea to try: preparing food in advance. We live in a fast-forward world. We prepare for work. We prepare our kids for school. These are not optional....we MUST be prepared with clean presentable clothes, homework done, cell phones charged, gas in car. The list goes on. We go grocery shopping, but are we just buying more fast foods? Preparing foods in advance takes time, but the payoff can be huge. Buying fresh chicken, fish, eggs and other lean proteins and cooking them ahead of time will mean that on busy week nights there are healthy options for quick 'heat and eat' meals. Buying fresh vegetables and cutting them up ahead of time makes having salads or steamed veggies or soups quickly available. I really don't like cutting up salad ingredients, but I do like eating salad and I would rather spend the time to cut everything up at once than doing it every night before dinner. Bake a whole chicken (or two). Grill fish. Cook hard-boiled eggs. Make meatloaf. Spaghetti. Lasagne.

Good luck. I know you can do it.

FDA Panel votes in favor of lowering BMI for Lap-Band surgery.....

Here is some good news (for a change!) 

To read the article from abcnews, just click on the link below.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory?id=12309257

Basically though, the article explains that the Lap-Band device from Allergan Inc. which is currently implanted in roughly 100,000 people each year (like me!)and usually helps patients lose 50 pounds or more currently under Federal Guidelines has been limited to patients who are morbidly obese. About 12 million more obese Americans could soon qualify for surgery to implant this small, flexible stomach band designed to help them lose weight by dramatically limiting their food intake. The Food and Drug Administration will make a final decision on the Lap-Band in the coming months. On Friday, a panel of FDA advisers recommended expanding use of the device to include patients who are less obese. The panel voted 8-2 (hey, who's holding out?) that the benefits of broader approval outweighed the risks.

If you are interested in checking out what your BMI is (Body Mass Index is how they decide when you qualify for Lap-Band surgery), click on the link:
http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/ and then you can enter your height and weight in the online calculator. Easy!

Lap-Band Weekend Eating - A Solution

So now that I have a Lap-Band, how has my weekend eating changed? Well, I have to admit I still relate relaxation with eating, but the overwhelming desire for non-stop eating has all but been eliminated. What changed? I can honestly say it was the "Band". My Lap-Band has allowed me to lose 60+ lbs. and keep it off for 2 years! I feel it is the best thing that has happened to me in a long, long time.

My typical weekend day begins with coffee (of course!). I like to relax with a cup of coffee and about mid-morning I will have some breakfast. I might have some soft scrambled eggs and turkey bacon or maybe just a piece of string cheese if I need to get moving and don't have alot of time.

By noon or so, if I am getting hungry again, I try to have a salad with chicken or tuna or low-fat cheese or even a hard boiled egg. See a pattern here? Yes, I try to include some form of lean protein with every meal and most snacks. This type of eating is easy when you are at home, but it also works well when you are out shopping, running errands or hanging out with friends.

Later in the day, I try to grab a quick snack and for me the best option is again (yes) protein. I might splurge and have a couple handfuls of peanuts or even some fat-free cottage cheese with sliced pears (also a good option for breakfast!).

Dinner on the weekends can be anything from whatever we are fixing at home, to eating out and because I have the Lap-Band, I find I can eat most anything that my family and friends are eating, just in smaller quantities (and I am talking about SOLID healthy food, not junk or fast food). I have found that it is very important for me to not get OVER HUNGRY! If I wait too long to eat, I have a harder time feeling satisfied with small snacks and tend to want to fall back in my old eating pattern (hard with the Lap-Band, but not impossible) Hey! I like to eat, so I need to allow myself to have all the meals and snacks I mentioned above, NOT skip meals like I used to do, thinking I could starve myself into good health.

Lap-Band Weekend Eating....The Problem

Well, it's the weekend so meals and eating are different for me than during the week. This might be true for alot of people, but since I work during the week, I find that my meals are more structured and it's easier to stick to healthier eating patterns. On the weekend, I like to relax and I equate relaxation with eating....(hmmm, wonder how I got to be overweight?). Before I was a Lap-Band patient, I would eat pretty much all weekend and the reward for making it through another hard work week would be to overeat the foods I really loved. Oh sure, I would wake up each morning not only resolving, but planning to NOT overeat. By mid-morning, or at the very best, mid-afternoon, my resolve was out the window and I was hungry, hungry, hungry!