Last Minute Tips to Avoid Christmas Overeating

1.        Talk. Talk with everyone in the room. (Preferrably not just about yourself; ask everyone what's new with them...you really do want to know, right?) When you are talking, you aren't eating, well, at least not politely!

2.      Keep it low carb. When the food is served, fill up on the best choices at the table. Turkey, ham, veggies, salad and do your best to either avoid altogether the starchy foods like breads and potatoes or at least only take small amounts. Once you have had the lean protein, you won't be able to just keep having more and more of the rest of the food on the table.

3.      Decide ahead of time what dessert you want. If there is a choice, pick it out and keep in mind that you will get to have dessert. This is a time of making choices, not eliminating all higher calorie foods. Granted, sugar intense foods will tend to leave you wanting more sweet foods, however if you restrict yourself completely, that's almost as bad. Smaller amounts of sweets can be incorporated into a low carb diet without disasterous results...but it's important to spread out the servings over at least a 12 hour period.



My house (just kiddin!)



I hope everyone enjoys their holidays and that we all remember what the season is truly about.      

Lap-Band Coping With Holiday Eating

Eating was a challenge yesterday as it was our annual trek to Seattle to see the Pacific NW Ballet (www.pnb.org) performance of The Nutcracker. This is a 4 generation tradition for our family now that we are taking my grandkids to the ballet. We went early because we heard that Santa was up at the top of the Space Needle! And lo and behold, he was there fully decked out with his elves in a space ship! Jolly good! Afterwards we got out pictures taken with St. Nick and there were tables set up with cookies to be decorated by the kids and avoided by the adults. I was glad I had started the day out with a scrambled egg and a turkey sausage patty. We then went to the food court at the Seattle Center and pizza was the (almost) unanimous vote; I had a side salad and some pepperoni off a leftover pizza. (Not so yum).

The Nutcracker performance was FABULOUS and kept us on the edge of our seats. During intermission I had a cup of (brewed) Starbucks coffee and part of a Mouse King cookie and a couple bites of brownie.....see what I mean by a challenging eating day?

We did a lot of walking in the rain (with umbrellas) while we were in Seattle, and for the most part we ate healthy snacks on the way home (peanuts and string cheese) that we easily found at an overpriced mini-mart) so it wasn't a  total loss, but we were absolutely surrounded by sugarplum fairies trying their best to sabotage my willpower. I did make choices that for the most part gave me a sense of fullness with my Lap-Band (think salad and low fat cheese and even the pepperoni). The cookies, brownies and all liquids hot or cold would not.

Those are my suggestions for coping with the holiday overdose of sugar and sweets that surround us everwhere. Do Your Best to Be Prepared!

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!