High Protein Meal Replacements

Getting Adequate Protein

I always prefer eating real food. I love eating real food. That's not so hard to figure out, but as you read in my last post, as a Lap-Band patient, it's not always easy to get the recommended amount of protein; 60 to 90 grams of protein a day. A person without a Lap-Band typically does not get adequate nutrition from their diet alone, but a bariatric patient is at a disadvantage because of the smaller portion sizes. I eat good quality meals as a rule, but after talking with many successful Lap-Band patients, one of the common denominators seem to be a consistent intake of good quality protein. So how can we get that 60 to 90 grams of protein in our diet if we can't take in large enough portions of solid protein? The answer seems to be high quality protein drinks or as they're better known; Meal Replacement Drinks. High quality whey is the key. Not all meal replacement protein drinks are alike, as a matter of fact, some don't even come close to quality.

Which Proteins are Best?

R.J. Sepe writes, "A high quality whey protein, for example, as compared to other protein, is considerably easier to efficiently break down into peptides or useable building blocks. In addition, whey protein is considered to be a high quality protein because it is a complete protein and therefore, provides us with all of the essential amino acids which are necessary for protein to do its job."

A recent article from the Journal of Endocrinology & Metabolism states, "We recommend that nutritional management should include: an average of 60-120 g of protein daily in all patients to maintain lean body mass during weight loss and for the long term." They also say, "We recommend that long-term vitamin and mineral supplementation be considered in all patients undergoing bariatric surgery."

Okay, okay, I get it. So on the advice of a friend, I started drinking an Isagenix, all natural shake every morning and now have added one for either lunch or dinner and I have started losing weight again! I eat a sensible, 400-800 calorie dinner (or lunch, if I am having a shake for dinner) and to top it off, I feel fantastic! What? Yes, really good. I have more energy and I mean long-lasting energy, not the kind that you get with a cup of coffee or sugar. Nutrition is incredibly important, I have always known that, but I thought you had to take handfuls of vitamins to get all the nutrition that I am now getting with a couple of excellent-tasting shakes that I mix with water (not milk) and frozen fruit (Yum!)

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.

Lap Band for Positive Change

Here we are; another year beginning. This can be the year where changes take place that can impact the rest of your life. The changes can be positive; such as weight loss that can reverse or reduce certain health issues like high blood pressure or diabetes. Positive changes that can enable you to interact more with family and friends. Positive changes that can make you feel much more active and vibrant and allow you to be the very best you can be. Or, the changes can be negative; such as weight gain and less activity due to that excess weight and the resultant increase in risk of health problems or possibly even worsening of existing conditions. Negative changes like more avoidance of social situations (that's not how you really want to live, is it?) as well as not achieving your full potential in life.

I believe there is something that can "tip the scales" (pun intended) in your favor in the weight loss battle and that is Lap-Band Surgery. There is no doubt that excess weight leads to health-related issues; (you may already have some of these conditions), but it is possible by losing weight, to make the positive changes happen this year. Once and for all, the medical conditions can resolve. We all want to be as healthy as possible, right? Once and for all, you can be active and keep up with your children (or grandchildren!). You owe it to yourself and your family to seek information about Lap-Band Surgery this year. It might be the positive change you have been waiting for.

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!

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!