A daily inspiration from Katie Jay and Small Bites.
Live the life you’ve got
How many people go through life wishing for something they don’t have? Do you live for the future? Some people have feelings of longing for years and then come to regret what they missed because they were always wishing away their lives.
You define your life through choices. Sometimes the choice is to live well the life you’ve been dealt. Count your blessings and appreciate the richness of your life. Avoid counting the things you don’t have. Live your life, with all its imperfections. It is yours. Work at it. Appreciate it. Craft it into to a life you really want by living each moment to the fullest, no matter where you are on your life journey. Work on accepting your life as it is.
Recently, a number of elected officials have proposed taxing unhealthy fo
ods (especially soft drinks) as a way to reduce obesity rates and/or fund health and health insurance related issues. Let us know what you think of these type of initiatives:
- Will taxing unhealthy foods/beverages reduce obesity rates?
- Are you less likely to consume such foods if they are a few cents more expensive due to such taxes?
- Are food taxes an appropriate way to pay for health insurance expansion or reform?
- Are you in favor or opposed to such taxes to help offset obesity related expenses experienced by states and federal government?
- If collected, should such funds be limited to addressing obesity?
Sound off in the comments section. I am interested in hearing your thoughts!
How many of us come to a follow up appointment and struggle with the following question; how many ounces of fluid and how many grams of protein are you consuming each day? If you are like me I have the hardest time keeping a physical journal of my food consumption. I will forget to pick up my journal and carry it with me plus I have the worst time figuring out exactly how much protein I had when I only eat a small portion size.
My saving grace is using a website like www.sparkpeople.com to track my daily food intake. I can log on from anywhere, enter my information and the site will give me a running total for the day. I also have the capability to make notes, create a grocery list, track my fitness goals, run reports and search for new recipe ideas. Try it for two weeks and you will most likely be surprised at the true amounts you are consuming.
I’ve been posed with the question about my decision to have weight loss surgery and what I would tell someone considering this option. First and foremost this is a life changing
decision, which is a huge step! Bariatric surgery is a major lifestyle change and the one thing you truly need to give yourself is TIME.
You need to have a clear understanding of what you are doing and what the outcome of that action will be. My advice as a patient is research, talk to your primary care physician, ask questions, talk to people who’ve had surgery, attend a FREE informational weight loss seminar, make a list of the pro’s and con’s, attend support groups and hear the good, the bad and the ugly!
Make an informed decision with a strong understanding of what a life long lifestyle change truly means.
- Are you ready to make a commitment?
- Can you change your eating behavior/habits today, tomorrow and the rest of your life?
- Do you have a good support system?
- Will you follow the program guidelines?
- Are you willing to come to support group?
- Are you dedicated to following up with your surgeon for life?
- Prepared to take vitamins for the rest of your life?
If you were going to build a house how much time and consideration would you put into the plans? Once a home is built we make every effort of maintaining/protecting the structure and all the contents of our home. Are you ready to take the same approach with yourself?
In the end bariatric surgery is a personal choice. Is this the right path for you?
Please visit our Web site for any upcoming FREE informational weight loss seminars and support groups at
www.ACallToChange.org or call 317-275-7010 toll free at 877-275-2555.
Do you underhandedly believe you will always gain your weight back regardless of what type of food plan you are trying to follow? Your old habits/beliefs may hinder your current behavior and eliminate your continual success of weight loss. Even if this was true for you in the past it does not mean you can not change your future!
I have no will power! Does that statement sound familiar? Do you continually make that comment therefore use it as an excuse to overeat? Instead of assuming that you don’t have willpower revisit the thought of making choices. Sometimes we eat because we miss a particular taste or texture. Ask yourself why am I truly eating? What is missing? How do I feel? What do I need?
Have an additional question about causes of obesity and weight loss surgery? Then leave a comment below or send a confidential email to bariatric@clarian.org and I will be happy to respond!
Have you ever had a day when you don’t feel strong? Grab a piece of paper, make a list and dig deep inside yourself to find those honest answers.
1. What are your physical attributes?
2. What skills and abilities do you possess?
3. What type of personality traits do you hold?
Think about the past verses the present. Keep your list handy and continually review it to help build rebuild your self-esteem.
What do we do in those situations when “life happens?" The new bariatric lifestyle we have adopted becomes habit and part of our daily routine. When life happens and it throws a wrench in our new system how we react can be detrimental in our success. I recently experienced the loss of my grandfather along with the loss of my long time, four legged, furry companion of 15 years. For me that was the loss of two family members within a short period of each other. Can you say emotional wreck?
My initial thoughts are how do I numb this pain and make it disappear? Life happened and I have no desire to face it head on. I would simply prefer to dull the pain by indulging myself in a huge foot long chili cheese dog followed by a Reese’s peanut butter cup blizzard. Once I finished I would embrace the euphoric feeling of my sugar high laughing at the grim reaper screaming take that! Would I eventually crash from the euphoric feeling and be miserable? Yes… Would the pain still be there? Yes…
As a bariatric patient the above mentioned option would not be a wise choice for me. Life is going to happen and we need a backup plan. Personally, I know if I’m not careful emotional eating will undermine my weight loss surgery success. I’m taking this minute by minute, hour by hour and day by day. The day it happened I chose to take my son on a long bike ride, feel the sun on my face, the wind in my hair and take deep breaths. The following evening I chose to continually keep myself busy by re arranging my bedroom, hanging curtains, dusting and vacuuming. Whenever I slowed down I physically had to take a step back, let myself cry, take a few deep breaths and start another task. Today my choice is to blog about my personal struggles with you! Tomorrow is a new day and I again will have to make a choice!
Do you find yourself struggling with life situations and emotional eating? When was the last time you attended support group? Please visit our website for any upcoming support groups or feel free to contact me confidentially and directly at bariatric.clarian.org or 317-275-7010/877275-2555.
Be prepared for your family to ask questions about bariatric weight loss and be ready/willing to answer them. Know that you may not receive the reaction you thought might occur. Make sure you are ready for negative and positive comments.
Prepare yourself mentally for what may happen and have a plan of how you will handle those situations. The more prepared you are, the less anxiety you will feel which will help give you a sense of calmness. Understand that your family may need some time to let the information soak in. Remember that you didn’t make the decision to have surgery overnight. Give your family the opportunity to absorb the information, think about it and come back to you with questions.
Clarian Bariatrics is here to help you. Encourage a family member to attend a FREE informational weight loss seminar or support group with you. At the seminar they can learn about Indianapolis Bariatric Physicians, causes of obesity and the lifestyle changes that this life-altering procedure can bring. Visit our Web site at
www.ACallToChange.org for all upcoming event dates times and locations or click on the "Free Surgical Weight Loss Seminar" photo on the right side of this page.
Once you make the decision that bariatric surgery is right for you how do you get your family on board? Here are some of my personal suggestions:
First take some time to think about what the best approach for your family would be. We all have very unique situations and another persons approach may not be ideal for your family. Do you need to have a visual presentation or just verbal communication? Does your family relate to research and facts or photographs? Do they need to hear the clinical information from a surgeon? Would they prefer that you have a sit down, one on one, heart to heart explaining your circumstances? Maybe you need to cover all bases with your family and arrange a small presentation?
Present the reasons why you made the choice to have bariatric surgery. Talk about obesity as a disease, your quality of life, your desire to live a longer healthier life etc. List the pro’s and con’s of living with obesity verses having surgery. What are the health risks involved if you do not take control of your obesity? What medical conditions will decrease or be resolved after surgery? Most of all why is this so important to you?
Breakfast, lunch and dinner.
It doesn’t matter what time of the day, the rules don’t apply anymore. Just because it is breakfast time are we are supposed to consume “breakfast” type foods? What exactly does that mean?
Since my Indianapolis weight loss surgery, I find that it doesn’t matter what time of day it is but what I am consuming! My breakfast of champions may be my leftovers from dinner the night before.
The main focus is of nutrients for patients who have undergone morbid obesity surgery is protein! If your meal is full of protein the rules of eating it at a specific time of day no longer apply. There is nothing wrong with eating breakfast type food at dinner time or dinner type food at breakfast time. Be creative with your foods and try new things!
What types of foods are you consuming? Have any protein packed recipes you’d like to share?
If you have questions, please feel free to contact me confidentially and directly at bariatric@clarian.org or 317-275-7010/877-275-2555.
So the question everyone is asking is "did I turn to my old friend McDonalds for some greasy cheeseburger and french-fry snuggle time?" No! Did I want to? You bet! Was it hard?
Extremely! Did I make some poor choices these past few weeks? Yes! Did it make my pain disappear? No. Did I feel better? In that moment for a few minutes I told myself I felt better. 20 minutes later did I feel miserable? YES.
If it wasn’t for my support system of family, friends, colleagues, dietitians and other bariatric patients I would not make it through times like these. LIFE IS HARD AND FOOD IS EASY. That is the honest truth. I live with a food addiction everyday and some days I have to tell myself to go minute by minute and hour by hour. When that day is over I have to remind myself how much I accomplished.
Life is full of stressors, emotions and celebrations. A typical day can be filled with the emotion of balancing work and home lives. Some of us are facing the anxiety of looking for a new job due to today’s economic times and layoffs. Each new day is a fresh start and full of opportunities and choices.
What will my choices be today? What will your choices be today?
I remember the days when no matter what mood I was in, food was my friend just waiting to wrap its arms around me like a big fluffy blanket and snuggle. I am 19 months post-op from having gastric bypass surgery and still think about comfort foods! These past few
weeks I’ve been on a very emotional roller coaster ride and many of us know that it can become a slippery slope if we aren’t careful.
I’m currently taking a few college courses and spending any spare time I have studying, doing homework and taking tests, which involve late nights along with lack of sleep. I gave up my five month old puppy for adoption, which is very heart wrenching to me because I have always been a dog lover. I cried many times with a close friend who lost two people in her life within four days of each other. I cried again with another friend as she was going through some personal struggles, and I’m working on helping my son deal with teasing and bullying due to his weight.
I look back and think what has been so traumatic in my life to make me constantly think about food and needing the feeling of comfort? I think I’ve answered that question!
Being addicted to food can truly be a struggle physically, emotionally and spiritually. I can’t tell you how many times I thought to myself, go find something to eat you will feel better and the pain will go away.
I can’t count how many times I got up and went into the kitchen searching my cabinets for some comfort. I wanted to eat because I was exhausted from lack of sleep and worry. I felt like a failure as an owner when I gave up my puppy while my heart ached for my friends who were going through so much pain. As a mother who has a child being bullied and teased I just wanted to eat and make it all go away.
I longed for some snuggle time with my old friend and wanted to forget about life even if it was just for a moment. Every time I passed the McDonalds, Wendy’s or Burger King I thought how wonderful would it be to drive through and pick up my favorite super sized meal! How I wished for that comfort.
It’s May in Indianapolis, which means Race day is upon us. The two words that always come to my mind is victory lane. What does the word victory mean to me? Success, winning and triumph! Having weight loss surgery brings many success and triumphs on different
levels for all of us.
To some it may include participating in a 5K race, running the mini, walking a few extra blocks or just being mobile and feeling good.
One recent success for me was walking in the Race for The Cure with my mother who is a two time breast cancer survivor. After the survivor walk, walking around the vendor tents and the actual walk we ended up doing over five miles.
There was no "I’m out of breath I need to sit down" moments and no "when is this ever going to end" feeling. That is a huge accomplishment for me. Two years ago I would have attempted to do the race just because of my mom but I would never have made it throughout the day without exhaustion. I can honestly say I would place this day in my lineup for victory lane!
I was reading an article from January 2009 this year written by Dr. Phil and wanted to share these questions with you. Think about where you are at in your life. Are you considering weight loss surgery? Perhaps you are currently in the pre-op stages. Maybe you are a newly post-op or a three year post-op patient. Possibly you are just browsing due to interest!
Take a minute to read the question and answer honestly.
1. Is what you’re doing in your life working? Check every area of your life, and when you find one that isn’t working, tell yourself, This may have been my habit, but now’s the time to change it.
2. Are your payoffs healthy? Sitting on the sidelines or putting up with less than you deserve is not a healthy pay off.
3. Are you getting in the way of your own success? Ask yourself whether your decisions are carrying you toward what you want. If you don’t know what that is sit down and make a list of what you truly want.
4. Are you making everyone happy EXCEPT yourself? You need to look at why you are unwilling to stand up for who you are, what you want and start working to change.
5. Is the cost of what you’re doing too high? No matter the circumstance, you’ve got to weigh the price you’re paying and decide whether it’s worth it.
It’s that time of year when I start to dream about warm summer days, green grass and a multitude of colors to brighten the day. I love to be surrounded by the smell of a fresh cut lawn, plants and bright flowers. Looking back I remember driving around town, seeing people working in their yards and being completely jealous because I never had the energy to do that.
This past Sunday was one of those days when I realize how amazing it is to be a gastric
bypass patient. I started planting a flower bed last year and had decided this year I would like to add even more. My husband and I love the look and smell of fresh mulch around plants, flowers and trees. Sunday we purchased two yards of fresh mulch, which filled up the entire eight foot bed of our truck.
In the past when any physical labor was required I would sit on the side lines feeling guilty as my husband worked for hours. This year when we arrived at home with our two yards of mulch he grabbed the shovel and wheel barrel while I grabbed the mulch fork and we went to town! I was right there with him unloading the mulch into the wheel barrel walking to our destination, with the wheel barrel in tow, then spreading the mulch throughout our flower beds.
My husband was so use to doing all the work I had to ask him several times to stop and let me take over. Not only were we both astounded by me saying “Hey let me do that” I think we were both in shock that I never once complained. There was no back ache, no huffing and puffing from shoveling and no stopping to sit because I felt like I was going to pass out from exhaustion. I just kept going back for more.
I did it! I accomplished something that two years ago I would have sat by and watched my husband do alone. I had this overwhelming since of excitement and freedom. I was no longer bound by the restrictions of the excess weight I use to carry. I was working in my yard and it felt GREAT. Having weight loss surgery was a very personal choice for me and this is one of those small WOW moments I will always cherish.
Here is a quick bari-friendly recipe I love for summer!
Chicken Salad
16 oz Chicken Breast, boneless, skinless, cooked and chopped (Rotisserie chicken from Wal-mart, Meijer, Kroger is excellent for this recipe)
½ Cup plain, fat free yogurt
¾ Cup fat free mayo
½ Cup sliced almonds, walnuts or pistachios
¾ Cup seedless grapes cut into quarters
½ Cup scallions, chopped
Salt & pepper to taste I also use garlic pepper which adds good flavor!
Mix the chicken, yogurt and may together in large bowl. Season to taste with salt & pepper. Fold in nuts, grapes and scallions.
Enjoy!
As a post bariatric surgery patient I sometimes think people don't get it? I assume those around me have been educated enough to understand why I eat the way I do why certain things bother my new stomach and how my new plumbing works!
I have to step back and realize am I truly communicating this information to those around me? I am one of the biggest advocates for bariatric surgery around, but I tend to forget that I need to make sure I am always educating! Knowledge is POWER!
Having bariatric surgery changes all aspects of your life including your support system! Our surgery and inconsistent eating habits can cause those around us to feel like they are walking on egg shells. We tend to think the people in our lives have adapted to our new lifestyle but truly they may just be acting that way to please us.
Make sure to keep the lines of communication open with family, spouses, children friends, co-workers etc. Remember to be clear about our boundaries as weight loss patients and make sure they know their boundaries with you! Think about what has been communicated, what needs to be said and how to say it. Join me in being one of the biggest advocates in educating those around us and the public about obesity as a disease and how weight loss surgery can be a huge benefit.
If you have questions, please feel free to contact me confidentially and directly at bariatric@clarian.org or 317-275-7010/877-275-2555.
The brightest future will always be based on a FORGOTTEN past, and
you can’t go on well in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches!
Seize the day as a weight loss patient and live in the NOW. Try not to revert to old habits or that “stinking thinking” we all did in the past. Appreciate what you have today and the gift you have been given.
Celebrate by doing something you didn’t do in the past because the excess weight you carried around for years. Ride a bike, go for a walk, take a swim, work in the garden, and learn to play tennis or join a volleyball team.
Just enjoy the new you!
Do you find yourself struggling with something? I am here to help! Visit our Web site for any upcoming support groups or feel free to contact me at bariatric@clarian.org or 317-275-7010/877-275-2555.
If you are finding that you don’t want to do the things that will keep you healthy, it’s time to re-evaluate where you are at in your journey. Attend a support group and take a loved one along, call another weight loss patient who may need support, ask a friend to walk with you and spend time catching up while getting some exercise.
Most importantly be honest with yourself.
Are you slipping back into old habits? Do you recognize what those habits are? Face the truth and don’t deny what you are going through. Are you truly doing everything you are supposed to do with the new tool you’ve been given? Do you put your heart and soul into your new life and following the program or do you tell yourself it’s ok to slip every once in a while?
Remember to take baby steps and tell yourself every day I’m going to make good choices today because I’m worth it!
Have an additional question about causes of obesity and weight loss surgery? Then leave a comment below or send a confidential email to bariatric@clarian.org and I will be happy to respond!
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