Hosted by
Barbara Thompson
Author of:
Weight Loss Surgery:
Finding the Thin Person Hiding Inside You.
Issue #139
April 15,
2008
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In This Issue
* A Wish to You Video from Barbara Thompson
* Losing the Battle against Night Eating
* Another Book
* Spring Sale
* Breakfast Time
* Eating in Restaurants the Guiltless Way
* Recipe: Lentil and Sweet Potato Soup *
Success Story: Sheila Howard
Losing the Battle against
Night Eating
I am a night eater. It is something
that I have fought against my entire life and it’s a
battle that I have lost over and over again. But even
though I lose the battle, I manage, most of the time, to
win the war. I don’t let my night eating defeat me. I
recognize that there is no way that I can have dinner and
then not eat again until breakfast or even stop eating at
8:00 PM. So I handle this by having a collection of night
foods that are readily available. I keep these
foods around and when I travel I take as many of them with
me as I can. Here is my list:
A wedge of Laughing Cow light
cheese spread on 3 Triscuits (sometimes with 3 huge
green olives). I also spread the cheese on a slice of
deli ham, roll it up and slice it into 3rds.
Diet Jello with Cool Whip Free
A piece of fruit cut into wedges
or a cup of grapes (sometimes frozen)
A Weight Watcher fudgesickle
Progresso light soup in whatever
quantity I want
Cut and cleaned veggies (celery,
carrots, mushrooms, etc.) with a dip made from fat free
plain yogurt and powdered ranch dip mix. The veggies
need to be kept cleaned and in your refrigerator.
Activia light yogurt
A cup of tea with a sleeve of Hostess
100 calorie cup cakes
14 Lays light potato chips (I take
them out, count them, re-close the bag, and take them
into another room to eat)
I limit the more unhealthy choices
such as the potato chips and Hostess cupcakes But this
regimen keeps me on track. One thing about getting older
is if you pay attention you learn about yourself. But
success takes shopping and planning. I have all of these
foods in my refrigerator right now. Hmmm, I think I’ll
have some of that Laughing Cow cheese. Sounds good!
Nutritional
Supplements for Bariatric Surgery Patients
Bariatric Advantage® provides a complete line of
nutritional supplements that have been specifically
formulated to meet the unique demands of both the
pre-operative bariatric surgical candidate, as well as
the post-operative bariatric surgical patient.
I am finally ready to start on a project
that I have wanted to do for years. I am finally starting on a
book purely for post-op patients. I have had hundreds and
hundreds of requests for this over the years, and I am finally
ready.
I want this book to be different. I have
learned so much from so many of you over the years. Each of you
has a story to tell, a condition that you have experienced,
and I want to provide a forum for you in my book. Many of you
have said to me that you would like to contribute in the field
of weight loss surgery – to give back. This is your
opportunity. I will discuss many problems, conditions and
situations that relate to post-op patients and I want to
include patient stories or perspectives on most of these.
I will ask those of you who want to
contribute to either write up a story or email me your phone
number and I can interview you. I want stories that describe
your condition and how you were able to solve it, deal with it
or overcome it. There will be no compensation for this and
I will keep your information anonymous if you would like.
So let’s start with this newsletter.
There are topics that I already have covered. To start with,
here are chapters that I would like your input on:
Body Image
Relationships
Emotional Eating
So if you have had problems with any of
the 3 and have worked through them or a working toward a
solution, please let me hear from you. Let’s start with those
topics
for now.
Within the last 2 weeks, the
daffodils and hyacinths have popped out in my flower garden and the grass
and trees are starting to turn green. This is my
official sign that Spring has sprung. I love this time of
the year because the dull gray look of Pittsburgh starts
getting some color.
To celebrate the arrival of Spring, I
am having a sale on my book, “Weight Loss Surgery, Finding
the Thin Person Hiding Inside You.” For the rest of
April, I am selling my book for a
25% discount
to only my newsletter subscribers.
To get
the discount, enter the word Spring in the box marked
Coupon/Promotion Code when you check out of my shopping
cart. Be sure to click the Apply button beside the Code box.
This discount only applies to online orders and can not
be combined with any other discount.
I always have a hard boiled egg for
breakfast. After experimenting with everything over the
years, I find that is what works for me. It has so many
properties that make it the perfect breakfast for me. It is
quick, can be prepared ahead, I can grab it on the run, I
can carry it easily and eat it later, it can be left at room
temperature for hours, and what is most important is I don’t
feel hungry after I have eaten it.
There were years – the long ago
“gaining” years when breakfast was a big part of my problem,
I just didn’t know it. I would start the day with cereal. I
looked for reasonably healthy cereal. I steered away from
Fruit Loops or (what I really wanted) Count Chocula.
But after eating my cereal, I would
feel hungry soon afterward. If I wouldn’t eat anything I
could skip breakfast all together and just not blow the
calories on cereal. What I didn’t realize is that the
carbohydrates in the cereal were making my blood sugar level
rise and when my blood sugar level eventually dropped, I was
very hungry. My response was to skip breakfast. That just
made my metabolism slow. I just wonder if I had steered
clear of the cereal, if I would not have had such a weight
problem.
Carbohydrates in the morning set me on
a path of an eating frenzy for the entire day. If you are
suffering from hunger during the day, check the
carbohydrates that you are eating. That could be your
problem also.
Eating in Restaurants the
Guiltless Way
Like most of you, I am on a tight schedule
and enjoy eating out or bringing food in once or twice a week,
and more often when I am traveling. I would probably eat out
more if I knew what I was eating. I carefully watch what I
decide to put in my mouth and have found that I don’t enjoy food
as much if I just blindly eat.
If I don’t have nutritional information
available, I look for grilled fish or seafood, vegetables and
salad (and I bring my own dressing). But that can get a little
boring. So I rely on internet sites and guides as well as the
restaurant’s own website to clue me in on the nutritional value
of what I order.
Here are a few of the websites that I have
found to be very helpful.
Healthy Dining Finder.com
I click on “Start Your Search,” then I click on “View
Alphabetical List of Restaurants.”
Although the list is a little limited, for
each restaurant listed, there are 3 or 4 suggestions of healthy
choices so you don’t have to analyze everything on the menu to
try to find the least harmful.
Calorie
Count.com
On the left under Brand Browser you can click on Restaurant,
Café/Bistro or Fast Food. Hundreds of food establishments are
listed with nutritional values for thousands of dishes.
Stop & Go
Fast Food Nutritional Guide
Here you can download a 166 page book that lists the nutritional
values of food found at 88 of the most popular fast food
establishments and restaurants.
These are just a few of the websites out
there. They allow you enjoy freedom from the kitchen without
guilt. If anyone has additional websites, please share them with me
at
Barbara@WLScenter.com.
Recipe:
Lentil and Sweet Potato Soup
Those of you who have received my newsletter
for awhile and who know me, know that I love soup. My Grandmother
made soup every day of her married life. I sometimes think that I
have soup flowing through my veins. Here is a delicious and hearty
soup recipe that I hope you enjoy.
Lentil and Sweet Potato Soup
½ cup dried lentils, soaked
¾ cup sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed (about 1 medium potato)
1 cup diced onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
½ cup carrots, thinly sliced
1 ½ cup chicken broth, low-sodium
2 cups water
¼ cup red wine
½ Tbl. fennel seeds
½ Tbl. cumin
½ Tbl. cinnamon
½ Tbl. chili powder
½ Tbl. cayenne pepper
½ Tbl. red pepper flakes
Salt to taste
Soak the lentils in 1 cup of cold water or
green tea for at least 30 minutes.
In a medium-sized stock pot over medium-high
heat, sauté the diced onions and garlic in ¼ cup of the chicken
broth until onions become translucent (about 5 minutes).
Add the carrots, sweet potatoes, and red
wine. Cook for 1 minute or until the wine becomes very fragrant.
Add the lentils, water and chicken broth.
Bring to a rolling boil, stirring the mixture occasionally.
Reduce the heat. Add the red pepper flakes
and fennel seed and cover, allowing the soup to simmer for about
20 minutes or until the lentils and sweet potatoes begin to fall
apart.
Remove the lid and add the remaining spices.
If you would like a thicker consistency, raise the heat and reduce
until it reaches your desired consistency.
Garnish with some sour cream if you would
like.
Makes 6 servings. Each serving:
160 calories, 19 grams carbohydrates, 15 grams protein, 7 grams
fiber, 2 grams fat
If you have a
recipe that you would like to share in future issues of this
newsletter, please send it to me at
Barbara@WLScenter.com
Success Story:
Sheila
Howard
This is my last success story. If I don’t receive
some new ones, there will be no story in this spot for the next
newsletter. Please send your success story to me at Barbara@WLScenter.com
I want to offer a special thanks to Sheila Howard. Here
is her story:
I have been overweight since I was 17 years old. I’ve tried
many, many diets and all to no avail. Then I started having more and more health
problems and knew I had to do something if I wanted to live a healthy life. I
started my journey at 283 pounds.
I received my letter in November 2004 that I would be
having my consultation with Dr Taewan Kim. I went to my first appointment in
December 2004. When the day came for my consultation, I was very nervous.
The Nurse Practitioner came in to see me first and she told
me that I would have no problem having the surgery. There were some tests that
would have to be run such as an EKG, Psych. Evaluation, and an Upper Endoscopy.
The Nutritionist came in next and she told me what I would and wouldn’t be able
to eat after surgery. This was a good thing because I wanted to stop eating the
"bad" foods well before my surgery.
I soon had the first part of my Psch. Evaluation which I
found a little hard. The psychologist asked me some questions and then I had to
answer 550 true/false questions on paper. The second part of my psych evaluation
lasted 15 minutes at which time the psychologist told me that I was a good
candidate for the surgery.
During my Endoscopy they found numerous polyps in my
stomach and as a result, the doctor put me on the medication Protonix for 8
weeks. It worked and at my second endoscopy, the polyps were gone.
My Surgeon submitted my paperwork to my insurance company
and 11 days later I received a letter from my insurance company stating that I
had been approved for weight loss surgery. My surgery was scheduled for June
17, 2005 at 7:30 am.
I started my journey when my weight was 283 pounds. and
when I actually had my surgery my weight was down to 243 pounds. It’s been a
long rough road, but I’m very happy that I had the surgery. I do not take any
medicine other than my daily dosage of multivitamins, calcium, iron and
potassium.
When I first starting eating I could not tolerate beef at
all. Now I don’t really have a problem with any foods. I eat more chicken and
fish, but I did before surgery as well. I also drink lots of fluids. I was one
of the lucky ones and had no complications at all after surgery. Well, I did
have one bout of “bowel impaction.” And believe me after you have that once, you
will make sure to get all your liquids in because you won’t ever want to feel
like that again! Believe me!
I had my surgery on June 17, 2005 and I now weigh130
pounds. I can’t believe how good it feels to wear normal ladies clothes and not
the “big clothes.” I was wearing size 3x when I had surgery and now I can wear
size 6 petite to size 8 pants and size small blouses. Even my feet have shrunk!
It’s just SO amazing and I would do this again in a
heartbeat! However, now that I’ve been through the surgery and I’m where I want
to be with my weight, I would NEVER let myself get back the way I was before the
surgery. But in order to maintain my present weight, it does take hard work and
determination. Your hunger definitively comes back and you have to have the
willpower to STOP eating when you feel full. And believe me... one bite too much
will have you running for the bathroom! :-). I hope you enjoy my before and
after pictures as much as I do.
I love good news. If you have good news, a success
story to share, or inspiration, please send it to me at
Barbara@wlscenter.com so that I can include it in future issues.
Congratulations Sheila
Attention Nurse Educators
Preparing for COE Status?
Would You Like to Have
Obesity Sensitivity Training for
Your Hospital Staff?
(Guess What - It May Be Free)
Speaking for
Hospitals
If you are a bariatric coordinator or nurse educator and need obesity
sensitivity training for your hospital staff, contact me at
877-440-1518 or
Barbara@BarbaraThompson.net. Obesity sensitivity
training is a Center of Excellence requirement. I have
sponsorship that your hospital may qualify for.
Permission to
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“Reprinted from Barbara Thompson’s free
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help patients succeed following weight loss surgery.
Subscribe at
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