This simply works as a guide and helps you to connect with doctors of your choice. Please confirm the doctor’s availability before leaving your premises.
Emergency bariatric care may be needed if you experience severe abdominal pain, complications from weight loss surgery, or symptoms of nutritional deficiencies.
It is challenge time for all of you reading this !
For bariatric clients it sometimes feels like we need to have the “all or nothing” mentality.I am here to tell you that making small changes and tweaks to your daily nutrition and lifestyle can make a huge difference on the scale.Instead of overhauling everything you eat and drink, take baby steps and make one change at a time to get the scale moving again.You will be surprised how a small change can lead to big losses on the scale.
Let’s talk a bit about some of those tweaks and how we can add them (or take them out) of our daily routine.After reading this, you can email me to begin your personal challenge.
My first suggestion is pretty obvious – eliminate sugar, soda, candy and alcohol from your diet.If you are wanting to see the numbers on the scale move, this is the very first place to start. Try this for two weeks and email me to tell me how your results were. I can guarantee you that you will see a difference in the numbers on the scale !
Instead of visiting Starbucks for the tall, cafe mocha, make it at home or eliminate it.There is a ton of sugar in the Starbucks version.You can find sugar free recipes to make it at home using almond milk or coconut milk instead of regular dairy.This can make a big difference in your daily caloric intake.Cutting the mocha means cutting a lot of calories and sugar.
Make your breakfast high in protein and low in refined carbohydrates. Typical breakfast foods such as bagels, toast, english muffins and breakfast cereals are notoriously high in refined, processed carbohydrates.Instead of eating these food items, reach for eggs.They will keep you feeling full and satisfied and if you eat them with a serving of high fiber vegetables, even better!
Get rid of the diet soft drinks.I know that they don’t have “calories” but they do create an insulin response which means that you will feel hungry after drinking them.Our goal is to balance our blood sugars and if we drink these diet soft drinks, we will crave sugary treats.Swap the diet coke for plain water or soda water please.It is the easiest tweak and it can get you the biggest bang for your buck when wanting the scale to move in the right direction.
Go for a walk.I believe that weight loss occurs in the kitchen and that we all need to exercise to stay healthy.It’s even more than that – I think we all need to exercise to stay happy.When we walk outdoors, we breathe fresh air and we have the sun shining on us.It lifts our mood and makes us feel good.Open the front door, walk for 20 minutes and then turn around and walk back.It’s a free activity and it means taking time out of our day to care for ourselves.Love yourself and go outside for a walk.
Get serious about your sleep schedule.Sleeping is the best free medicine there is.Weight loss will always be hindered by a lack of sleep.Lack of sleep is stressful for the body and it raises cortisol levels.High cortisol levels makes it much more difficult to lose weight.Choose a bedtime and turn off the light and get some good quality sleep.It will show on the scale.
If you want to email me and tell me what you are going to do this week to help the scale move, I would be more than happy to help you stay accountable.Just choose one thing and reply to this email telling me what small change you are going to make. I am your biggest cheerleader !
About the Author: Sheri Burkeis a Registered Holistic Nutritionist and Bariatric Surgery Coordinator at International Patient Facilitators in Tijuana and Cancun, Mexico. She has worked with bariatric surgery clients for over 10 years and especially enjoys providing nutritional guidance to pre and post bariatric clients.In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband and two teens and cooking up a nutritional storm in the kitchen.
Ideas for eating out and how to make good decisions.
We all try our best not to eat out all the time but there are times when we find ourselves at a social gathering or on a date night or with a group of friends and the meeting is at a restaurant.It is important to have a food plan in place before arriving to the restaurant so that you are not caught off guard and make poor food decisions.You want to be able to enjoy yourself but stick with your new eating plan at the same time.
If you’ve had bariatric surgery, you know that you have restriction and that how you ordered your food at a restaurant in the past is no longer an option because of a few reasons.The first thing you need to ask yourself is if you are open to telling everybody that you have had bariatric surgery.If you are keeping this to yourself, then it will be kind of difficult to explain your way out of why you only ate two bites off of your plate and that you are now full. Your friends will wonder what is going on with you.
In this situation you can always order your way around the menu so that you get a more soft option such as a soup.It is also a great idea to eat very slowly so not to fill up quite as quickly.Take small bites and chew a lot to avoid getting too full too quickly.
If you are open to telling others about your bariatric surgery, then it gets a bit easier because you can automatically ask the wait-staff if they have half portions or if they are okay with you ordering only an appetizer and not a full course meal.If you choose to have a full course meal, choose something that you can take with you and that will be good for reheating.A big chicken caesar salad is great “in the moment” but when you get it home and the lettuce is wilted, it just won’t taste the same.
Today all restaurants have their menus online.It is always a good idea to take a look at the menu prior to arriving in order to make a food decision before you get there.It’s never a good idea to leave it up to temptation when you are hungry or nervous.Place your order in your head before you arrive and that will be one less thing to worry about.
I salute you on your journey to excellent health.
About the Author: Sheri Burkeis a Registered Holistic Nutritionist and Bariatric Surgery Coordinator at International Patient Facilitators in Tijuana and Cancun, Mexico. She has worked with bariatric surgery clients for over 10 years and especially enjoys providing nutritional guidance to pre and post bariatric clients.In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband and two teens and cooking up a nutritional storm in the kitchen.
I am always talking about getting “back on track” and what I mean by that is getting “back to the bariatric basics”.How do we go about that ?Well, let’s have a little talk about what we need to do to get mentally and physically back on track if our eating habits haven’t been something to brag about.
Instead of grazing all day long, I want you to eat 3 meals a day and if you are hungry, opt for some small snacks that are properly macronutrient balanced with a portion of protein and a portion of healthy fat.We are aiming for meals and snacks that do not contain sugar.Soft proteins are terrific, such as cottage cheese and greek yogurt and plant based protein shakes but try to also eat textures the are not soft as the foods that are more dense will keep you full for a longer period of time.You won’t get as hungry as quickly if you eat dense protein.
Prepare your meals so that they contain protein, vegetables and a portion of healthy fat.Kick the refined,processed carbohydrates to the curb !Eliminate rice, pasta, bread, tortillas, chips etc.
Remember not to combine your food and drink at the same time.Drink 30 minutes prior to your meal or snack and then wait another 30 minutes before drinking again.
Make sure to eat a variety of foods so that you don’t get bored.Try new recipes and try new foods. Get creative in the kitchen and use your imagination to put together healthy bariatric friendly meals and snacks.
Make sure that you are taking your bariatric vitamins and supplements.It’s important for continued good health and nobody eats perfect every day.We need to 1/ eat properly and 2/ supplement.
You cannot supplement your way out of a bad diet.
Don’t graze and stay away from the slider foods – you know the ones I am talking about … the ones that slip right through your bariatric pouch and leave you craving more of them shortly afterwards.These types of foods are the ones that are mostly responsible for regains.
Exercise a bit.Exercise for your health, and not for weight loss.I believe that weight loss occurs in the kitchen and we exercise to stay healthy.Find some sort of exercise that makes you happy.Don’t do something just because it’s what you think you need to do.Go for a walk or ride your bike or take up zumba, or salsa !Just get out there and move for good health.Just get out there and move for a healthy head as well.Exercise helps lift dark, gloomy clouds and makes us feel happier.
Make it a plan to always plan your meals.Don’t leave it up to hunger and temptation.Pack a lunch and prepare your breakfast – know what you will be making for dinner.Don’t leave it up to the last minute when you and your family are hungry.
If you have experienced a regain, you can get back up and take charge again.Face the regain, and move forward with a plan.Get back to basics, clean out your cupboard and fridge of the “bad stuff”, make a plan, and get shopping, chopping, cooking and prepping for success again.
If you need some help with menu ideas or menu plans – I have those plans for you below.
I am your biggest cheerleader !You’ve got this !
About the Author: Sheri Burkeis a Registered Holistic Nutritionist and Bariatric Surgery Coordinator at International Patient Facilitators in Tijuana and Cancun, Mexico. She has worked with bariatric surgery clients for over 10 years and especially enjoys providing nutritional guidance to pre and post bariatric clients.In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband and two teens and cooking up a nutritional storm in the kitchen.
Oversized sweaters, leggings and pumpkin spice …it’s the Fall season !I am jumping up and down in joy that it’s here.I love Spring AND Summer AND Fall (not so much winter) but this change in season also represents more than extra lip balm and an extra layer of clothes – not to mention socks!I believe that it’s the best time to make new bariatric goals.This is why I think it’s the absolute best time of the year to make those true changes to a more solid bariatric life-style.
Vacations are over for now.
We all have excellent intentions during Spring and Summer and we have lots of fresh veggies and fruit to choose from and our natural food rhythms tell us to eat seasonally and locally.We have more salads in our lives BUT we also have a lot of long weekends, barbecues, weeks of vacations, cocktails, and bonfires with marshmallows.I don’t know about you but “vacation” for most of us signifies a time to eat and drink and relax.It’s very easy to put on a few lbs when sipping on margaritas or summery cocktails by the lake or the pool.All those summer family get-togethers – lots of food and tons of fun.
We feel more motivated in Fall.
Maybe it’s because it is “back to school” season or it’s because nobody really takes vacations between now and December ?Mid-September all of us want to get a fresh start.Things feel refreshed and we start to think about setting new goals.Goal setting at the beginning of Fall gives us just enough time to get back on track and to start moving in the right direction to get the momentum going so we don’t have to make all kinds of big “New Years Resolutions”.I love not having to set some big goal Jan. 1st because I have been working towards my goals since September.It makes January less stressful.By starting now, we can have good habits formed by December. You don’t need to hear the chimes of the New Year to kick start a positive change.
Get outdoors and get moving – it’s Fall.
Summer can be so hot with it’s scorching temperatures and sunlight.It can be so difficult to get motivated to get outside and get moving.Fall is a more comfortable time to take advantage of the great outdoors.Grab a sweater and some running shoes and go for a hike in nature.Enjoy the low humidity and the leaves changing colors.Hey, rake some leaves – now that’s a terrific workout !
Snooze more to lose more.
The long days of summer are perfect to sit outdoors and sip wine or tea or read your favorite books but those same days make it more difficult to get to bed at a decent hour.Who thinks about sleeping when at 9pm the sun is still shining?Fall season brings about shorter days but it also makes it easier to get more sleep.Want to lose more weight ?Get more sleep !Time and again, studies reveal that a lack of sleep is directly related to a lack of weight loss.
You can turn Fall into the optimal time to lose weight and set health goals. Reach out if you need any “Fall Motivation”. I am here for you !
About the Author: Sheri Burkeis a Registered Holistic Nutritionist and Bariatric Surgery Coordinator at International Patient Facilitators in Tijuana and Cancun, Mexico. She has worked with bariatric surgery clients for over 10 years and especially enjoys providing nutritional guidance to pre and post bariatric clients.In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband and two teens and cooking up a nutritional storm in the kitchen.
So much information out there.So much “misinformation” out there also.So what’s a bariatric patient to do ?You’ve taken the important decision to improve your health and to lose weight and eat better and the media is telling you to LOAD UP on PROTEIN.That means that you should start downing protein shakes, and eating huge amounts eggs and chicken and meat.
What’s the reasoning behind the suggestions to load up on protein ?How much protein should we really be eating post surgery and do we need to worry breakfast/ lunch and dinner ? We know protein is essential for good health but how much is too much ?
Balance needs to be achieved for optimal health.Our bodies are designed to turn macronutrients into energy.If we eat more protein than our bodies require for supporting healthy skin and hair, producing hormones and building muscles, then it is likely to cause an insulin spike and turn the intake of protein into GLUCOSE.This process is something called gluconeogenesis.When we break this down – it means that we are consuming more protein in the effort to reduce refined carbohydrates in our diet but when we eat too much protein it converts into glucose, which is exactly what we are trying to avoid in the first place.
How do we know how much protein we need to consume to stay healthy and thrive ?This is the exact calculation to know how much protein you need.Take a moment and do the calculation so that you know how much you should be getting each day.This is the TOP range required.
Top Protein Range Required:
Take your weight in lbs and multiply this X by 0.36 (protein grams).
Example:If you weigh 130lbs and you are female
130 x .36 = 46.8 or approximately 48 grams of protein per day.
Another example of a women who weighs 180lbs
180 x .36 = 64.8 or approximately 65 grams of protein per day.
Remember, this is the TOP protein range required.The lower range is divided by 2.
There are some variations to this protein rule such as if you are very physically active or highly athletic.If you are healing from an injury a little boost of protein can be a good idea also.
Before you begin trying to pack more protein in your diet, there are some things you need to consider.When you think “more protein” it doesn’t have to mean “more meat”.You can also choose food items such as milk, cheese and eggs.There is also a lot of protein rich foods which include whole grains, veggies, nuts, seeds, legumes and beans.
Another good point that you need to remember is that if you decide to increase your protein consumption, dietary math demands that you reduce other things in your diet in order to not over-consume calories.For example, if you eat more protein and less bread and rice, this is a positive change in your diet.
We also need to consider that the protein articles we read online and social media is geared a lot of the time to sales and the sales of a specific product which is high in protein.Their goal is to get you to believe that you are protein deficient in order to sell their high protein products to you.
We are all biochemically individual which means we are all different and what works for one person doesn’t necessarily mean that it will work for the next person so adjust your protein intake according to how you feel. You need to work out what works for you as an individual.You may just get a surprise by how much or how little protein you really need to feel your best.
Examples of food items and how many grams of protein they contain:
Whole Eggs: 35% of calories. 1 large egg has 6 grams of protein, with 78 calories.
Pistachios : 13% of calories. 6 grams of protein per ounce (28 g), with 161 calories
Chicken breast: 80% of calories. 1 roasted chicken breast without skin contains 53 grams of protein with only 284 calories.
Oats: 15% of calories. Half a cup of raw oats has 13 grams, with 303 calories
Cottage Cheese: 59% of calories. A cup (226 g) of cottage cheese with 2% fat contains 27 grams of protein, with 194 calories.
Greek Yogurt: Non-fat Greek yogurt has protein at 48% of calories. One 6-ounce (170-gram) container has 17 grams of protein, with only 100 calories
Milk:21% of calories. 1 cup of whole milk contains 8 grams of protein, with 149 calories.
Broccoli: 20% of calories. 1 cup (96 grams) of chopped broccoli has 3 grams of protein, with only 31 calories.
Lean Beef: 53% of calories. One 3-ounce (85 g) serving of cooked beef with 10% fat contains 22 grams of protein, with 184 calories.
Tuna: 94% of calories, in tuna canned in water. A cup (154 g) contains 39 grams of protein, with only 179 calories.
Quinoa:15% of calories. One cup (185 g) of cooked quinoa has 8 grams of protein, with 222 calories.
Whey Protein Supplements: Varies between brands. Can go over 90% of calories, with 20-50 grams of protein per serving.
Lentils: 27% of calories. 1 cup (198 g) of boiled lentils contains 18 grams of protein, with 230 calories.
Pumpkin Seeds: 14% of calories. 1 ounce (28 g) has 5 grams of protein, with 125 calories.
Turkey Breast:70% of calories. One 3-ounce (85 g) serving contains 24 grams of protein, with 146 calories.
Shrimp: 90% of calories. A 3 ounce (85 g) serving contains 18 grams of protein, with only 84 calories
Peanuts: 16% of calories. One ounce (28 g) has 7 grams, with 159 calories.
About the Author: Sheri Burkeis a Registered Holistic Nutritionist and Bariatric Surgery Coordinator at International Patient Facilitators in Tijuana and Cancun, Mexico. She has worked with bariatric surgery clients for over 10 years and especially enjoys providing nutritional guidance to pre and post bariatric clients.In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband and two teens and cooking up a nutritional storm in the kitchen.
Newbies don’t want to hear about it and those that are 9 months out of their bariatric surgery don’t believe it will ever happen to them….what am I talking about ???falling off the wagon or getting out of healthy habits or allowing bad habits to creep back into our lives….
It happens to everybody so let’s not believe that everybody else (except for us) is having a perfect post op diet and eating a serving of protein and a serving of veg and a serving of heathy fat at each and every meal or snack.This is just not how post surgery life looks.Sometimes we are cruising along and losing weight or maintaining our goal weight and then it happens …. chocolate cake, or the drive thru, or the chips or whatever it may be.
It starts with a “treat” and then that treat turns into two treats and before you know it, you are a bit “out of control” with your disorganized eating.Let’s be realistic – this is just how we are programmed.The difference between a “little slip” and a full blown “regain” is how fast we can get things back under control.A slip or a regain doesn’t mean that you cannot take the reins and get under control again !You can and let’s talk about a few things that we can do to step off the carbohydrate merry-go-round and start to lose weight again.
Failure is not falling down – it is staying down.
Carbs Carbs Carbs !How many of you think that regain happens because we eat too many eggs ? or too many chicken breasts or too much avocado ? or broccoli ?TRUTH-BOMB now … Regain happens because of carb-creep.It starts slowly with one cracker or one slice of toast with peanut butter and honey or just that one french fry.You add 1/2 a bun back on your hamburger – how much damage can a small soft pretzel do ? Pass the chocolate cake please.
This is how it happens.You eat the refined/ processed carbs and sugar and then it spirals out of control.It’s not your fault.It is our biology and our physiology and if we eat sugar and carbs, we will crave sugar and carbs.We need to get our blood sugar under control if we are to get our cravings under control.
Step away from the REFINED CARB – drop the bagel and pick up a scrambled egg with half an avocado.I promise you that you will feel better after only a few meals.That’s how to get off the “carb”age and get back to the bariatric lifestyle.
Don’t beat yourself up.Just make the next meal bariatric friendly.Sugar and refined carbs are not your friend.They are the “bad friends in the playground” and they lead you to bad places.We need to focus all of our energy on positive stuff and don’t waste that on “should have, could have, would have”.Your greatest glory is not going to be “100 lbs gone forever” … it is going to be rising up and taking control once again if a regain occurs.
Surround yourself with positive people.You’ve got this.Your surgical tool is still intact. Don’t throw in the towel.Dust yourself off and get back on the horse.
I am your biggest cheerleader.Be strong.
About the Author: Sheri Burkeis a Registered Holistic Nutritionist and Bariatric Surgery Coordinator at International Patient Facilitators in Tijuana and Cancun, Mexico. She has worked with bariatric surgery clients for over 10 years and especially enjoys providing nutritional guidance to pre and post bariatric clients.In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband and two teens and cooking up a nutritional storm in the kitchen.
