First of all, I want to thank all of you who faithfully read my weekly blogs.  Some of you I have known for many years and others I am just getting to know.  

We are all at a different stage in the bariatric journey.  Not all of us are at that same place this very moment.  And that’s what I want to discuss today.

What happens when you are 5 years or 10 years post bariatric surgery?  Is it over?  What changes?  What is different from that first year after surgery? 

I feel like I am an authority on this topic because I work with clients who are at every different stage.  I meet you before you have surgery and we discuss the pre.op diet and surgery itinerary.  I see you cruise through your first year.  I see your weight loss stalls and plateaus.  I hear your cries when you are frustrated that the scale is not moving and I get to celebrate with you when you reach your goals.

Limbo – there is a place where a lot of us are in limbo.  We haven’t met our weight loss goals and we have become complacent.  We may have got close but then we experienced a regain.  There might have been a job loss or a death in the family or work stress?  The reason doesn’t matter.  Sometimes life gets in the way of us reaching goals.

Does that mean that it’s over?  Does that mean that our tool no longer works? What gives? 

I am here to tell you that your tool does still work.  Your tool is still intact.  It isn’t broken.  What is broken is our commitment to ourselves.   

When this occurs, we need to dig a bit deeper and work a bit hard and go back to the basics.  We need to ditch the sugar and starches.  We need to start moving our bodies again and get active.  We need to recommit to ourselves.

So how can we do this?  I often receive messages, calls, and emails from clients who are in this exact situation.  This is what I tell them… 

First of all, you’ve got this.  You are a champion and you lost a whole lot of weight.  You just need to get focused and follow this advice.

• Pick your “re-commitment date”.
• Make your food plan.
• Food prep for the first week.
• Weigh yourself.
• Take pics.
• Take measurements.
• Get our your water bottle and dust it off.
• Remove all the refined and processed carbs from your fridge and pantry.
• Set your bedroom up for some good quality sleep. Darken the room and lower the temperature.
• Get ready to move again – put your physical plan into action.  Walk or jog or strength train or garden or stretch.
• Get back into your favorite bariatric forum or FB group.  Let them know that you are back.
• Be accountable.

If this is you, (I am pointing my finger at you) then that’s okay.  If you want to reach out to me and tell me about it, I am here to cheer you on.

Limbo – don’t agree to live in this place, please.  Sure, you lost a lot of weight, but did you reach your ultimate goal?  Sure, you may have reached your goal, but did you have a regain?  Why become complacent at this point?  You promised yourself never to go back to where you started from when you made the decision to have weight loss surgery.  So what gives?  Why did your motivation give up on you?  I didn’t give up on you so I don’t expect you to ever give up on yourself.

If you never reached your goals, and you are happy where you are, then I salute you and that is terrific and this specific blog is not for you BUT, if you are one of the thousands who came and “almost” conquered then the time is NOW to get back on your weight loss horse.  Giddy Up!

Guys “limbo”  happens to the best of us.  Doesn’t mean that we are weak or bad or wrong.  It just happens sometimes.

Don’t beat yourself up.  Dust yourself off and get back in the game again.  This is YOUR game, your rules.  Make it great!

FaceBook LIVE  3pm EST on Friday, June 14th.

My friends and family will tell you that I am passionate about nutrition, traveling and healthy living. I feel that it’s important to stay on top of the latest nutrition science and to be able to share it with all my clients.  I want you to also become passionate about nutrition post-surgery.

I am not always the healthiest I can be and not every meal that I consume consists of the ideal plate, but in my mind, I want to strive to be that person who adapts to a lifestyle where I don’t miss anything from the SAD – Standard American Diet. 

We cannot just stop eating after bariatric surgery.  We need to use food in order to drop the weight.  Food is the tool that will get us to our goal.  Food is not our enemy.  Food becomes our friend.  In order to be successful, we need to deal with our feelings about food and to understand how important it is to live our healthiest life.

We are always on a diet.  I hate to say this but most of us have a chronic history of being on a diet all of the time.  We are constantly restricting ourselves.  When I am working with a client, coordinating their bariatric surgery, one of the first questions they ask me is “what kind of diet will I be put on”.  And they are right, they will need to follow a bariatric pre-op and post-op plan but their next question is “after the post op guidelines, what kind of diet will I be on for the rest of my life”?…

Let’s talk about sustainability.  We cannot live our lives in the constant vicious circle of being on and off of a diet.  It messes with our moods and our metabolisms.  

My real goal will be to change the way my clients think about food.  What needs to be changed is the relationship with food.  What needs to be put in place is a new lifestyle where we eat real food, not the packaged stuff.  

We will always need to put the emphasis on high-quality proteins and healthy fats.  Carbs are used as quick energy but in the long run, they are not going to sustain us.  Our bodies are made in a way where we are going to first burn carbs, and then protein comes next and the last thing to burn is fat.  Our goal is to burn fat but this is the last thing that our bodies want to burn.  

My work also consists of teaching clients how to eat.  I encourage them to meet their protein goals and also their water goals.  I encourage them to think of food like fuel and to fuel their bodies correctly to get to their desired goals.  

Carbohydrates are a huge topic because I want clients to understand the difference between different kinds of carbohydrates.  When we understand how carbohydrates are processed in the body, we start to get the concept of living a low carb lifestyle.  We do not want to have our insulin levels high.  We want our blood sugars to be even throughout the day without any high spikes.  If we can accomplish this, we will feel more satisfied and less hungry throughout the day and with better energy.

Post-bariatric clients need to adapt to this lifestyle without feeling like they are on a diet.  I want them to understand that the SAD standard American diet is not a healthy way of eating and the closer they get to a whole food diet, the better they will feel and the better their results will be.  

Instead of feeling “I have to eat this way”,  I want them to say “I get to eat this way”.  Yes, they are fortunate to have a surgery for restriction and an eating plan that is sustainable, consisting of whole, live, natural, good quality food. Once they adapt to this way of eating, going back to the SAD will be disappointing.  Those types of processed and refined foods only lead to high blood sugar, high insulin levels and uncontrollable hunger with weight gain.  

Let’s all enjoy a simpler way of eating.  Let’s stick to eating real food.  Let’s continue to learn about food and what it does for us.  Let’s never get tired of trying to live a more natural lifestyle which includes more natural foods.  

Push on!  You’ve got this!

FaceBook LIVE  3pm EST on Friday, May 31th.

Detox? Why do I need a Detox?

• Sometimes we need that little extra “push” to get back on track.  
• Sometimes we are feeling low in energy.
• Sometimes we are not feeling our best.
• It’s time to shake things up and to start feeling our best. 

Food is medicine.  Food is our secret weapon.  Food is very powerful and the right foods can really help to create an overall feeling of wellness.  I want you to feel well, and powerful.  I want you to wake up in the morning full of energy and ready to take on the world.

This short detox plan is to help you to get back to a more natural way of eating.  It incorporates fresh vegetables, fruit, eggs, meat, fish, nuts, seeds, and healthy fats in order to cleanse your body of the packaged foods and the refined and processed carbohydrates.

You know what? You actually do not need a detox.  Detox is a “catchy” name but our body already knows how to detox itself and it does that on a 24/7 basis.  Our internal organs take care of this process and our external organ, our skin, also detoxes on a regular basis by sloughing off constantly.

When you hear the word “detox” it actually means the cleansing of our own blood.  This is when our body works hard to remove impurities from the blood.  All these toxins are processed for elimination to the liver, and we also use other organs like our kidneys and lungs for the detoxification process.

When you see me write the word “detox”, please think of it as “helping your organs out”.  You are encouraging them or giving them excellent fuel so that they have an easier job and they can do that job even better.  There are certain foods that your internal organs like and appreciate so that is what we will feed them on my 3-day bariatric detox plan.

We will eat only whole, live, fresh, natural, good quality food on the detox.  There are no prepackaged items.  If you are still feeling hungry, reach for vegetables, please.  You can eat them raw, boiled, baked, grilled or any way you like them.

By lightening up your toxic load, you are helping to remove obstacles for your body’s healing process.  We will remove cigarette smoke, alcohol, refined sugars and those things which are in the way and making your body work harder.

This is not a low carb diet. This is not a high-fat diet.  This is not a high protein diet.

This plan helps your body eliminate toxins.  Once you have completed your detox, you can move towards the food lifestyle of your choice, whether it be keto, paleo, south-beach, vegan, vegetarian, Atkins or something of your choice.  

This is a simple meal plan which includes real food.  Each day contains approximately 1,200 calories.

I want you to keep a food log and write down everything you choose to eat and drink.

• Do not consume gum or breath mints, please.
• Drink 64 ounces of plain water per day.
• If you miss your coffee, you can have one cup of green tea or hot water with lemon.
• Dry brush your skin before getting into the shower or bath.  
• Exercise each day for a half hour minimum.  
• Sleep 7-8 hours each night.
• The more closely you follow this plan, the more effective it will be.

Try it and let me know how it goes – send me an email with your statistics pre and post detox.

Go ahead and download the detox HERE