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.
Where are my clients who are one year PLUS post-op bariatric surgery?
This is for those people who are currently struggling. I understand.
It’s easy for the “bariatric newbie” to say, “I would never regain the weight”. Or, “I would never eat sugar again”. Or, “Why did Jane start drinking soda again”?
Give them time. Sometimes life has a way of kicking you in the A$$.
I don’t wish depression on anybody. I don’t wish divorce, job loss, or death in the family for anyone. Folks, bad times happen for a lot of us. When they do, everyone reacts differently. A lot of people find food “soothing”. Have you ever found yourself “stress eating”? Don’t be so fast to judge.
If you are having a tough time right now, and if you are finding yourself eating cookies in the middle of the day, I understand. I also want to tell you that you can make some changes to try and turn things around and get back on track.
You may not have control over your personal situation, but you can take back some control over the food decisions you are making while under a stressful occurrence.
The first thing you can do is recognize what you are doing. We can’t fix something if we don’t know what we are doing. Don’t ignore it. Understand that you are using food to try and fix a problem.
Once the problem has been acknowledged, let’s get to work putting some protective measures in place.
This stressful time is not a time to make big lifestyle changes. Let’s just focus on stopping any regains for now. If you’ve had a regain, let’s just put the brakes on that.
Once we’ve removed the refined/ processed carbohydrates, sugar, and alcohol, the scale will stall. Don’t focus on big losses right now. Focus on cleaning up the cupboards and replacing the items that are not serving you.
Eating bad food, makes you feel bad.
Such a simple sentence with a lot of truth to it. Let’s not demonize food but if I chow down on a container of ice cream, my mental health is going to suffer. I am going to feel sad about it and that just adds to my current situation.
If you have chips, cookies, and sodas in the fridge, replace them with some fresh berries, chopped veggies, and homemade iced tea (stevia or monk fruit sweetened).
Start your day with a couple of eggs. When you find yourself headed for the fridge, stop and ask yourself, “Am I hungry? Or am I exhibiting grazing habits”? Am I soothing myself with food?
If you can’t seem to stop yourself from eating, then eat foods that contain mostly protein and fiber. They will fill you up. The cookies and ice cream will travel straight through the pouch and leave you wanting more and more.
If you are grazing, be aware of it. If you cannot overcome grazing in the beginning, graze on vegetable sticks and healthier options. Replace your snacks with healthier options. Health proof your fridge and cupboards.
Make sure you are eating enough food. If you never fill your pouch, you will always be hungry. Eat until you are full and satisfied.
If you have gone through a tough situation and you’ve had a bit of a regain, stop beating yourself up. It is what it is. Acknowledge it and put a plan in place.
Reach out to me. I understand. Maybe we can set up a call and I can help you put a plan together. I promise you, you are still an absolute winner in my books.
Healthy Hugs,
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.
Crunchy Granola. Who doesn’t love a bowl of this on its own with milk?
Don’t you love to sprinkle this stuff on your cereal or throw some in your smoothie?
Are you worried about the sugar and carb count in your granola? If so, try my recipe!
It is grain free, low in carbohydrates with no added sugar.
Go ahead and upgrade your granola.
Cheers.
Healthy Hugs,
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.
It’s Monday morning. You jump out of bed raring to go. Your time is here. You set your exercise date, and your shoes and workout apparel are waiting for you. Your protein shake is in the fridge and your car keys are on the table in the entranceway.
Off you go to the gym. It feels so good to be back after having a lapse of 8 months. Gosh, time flies! There are a lot of new faces in the gym. You only recognize a few of the hard-hitters that are always there, rain or shine.
You hit the treadmill, then the weights, a light stretch, and off you go to attack the rest of your day.
You feel amazing! The endorphins are flowing. You are a rockstar, a champion, the cream of the crop. You post your sweaty pic and apple watch workout profile on FB with the caption “Back to the grind, oh how I missed my gym”.
Day 2, it’s Tuesday and you have that same routine planned. You wake up 1.5 hours earlier, grab your gym shoes, workout gear, protein shake, car keys, and off you go. Zoom Zoom. Today is a bit harder because everything HURTS. You convince yourself that feeling sore is good and you work through it. No pain, no gain right? You post to FB and head back home to get ready for work.
Day 3, ouch ouch ouch – everything is sore. Hello Aspirin. Visiting the bathroom reminds you of how much you dislike doing squats. You head to the gym, but today you walk the treadmill only. You post to IG today. FB responses to your workout routine are not as peppy as they were on Monday.
Day 4, it’s Thursday. You didn’t sleep very well last night. You were over-tired. Your muscles were sore. Your brain was over-active. Today you roll over, hit the alarm, and go back to sleep. You are certain that working through muscle pain is not a good thing. You are going to wait until the pain is better and then do a bit less during your workout. It’s not worth feeling beat up all week.
Day 5, FRIYAY!! You worked hard all week. You cannot wait to step on the scale. WTH??? You gained 3 pounds. How can that be? You worked so hard and you ate so well? If going to the gym means that you are going to gain weight, you decide not to do it until you lose those 3 pounds again.
Does any of this resonate with you? I’m writing this because I get it. I understand. I also want to share some things that work for me with the hope that they may also work for you.
I want you to exercise. I want you to be active. I want you to separate weight loss from exercise. Exercise is for your mental and physical health. We lose weight in the kitchen. If you can separate “I’m going to the gym to lose weight”, from “I’m going to the gym because my head and heart need to exercise”, you will be much better off. You love yourself, that is why you want to work out.
Remember, you GET to work out. You don’t HAVE to work out. Reframe it.
“But Sheri, what about those 3 pounds I gained”??
I’m here to tell you that it is NOT muscle gains. 3 pounds of true muscle gains take a LONG TIME. I wish it was that fast.
I’m here to tell you that those 3 pounds are not “fat gain” either.
That weight gain is water weight. Your body is sore, it is holding onto water because you have inflammation. It takes time for all of it to balance out. This is the response your body has to be sore post-workout. It sends extra fluids to the areas that are sore and need to heal. The older you are, the longer your new workout routine will take to get used to.
I know that when you hit the gym, you may feel hungrier. Address that issue by adding more fiber to your meals. Eat more salad and veggies with your meals to combat the additional hunger. Don’t forget to eat protein at each meal. Protein and Veg for the Win.
If this is the gym phenomenon, then what are we to do? How do we get ourselves there 4 times a week?
Maybe you love the gym, but maybe you are like me and you don’t have the time or patience to drive to the gym. You can always set up your workout at home.
Maybe you like to play outdoor sports. Running after a soccer ball floats your boat. So then, join a team.
Maybe you like group exercise classes. You prefer to Zumba your way to health.
There are so many different ways to get active. It doesn’t need to be in the gym.
I think that the best way to get active and stay active is to “build it into your lifestyle”. Let me give you a few examples of what I mean.
Your son plays baseball three times a week at 4 pm. He’s going to be there for two hours. Instead of rushing around in your car, or sitting in the stands, why not convince another Mom or Dad to go for a power walk with you? You can even add in some squats, and lunges, along the way.
Here is another example. You have an hour for lunch. You eat and sit on your social media or read. Why not do something active during that time? Maybe you have a yoga class close by? Maybe you can change into your workout clothes and do an interval walk/ run with a stretch 3 times a week?
Your office is a 10-minute drive. Why not hop on your bike instead of driving? That would be the perfect way to incorporate exercise into your lifestyle.
Maybe you take a lot of phone calls at your work-from-home office. Why not walk on a treadmill during those calls? Or you can walk outdoors if the weather permits.
I work out in the mornings. It needs to happen before noon, or it isn’t going to happen. I’ve worked my exercise into my work day. I consider it my lunch hour as I work from home. This works for me. I want you to find what works for you.
If you are not currently exercising or you don’t have your activity worked into your lifestyle, take a few moments. Sit down with a pen and a piece of paper (there is probably an app for this lol), and see where you could fit in some activity.
You don’t need to carve out an hour a day. Make it 20 minutes to start with. We don’t need to jump in head first and attack it. We can work it in gradually. Why do we need to overdo it in the beginning? If you can start by carving out 20 minutes, and it’s working for you, maybe you can bump that up to 30 minutes. We are trying to work it into our lives, not discourage ourselves with how hard it is.
Baby steps right?
But, take those baby steps, and don’t just talk about it. I want this for you. I want you to save your bone mass and muscle mass as you are on your weight loss journey. To do that, we need to get active.
Healthy Hugs,
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.
Preheat the oven to 325°F (160°C). Grease or line a mini muffin tray or use a mini silicone muffin tray.
In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the yogurt, eggs, sugar, and lemon juice. Gently stir in the dry ingredients until incorporated. Fold in the blueberries.
Transfer the batter to the muffin tray. Bake for 25 minutes, or until golden and a toothpick comes out clean. Enjoy!
Notes
Leftovers: Store in an airtight container for up to three days at room temperature, or freeze if longer.
Serving Size: Serving equals approximately one mini muffin.
More Flavor: Add lemon zest and vanilla extract.
Additional Toppings: Add walnuts, pecans, or sliced almonds.
Almond Flour: This recipe was tested using Bob's Red Mill Almond Flour. Please note that if using another brand of almond flour, results may vary.
Nutrition:
Fat................13g
Carbs..........12g
Fiber............03g
Sugar...........06g
Protein.......08g
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.
Why should you attend? It’s for Bariatric Patients – That’s Why.
You’ve probably seen my posts online over the past week regarding the “ObesityHelp National Conference 2022” from September 30th to October 1st.
This is a place for bariatric patients (pre and post-op) to attend to gain knowledge and spend time with their peers.
This is an event that is created FOR weight loss surgery patients BY weight loss surgery patients. The event was postponed for 2020 and also for 2021 (for obvious reasons). I was a speaker at this event in 2019 and it was fabulous.
I will be attending this year but not as a speaker. This year I will be putting my RHN skills front and center. I will be giving one-on-one nutritional plans to attendees. I will prepare their nutritional plans before the event and I will meet my clients at the event to present them with their plans.
The event will be held in Costa Mesa, California this year. It’s a lovely backdrop for an important event. They’ve secured a perfect location, with awesome weather, for a two-day event. The hotel is nice and the rate is also nice. You can go alone, bring a companion, or even 3 companions. The hotel rate is for 1 to 4 guests!!
This is an exciting bariatric event!
This event can help get you back on track. It can help strengthen your resolve for long-term maintenance. It can teach you how to best use your important tool. There are excellent speakers, fashion shows, clothing swaps, gala dinners, costume parties, exhibitors, plastic surgery consultations, nutritionist consultations, and MORE.
If you want to learn more about the event, visit the links below. I’d love to meet you in Costa Mesa, California Sept. 30th – Oct. 1st.
P.S. I hear that there are wine tasting and whale watching tours also!!
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.
Maneuvering your way around the grocery store can feel like a gigantic maze designed to make you feel confused. We have labels on foods items shouting out how healthy they are for us on the front packages but when you turn them over, and look at the nutritional label, what are you looking for? Sure, the labels are so valuable to help make healthy choices but they seem so confusing at the same time.
How hard can it be to decipher food labels? Does the food industry make it more difficult for us to understand the labels? I feel that the best way to comprehend food labels is to break them down into sections, one at a time. Start with serving side and then move to calories, protein, fat, sodium and carbohydrates. Work through them one by one and the more you do this, the more you will be able to understand them.
We look at our food labels for different reasons. Whatever your reasons may be, it is wise to know how to use the information that is given on the labels to make fast, informed food choices that contribute to an overall healthy lifestyle. In general, look for foods that are low in sodium and trans-fat. When it comes to the % daily value, this can help you to quickly gage whether the food is high or low in a particular nutrient.
If the daily value is 5% or less, it is low in that nutrient and if it has a value of 20% or above, the food is considered high in that nutrient. The percentage daily value or %DV will also help you to know and understand how nutritious a food actually is. It is based on eating 2,000 calories a day. The %DV is based on how much of a specific nutrient you should have every day.
Serving Sizeis located right on top of the Nutrition Facts: We use serving size to understand portion size. This doesn’t mean that you need to eat the entire serving. It means that the typical user of this product eats “X” portion size.
Calorieswill be the next section to follow. This tells us for the typical portion of food, you will gain “X” amount of calories when you eat that portion. From this point you can compare different products of the same food-type to see which ones are higher and lower in calories. I am not a calorie fanatic and I don’t personally believe in the “calories in and calories out” theory but I do think it is an important starting point when reading food labels.
Total Fatwill be found under the calories listed.
The fat section will be broken down into three parts. First up is the total fat, followed by saturated fat and followed by trans-fat. Trans fats are the fats that we are trying to completely avoid. The best number to see on your food label next to the trans-fat section is 0.
Total Carbohydrate
Is up next and there is a lot of controversy right now when it comes to discussing carbohydrates. This isn’t a lesson in food nutrition but a lesson in reading labels so I am going to keep this to the point. Choosing better types of carbohydrates is important for your health. The food label can help you to understand how many grams of carbohydrates are in any specific product but it is not going to tell you the quality of carbohydrates in the product.
Dietary Fiber
Is next up under the carbohydrate section. Fiber is your friend and if you choose foods that are higher in dietary fiber, you will feel fuller for longer.
Sugars
Come next on the food label. We are all trying to watch our sugars so the lower this number is, the better off we are. Be aware of sugars and other sweeteners that do not necessarily call themselves sugar but there are a lot of names for sugar, such as corn syrup, maple syrup, rice syrup, honey, molasses, barley malt or many things that end in the letters “ol”, such as maltitol, sorbitol or “ose” endings like fructose or dextrose.
Protein
Is highlighted next. Proteins are one of our macronutrients – the other two are fat and carbohydrates. You want to find foods that provide you with protein such as meat and dairy products. A percentage daily value for protein is not required on the label.
In general, when it comes to the percent daily value, this can help you to quickly gage whether the food is high or low in a particular nutrient. If the daily value is 5% or less, it is low in that nutrient and if it has a value of 20% or above, the food is considered high in that nutrient.
During your next few trips to the grocery store, give yourself some additional time to look carefully at the products and at their food labels. It gets easier as you read more labels and once you have found your healthy “go to items”, grocery shopping becomes easier and quicker.
You are worth it and your health is also worth it !
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.
