Easy and Healthy Meals

Here are some quick, easy and healthy meals to make:

Breakfast:

• A bowl of oatmeal with lowfat milk and fruit
• Blender smoothie made with lowfat milk, fruit, yogurt, honey, dry milk powder, and ice cubes
• Yogurt topped with high fiber cereal and fresh fruit

Lunch:

• A bowl of veggie soup with whole wheat crackers or bread
• Low-fat cheese sandwich made on whole wheat bread with lettuce and tomato and a piece of fruit
• Peanut butter and sliced banana sandwich on whole wheat bread with carrot sticks

Dinner

• Vegetable burger or chicken breast on a bun with low-fat cheese, lettuce, tomato, and onion with a piece of fruit
• Bowl of beans with added peppers, onions, tomatoes, and spiced with a whole wheat pita
• Cold rice salad with left-over cooked rice, peas, diced peppers, chopped peanuts, corn kernels, diced turkey or chicken and low fat dressing

Snacks:

• High fiber cereal with milk and fruit
• Raw veggies with a low fat dip
• Whole grain low-fat crackers with low-fat cheese
• Cottage cheese or yogurt and fruit
• A bowl of low-fat popcorn

Is This a Postoperative Emergency?

Awareness of emergency situations is included in the education provided at the Weight Loss Center; however, after surgery, it may seem more difficult to determine if your experience is really emergent. If you have a temperature of 101 degrees or higher, you have a sudden onset of chest or shoulder pain, you develop shortness of breath, or you develop pain in your legs or your abdomen, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room. Significant pain cannot be diagnosed over the phone.

If you have a serious medically related question that cannot wait until regular office hours, your surgeon is available through his answering service. We will provide this number to you at the time of your case management visit.

Please review the information in your binder concerning routine postoperative situations, complications, activity, and medications. During regular office hours, our staff is available for any questions or concerns you may have. We are always happy to assist you along your path to improved health. Remember, you are our patient for life!

Eating Out

Eating out can be an enjoyable experience when you're following a healthy lifestyle plan. However, careful selection of foods is important, especially if you eat out often. Consider these suggestions:

• Choose small portions or split with a friend or family member
• Ask lots of questions, such as:
• How is it prepared?
• Do you have a low calorie salad dressing?
• May I have my topping on the side?
• Can you leave off the sauce or gravy?

Make sure to plan ahead, make a special effort to eat sensibly the rest of the day. Decide ahead what you would like to have and what restaurant would accommodate your needs!

Emotional eating support group starts Feb. 23

The Emotional Eating Support Group at the St. Francis Weight Loss Center is for anyone trying to lose weight and struggling with emotional overeating, also known as compulsive overeating or binge eating. This group offers support to patients struggling with emotional eating, or using food for reasons other than physical hunger and feeling unable to stop the behavior.

The groups will be led by Holly Pittman, a therapist at the Center, who has extensive experience providing individual, couples, and group therapy to patients with eating, mental health and addiction issues.

The latest session gets under way 6 p.m. Monday, Feb. 23, with each session held Mondays at the St. Francis Weight Loss Center, 5230-A E. Stop 11 Road, across Stop 11 Road from the St. Francis Hospital-Indianapolis campus.

There is a fee for those registering for the program. Call 317-782-7525 or visit StFrancisHospitals.org/weightloss for additional information.

Making Recipes Healthier

Looking for ways to make your favorite recipes healthier, or just looking for new, healthy recipes? Take a few minutes to poke around at http://www.eatbetteramerica.com Check out the "Healthified" section for fresh ideas and a great visual comparison of the nutrition facts of original recipes compared to the healthified ones to see how small changes can total big benefits. If you're not the best in the kitchen, there are online videos to help you along, lots of great tips, and many recipes to search through. Best of all, each recipe includes nutrition information, diabetic exchanges, and carbohydrate counts, so no matter how you're watching your diet, you have the tools you need to branch out your menu options and still be in control of what you're eating. Bon appetit!

Five Tips to Improve Your Health

1. Eat more fruits and vegetables
Fruits and vegetables are good sources of fiber which help keep you feeling
full. They are also high in water, nutrients, and low in calories. Aim for 5-9
servings of fruits and vegetables a day.

2. Drink plenty of water
Sometimes when we feel hungry, we are actually thirsty, so it's important to
drink plenty of low calorie liquids. Dehydration also slows your metabolism and may lead to hungry.

3. Choose healthy fats
Make sure you're eating heart-healthy fats such as olive oil, nuts, seeds and
avocados. And remember, although these fats are healthy, they are still high in
calories so be sure to watch your portion size.

4. Eat breakfast!
Breakfast helps boost your metabolism, plus people who eat breakfast usually eat fewer calories for the whole day.

5. Get plenty of sleep
Sleep helps regulate your metabolism and is needed for overall health and
wellbeing.

Support is important!

The decision to have Bariatric Surgery or to begin the Medical Weight Loss Program is made with much deliberation. One may even discuss this with family or friends before taking this step toward better health. Even when support is initally enthusiastic, it may falter or not be what is needed at a given time. How can we benefit most from the caring people in our lives?

Education is important, not just for the patient, but for anyone offering support. The Bariatric Surgery Guide contains a wealth of information for the person planning surgery, as well as for the support persons.

Communication is essential. What will be helpful? A discussion resulting in a list of questions to ask the Weight Loss staff, accompanying the person to the support groups or appointments, walking each evening or joining a gym together can all be part of a strong support system. It is important to be able to communicate honestly about needs, concerns, fears, expectations, and hopes of the person choosing to take this step, and those involved in the patient's life.

The lifestyle change taking place will impact not just the patient, but all others involved in this process. Recognizing this impact and discussing it prior to the inital change is similar to planning any adventure as a family. What will change? What can be expected? Why is this choice being made? Honest communication and sharing can strengthen the bonds in relationships, even during this important time of change.

Remember, the Weight Loss Center staff is always available to offer support and guidance during this exciting transition.