Enjoy Your Labor Day Weekend! - 2014

[Alex Brecher 10,515]

Hey, BariatricPal Members!

Happy Labor Day from BariatricPal! Whether your family traditions include a cookout, parades, relaxing at home, seeing the fireworks, or going to the Labor Day sales, we say “Go for it!” Just make sure you take your own healthy Snacks instead of hitting the mall food court.

Labor Day can be a high-calorie nightmare, but not when you follow the tips in this newsletter. We hope you’ll get through the day and make yourself proud of the healthy way you’re ending the summer and getting ready for fall. Here’s what you’ll find in this newsletter.

• Survival Tips for Your Labor Day Cookout
• Looking Ahead – Ready to Work Towards an Autumn 5K?
• On the Menu: Grilled chicken Breast with pineapple Watermelon Salsa and Shrimp and Peach Skewers
• Back to School Review: Packing a Healthy lunch

We wish you a safe and happy holiday whether you have a busy day planned or you get to relax with friends and family. We’re looking forward to seeing you on BariatricPal when you get a chance!

Sincerely,

Alex Brecher

Founder, BariatricPal

Survival Tips for Your Labor Day Cookout

What happens when you have the following at a Labor Day barbecue?

• A cheeseburger
• A hot dog
• ½ cup coleslaw
• ½ cup baked Beans
• A frosted cupcake
• A can of soda

The answer is that you have a diet disaster. It’ll get in the way of your weight loss, and will probably end up making you feel sick. The above meal contains:

• 1,400 calories.
• More than a day’s worth of saturated fat and sugar.
• Over 200 grams of carbohydrates.

Tips for a Healthier Barbecue

You don’t always have a lot of healthy options when you’re not the host, but you can always make an effort to be healthy.

• Use Portion Control. You don’t need to eat an entire six-ounce burger with the bun. Just eat half of the burger, and leave the bun.
• Skip the mayonnaise-laden coleslaw, Pasta salad, and egg salad. Load up your plate instead with vegetables or fruit.< /span>
• Bring a healthy dish to share. This is a can’t-fail strategy to make sure there’s something you can eat. Bring a green salad with sliced egg whites or a cut watermelon. Now you can enjoy the party, too!
• Join in the activities. Don’t sit out this year’s volleyball game or tug-of-war. Join it! Nobody cares how good or bad you are as long as you add to the fun.
• Bring a ball. It’s actually really fun to kick or throw a ball around, and people will enjoy letting their inner child out. You can pick up a beach ball or rubber ball from any drugstore or toy store for a couple of dollars.

Looking Ahead – Ready to Work Towards an Autumn 5K?

The calendar says we have another few weeks of summer, but Labor Day marks the unofficial end of the season. Use this day as motivation to kickstart your own healthy fall. Maybe you’ve been working hard at the gym and you’re ready to take it up a notch, or you want to start a walking program and just haven’t found the motivation. Now’s your chance. We challenge you to finish a 5K road race.

There are tons of local 5Ks around the country in September, October, and November. Why not register for one of them? As temperatures get cooler, it’s easier to train outside. Start with short walks, and see if you can build up from there. If you’re already a good walker and you’re closer to your goal weight, think about throwing in a few steps of jogging when you feel good.

Think about your goal of finishing the 5K, and you’ll have extra motivation to work out. Tell everyone on BariatricPal your goal race and let us know how your training is coming!

On the Menu: Grilled Chicken Breast with Pineapple Watermelon Salsa and Shrimp and Peach Skewers

When you’re hosting the Labor Day party, you get to choose the menu. You can always serve beef patties, hot dogs, and chocolate chip Cookies to your guests who wouldn’t consider eating anything else. For yourself and the rest of your guests who are watching their weight (there’s probably more than you think!), do everyone a favor and make a few healthy dishes.

Grilled Chicken Breast with Pineapple Watermelon Salsa

First, prepare the pineapple watermelon salsa. Mix together 2 cups of cut watermelon, ¼ cup chopped red onion, ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro, and the juice from ½ a lime. Grill four slices of fresh pineapple (about half of a small pineapple) on each side, chop the hot pineapple, and add it to the watermelon mixture.

Sprinkle low-sodium seasoning on 8 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves and grill them. Serve them with the fruit salsa.

You can substitute strawberries or mango for the watermelon, or use peaches or nectarines instead of pineapple. You can also try the recipe with mint instead of cilantro.

Shrimp and Peach Skewers

Mix 3 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary, ½ teaspoon salt, and the juice from a lemon. Add three jalapenos in large pieces (for a milder flavor, use an Anaheim pepper or a sweet bell pepper), 24 medium-sized shrimp, and 2 peaches, in chunks.

Make 8 kebabs on sharp skewers, and grill them.

If you’re following your weight loss surgery diet, this meal with a 3-ounce serving of chicken and 1 shrimp skewer has:

• 2 servings of Protein.< /span>
• 1 serving of vegetables.
• 1 serving of fruits.
• 1 serving of healthy fats.

If that doesn’t fill you up, fill up on some green salad without dressing.

Back to School Review: Packing a Healthy Lunch

Are you still packing a healthy lunch every day for work? Or have you slipped up and gone back to your old ways? Maybe you grab a few slices of pizza if they show up at work, or you head to the nearby fast food restaurant with your coworkers because it’s easier than actually planning a healthy lunch.

Well, treat yourself as you would treat your children. You wouldn’t send them off to school without a lunch and tell them just to eat whatever was convenient at the time. You’d take the time to make them a balanced, healthy lunch to take. Do the same for yourself.

Sack Lunch Ideas

Stick to your weight loss surgery diet as you plan your lunch. You might aim to get 1 to 2 servings of protein and a serving of dairy, plus 1 to 2 servings of a starch, vegetable, or fruit. These are some healthy items that are easy to take with you.

• Half of a whole wheat bagel with lettuce, Tomato, and low-fat mozzarella cheese, plus a half-ounce of .almonds.
• Half of a whole-grain pita with hummus, low-fat feta cheese, sprouts, and red bell peppers.
• A packet of instant oatmeal that you can make at work with hot Water, plus frozen blueberries that you store in your freezer at work and two hard-boiled egg whites.
• Hard-boiled eggs – you can make several early in the week and store them in the fridge.
• A slice of whole-wheat bread with turkey and low-fat cheddar slices and half of an apple.
• Last night’s leftover grilled chicken breast on a green salad with tangerine slices and low-fat dressing.

Healthy Snacks to Pack

Don’t forget to include a few snacks if your meal plan includes them. You don’t want to get so hungry that you can’t resist a candy bar or bag of chips from the vending machine.

• Whole-grain pretzels
• Carrot, celery or cucumber sticks.
• Hummus or Peanut Butter for dipping.
• Low-fat popcorn (unless you’re a lap-band patient and it can get stuck in your band).
• Whole or cut fruit.
• Low-fat cheese sticks
• Sliced turkey, low-fat ham, or chicken breast.
• Canned tuna.< /span>

Treat yourself as well as you would treat your children. There’s no reason to let lunch get the better of you. You can still go with your coworkers to their favorite fast food restaurants – just take your own food and keep on losing weight!

Have a safe and happy Labor Day! Don’t forget to come talk about your holiday on BariatricPal!

[Pepper123 320]

U too Alex...

[JustWatchMe 7,117]

Traveling this weekend. Needed to read this so I don't overindulge in the restaurants. Great tips!