Bariatric Conference

One of our great patients found out about this event and wants to share it with all of you-- thanks Lynae

Bariatric Wisdom and Karen Donaldson (EXCEL Weight Loss Solutions) are proud to announce a truly amazing and unique Never-Been-Done-Before teleconference sponsored by Mybiglife.com - the newest and fastest growing online community for weight loss surgery. Over 20 experts in the field of weight loss, including doctors, surgeons, chefs, ministers, dietitians, personal trainers and the president and CEO of the Obesity Action Coalition, will be guest speakers. Donaldson’s presentations titled Carbs and Cravings – Understanding the Blood Sugar (and Belly Fat!) Blues and Releasing the Emotions That Are Keeping You Fat are Tuesday, March 9, 10:00 am MST and Thursday, March 11, 2:00 pm MST, respectively. The event lasts for one week, March 8-12, and is LIVE, so participants will have opportunities to ask the presenters questions. Go to http://bariatricwisdom.com to sign up and check out which presentations you want to attend. In addition, 30 CEUs available for the Nursing Professionals and Dietitians. If you can’t attend the sessions live, there are also options to purchase MP3 audio files, replays, and presentation notes. With just a phone and computer, you can keep your expenses down and your information up by attending this amazing conference from the comfort of your own home. Register on-line or contact EXCEL Weight Loss Solutions at 233-0593 for more information.

The Magical Fruit

Beans beans the magical fruit

The more you eat, the more you'll ----.

So eat some beans at every meal,

The more you eat, the better you'll feel!

A recent review suggests that eating benas can have a significant impact on your fasting glucose levels, insulin levels and on A1C level (a measure of blood sugar control over time.)

The review, published in Diabetologia, reviewed 41 studies that looked at the effects on blood sugar levels of specific types of legumes, including garbanzo, black, pinto, white and kidney beans.

The analysis showed that eating about a half-cup of beans a day lowers blood sugar measurements. Beans lowered A1C measurements by an average of 0.5 percent (about half the effect that's often achieved by standard diabetes drugs such as metformin.)

The review helps confirm reserach showing that soluble fiber can help improve blood sugar levels. Beans are a great source of soluble fiber, as are oats, barley, and many fruits and vegetables. Fiber supplements containing psyllium also are a good source.

Source - Mayo Clinic Health Letter Vol 28 # 3, March, 2010.

Serving Size Experiment

This originated from a Hungry Girl email but thought it was interesting enough to share with all of you....

CEREAL

If you're a label-reader, you already know that filling your cereal bowl to the brim will give you WAY more calories than a single serving's worth. But just how good are you at eyeballing that 3/4-cup to 1-cup serving? Here's what we found...

* More than HALF of our participants overestimated a single serving by at least 25%.

* A THIRD over-poured by a whopping 30%.

* ONE-SIXTH of those who took part overestimated their servings by a ginormous 40%! That means the supposed 120-calorie, 3g-fat serving really contained closer to 170 calories and more than 4g fat.

The Takeaway: While a few dozen extra calories may not seem like much, it adds up. Members of the middle group above would each be taking in about 1,000 extra calories per month, if they ate a supposed 120-calorie serving of cereal daily.

Tips & Tricks: If you don't want to measure out your favorite b-fast cereal each A.M., at least do it ONCE so you can see what a serving truly looks like. Also, don't eat from an over sized bowl -- it's too easy to overdo it. And don't forget to count the calories in your milk.

ICE CREAM

Possibly the most unrealistic of serving sizes, a portion of ice cream is only 1/2 cup. Still, we expected we'd be able to estimate that amount pretty easily. Not so. Check it out..

* The average estimation among ALL our participants was 20% MORE than 1/2 cup!Shocker! Those portioning out plain vanilla ice cream over-scooped by MORE than those working with chunky cookie dough ice cream. Perhaps we're more cautious with decadent stuff???

* The more the ice cream softened, the more people overestimated their portions. Remember, that 1/2-cup serving is based on LIGHTLY PACKED ice cream. So if it's getting soft and dense, you might want to toss it on a kitchen scale to be sure the weight matches up! Shocker! To test out that theory we just mentioned, we measured out EXACTLY 1/2 cup of cookie dough ice cream that was a little melty and gooey. Instead of the 54 grams indicated on the label, it tipped the scales at a hefty 90 grams! That means rather than having 130 calories and 4g fat, our 1/2-cup scoop actually contained 216 calories and more than 6.5g fat Yikes!

Common Serving-Size Slip-Ups!

Watch out for these sneaky suspects, and follow our tips to outsmart 'em..

Salad dressing and sauces. Sure, you select the low-cal kind, but are you really sticking to a single portion? A 2-tbsp. serving doesn't look like much, especially when drizzled over a big salad or stir-fry. You can easily top your meal with a double serving without even realizing it.

Tips! Have your dressing or sauce on the side -- then dip, don't pour. And check out those spray dressings all the companies are making. A little goes a loooooong way with 'em, and there are some fantastic-tasting options. (We love Wish-Bone Asian Silk and Ken's Honey Mustard the most!)

Nonstick cooking spray. It's only calorie-free and sans-fat if you use the minuscule serving size of a 1/4-second to 1/2-second spray. A 1-second spray of most brands has about 7 calories and just under a gram of fat. Not a huge difference, but it's good to be aware of, especially if you use it like it's goin' out of style. (It's not.) HG Tips! Next time you spray away, count it off in your head. If you're spritzing for 5 seconds, tack about 35 extra calories and 4g fat onto your totals. And if you find yourself cooking with an obscene amount of the stuff without paying much attention to it, you may be better off measuring out a teaspoon or so of regular oil and using that instead -- at least you'll be more conscious of the calorie and fat counts.

Protein. If you often order grilled chicken at a restaurant, you probably pat yourself on the back for making such a good choice. And while it IS a good choice, don't forget to take portion size into account. What you think is a reasonable 4 ounces could actually be closer to 8. And with about 35 calories per ounce, that definitely adds up. HG Tips! Next time you're whipping up some poultry in the comfort of your own home, weigh a serving of the stuff to get a good visual of what it should look like. Or use the old standby: A 3-oz. portion is about the size of the palm of your hand or a deck of cards.

Pretty amazing and true don't you think!?

Coping with Stress

At Support Group on Thursday Dr. Andelin presented some very useful tips on coping with stress. I figured I would share them for those of you who were unable to make it!



1- Find out what stresses you if you aren't always aware

2-Realize you have a choice in how you react to stress

3-Use effective time management--plan and prioritize your work

4-Talk it out-- ventilate-- find a sounding board

5- Avoid too much, too fast- spread out changes where possible

6- Take action- DO something

7- Escape for a while- take a break- take a vacation

8- If you need to feel sorry for yourself, make it short term

9- Set boundaries and learn how to say no

10- Avoid the "Superman" or "Wonderwoman" urge

11- Accept (acknowledge) what you cannot change

12- Delegate tasks or ask for help when appropriate

13- If you are wrong or make a mistake, admit it. No one is perfect.

14- Smile at people- at least try to look pleasant

15- Learn to relax

16- Find productive ways to get rid of your anger

17- Do something for someone else

18- Think positive- be optimistic

19- Develop a sense of humor- learn to laugh at yourself

20- Put things in perspective. "Will it really matter a year from now?"

21- Learn to have fun

22- Develop a support system- family, friends, coworkers

23- Follow the rules of good nutrition, adequate sleep, exercise

24- Focus on what you can do, not on what you can't do

25- If you need help, get an expert



Hope this helps ease a bit of stress :)