diet question

Ok, so I have been trying to be creative with meal planning in my attempt to lose 10% and I am running into a problem. It seems that if you buy something fat free it is high in sodium, but if you buy something low in sodium, it's high in fat. I have been doing well with the weight loss, but which is the lesser of two evils? I have been sticking with the fat free or lowfat foods, but I worry about the amount of sodium. Does anyone have some good suggestions?

Janet: My 2 cents: ook at lifestyle changes, small, reasonable goals to work at, it isn't about counting calories, fat grams etc as diets do not work and they always lead to a binge and goig off. I appreciate the need for preop wt loss, consider simple dietary food plan changes and exercise increasing slllowly daily in frequency and intensity..this will add to preop wt loss but help more in long run for success AFTER RNY! Lowfat usually is high carbs, I fel the south beach philosophy is one that preop and postop is a good idea to use as guidelines.... Think about smaller portions of lean means, higher fiber/complex carbs in fruits/veggies, good healthy omega 3/6 fats (avocados, fish, olive oil, nuts, etc) and lastly skip the simple white carbs (bread, pasta, rice, potatoes, flour, sugar). Look at thte bonus of the preop diet being similar to the postop one and giving u wt loss! If you want south beach info email me at [email protected] I have a document. It is how I try to live 90% of the time..BUT this is what I did preop to lose wt....I lost 30# in 30 days doing a 1500 cal diet and exercising 30-60 min daily every day! then lost 15 more pounds in the next 3 months... WT LOSS BEFORE SURGERY/MOTIVATION/AVOIDING THE LAST SUPPER SYNDROME In our program we are required to loose 10% of our body wt before surgery.... Loosing weight pre-op is required by many surgeons & for many reasons... and I am so happy I did! 1.. to show motivation, 2.. ability to adhere to a plan (as we will need to for life!), if you can't be mindful and able to follow restrictions pre-op how will you do it post-op? 3.. to increase your health even a modest 5-10% wt. loss is very helpful, the National Institute of health has even researched this...(hence why weigh****chers is so focused on the 10% wt loss) 4.. decreases surgical complications (by exercise and decrease wt your heart and lungs are in better shape for surgery, anesthesia and healing!)... 5.. Also psychologically it is tough going from a super-sized big Mac meal to clear liquids for 2 weeks post-op! 6.. ***MAIN ONE FOR PROTEIN SPARING or MEDIFAST DIETING***It helps shrink the liver and this eases their surgical procedure and decreases chance of nicking it.... 7.. exercising before helps you continue after! 8..The more you lose pre-op the less you will have to lose post-op and the closer to an ideal body-wt you will attain! I lost the weight by doing the food pyramid. That's it, I was eating so bad (fast food daily, large portions, consuming every high-fat/sugar thing imaginable and NOT exercising that just cutting down and walking 2 miles a day helped! For ME, it was "no one" was going to stop me from having this operation, it was my decision and all that was asked of me was to loose 30 lbs, I figured this is a small price for such a wonderful gift I would be given and the opportunity to have a healthier happier longer life....! I was so motivated/psyched; I dropped 30 pounds in 30 days and went on to drop 15 more before surgery! (Although this took me 2 months, as it got harder and I had a few last meals, we all do but you can't let this ruin your opportunity!) Exercise was another key; I faithfully walked 2 miles everyday..it helped that my mom went with me a lot! (a buddy is so helpful!) I followed the food pyramid given to me by clinical nutritionist Dr. Boham...I also wrote everything down (Many find www.fitday.com helpful for this) that went in my MOUTH!!! Or you can get food pyramid/bullseye version at: http://www.xenical.com/hcp/1400_Am_Beye.pdf I also had to remind myself how BAD I wanted this! Everyday it was/had to be more important to me to change my bad habits and lose weight to have this surgery than to continue to slowly kill myself with food/keep myself from the only hope I had!. I also told everyone about my plans and they helped support me, my friends/family and coworkers! I really can't give you any more guidance than this, it really had to come from within, it was a mindset with me, and I wanted this BAD real bad and I knew it was my last resort/chance! I felt invigorated and motivated by the end results...the long-term had to outweigh the short-term gratification of eating bad choices or overeating! It was a learning opportunity for me to change my habits and practice chewing well, not drinking with meals and eating smaller portions, giving up sugar/caffeine/carbonation/alcohol (if any of those are your issues, carbonation/caffeine/alcohol weren't issues for me)! So a few weeks/months of healthy habits to lose pre-op wt is not a lot if you frame it right! IT IS NOT FOREVER and it is about starting this journey! Take Care, Jamie 100cm proximal Lap RNY 10/9/02 Dr. Singh Albany, NY 320(preop)/163 (lowest)/174 (current) 5'9'' (lost 45# before surgery) Plastics 6/9/04 & 11/11/2005 Dr. King www.albanyplasticsurgeons.com http://www.obesityhelp.com/member/jamiecatlady5/ "Being happy doesn't mean everything's perfect, it just means you've decided to see beyond the imperfections!"

Hi Janet, I think the goal is to eat regular food, stay away from processed food as much as possible, and find creative recipes that incorporate whole foods with a fanciful twist for taste using interesting spices, etc. It continues to be a challenge post op, but when you come upon some recipes that you like, you will use them again and again. I'm always trying to find recipes that have protein as the main ingredient, like chili, because protein first becomes our mantra. How much have you lost of your 10%? Keep up the good work girl!! Hugs, Amy

Hi Amy, I am down 16 lbs and my bmi went from 42.4 to 41. I have found alot of great recipes and I am eating alot of chicken. Who knew there were so many chicken recipes out there! I always look at labels for the carb, sodium and fat content of whatever I buy, it just seems like you are always swapping one for another. I have not had any white bread or pasta, everything is whole wheat. My sleep study is next Thursday (I'll have to leave support group a little early) and then all I have left for clearances is the psych eval in January. I look forward to seeing you this week at group. I think my best friend is going to join me this week to see what I am getting myself into...haha. Thanks Janet

Janet, 16 pounds is awesome! I looked at the pics on your profile and you can really see the difference! Go Janet!! Good luck on the sleep study. Not much fun, but worth the investment. I won't be able to make it to support group this week. Too much going on! Good idea to bring a good friend to it thought. Great idea. Keep in touch. I'm interested to hear about the sleep study. Hugs to you, Amy