Lap Banded Living Meals By Betsy - Summertime Lap Band Friendly Meal Strategies for Barbecues, Parties and More...
By: Betsy Banks
It's almost here! Summertime, second only to the food fiasco that annually occurs between Thanksgiving and New Year's, is just around the corner. With graduation parties, weddings, and barbecues, summertime can be a diet disaster.
But warm months don't have to bring horrors. Well, other than donning a bathing suit when your body looks like a melted candle. (That's a subject for another column; suffice it to say I'm looking forward to my appointment with plastic surgeon John LoMonaco this coming week.)
How can you avoid summertime banded eating nightmares? Really, there's no reason for summer party angst! Deprivation is not the name of the game. Conscious eating will allow you to enjoy the fun, while continuing to have good results. Focusing on foods that provide nutrients the body requires makes good use of the finite stomach space we now experience, while giving the body what it needs for cell maintenance, growth, and repair.
So what does the body need? A diet that focuses on lean protein, heart-healthy fats, and complex carbohydrates is both satisfying and nutritious. What does this mean in practical terms? For me, it means making sure that each meal consists of a 2-4 ounce serving of protein (lean meat, fish, poultry, legumes, and/or dairy), about ½ cup of nonstarchy veggies (and/or a fruit serving), and a small amount of heart-healthy fat (nuts, avocado, or a heart-healthy oil). Breakfast might be Greek yogurt fortified with unflavored protein, fruit, and crushed flax seeds. Lunch might be a wrap made from romaine lettuce, turkey, and Havarti cheese. Dinner might be---well, you already know what's for dinner at my house!
But that's everyday eating. What about celebratory meals? Every Weight Watchers leader on the planet emphasizes that celebrations aren't eating events. They advise that partygoers approach get-togethers as social occasions where food is unimportant. To them, I say, "Phhht--nonsense!" Sure, it's great to de-emphasize the importance of food, to focus on friends and family. But c'mon. If you're at a barbecue, rather central to the whole deal is...well, barbecue! I mean, it's right there in its name!
So what do you do?
Well, I'll tell you what not to do: don't agonize about what you can't have. Long lists of red light foods are depressing! Sure, we all have foods that don't agree with our bands; I'm not talking about these because, frankly, it's not all that hard to say no to the chicken that you know will have you in a stall in the Field House during your niece's graduation, making noises that sound like a cat trying to eject a hairball. I'm talking about the foods that are best eaten in limited quantities, if at all. For me, these are foods made with sugar and flour, among others. I don't know about you, but pretty much the instant I say, "I can't eat <fill in the blank...>, " the only thing that will satisfy my reptilian brain is the forbidden food. So, while there are, indeed, many things I don't eat, I play a very simple trick on myself: I tell myself I can eat it.
And then I eat something else. A vast majority of the time, I choose to eat foods that come closest to the foods I choose to eat on a daily basis: the protein, the veggies, the fruit, the heart-healthy fat. These foods are the backbones of most meals-whether served at poolside party or home. Choosing these basics accomplishes a couple of important things: first they give my body what it needs. But more importantly, in social settings, it fills me up. So when the cake comes out, I have just enough from for a bite swiped from another partygoer's plate. The best thing of all? It's utterly satisfying.
My daughter's college graduation is coming up this week. It will involve three meals a day, for five days, in one of the best food cities in America. Several barbecues and parties are scheduled-and that doesn't count the parties upon our return home! Daunting? Nah. I'll report back how I handle vacation eating. Because if I can do it, you can do it, too!
Betsy Banks
|
Exploring WLS
Facebook
Twitter
Sandi Henderson
Gloria Samuels
