Every month Amy Paulus the Weight Management APN/ Bariatric Coordinator from Good Shepherd Hospital hosts a support group for bariatric patients. The group consists of people who are at their goal weight, those like me who are working hard at taking the weight off and those who have not yet had WLS. It is a safe space to get our questions answered and to share successes and struggles. There is also a private Facebook group so that we can stay connected between meetings.

This month one of the nutritionists from Good Shepherd Hospital, Melodi Peters, shared her tips on How to Avoid Holiday Weight Gain. My hope in sharing this is that you will find something to help you.

1. Remember it is a holi-day not a holi-week or holi-month.
2. Only weigh yourself twice a week.
3. Be picky, picky – protein & produce before carbs
4. Follow the rules
   • 1,2,3,4,5 –  Don’t let yourself get so hungry that you will eat anything in sight (#1).  Don’t eat so much that you are stuffed/miserable (#5).  The goal is to be satisfied (#3).
   • 24 Hours – Excess carbs/fat (aka – junk food) are stored in the liver for 24 hours, so if you overdo it, cut back on carbs/fat the next day and the excess carbs/fat are “erased”.
   • 15/10/5 – For every 15 grams of protein, you should have 10 or fewer carbs & added sugars should be in the single digits (preferably less than 5). ALSO consuming less than 50 carbs a day can cause sluggishness & brain-fog
   • 20/20/20 – Chew each bite 20 times, wait 20 seconds between bites, a meal should take 20 minutes
   • 3 Bites – only let yourself have 3 bites of each dish
   • 3 Hours – Don’t let boredom trick you into grazing. If you ate less than 3 hours ago, take a drink of water, exercise, or find something else to distract you.  You DO NOT need to eat again.
5. Bring something to the party or event that you know you can eat.
6. Whatever you eat MUST be on a plate – not a napkin, not out of the package. DO NOT eat at your desk!
7. Too many carbs result in insulin spikes, sugar crash, tiredness, moodiness, and craving more carbs.
8. If you don’t get enough rest you will consume at least 300 extra calories the following day.
9. Avoid “Morning After Food” – send leftovers home with your guests, freeze leftovers in small portions, throw leftovers away.
10. Start a one-a-day program – allow yourself one treat per day (choose wisely)
11. Exercise 
    • Don’t put food into “abdominal Tupperware”
    • Find something you enjoy and do it
    • Minimum 20 minutes per day
    • Stretch before bed
12. Consider making your favorite holiday food at another time of year instead
13. Make a cup of peppermint tea or sugar-free cocoa to relax
14. Remember the day that you broke-up with Food, well Food is coming to the party and you have to look good!!
15. It is not your responsibility to make others happy by your overeating.  
16. Your body is the shell for the soul that God gave you. 

There are two types of people, those who need help & those who can help.  Accept help/support when you need it and be willing to share what you have learned to help others along the way.

And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. – Hebrews 13:16 NIV

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. – Philippians 2:3-4

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