News for the Morbid Obesity Community
Published by Spotlight Health www.spotlighthealth.com
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CENTER STAGE THIS MONTH
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0 Surviving the holidays – Ann’s update
0 Carnie talks about going on Oprah
0 How anxiety affects eating behaviors – get the facts!
0 Inspiring thoughts
0 This month’s recipe: garlic pepper chicken
CELEBRITY UPDATE
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Ann’s December Update
"Hey everybody, here come the Holidays!
We all love them in our own way, and we all know the pressure that comes
along with the food that is always around during this time of year. Most
of us have been known to say, "I’m just going to enjoy myself for a week
or two and then it’s back on the program." Well I guess we also know how
much damage that can occur in a couple of weeks…especially if ‘a
couple of weeks’ turns into a couple of months.
This is where the LAP-BAND comes to the rescue. It’s unrealistic and
unfair to expect a dieter to nibble on celery and sip mineral water when
everyone around is enjoying the sumptuous favors of the season. Let me
describe what my first Thanksgiving with the LAP-BAND was like:
Our family enjoys the classic American Thanksgiving fare, and I was a
little nervous as to how that would fit into my 10-month old lifestyle
with the lap band. After the table had been laid, the grace said and the
children’s plates assembled, I looked at what lay before me. NO PROBLEM.
I took a spoonful of what looked good, had a bite or two of each thing,
and I was happy. I was full (not stuffed) and I felt happy. Best of all,
I didn’t feel left out and deprived.
CELEBRITY UPDATE
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Carnie’s December Update
"This has been an interesting month. While being very busy (as usual)
and doing a million things at the same time, I still find it interesting
to learn about people’s reaction to having weight-loss surgery, as well
as learning their general views on it. I will always have some
explaining to do when I talk about surgery. Not everyone can or ever
will understand the magnitude of undergoing a surgery like this. I have
never been more grateful for anything in my life. I must say something
very important though - I am looked at through a microscope at times and
that adds some pressure…
…The bottom line is that I am like one of you. I am human with the
same actions and reactions. When I speak about WLS on television…
unless I have control of editing (which has NEVER happened), who knows
what they are going to use! I could do an interview for 1-2 hours and
they will wind up using 6 minutes. SO then I get so frustrated because
so many important details and great moments are left out. What a
shame…"
GET THE FACTS ON FITNESS
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Understanding How Anxiety Affects Eating Behaviors
Teri Kai Holtzclaw, Ph.D.
Aesop said it best when he wrote: "A crust eaten in peace is better than
a banquet eaten in anxiety." Anxiety often affects our eating choices,
portion sizes, speed of ingestion and quality of digestion. The Holiday
season often presents postoperative patients with family feasts or what
many of us may refer to as "anxiety-ridden banquets." The combination of
food and family can sometimes increase our anxiety and affect our eating
behaviors in a negative way. The result is sadly an increase in weight
gain and a decrease in long term weight loss maintenance.
Because anxiety and food play such important roles in our Holiday
celebrations, I felt it appropriate to address the affects of
anxiousness on our eating behaviors.
Anxiety, in general, is a naturally occurring experience, and often
impossible to avoid completely. As with anything else in life, some of
us experience more anxiety than others. We would probably all choose to
go without anxiety, especially those of us who are post-op, when eating
meals or attempting to take part in food-related activities. Of course,
anxiety is helpful to us in some circumstances and not unlike other
emotions can be used for both healthy and unhealthy decision making.
So, we know that anxiety is an important part of taking care of
ourselves and keeping our person feeling "safe and protected." Anxiety
is the consequence of some part of our mind preparing us for the next
"unknown and possibly unwanted" danger. This unknown or unwanted danger
may simply be an uncomfortable situation, perhaps an embarrassing event
in the family gathering or an unwanted amount of attention that feels
threatening or overpowering. Anxiety is an activation of our senses and
our physical readiness so we can assess our surroundings or look for
dangers and so we can be more ready to run or fight…
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We all know how important protein is in our diets, but it can still be
hard to fit it all in. Read what one community member found has helped
her:
"Here are some tips I’ve found useful in helping to feel satiety
post-op:
1) Water loading about 15 minutes before a meal tends to help with
satiety. Try drink about 2 cups of water, before you eat which should
help you to avoid eating too fast.
2) Try to find some kind of high protein snack to eat when you want to
snack. Cheese, a protein bar, some kind of thing which fills you up.
Experiment a bit to find something that you like that helps you feel
satisfied. Figure out what a ‘good’ amount of that is and eat that
BEFORE you try the easier snacks, and you may find that you’re not
hungry anymore for those other things.
3) Sometimes if you want something sweet you can work with that too
-cheese and some grapes for instance. But the protein will really help
with your level of satiety. And silly as it sounds, sometimes a big old
glass of water or iced tea helps as well."
RECIPE OF THE MONTH
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Looking for a twist to spice up the usual chicken dinner? Check out this
month’s recipe!
Garlic Pepper Chicken
1 lb Chicken, breast, meat only, raw
1 tbs Oil, olive, salad or cooking
1 tbs Butter, with salt
1 tbs Pepper, black
3 tbs Garlic, chopped very fine
¼ tsp Salt
¼ cup Onions, chopped very fine
Cut up the Chicken breast into bite sized pieces and set aside.
Heat the olive oil and butter in a sauté pan until foamy. Sauté the
onion until translucent and then add the chicken, pepper, and salt. Cook
over medium heat slowly until the chicken pieces are nicely golden brown
on all sides. Add the garlic and sauté until the garlic is soft and
the chicken is well coated.
Taste test: Take a piece of chicken and taste it to see if it is peppery
and full of garlic flavor… if not, adjust pepper and garlic as needed.
If you need, to sprinkle more salt on as well.
Serve the chicken over steamed rice.
GET IN THE SPOTLIGHT
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You can help Carnie, Ann and others battle the challenges of morbid
obesity by getting involved in Spotlight Health’s morbid obesity
community. Participate in our support groups and join our chats to
communicate with people who understand your thoughts and feelings. Check
out our Links page for even more resources outside of Spotlight Health!