USDA FoodKeeper App - A Tool You Must Use!

I have not been compensated for this post: This is information that we all need as part of our healthy lifestyle program and I'm tickled to share with you the valuable resources from USDA that I've come to count upon in my kitchen and home.

Hello Dear Readers, thanks for joining me here today and happy Spring to you all.

If you've been with me for very long you know one of my nag-topics is food safety and kitchen hygiene. For myself, and for so many of you, I know having a bariatric surgery was not only a means to weight loss and healthy weight management: it was an opportunity for a new start in the pursuit of living better, healthier lives. That includes becoming schooled in matters of food handling safety, proper food preparation and storage, and protecting myself and family from foodborne illness.

The USDA is my go-to source for current and meaningful information that promotes, "kitchen confidence" -- simply the confidence in your ability to safely prepare delicious meals for your loved ones and yourself. Food safety and kitchen confidence is no trivial matter. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that each year approximately 48 million Americans suffer from foodborne illnesses, leading to 128,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths. The CDC says "Many of these illnesses can be prevented by changing behaviors in the kitchen and gaining a little kitchen confidence."

FoodKeeper Mobile App

Earlier this month the USDA invited home cooks to improve their kitchen confidence by visiting their remarkably user-friendly website Foodsafety.gov and making use of their go-to quick reference guide to food safety with the free and friendly app: FoodKeeper for iOS and Android.

"The FoodKeeper helps you understand food and beverages storage. It will help you maximize the freshness and quality of items. By doing so you will be able to keep items fresh longer than if they were not stored properly. It was developed by the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service, with Cornell University and the Food Marketing Institute. It is also available as a mobile application for Android and Apple devices."

Find the app at FoodKeeper or get it directly from your App store on your favorite mobile device.

This image shows the information on storing and consuming shredded cheese. Notice how clean and concise the information is presented - no lengthy explanation, just the simple facts. The clean presentation makes sense because the question "I wonder if this is still good?" is usually asked when we are engaged and lack the time for lengthy reading and research. A couple of quick clicks and we are in the know, good to go!

 

I hope you will check out the FoodKeeper App and the FoodSafety.gov website to build your kitchen confidence and keep your family healthy and happy as you enjoy meals together.

Safety Tips to Prevent Food Borne Illness This Summer 

Obesity is Taking Years Off Our Lives

"The pattern is clear. The more an individual weighs and the younger their age, the greater the effect on their health, as they have many years ahead of them during which the increased health risks associated with obesity can negatively impact their lives," Dr. Steven Grover

In writing about weight loss surgery I generally call our task weight management rather than weight loss. If all goes well with WLS the first few years following surgery are about weight loss, then we enter a phase of weight management which can be much more difficult than weight loss. A body with the metabolic disorder obesity wants to store excess body fat, that's what the disorder is. So our task is to manage body weight and avoid or limit weight gain.

A new study shared today by Medical News Today suggests there is good reason to work at weight management: Obesity reduces life expectancy and can diminish quality of life causing a loss of 19 years of healthy life. We know from our own struggle to find a healthy weight that excess body weight does indeed diminish quality of life. This study, first published in The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology, examines the issue closely and puts tangible numbers on the true toll obesity takes.

"The researchers behind the study analyzed data from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), creating a disease-simulation model to estimate the risk of adults of different body weight developing diabetes and cardiovascular disease," reports Medical News Today. "From this, the researchers then calculated the extent to which overweight and obesity may contribute to both years of life lost and years of healthy life lost in American adults aged between 20 and 79 years old, in comparison to people of normal weight."

• They found that people who were overweight (BMI 25-30 kg/m2) were estimated to lose up to 3 years of life, depending on age and gender. Individuals classed as obese (BMI 30-35 kg/m2) were calculated to lose up to 6 years, and people classed as very obese (BMI 35 kg/m2 or more) could lose up to 8 years of life.
• According to the study, excess weight had the greatest impact on lost years of life among the young and dropped with increasing age.
•  Obesity can cause the loss of up to 19 'healthy life-years'

Dr. Steven Grover, lead author and professor of medicine at McGill University and a clinical epidemiologist at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre in Canada, explains the findings:

"The pattern is clear. The more an individual weighs and the younger their age, the greater the effect on their health, as they have many years ahead of them during which the increased health risks associated with obesity can negatively impact their lives," Dr. Steven Grover

These clinically meaningful calculations should prove useful for obese individuals and health professionals to better appreciate the scale of the problem and the substantial benefits of a healthier lifestyle, including changes to diet and regular physical activity."
Read the full article on Medical News Today: Obesity Can Reduce Life Up To 8 Years

This information is valuable motivation to continue weight loss efforts after surgery and practice vigilant weight management for life. After WLS do the following:

• Follow the Four Rules of weight loss surgery: Protein First, Lots of Water, No Snacking, Daily Exercise.
• Observe the liquid restrictions to maximize pouch space by eating nutrient dense food.
• Avoid eating empty calorie slider foods.
• Make healthy eating a way of life for the entire family.
• Consider healthy eating a gift of life, never a punishment.

Are you off track with your weight loss and weight management goals? Use the 5 Day Pouch Test to get back in focus and live your best healthy life. Check out this value priced quick study guide to learn more about the plan and how it will change your life:
The 5 Day Pouch Test: Express Study Guide

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From AMA: Obesity Reclassified

As published in today's LivingAfterWLS Weekly Digest
Link to the Digest in our Archive: Weekly Digest 06212013

AMA: Obesity a disease, not a choice:
Reclassification will change treatment options

WASHINGTON (AP)  The American Medical Association (AMA) now considers obesity a disease that requires medical intervention, treatments and preventative measures.

The resolution to consider obesity a disease was passed on Tuesday at the association's annual meeting.

"The suggestion that obesity is not a disease but rather a consequence of a chosen lifestyle exemplified by overeating and/or inactivity is equivalent to suggesting that lung cancer is not a disease because it was brought about by individual choice to smoke cigarettes," reads one of the final paragraphs of the resolution (courtesy NPR's posting of the full document).

The AMA hopes the reclassification will change how doctors treat patients; that they will treat obesity as a disease rather than a lifestyle choice or condition.

"Recognizing obesity as a disease will help change the way the medical community tackles this complex issue that affects approximately one in three Americans," said AMA board member Patrice Harris, M.D. "The AMA is committed to improving health outcomes and is working to reduce the incidence of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes, which are often linked to obesity."

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5DPT January Bulletin

5 Day Pouch Test January Bulletin
A Well-Reasoned Clinical Approach to Obesity Management

Happy New Year! Thank you for joining me for our first 5 Day Pouch Test Bulletin of 2013. I do hope your holidays were meaningful and inspired. And perhaps you are feeling a sense of excitement as we start this new year. I certainly am happy to start fresh in 2013 and have my sights set on dedicating myself to healthy behaviors and living well. Over the holidays I found myself managing my diet and health more emotionally than clinically or medically. By that I mean eating to feel happy and celebrate (when I wasn't hungry) and eating for comfort during times of stress (when I wasn't hungry). I ignored the reality that food is fuel and providing my body the correct food at the right time is the appropriate way to manage my medical condition of obesity. It seems insane that I re-learn this lesson every holiday season!

But here we are, a fresh new start. Most WLS patients recall very well the research we did prior to surgery, the questions and answers, and the learning. As a group we are above average knowledge seekers. So it stands to reason that along the way, well after surgery, we again turn to education and learning in support of our weight loss goals. Today let's look at managing our obesity from a clinical approach rather than an emotional reaction. The medical community officially recognizes obesity as a disease. So its time we start doing the same. When we treat obesity as a disease rather than a personal moral failure or emotional weakness we can rationally take the action which brings forth favorable results.

I wish you the very best of health this New Year! You have the power to make this your healthiest year ever - Let's do it together!

CHEERS!
Kaye

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