In my 10 years of working with thousands of WLS post-ops not one person has ever said to me, "I truly regret that I followed the rules and missed so many nibbles and bites of treats not allowed on my plan." ~Kaye Bailey
#1 - Question: What makes a slider food?
Earlier this week I received this question from one of our many LivingAfterWLS Neighbors:
"My question: is Greek yogurt a slider food? I add a teaspoon of protein powder and one of fiber to the 5.3 ounce cup to give it added oomph. Please let me know as it is one of my nutrition mainstays."Answer: Great question! You hit the key factor that prevents yogurt (or any semi-soft protein like cottage cheese, hearty vegetable and protein soups, or even high protein oatmeal) from becoming a slider food: Controlled Portion! When following the 5DPT guidelines and WLS Four Rules you would eat your measured portion after 30 minutes abstaining from consuming liquids, enjoy your serving, and then allow 30 minutes for your body to absorb and digest the nutrients before sipping your water or tea again. Your additions of protein powder and fiber and stellar - this is a very healthy and smart "nutrition mainstay" and I'm so happy you are doing well with it! Always remember a good test of slider food is first the nutritional value, degree to which the food is processed and lastly portion size. People who stand at the fridge eating out of a tub of yogurt then washing it down with a beverage are not benefiting nutritionally, which turns a smart food choice into a slider food.
The salad shown here uses cottage cheese as an ingredient in a crab salad, thus controlling the portion size and changing the texture of the salad to be more dense so it feels less like a slider food.
Three questions to ask to determine if a soft food, such a yogurt, is a slider food:
1. What nutritional value does this food provide? (Protein grams should exceed carbohydrate grams, the ingredients should be recognizable, and nutrients should include vitamins, minerals, and fiber.)2. Is this food highly processed and will I need a beverage to wash it down? (Avoid artificial ingredients, refined sweeteners, refined grains, unknown ingredients that you wouldn't use in home cooking, imitation foods, and the obvious junk or fast food.3. Is this food portion controlled and consumed while following the liquid restrictions. (Use measuring utensils, appropriately sized dinner plates/bowls, and/or portion controlled single-serve items such as string cheese or yogurt. Avoid "free pouring" or "guesstimating."
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# 2 - When is it okay to start bending the rules?
(Caution: Stern Talk Ahead)
Answer: It is always too soon to bend the food rules after WLS. This question is coming up more often in WLS groups than I have seen in a very long time. It concerns me a great deal, particularly when people as few as two weeks out from weight loss surgery are asking about cheating or confessing to eating off-plan. And more alarming, group members are being supportive with advice like, "It's okay, just be careful. Don't go overboard." Bending the rules that soon after surgery will only cause regret, self-loathing, and quite frankly may interfere with the body's healing process following the trauma of surgery. The excuses are common, "Just needed something to chew." "The chips were calling my name." "I was at a social function and didn't want to offend my hostess." "I didn't think about it before I ate it." I understand these explanations because I've used them as well.
Anyone who goes into weight loss surgery has been thinking about it pretty much non-stop for months -- if not years -- before going under the knife. We all prepared by evolving a good understanding of the dietary and lifestyle Four Rules. We crossed our heart and promised to follow the rules and make this surgery --our last resort-- work for us. Do you remember that phase in your WLS experience? So why-oh-why would one break the rules and eat something like chips that is so obviously inappropriate before the surgical incisions are even healed? And if one so easily disregards the rules that soon after surgery what is going to happen a year down the road when surgery is a vague memory and the temptations found in returning to the same environment where we became obese are ever present?
To new patients I strongly suggest holding out as long as you possibly can before breaking a rule and re-introducing non-nutritional food to your diet - this is the very food that contributed to obesity in the first place. Follow to the letter the instructions provided by your surgeon. We all promised to follow the rules. Honor that covenant with yourself, your doctor, your deity. Take the promise seriously.
To new patients I strongly suggest holding out as long as you possibly can before breaking a rule and re-introducing non-nutritional food to your diet - this is the very food that contributed to obesity in the first place. Follow to the letter the instructions provided by your surgeon. We all promised to follow the rules. Honor that covenant with yourself, your doctor, your deity. Take the promise seriously.
This surgery is a really big deal.
We know what chips taste like.
We know what Halloween candy tastes like.
Is it really that tough to forgo eating inappropriate food and trust our taste memories while acknowledging that our objective is to enjoy food that supports our weight management goals? In place of that food hunger (sometimes called Head Hunger) we can successfully cultivate a hunger and appetite for all the joy that comes with good health, weight loss, and the pursuit of the dreams we had when we opted for surgical intervention. The cliche "nothing tastes as good as skinny feels" is a great truth, although I prefer to say, "nothing tastes as good as healthy feels."
Many people have made the mistake of bending the rules and derailing the miracle they hoped to find with surgery. We know that bending the rules leads to a departure from our goals and ultimately disappointment. We know this without having to personally test the theory.
Seriously! Avoid bending the rules for as long as you can. In my 10 years of working with thousands of WLS post-ops not one person has ever said to me, "I truly regret that I followed the rules and missed so many nibbles and bites of treats not supported by my plan." Not one person. Yet, I've listened through the tears to countless people tell me "I just wish I'd never taken that first bite of chocolate (sip of Diet Coke, handful of potato chips, scoop of ice cream, etc). It was the first bite that did me in."
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