Holiday season has officially arrived. We just got done saying trick or treat and dressing up like crazy hoodlums. For now, we’ll focus on the turkey and giving thanks. Before long, we will be singing Christmas carols and wrapping presents. For such a joyous time of the year, it’s no wonder we all look forward to seasonal treats. And the good news?!? Not all of the seasonal treats lead to a Santa Claus belly!

It’s all about the flavors and the main ingredient. Below is a list of some seasonal treats and a unique healthful benefit to each. As always, enjoy in moderation!

Halloween can be tricky health-wise, but if you make the right choices it can be quite a treat.  Follow one or all of these four easy tips to keep your Halloween in line with your weight loss and health goals.

Have you attended a Bariatric Solutions support group lately?  If not, why?  I would love to hear feedback.  Our staff at Bariatric Solutions is highly motivated to provide you with all of the tools you need to succeed with bariatric surgery, with support near the top of the list.  Take time to let us know exactly what would benefit you the most.  We can only respond to things we hear so don’t hold it in.  Tell me! Tell me! J

What is the Center of Excellence Designation?

Wise Regional Health System announced that it has been named an American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence®. The ASMBS Center of Excellence designation recognizes surgical programs with a demonstrated track record of favorable outcomes in bariatric surgery.

What’s the best health advice you have ever received?  Health is a broad term and includes a whole circle of components so this is a tough question for some.  For me, it is easy.   Before I reveal what the best health advice I have ever received is, really think about this for a second.  Grab a cup of tea or coffee, sit still, turn on some soothing music, and search within for that light bulb to go off.

A lovely online dictionary says the definition of health is the general condition of the body or mind with reference to soundness and vigor.  Meditate on that.  If the body and mind is to be strong and undamaged, it must be powerful!  And that it is… but I digress for a second.

It’s the first day of fall and boy am I excited about the weather fall brings. Aren’t you? The brutal Texas summer has finally come to an end. I hope you will celebrate with me by getting active outdoors this season.

The options are endless! Of course, you can always stick to the usual walk or jog outside on a new trail, through a different neighborhood, or even around your own block. One of my favorite times to walk through various neighborhoods is during October when all of the houses are decorated for Halloween. It adds a little thrill to your step!

If there was a nutrient that has been shown to….

• Significantly decrease inflammation
• Aid in weight loss efforts
• Decrease the risk of infections such as the common cold and flu
• Improve bone health
• Slash risk of most cancers by 77%
• Decrease risk of most autoimmune conditions
• And that can be obtained with a few minutes of sunbathing daily, or by  taking a supplement that cost pennies per day

Would you find a way to get it into your body at optimal levels?

Are you overweight and are you taking prescription medications to control weight related conditions such as: hypertension, high cholesterol, high triglycerides and type 2 diabetes?  If so then you are most likely depleted of many nutrients.  While prescription medications do a fair job of controlling the symptoms of these conditions they do nothing to resolve the problem and long-term they cause many nutritional complications that end up making the cure worse than the original condition.

How Prescription Drugs Make You Feel Bad

Last month the USDA pulled down all of those food guide pyramid posters, you know…the ones that have lined class and hallway walls in US schools for the past 20 years, and threw them in the trash. In place of the food pyramid the government is now recommending the plate method of eating and they have replaced mypramid.gov with choosemyplate.gov. While the new USDA plate method of eating is an improvement over the food pyramid guidelines, it still has room for significant improvement before it is in line with the nutrition recommendations of Bariatric Solutions. Here we will compare the USDA Plate Eating Method with the Bariatric Solutions Plate Eating Method and outline for you why we feel that the Bariatric Solutions way is the right way to eat for weight loss surgery patients and non weight loss surgery patients alike.

As a weight loss surgery patient you know the importance of protein. Adequate protein intake helps DFW weight loss surgery patients maintain muscle mass (and subsequently a fast metabolism), helps them work with their surgery to feel full with small portions and helps prevent/minimize any side effects (such as hair loss and poor wound healing) that may result from weight loss surgery. While it’s very important for DFW weight loss surgery patients to get adequate protein in their diet it is just as important to ensure that your protein comes from grass fed sources whenever possible.  Here I will tell you why grass fed meat and dairy is the best choice for DFW weight loss surgery patients and show you how to get more grass fed animal products into your diet.

Why Choose Grass Fed?
If you read my previous article on the effects of inflammation and weight loss then you should understand that Omega-3 fats are the good fats (they reduce inflammation and make it easier to lose weight) and Omega-6 fats are the bad fats when consumed in excess (too many of these cause inflammation and make it difficult to burn fat and control one’s appetite). Simply put, if you are trying to lose weight then you will want to increase the intake of the “Good” Omega-3 Fats and significantly decrease your intake of the “Bad” Omega-3 fats.  Now, this can be accomplished via a number of ways, but the simplest way to do this is by choosing grass fed (also known as pastured) animal products such as beef, pastured pork, free range chicken and pastured dairy, and limiting animal products raised in a feed-lot and fed grains such as corn.