Dieting Tips: Holiday Temptation Stoppers

The final song on The Beatles classic Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album, “A Day in the Life,” was a collaborative effort based on a tune sketched out by John Lennon. Lennon and McCartney worked together to write the body of the song. The middle of the piece, however, is all Sir Paul.

It is a quick little ditty about getting up, falling out of bed, looking up, noticing he was late, grabbing his hat, just barely catching the bus and falling into a dream.

Did you notice what he missed doing before leaving the house?

Yes, he skipped breakfast. We hope he grabbed some when he reached his destination. If you find yourself in a similar situation, running late for work, school or other destination, we hope you also take some time for breakfast; particularly this time of year.

The weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas teem with temptations. Sweet treats and other high calorie, unhealthy food options seem to lurk in almost every corner. It takes more than average willpower to ignore their siren song; it takes breakfast.

A good, healthy breakfast can give you the strength to maintain your healthy lifestyle no matter how many months or years it has been since you had your weight loss surgery.

Some people make the mistake of thinking their bariatric supplements will provide all the nutrition they will need to carry them through the morning. Unfortunately, relying on your supplements alone is a mistake. Since you are not consuming any food while you are sleeping, your blood sugar will be low when you get out of bed. This leaves you extremely vulnerable to temptation. If you don’t give your body the fuel it needs within two hours of waking up, your ability to focus will be diminished and this can lead to making some poor choices which can sabotage your healthy eating plan and make it far more difficult to achieve or maintain your target weight.

Consuming less food after weight loss surgery means you have to make each calorie count when it comes to selecting what you will have for breakfast. This is especially important during the holidays to maintain your post-bariatric surgery progression.

By now, you already know the digestive dangers of many common breakfast foods like pastries, sugary cereals and juices. Most of us only have to make those mistakes once or twice before we realize a morning in agony is not a good way to start the day. Better choices for a healthy breakfast include:

• Hot cereal – high protein oatmeal with skim milk or cream of wheat
• Non-fat or low-fat dairy – non-fat cottage cheese, skim milk, sugar-free, low-fat yogurt
• Fruit – unsweetened applesauce, bananas
• Lean proteins – poached or scrambled eggs, lean ham, high protein shake

Starting your day with a combination of these items and following up later in the morning with a high protein, low calorie snack will not only help boost your concentration and willpower, it will also keep your blood sugar at the proper level to resist the cravings that make all those holiday cookies and candies a little less tempting.

Anyone who thinks having weight loss surgery is some sort of “shortcut” has never experienced the “long and winding road” that leads from unhealthy eating habits to a healthy lifestyle. Your surgery was just the first of the tools you needed to put your feet on the right path. Starting your day with a healthy breakfast is another tool which can help you achieve your hard-earned goals.

Don’t let the temporary pleasure of unhealthy holiday treats prevent you from experiencing the permanent satisfaction that comes from making your dream come true. Give yourself the strength to do battle against temptation this holiday season by making breakfast a part of your daily routine.