Happy Memorial Day – Here’s to a Healthy Summer!
Happy Memorial Day! It’s a day to honor fallen service members, and to thank other service members and their families whom you know for what they have done for your benefit. Whether you show your gratitude with a quiet moment to yourself or by watching the bands go by at a local parade, you can do justice to yourself and to those who fought for you by paying attention to your health.
Since Memorial Day is also the unofficial start to summer, it’s a good time to set some new weight loss and health goals. You can start your summer with a healthy picnic today – check out our earlier blog post for some ideas – and keep up the momentum from there. Here are a few possible goals you might have, and how The BariatricPal Store can support you in reaching them.
Give Your Metabolism the Tools It Needs
The body is an amazing piece of machinery. Your heart pumps, your muscles carry you around all day, your digestive system metabolizes the food you eat, and your lungs breathe. Your bones are constantly rebuilding themselves, and your body maintains a constant temperature – and that’s just a quick list.
As you can imagine, you need a lot of different vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients to carry out all those functions. You’d be unable to break down your food into fuel if you didn’t have enough B vitamins, and you’ll feel exhausted if you don’t have enough iron to provide plenty of oxygen to your body’s cells. And what about a strong immune system? You don’t have a chance without sufficient vitamin A, and vitamin D. Ask your doctor if you should take a multivitamin and any other supplements to stay strong and healthy while you lose weight.
Goal: Up Your Protein
You have three long months until Labor Day, and that’s plenty of time to lose a serious chunk of weight. What’s standing between you and weight loss? If it’s hunger and cravings, we’ve got you covered with all kinds of protein bars and shakes, and high-protein meals and snacks. Protein fights hunger and cravings.
No worries if you’re still hankering after a certain taste or texture. Keep your carbs down with guilt-free Nacho Cheese Pasta, and save hundreds of calories by choosing a Triple Chocolate Protein Bar instead of frosted brownies. If you’re looking for a crunch, work some low-carb chips or pretzels into your diet. All of these possibilities have tons of protein and little to no sugar.
Goal: Plan Your Meals
This goal can help you reach your weight loss and maintenance goals. When you plan meals, you can be more aware of what you are eating, and more likely to stay within your calorie limits. Planning your meals can help you stay away from emergency fast food runs and trips to the supermarket in which you buy all kinds of foods you don’t need.
Meal planning may be one of the best tools for losing weight and keeping it off, but it can also be one of the most challenging ones to use. That’s why we developed sample menus for each stage of the pre-op and post-op bariatric surgery diets from liquids through pureed foods and solid foods, along with maintenance and back-on-track menus. We’re working to make weight loss easy for you!
Have a happy and safe Memorial Day, and a healthy start to your summer. Remember to always contact us if there is anything we can do to help you reach your goals or improve your shopping experience.