Empower Yourself: Learn About Weight-loss Surgery at FREE Information Sessions

For many people trying to lose weight, taking the first step can be the most difficult part of the process.

Whether it’s getting out of the door to head to the gym, or deciding to choose a healthier option at mealtime, once you take that first step, it can be easier to gain momentum toward a healthier lifestyle.

Choosing to have weight-loss surgery is not an easy decision, but learning all of the facts is easy with Penn’s free weight-loss information sessions.

At a weight-loss information session, patients learn about the various options for weight-loss surgery and get to meet with the surgeons and clinicians who will help them every step of the way.

Learning about weight-loss surgery and getting all the information firsthand from experts at Penn Medicine can be empowering, and help you make a healthy decision that can have lifelong positive effects.

Get more information about weight-loss surgery at Penn

Are you ready to commit to a healthier life?

Learn if bariatric surgery is right for you by attending a free information session about the Penn Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Program.

Learn more about weight-loss surgery at Penn during this free session and meet physicians and team members from the Penn Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Program

Register for this free event here.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Protein intake after weight loss surgery: Are you getting enough?

Karen Buzby, RD, LDN, member of the Penn Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery team, provides step-by-step tips for adding protein into a healthy diet after weight-loss surgery.

Protein is essential for just about every bodily process, including regenerating strength and promoting healing. That is why dietary recommendations after weight-loss surgery emphasize the importance of adequate protein intake.

The recommended protein intake after weight-loss surgery is 60 to 80 grams a day.* To determine the protein content in various food items, read the nutrition fact label. In general, most protein-rich foods contain at least seven grams of protein per ounce.

Examples of protein-rich foods include:

• Meat
• Poultry
• Seafood
• Eggs
• Dairy products
• Beans
• Peas
• Nuts

After weight loss surgery, dense, protein-rich foods must be reintroduced slowly, allowing time for the stomach to heal and decreasing the likelihood of obstruction. This timeline provides step-by-step tips for safely and healthfully reintroducing protein into your post-surgical diet:**

Two weeks after weight loss surgery:
For the first two weeks after your surgery, it is critical to stick to a full liquid diet and rely on protein drinks to fulfill your protein needs. Continue drinking protein drinks until you can meet the daily protein recommendations with solid food alone. Read more about finding a protein supplement that meets your dietary needs.

Three weeks after weight loss surgery:
Approximately three weeks after your surgery, you can start eating pureed foods. The best way to incorporate solid protein in your pureed diet is by using a blender. If blended protein sources don’t appeal to you, there are other softer forms of protein to opt for instead, including:

• Eggs
• Finely flaked, water-packed tuna
• Yogurt
• Cottage cheese

Baby food is discouraged after weight loss surgery because it has low protein content. 

Five to six weeks after weight loss surgery:
Once you progress to the “soft diet,” which usually occurs about five to six weeks after surgery, you can begin introducing soft, but solid foods into your diet. These foods include:

• Ground or chopped meat and poultry
• Moist fish
• Cooked beans
• Lentils
• Soft, soy-based meat alternatives

Eight weeks after weight loss surgery:
Two months after your surgery, you can begin adding all forms of low-fat protein into your healthy diet. The best way to prepare protein-rich foods is by moist cooking methods and reheating it in a microwave to prevent dryness and food intolerance.

In general, the best way to make sure you’re getting an adequate amount of protein is by keeping a food diary and tracking your protein intake. See the chart below for a protein content guide.

Food	Serving	Calories	Protein (grams)
MEAT Group
Sirloin Steak, lean	2 oz	95	16
Ground Beef, 95% lean	2 oz	92	14
Pork Loin	2 oz	94	17
Chicken, white meat, no skin	2 oz	93	17
Ground turkey	2 oz	75	11
Light Tuna, canned in water	2 oz	66	14
Salmon	2 oz	116	12
Shrimp	2 oz	70	14
Egg, large	1	80	6
Egg whites	2	35	7
Egg Beaters®	¼ cup	30	6
DAIRY Group
Skim Milk	8 oz	90	8
Yogurt, light	6 oz	80	6
Greek yogurt, nonfat, plain	6 oz	90	15
Mozzarella cheese, part-skim	1 oz	70	7
Cottage cheese, 1% milkfat	2 oz	40	7
NUTS / BEANS Group
Soybeans, aka Edamame	¼ cup	65	6
Tofu, Firm	2 oz	40	5
Soy Milk, Plain	8 oz	100	7
Peanut Butter	2 Tbsp	190	8
Almonds	1 oz	165	6
Chickpeas	¼ cup	70	3
Black Beans	¼ cup	55	4
Lentils	¼ cup	60	4
Boca® Burger, Original	1 oz	30	5

- Karen Buzby, RD, LDN

*Allied Health Sciences Section Ad Hoc Nutrition committee, Aillis L, Blankenship J, Buffington C, Furtado M, P{arrott J. Bariataric Nutrition: Suggestions for the Surgical Weight Loss Patient. Surg OBes RElat Dis 2008; 4(5Suppl):S73-108.

**The timeline reflects the Penn Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery team’s approach to reintroducing protein after weight loss surgery. If you are recovering from weight loss surgery, make sure to consult with your health care team to determine your personal dietary plan.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

25 Workout Songs to Motivate and Move

It’s summertime, and the livin’ is easy. Well, it is if you’ve got a great summer playlist to take you through your hot-weather workouts!

Some Penn employees have shared their favorite workout songs. If you need to freshen up your workout playlist, check out these selections.

• Push it to the Limit, Paul Engemann
• Purified, Lamb of God
• Slaughtered, Pantera
• I See You Baby, Groove Armanda
• Hello, Martin Solveig & Dragonette
• Such Great Heights, Postal Service
• Take Me Out, Franz Ferdinand
• Juicy, Notorious BIG
• Stronger, Kanye West
• Harder Better Faster Stronger, Daft Punk
• Eye Of The Tiger, Survivor
• Best Around, Joe Esposito
• Thunderstruck, AC/DC
• It Takes Two, Rob Base
• Scenario, Tribe Called Quest
• Body Movin', Beastie Boys
• Holiday, Madonna
• Better Things, The Kinks
• Seven Nation Army, White Stripes
• Float On, Modest Mouse
• Beat It, Michael Jackson
• Pump Up The Jam, Technotronic
• Everybody Dance Now, C & C Music Factory
• Start Me Up, Rolling Stones
• Enter Sandman, Metallica

Can you add to our list? What are your favorite workout songs?

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

What Do You Do With Your Old Clothes?

It’s a question every dieter asks him or herself at some point: What do I do with my clothes that are now too big?

Years of yo-yo dieting may have taught you to hang on to the clothing… just in case. But if you’re committed to losing weight with the help of Penn Medicine, you can ditch those old clothes for good.

That’s because Penn’s Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Program provides you with comprehensive care before and after bariatric surgery to ensure weight-loss success. Patients receive care from experts in the fields of nursing, medicine, nutrition, psychology and surgery all under one roof. You also have access to a number of support groups designed to meet your needs every step of the way.

“Having bariatric surgery leads to much more than a physical transformation, it’s a complete lifestyle transformation for an individual who may have spent his or her life identifying with being obese,” says Jim Henry, RD, LDN, registered dietitian with the Penn Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Program. “That change can be very stressful and overwhelming. For someone who has used food as a coping mechanism to deal with stress, it can lead to a lot of negative feelings and disordered eating.”

Penn clinicians understand the unique needs to bariatric surgery patients. That’s why Penn offers its bariatric surgery patients support before and after weight-loss surgery.

“Research has found that the more support people have throughout the process, the more likely they will be to succeed,” says Henry. “More support leads to better outcomes. It’s because of support programs like those we have at Penn that our patients are so successful.”

Get more information about weight-loss surgery at Penn

Learn if bariatric surgery is right for you by attending a free information session about the Penn Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Program.

Learn more about weight-loss surgery at Penn at this free session, and meet physicians and team members from the Penn Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Program

Register for this free event here.

Ready to Clean Out Your Closet?

Many organizations welcome used or gently used clothing. Some organizations will even pick up clothing from your home. Here are a few organizations around Philadelphia that will take your too-big clothing away for good.

1. Salvation Army of Southeastern PA
2. Purple Heart
3. Vietnam Veterans of America
4. Donation Town

What do YOU do with your old clothes?

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Does Weight Loss Make You Look Older?

Losing weight definitely has amazing health benefits no one should ignore. However, losing weight may also make you look older.

In fact, just losing 10 pounds can make you look up to four times younger.

When you lose weight, and lose weight from your face, the fat that filled out your cheeks can go away leaving cheeks and eyes looking hollow. For cheeks to look prominent, they need fat. That’s why cheek implants and injectables are a choice of many cosmetic surgery patients. They want to keep that fuller, more youthful look.

Those who have undergone weight-loss surgery may also experience sagging skin around the knees, arms and legs. While exercise can increase muscle tone underneath the skin and improve blood flow to the skin, the skin itself cannot always go back to the way it looked before weight loss.

Surgery is the only way to eliminate sagging skin, and get back to a more youthful appearance.

Regardless of how you look there is no doubt that losing weight, either with weight-loss surgery or a weight-loss program, will help you feel better and may help you live longer.

And chances are that with a smaller body, you can wear more youthful clothing – something you couldn’t do with that extra weight.

Do you think your weight loss has made you look older?

Get more information about weight-loss surgery at Penn

Learn if bariatric surgery is right for you by attending a free information session about the Penn Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Program.

Learn more about weight-loss surgery at Penn at this free session, and meet physicians and team members from the Penn Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Program

Register for this free event here.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

Celebrities Who Have Lost Weight and Kept It Off

They have personal trainers, personal chefs and access to every weight-loss trick out there. Celebrities are often the first people we look to when trying to lose weight. Some of people even want their own bodies to look like the stars.

“Often times, unrealistic expectations set by the film and television industry lead to insecurities about our own bodies,” says Jim Henry, RD, of the Penn Bariatric Program. “Celebrities are paid to look a certain way, and most will do anything to achieve a body that may not be attainable for everyone else.”

Instead, Henry says to focus on attaining a healthier lifestyle through diet and exercise. For some, weight-loss surgery may offer a permanent solution to a lifelong struggle with weight and weight loss.

“Weight-loss surgery in conjunction with support from trained experts in weight-loss surgery and psychology can lead to positive changes in health and weight that last a lifetime,” says Henry.

Here are some celebrities who have been very vocal about their own struggle with weight and weight loss:

Oprah Winfrey has lost and gained over and over again while in the public eye.

Singer Carnie Wilson was very open about her gastric-bypass surgery, which aired on the Internet in 1999. She’s since had revisional lap-band surgery after regaining her weight, and is back to losing weight.

Star Jones has been quiet about her own weight-loss surgery, instead opting to tell people about her surgery well after her significant weight loss.

“Celebrities are people who struggle with weight-related issues just like so many of us do,” says Henry. “It’s important not to look to celebrities and models as how we should look, but to take from them examples of a healthy lifestyle like working out and eating well.”

Get more information about weight-loss surgery at Penn

Are you ready to commit to a healthier life?

Learn if bariatric surgery is right for you by attending a free information session about the Penn Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Program.

Learn more about weight-loss surgery at Penn during this free session and meet physicians and team members from the Penn Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Program

Register for this free event here.

reade more... Résuméabuiyad

No-Cook Recipe: Flavorful Chicken and Strawberry Salad

This no-cook recipe makes a quick weeknight meal that is healthy, flavorful and perfect for a hot summer day or night. Combining sweet seasonal strawberries with blue cheese, tender chicken and crunchy nuts, this salad satisfies your sweet and savory cravings while also providing important nutrients like calcium, fiber and protein. Top it off with a tangy vinaigrette dressing for a final touch of flavor.

So next time you want a tasty meal but you’re running short on time, remember this recipe for chicken-topped strawberry and blue cheese salad.

Nutritional Information:
Amount per serving

• Calories: 333
• Fat: 16.4 g
• Saturated fat: 4.9 g
• Monounsaturated fat: 8.3 g
• Polyunsaturated fat: 2.1 g
• Protein: 32 g
• Carbohydrate: 14.8 g
• Fiber: 3.5 g
• Cholesterol: 83 mg
• Iron: 2.5 mg
• Sodium: 347 mg
• Calcium: 156 mg

Ingredients:
Dressing

• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

 Salad

• 4 cups romaine lettuce, torn
• 4 cups arugula
• 2 cups strawberries, quartered
• 1/3 cup red onion, vertically sliced
• 12 ounces skinless, boneless rotisserie chicken breast, sliced
• 2 tablespoons unsalted cashews, halved
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces) blue cheese, crumbled

Preparation:

1. To prepare dressing, combine first five ingredients in a small bowl. Gradually drizzle in oil, stirring constantly with a whisk.
2. To prepare salad, combine romaine and the next four ingredients (up to chicken) in a bowl; toss gently. Place about two cups chicken mixture on each of the four plates. Top each serving with one and a half teaspoons of cashews and two tablespoons of cheese. Drizzle about four teaspoons of dressing on each serving.

Total preparation time is 20 minutes.

This recipe is provided Jackie Mills, MS, RD, Cooking Light (May 2009).

reade more... Résuméabuiyad