Healthy diet guidelines for weight loss

Here is an excerpt from an email I sent to my friend. She's not getting banded, just interested in some weight loss ideas. We have a lady in our support group who by following these guidelines is losing weight and hasn't had the surgery yet. Here's what I wrote to my friend:

My surgeon's basic guidelines is to get the following nutritional amounts daily:

60-80 grams protein (you can use protein drinks to help with this. Body Fortress is a brand you can buy at Wal-mart that doesn't taste too bad.)
no more than 20 grams of fat
no more than 100 grams of carbs
Drink at least 64 ounces of water a day.

3 meals with no snacking in between. (However, if I'm hungry, I eat. I don't let myself get crazy hungry.)

Don't drink your calories. Only drink low calorie beverages or water. Don't drink soda, even diet isn't good for you. Don't drink milk. That was hard for me, but rarely do I have a drink of milk now. Watch the fruit juice, it has a lot of carbs in it.

Eat protein first, then veggies, then carbs. (This may be more for the banded people because they can only eat a small amount of food, but it's not bad advice for everyone since protein will help you feel full longer.)

Eat slowly, with small bites, putting your fork down in between. A meal should take around 20 minutes to eat. Don't eat while distracted (tv, computer, etc.)

Cut way back on white stuff. Pasta, rice, potatoes, white bread. ..all of that is really high in carbs and will not be helpful to your weight loss. I sometimes substitute the place on my plate where a starch would go, for another vegetable. For example: A chicken breast, a green salad (watch the dressing! it has a lot of fat grams), some steamed veggies (carrots, broccoli, squash, etc.) Where before it would have been chicken, rice, and veggie. I just add a salad or second vegetable.

I do allow myself treats in small amounts and I try not to do it very often. Have that cake, but only have a small piece and eat it slowly, savoring it. It really does make a difference.

So these are some of the things that have helped me take the weight off. Band or no band, they are good things to work on for healthier eating.