Homemade Vegetable Soup Recipe

Soup is one of the easiest and wholesome thick liquid option to those who want to lose weight.Soups can be a good hydration option as it helps to increase your liquid intake throughout the day. It gives you satiety due to the fibres from vegetables / lentils / pulses / etc.

It is a healthier option of one pot meal which includes all essential components like Protein+fiber+antioxidants +vitamins+ minerals.

It Enhances Nutritious value of your meal while maintaining your portion size and calorie count.

It is one of the tasty forms of protein, fibre and low calorie option.

Which soup you should not take if you are aiming for healthy weight loss?

Thinking to lose weight initiates us to focus on every food choice we make nutritiously.

In case of soups, not all soups are the same. In today’s busy lifestyle, one who wishes to lose weight through healthy diet options are prone to select the easiest preparing ready to make food choices.

Packed/canned soups or few soups at the restaurants are loaded with hidden fat and sugar sources in the form of preservatives. The ingredients used are not of fresh quality, leaving the major content of the soup to be starchy, sugar and sodium.

The vegetable content of any instant soup is almost negligible besides containing depleted nutrients.

Just having soup for being healthy is not correct. One has to understand contents, which are not ideal for weight loss and prepare/consume soup accordingly and then only it can be considered healthy.

Checking food labels for the for better food choices in important.

Making soup at home without preservatives and low fat ingredients will help to enhance the value of it. Using
substitutes like fat-free or low-fat milk instead of heavy cream, almond milk, soya milk, blanched vegetable
over canned ones. You can use chicken broth to thicken the soup with pureed vegetables, lentils, beans or
tofu. Simple ingredients like ginger, garlic, cloves and herbs, nutmeg, spices enhances the natural flavours and
promote better absorption of nutrients. Sometimes vegetable soup simply isn’t an option for some people. For
improving the thickness and increasing the satiety level one can add fibre to soups in the form of simple
changes like of oats flour instead of corn flour, soybean flour, unsweetened SMP, etc. Instead of munching on
unhealthy snacks, switching to broth based soups will give you sense of fullness or better satiety.

Avoid using the following ingredients while preparing soups :

• Sugar, Sausages, sodium in high amount
• cornbread, cheese, croutons
• Heavy Cream
• Corn flour / refined flour
• White Rice.
• Cheese sauce / mayonnaise.
• Coconut milk.
• Canned Veggies / Hummus.
• Monosodium glutamate ( MSG ) i.e. Aginomoto.

It’s not just soup, but it’s the complete diet and lifestyle changes that help you lose weight. Tailor-made
diets by the experts are necessary for better results and weight loss.

Ms Aditi with Dr Shashank Shah and Dr Poonam Shah

Every Moment A Learning Experience! A Psychologist Experience In a Bariatric Facility

When I first walked into LOC in 2014, I had little or no idea about my role. The very thought of working in a speciality hospital filled me with excitement but I must confess that I had also developed cold feet. Maybe, I was a tad uncertain. Certainty makes you beautiful while uncertainty makes you dutiful – the lines by Bob Goff were constantly playing in my mind. I readied myself to give it all to the two divine beings who placed trust in my abilities.

As I pen down my journey with LOC so far, excitement fills me to the core since I want readers to experience the role of a healthcare professional in a professional setup. Here goes…

Communication : The first and foremost aspect that my mentors, Dr Poonam & Dr Shashank Shah have instilled in me is to ensure that there is a flow of information exchange within and across teams. A healthcare setup primarily runs on communication and that sets the foundation to defines its success. This has helped me understand, comprehend and expedite the qualities required to be an effective team member.

Confidence : I cannot think of another profession that gives one the kind of certitude and assuredness that my job as a Bariatric Psychologist has instilled in me. Not often does one get the opportunity to be mentored by legendary figures who are the perfect guides to take me through this journey. Building confidence in me to make the patient feel comfortable and happy. Confidence to deal with and manage patients, discuss and offer justification on the outlay with them. The apprehensions and inhibitions I had about my fitment in this sector have been eliminated due to the confidence instilled in me by my mentors and the team.

Continued Learning : Suggesting weight-loss to patients by way of eating less is something I thought was easy to expedite. I thought. How wrong I was! Working with Sir has inseminated the know-how about the science of weight gain/loss and its significance in Bariatric Surgery. I must confess that I am still work-in-progress as far as knowledge of Bariatric Surgery is concerned because of its vast application and facets. And with every passing day, I am learning. And I am of the belief that LOC is the school where education is never-ending! I have been encouraged to pursue a PhD by my mentors and have been given the freedom to work on available data and with patients. My knowledge of nutrition has gradually increased.

Studying Behavioural Patterns : Working with patients often can be the best source of learning. In fact, it is! Every day, I have interfaced with patients displaying different personalities and behaviour. For a psychologist, this is as rich an experience as it can ever be. Often challenging my inner senses and faculties to study these traits and respond appropriately, I have learned to be attentive, alert and Argus-eyed during moments of interaction with patients. My levels of patience are steadily increasing… I have been able to gauge patient condition (Doing fine or not) during IPD rounds.

Gratification : The feeling that grips me every time I see happiness in the eyes of my patients a few years post-ops who have been consulted by me takes me to another level. And it keeps me going. The sense of giving back felicitousness makes my profession more endearing and I have been taught to spend each moment on the job to ensure this. I feel blessed to be in this role.

Evolution as a person : Continuous renewal is what this role gives me each day. Improving me as a person, as a healthcare professional and above all, a team member. I love to be a part of the team and its never-say-die spirit. Constantly looking up to my mentors and team members, learning from them are aspects which drive my passion for my job.

As I rewind the clock, I still remember the lines of Patch Adams which my Sir had told me on my first day at work…. You treat a disease, you win, you lose. You treat a person, you are guaranteed to win irrespective of the outcome.

Since then – and counting – every moment has been a learning experience!!!

A dilemma for patients as well as clinicians!

Let us consider both the cases:

1. Knee replacement before weight loss surgery

Observations:

a) The knee pain would be resolved, and the patient will be able to walk without pain.

b) The benefits of walking as an exercise may be added, but post-operative physiotherapy is so difficult because of the huge excess weight at times.

c) There would be higher risks during anaesthesia due to the comorbidities, surgery may be more difficult due to the excess fat deposition around the knees and thighs. Special care may be needed to minimize wound infection or delayed healing since fat has poor healing properties.

d) The associated conditions in these patients like diabetes, blood pressure, breathing difficulty add to the difficulties before and after the joint replacement.

2. Weight loss surgery or bariatric surgery before the joint and knee replacement

Observations

a) Weight loss surgery adds distinct benefits like weight loss, reversal or control of diabetes, blood pressure and breathlessness.

b) Patient’s pain also reduces significantly because of the weight loss and less pressure on joints. In many patients, the pain totally disappears, and knee replacement can be deferred.

c) Post knee and joint surgery their movements on recommended physiotherapy exercises also turns easy

However, if a joint replacement is performed after the bariatric and obesity surgery, the surgery is easier and diabetes control reduces the chances of infection.