What to Expect from the
BIB^® Weight Loss Plan?

Your journey starts right here, right now.

Like many expeditions into the unknown, the BIB^® Managed Weight Loss Program journey has a beginning, middle part and ending. The beginning and the ending are the exciting bits while the middle section is sometimes just a hard slog. Here we’ll look at each part of the journey in more detail so that you can make your decision knowing what’s ahead.

• Eating Guidelines

• Eat slowly and chew thoroughly

  Use small dishes to help with portion control

  Always stop eating when you feel full

  Gradually introduce a variety of foods into your meals, especially those high in protein like meat, poultry, fish, dairy and eggs

  Have a protein-rich food with each meal

  Uncooked food should be weighed without the parts you cannot eat

  Choose well-cooked vegetables; raw vegetables should be chopped into small pieces

  Avoid foods difficult to digest such as raw cauliflower, raw onions and fried foods

  Moderate your use of artificial sweeteners and diet soft drinks

  Avoid things with high caloric density such as sugar, honey, sweets and lollies, sweet drinks, dried fruits, fat based dressings and nuts

  When you are using salad dressing, olive oil is preferred, or try balsamic vinegar instead

  Avoid eating late at night and do not eat for at least two hours before going to sleep – the intragastric balloon tends to move up when you lie down and may cause reflux and nausea

• Drinking Guidelines

• If you do have reflux in the evening avoid coffee, tea, alcohol, tomatoes, oranges or other acidic foods and do not smoke. If the reflux persists try raising the head of your bed 20cm

  In case of vomiting, stop eating for at least two hours then drink a small amount of water and proceed with soft foods as tolerated

  Take vitamins and minerals as prescribed

• Lifestyle Guidelines

• Meet regularly with your medical team to stay motivated and committed to the program

  Experience shows that those who attend the scheduled follow-up meetings have the best results

  Keep a diary of what you eat and how much you exercise

  Make your new nutrition plan a long-term lifestyle change

• Allowed Foods

• Beverages

  Water, seltzer, club soda, decaf diet soda, decaf tea, decaf coffee, unsweetened calorie-free drinks, herbal tea, diet iced tea
  
  NOTE: Carbonated beverages are tolerated differently by each BIB^® Managed Weight Loss Program patient while the intragastric balloon is in place.

  Milk

  Skim/low-fat milk, low-fat butter milk, non-fat sugar-free yoghurt

  Meat, fish, eggs, cheese and beans

  Broiled/roasted/barbecued/steamed chicken, fish, turkey, veal, lamb, low-fat or non-fat cheeses, eggs and egg substitutes, cheese and beans

  Fruits

  All, including diluted or low-calorie fruit juice

  Vegetables

  All, except those listed in the 'Food to Avoid' list

  Grains and Starches

  Whole-wheat crackers, brown/grainy bread and toast; mashed starches, potatoes, baked potatoes, rice and soup

  Fats

  Low-calorie or non-fat margarine, mayonnaise and salad dressing

  Sweets and Desserts

  Diet gum, diet jelly, low-calorie/minicakes and pies, sugar and substitutes

• Foods to Avoid

• Beverages

  Regular soda, sweetened juices and beverages, alcohol, caffeinated tea and coffee and all beverages with caffeine

  Milk

  Whole milk, milkshakes, chocolate milk, cream, half-and-half, hot cocoa, non-dairy creamer and regular yoghurt

  Meat, fish, eggs, cheese and beans

  Fried meat, fish eggs, frankfurters, sausages, high-fat cold cuts such as bologna, corned beef, pastrami and bacon

  Vegetables

  Intakes greater than 1 cup of parsnips, corn, squash and peas

  Grains and starches

  Bagels, doughy breads, white bread, waffles, pancakes, croissants, popcorn and high-fat cream soups
  NOTE: Pasta may not be tolerated by BIB® Managed Weight Loss Program patients while the intragastric balloon is in place

  Fats

  Butter, oil (unless olive or canola), regular margarine, mayonnaise and salad dressing

  Sweets and desserts

  Sweets and lollies, ice cream, fruit ice, pastries, ice mlk, frozen yoghurt, regular sugar, honey, salty snacks

• Exercise is Critical to Success

• Too often we do not think we have time to exercise, but all those little activities we do can really add up. Taking the stairs, walking around the mall and parking further from the store all equal a healthier lifestyle. Book your exercise activity into your week first! By planning for exercise instead of just hoping that you will find the time means that you will have both the time and the energy to do it. It is too easy for our schedules to fill up so that we end up neglecting ourselves. Make that appointment with yourself and stick to it. You’ll be amazed how much you can put around it if you just put it there first.

• Have a Back-up Plan

• Sometimes we have all the good intentions in the world but other things get in the way, such as when pouring rain halts that walk we had scheduled. When that happens, think of an alternative – do a few laps of the stairs at work or get out and walk around the shopping centre. Or keep a spare gym bag in the car. If you find yourself with an extra 30 minutes in your day, get out and get active. When you plan ahead you’ll never have an excuse for not getting enough exercise.

• Record Your Efforts

• In your day planner or on a calendar, record the time and days that you are planning to be active, and then record the result. Be honest about this. The only person you will be cheating is yourself. Look back over each week and month and see how you are doing. If there is a time (and there will be) when you find you miss a day or two, commit to making it up the next week. If you have to miss the week, then commit to making it up over the next two weeks. Stick to the commitments you have made and you will thank yourself for it in the end.

• Reward Your Efforts

• Most of us will focus on goals and not the actions that achieve the goals. Instead of focusing on a goal of losing 2kg, turn your focus to the actions that will get you closer to that goal. For instance, plan to be active for a minimum of 30 minutes at least 12 times this month. When you focus on making the actions happen, the results will follow. When you do follow through on your planned activities find some non-food ways of rewarding yourself. Book a weekend getaway, or a spa day, or buy some new clothes. This will be a huge motivator on those days when the exercise just seems like too much work.