At Baptist Health South Florida, nutrition is considered a core component of any treatment plan. The Baptist Hospital diet plan encompasses a range of approaches, from personalized nutrition counseling to bariatric surgery options, all aimed at supporting individuals in achieving their health and weight-loss goals. This comprehensive guide explores the various facets of the Baptist Hospital diet plan, providing insights into its different components and how they can be tailored to meet individual needs.
Personalized Nutrition Counseling
For individuals diagnosed with chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, or digestive disorders like celiac disease, or those who have undergone surgical procedures like weight-loss surgery, nutrition counseling can be invaluable. At Baptist Health South Florida, you can meet individually with a dietitian who specializes in your condition or health needs. Following an assessment, the dietitian will collaborate with you to develop a meal plan that is unique to your health goals and condition.
This detailed plan includes ideas for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks, with suggested foods that are customized to you. While some patients may only require one appointment, follow-up sessions with your dietitian are recommended to assess your progress and answer any questions you may have. You do not need to be a Baptist Health patient to take advantage of our nutrition counseling services.
The Weight Management Program
The weight management program at Baptist offers dietary support through physician or nurse practitioner supervision. The initial weight loss phase begins with a calorie reduction to induce weight loss and restart your metabolism. As you follow your customized plan, you’ll check in with your registered dietitian for 15-30 minutes on a weekly basis. These visits can be worked around your schedule and can be done Monday through Saturday.
During this visit, your weight and body fat percentage will be taken, and you’ll discuss how the program is going for you. If you’re experiencing any issues such as hunger, bloating, or constipation, your plan will be adjusted to make you more comfortable. Women typically lose one pound per week during this phase, while men typically lose two pounds per week, though this can drastically vary based on your starting weight, body type, and lifestyle.
Read also: Comprehensive Weight Loss Program
After steadily losing weight for a period of time, members typically begin to stagnate. The length of this phase differs for each participant. For some it could be 10 weeks, for others it could be a year.
Bariatric Surgical Options
Baptist Nutrition and Bariatric Center offers two bariatric surgical options through Mississippi Baptist Medical Center (MBMC). Surgical options include laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy. MBMC is accredited as a Comprehensive Center for bariatric surgery by the Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Accreditation and Quality Improvement Program (MBSAQIP). This is the highest level of accreditation provided by MBSAQIP, which is a collaboration of the American College of Surgeons (ACS) and the American Society of Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS).
The Baptist Health Food Pharmacy
The Baptist Health Food Pharmacy is a pilot program at West Kendall Baptist Hospital. Using food as medicine, this program provides healthy, plant-based meals for patients when they are discharged from the hospital. These meals, our better-for-you Plant Strong Meals, cost $4 each and can help patients transition from hospital care to home life.
Our dietitians work closely with our hospital chefs to develop meals that are full of flavor and meet your medical needs. We value sourcing ingredients and food items that are minimally processed, fresh and as locally sourced as possible. Baptist Health dietitians review every recipe to ensure meals are nutrient-dense and appropriate for a variety of health conditions.
Meal Planning: A Key to Success
Meal planning means knowing what is for dinner every day. There are many reasons for meal planning. Most reasons fall under three categories - time, health, and money. When you know what you are going to cook, you reduce the trips to the grocery store and spend less time walking the aisles. You can even reduce the amount of times you cook by choosing a recipe that you can batch cook (cooking in bulk). When cooking in bulk you make enough to store the extra in the freezer for another day.
Read also: Understanding the RPAH Protocol
Preparing your meals at home makes it much easier to eat healthy. If you are on a specific diet for hypertension, diabetes, weight loss or just want to eat healthy, meal planning gives you the opportunity to adjust ingredients and portions to meet your needs. You are also able to control for food allergens and sensitivities.
Meal planning saves you money by making use of what you already have on hand, purchasing only what you need, and reducing the amount of times you order in or do take out. Estimates show that restaurant meals are about five times more expensive than home cooked meals.
The Basics of Meal Planning
There are many ways to go about meal planning. Here are the basics.
- Pick a day to spend a little time in the kitchen. Weekend days are very popular. Make sure that you have time to shop for groceries before the week gets started.
- Take inventory of what you have in your refrigerator, freezer, and pantry. Prioritize fresh, ready to expire, and leftovers. This allows you to use foods efficiently before they go bad and reduce food waste.
- Select recipes. On average, families eat an average of eight or nine dinner meals. For those busy days, keep the meal simple with recipes you already have on hand or know by heart. Leftover day is a great way to save time, money, and clear your fridge of all the extras left behind. If you are tired of the same old meals and need some new recipes, search the internet. Use keywords to help you find what you are looking for such as, heart healthy, diabetic friendly, healthy, easy and budget friendly.
- Create a grocery list with the ingredients you need. Try to use what you already have on hand, especially the perishables. Organize the list according to the layout of your store, if possible.
- Stick to the list. Resist the temptation to buy extra just because it is on sale. Chances are if the item is not on your meal plan, you may end up throwing it away later on.
Resources to help you succeed at meal planning are available online. There are apps with weekly meal planners, inventory, and grocery lists as well as printable forms for those who prefer to write it down. Using these tools and following the basic steps for meal planning will help you determine if you have time for a new recipe or if it is a Taco Tuesday, Reheat Wednesday, leftover Friday kind of week.
Staple Ingredients for Quick, Healthy Meals
For hassle-free healthy meals in a hurry, be prepared with a well-stocked kitchen. This means always having some basic ingredients in your cabinets, pantry, fridge, and freezer. It can save time and worry on those busy days when you don't have a chance to get to the grocery store.
Read also: Dietitian Services at Logan Regional
Cabinets and Pantry
- Dry beans like black beans, chickpeas, pintos, and red beans
- Canned “dinner builder” items like beans, chicken, salmon, tuna, and soup
- Canned vegetables (like carrots, corn, green beans, peas, pumpkin, and tomatoes) for adding to soup, rice, pasta, and sauces
- Canned and dried fruits like apple sauce, dates, oranges, peaches, pineapple, and raisins (look for items with no added sugars)
- Whole-grain pasta, brown rice, and other easy whole grains like couscous and quinoa
- Whole grain bread or tortillas (if you don’t use it daily, store in the freezer)
- Old-fashioned rolled oats, instant oatmeal, and whole-grain cereal for a quick breakfast
- Whole-wheat flour, oat flour, and cornmeal for baking
- Nuts, seeds, and nut butters for healthy snacking
- Healthy cooking oils like canola, corn, or olive (buy in limited amounts because they can go rancid over time), nonstick vegetable oil cooking spray
- Balsamic vinegar and low-sodium soy sauce for salad dressings and sauces
- Spaghetti or marinara sauce in jars
- Low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth for making soup
- Dried herbs and spices, salt-free seasoning blend, pepper
Fridge and Freezer
- Frozen vegetables without salty sauces (like broccoli, cauliflower, mixed vegetables, spinach, and squash) make easy sides and add-ins
- Frozen fruits without added sugars (like berries, mixed fruit, peaches) for cereal, yogurt, and smoothies
- Low-fat/non-fat dairy products like milk, yogurt, and cheese
- Frozen meats like fish fillets, skinless chicken breasts, or lean ground beef
- Soft margarine with no trans fat (made with non-hydrogenated vegetable oils, usually in a tub)
Make it a habit to compare nutrition labels. Choose products with the lowest amounts of sodium, added sugars, saturated fat, and trans fat that you can find in your store.