Texas Lap Band Surgeons Talk With You

Every night there is a small skirmish in the parent-child wars waged in our house.  I call it, “the battle of the HelloKitty toothpaste.” In order to make tooth brushing more fun for my kiddos, I allow them to pick whatever toothpaste suits their fancy at the grocery store.  The last couple of months, this has meant bubblegum flavored Hello Kitty squeeze bottle paste.  My first (and only) thought was/is “ewwwww” but they love it and it’s minimized our nightly drama.  But a by-product of this unctious pink goo is that it makes everything you put in your mouth afterwards taste fairly awful according to my pre-school food critics.  So they know that they need to finish their juice/mac&cheese/whatever before brushing their teeth.  This can be a problem in the mornings when mommy’s running late and needs to get to work, but they won’t budge: no food after Hello Kitty.

But thinking about it, this might be a good tool for weight loss.  Even grown-up not-grody toothpaste doesn’t make food taste all that good (especially orange juice, but you shouldn’t be having much of that anyway).  So here’s my tip: eat your small portion the size of your hand (if you haven’t seen Betty May demonstrate this ask about it the next time you’re at the office) then immediately go brush your teeth. This should help in two ways: 1) you won’t be tempted to get another helping or reach for dessert ’cause now it won’t taste good and 2) you’ll have better dental hygiene No cavities and no dessert – it’s a win-win! You can even find little travel size toothbrushes and toothpastes in the $1 section of most drugstores to keep in your purse or desk drawer at work.  And taking some time after eating will give your brain time to catch up with your stomach and determine whether you’re really still hungry or just going back for more because it tastes good or out of habit.