The disease of obesity will require a lifelong fight and many different treatment modalities. With the advancements in medication and care, anti-obesity drugs like Zepbound and Wegovy are positioned to become viable options for bariatric patients in their pre and post-operative stages. But what happens if you lose access to these medications? Will you regain some or all of the weight you lost while taking these powerful and effective drugs? In this episode, BariNation CoFounder April sat down wi...
May 15, 2024•47 min•Ep. 196
Moving our bodies is a BariNation Pillar of Bariatric Success, but it is one that so many people struggle with. We know it is essential for short-term recovery and long-term success, but finding joyful movement, building a practice, and sticking with it can be challenging. In this episode, April, Jason, and Natalie sat down with BariNation Movement Expert Monique Coleman to understand where we can start when we don’t even know where the start line is. Each shares their personal movement struggle...
May 07, 2024•47 min•Ep. 195
Summer is the best time to start a movement practice! The weather is warmer, we are outside more, and stress usually decreases because our work demands are lower. And all that sunshine just calls us to move more! But there are some other fantastic reasons to spend your summer dialing in your movement routines. April Williams sat down with BariNation Expert and friend Rob DiMedio to better understand how powerful it was to establish some movement guardrails in the summer. And if you are just tryi...
Apr 23, 2024•42 min
Making the decision to undergo bariatric surgery is life-changing. It requires lots of research, soul-searching, and some hard-core commitment to being ok with learning how to live life differently. Our friend and BariNation Expert Timisha MAlone, LMSW, and her husband Tim recently made the decision to sell their home and travel the US on an RV and we wanted to know how they are adjusting to bari life on the road! Both Timisha and Tim are bariatric patients, are raising two small children, and l...
Apr 18, 2024•34 min•Ep. 193
We know that movement is one of the most important things we need to focus on after bariatric surgery; it’s even one of BariNation’s Pillars of Bariatric Success. We also know that it can be one of the hardest Pillars to live because of the role exercise played in our lives before bariatric surgery. If movement was how we “punished” ourselves for food-related decisions, we might not be overjoyed to start moving again. We sat down with Daryl Perry, ACE Certified Personal Trainer, Habit-Based Nutr...
Apr 10, 2024•47 min•Ep. 192
Every bariatric patient thinks about pain management during their pre-operative journey. We worry about what the pain will feel like after surgery and how we will manage it. It can be something we are nervous about even talking with our surgeon about because we don’t want to seem pushy or rude, or we could be afraid to bring it up because we don’t want to seem desperate for relief. And with millions of Americans and their families impacted by the opioid epidemic, it can be a scary topic. Pain ma...
Apr 03, 2024•55 min•Ep. 190
Walking is one of the most accessible yet underrated forms of movement. We often tell ourselves and others that we “just” went for a walk, discounting its tremendous physical, emotional, and spiritual benefits. In 2023, our friend and BariNation Expert Bariatric Therapist Lora Grabow, LMSW, walked daily and joined us to share her aha moments and most significant takeaways from 365 days of movement. She ran into the same setbacks we all do regarding motivation and willpower and often laced up her...
Mar 27, 2024•44 min
Hunger is something every human can experience, but in people who suffer from the disease of obesity, hunger is more than a physical experience. Hunger can be ever-present, insatiable, and a constant worry. Emotional or “head” hunger can drive what many people recognize as “food noise”- the continual thought of food. How can we learn to recognize when our hunger is real or emotional? What can we do to honor not only our physical hunger but our emotional hunger? We sat down with Jane Stoltz, a Re...
Mar 20, 2024•45 min•Ep. 189
Our relationships with family and friends can change after bariatric surgery, and we wanted to know why. Many of us feel these changes but struggle to articulate how and why they change. Sometimes, our loved ones will tell us we have changed and express worry about this “new” person they see us becoming. As patients, we go through massive changes that can cause shifts in our relationships. How do we cope with this change, as so much is changing around and in us? We sat down with Amber Boyd, a Li...
Mar 13, 2024•53 min•Ep. 188
Obesity is a lifelong and chronic disease that millions of Americans battle every day. Bariatric surgery is the most effective treatment of the disease, but weight loss medication advancements are making them a viable treatment option. A recent Goldman Sachs study estimated that by 2030, 15 million Americans would be taking an anti-obesity medication to treat the disease and live at a weight that allows them to metabolize well. These medications are promising, but are they the “magic pill” many ...
Mar 06, 2024•49 min•Ep. 187
We are told that resistance movement is critically important after weight loss surgery, but why? We had so many questions about this topic. We sat down with Dr. Shannon McMann, a board-certified Internal and Obesity Medicine specialist who is also a bariatric patient, to understand why muscle matters before and after surgery. In this conversation, we asked her why maintaining and building muscle is so important for short and long-term recovery and why the quality of our muscles matters. We wante...
Feb 28, 2024•47 min•Ep. 186
Our lives look and feel so different after bariatric surgery. One area of our life that can change, or we want to see change in, is our sexuality. We might have felt unworthy of these experiences or relationships before surgery because of our size or shape. Maybe we were disconnected from this area of life because the disease of obesity made it seem impossible to connect with. Or perhaps we felt that our size was holding us back from exploring our sexuality in ways that felt authentic to us. We ...
Feb 21, 2024•41 min•Ep. 185
Is plastic surgery something you are considering after bariatric surgery? Many of us experience loose skin that can impede our day-to-day lives, make us feel uncomfortable, or prevent us from feeling like ourselves. Plastic surgery might be something in your future, and we want to arm you with the most accurate information from the experts themselves! We sat down with Dr. Omar Beidas, an AdventHealth Orlando board-certified plastic surgeon specializing in procedures after massive weight loss, an...
Feb 14, 2024•46 min•Ep. 167
How many times have you attempted to institute new habits or rouintes, but find yourself never being able to stick with them? Are you frustrated and feeling like you are always “falling back into old habits?” Dont worry, we feel and experience the same thing when we attempt to establish a bew bariatric-aligned routine. April sat down with Aransas Savas, a personal development expert with decades of experience helping people move past their personal barriers and create lasting change in their liv...
Feb 07, 2024•52 min•Ep. 183
Are you tired of feeling “stuffed” all the time? Everywhere you look, you see and feel stuffed with things, with memories, with things that you think you should be doing but don’t have the time or energy to do? Yeah, we know the feeling too. We recently welcomed a new Expert in the BariNation Membership Community who is a professionally trained organizer. Her name is Spring Coourtright and she was trained by one of the world's most recognized organizer, Marie Konda. Spring has been leading a Dec...
Jan 31, 2024•36 min•Ep. 182
Movement is one of our pillars of bariatric life. It is something that is a critical and integral part of our journey. But for many of us, movement has not been something that is joyful or exciting; it is seem as something we “have” to do or a way we punished ourselves for food choices in the past. If we want to live our Movement pillar, we need to shift our mindset around movement and find creative and fun ways to move everyday. In this episode, we sit down with Monique Coleman, a certified dan...
Jan 23, 2024•51 min•Ep. 155
Welcome to another insightful episode of the BariNation Podcast. In this week's discussion, we dive deep into a topic that resonates with many in the bariatric realm: food addiction and abstinence post-surgery. Many weight loss surgery patients worry or wonder if they will ever be able to enjoy the foods they love after surgery. Some even have a “food funeral” before surgery as a way to mark the change in their lives. But what do we do if we have difficulty with certain foods? What do we do if w...
Jan 23, 2024•42 min•Ep. 180
Life after weight loss surgery can feel overwhelming. There are vitamins to schedule, meals to plan, macros to count, water goals to hit, exercise milestones to reach, and so many other things that fall into the “lifestyle change” category. It can (and sometimes is) a full-time job learning how to be a bariatric patient. And on top of all of the things we need to do, there is a fear that we will do it wrong, or mess up along the way, and all of our weight will return. We worry that if we don’t d...
Jan 10, 2024•1 hr 14 min•Ep. 179
Many of us went into weight loss surgery believing not only that surgery would be the only “thing” we needed to find and maintain a healthy weight, but that having a second bariatric surgery was not even on our radar. But for thousands of bariatric patients every year, revisional surgeries are medically needed and necessary. A “revisionist” has a revisited attitude to a previously accepted situation or point of view. A Revisionist is someone who never stops seeking answers and is open to new and...
Jan 03, 2024•1 hr•Ep. 178
As this year comes to a close, BariNation co-hosts April Williams, Jason Smith, and Natalie Tierney sit down to reflect on this year, and predict what is to come in 2024. This year was full of learning, growth, some turbulence, and best of all: community. The three co-hosts discuss how leaning on their support systems and their bariatric community have helped them navigate some intense moments this year. April and Natalie both made the taxing decisions to leave their jobs and continue to build t...
Dec 27, 2023•55 min•Ep. 177
Welcome to a clutter-free episode of The BariNation Podcast, where we take a deep dive into decluttering with our special guest, Spring Courtright, a Marie Kondo-trained organizing expert. In this insightful episode, we delve into decluttering, unraveling the mysteries of what clutter is, why it accumulates, and how to initiate the transformative process. Spring Courtright defines clutter as anything that no longer serves a purpose or brings joy. Together, we explore clutter's psychological and ...
Dec 20, 2023•58 min•Ep. 176
Welcome to a transformative episode of The BariNation Podcast, a show dedicated to supporting individuals on their bariatric and weight loss journey. In this episode, we explore the pivotal topic of lifting the heavy burden of shame. We draw inspiration and insights from Dr. Eric Smith, the Director of the Kentucky Bariatric Institute and BariNation co-founders and hosts April Williams and Natalie Tierney. Dr. Brené Brown defines shame as “the intensely painful feeling or experience of believing...
Dec 12, 2023•46 min•Ep. 148
Regain, now known as weight recurrence in the medical community, is something most bariatric patients worry about. In today's episode, we deeply dive with obesity doctor and researcher Dr. Robert Kushner, to understand why patients regain weight after bariatric surgery. We want you to leave this episode with an understanding of why weight recurrence happens, why it is not something to be ashamed of, and some steps you can take to reverse any regain you might experience. Weight recurrence happens...
Dec 06, 2023•54 min•Ep. 133
Movement is a pillar of bariatric success, but increased movement can mean we also need to increase our nutritional intake. For pre and post-op weight loss surgery patients, this can be a scary undertaking. Surgery reduces the amount of food we can take in at one time, and knowing how to fuel our bodies for movement can be triggering for so many reasons. What kinds of foods do we need to include? How much will be too much or excessive? How will we know when it is time to increase our intake? The...
Nov 29, 2023•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 173
What do you notice when you look at pictures of your heavier self? Like many of us, you might notice harsh, critical, or judgemental thoughts or feelings. The sensations in your body may feel uncomfortable causing feelings of shame or disgust. We have spent months, years, or even decades, trying to hide, ignore, or push away our “old self”. The tricky part is that the old version of ourselves still lives inside of us. When we speak unkindly and without compassion to our “old self”, they can hear...
Nov 22, 2023•1 hr•Ep. 172
The holiday season can be stressful, especially for bariatric surgery patients. The added emphasis on food and family can kick our stress levels into overdrive. We might be seeing people who are not supportive of our journey, or we are worried about being pressured into eating foods that are not aligned with our bariatric life. Throw in grief, shame, and worry; you have a recipe for a not-so-merry and bright season. For some patients, their decision to undergo weight loss surgery is private. We ...
Nov 16, 2023•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 171
The holiday season is upon us, and it's a time of joy, celebration, and yes, some unique challenges. In this episode of The BariNation Podcast, we explore the power of mindfulness and how it can be your guiding light during this festive time. Returning podcast guest and BariNation Expert Kayla Girgen, RD joined April and Jason who kick off the discussion by diving deep into the concept of mindfulness. What does it really mean to be "mindful"? Discover how being fully present in the moment, aware...
Nov 07, 2023•40 min•Ep. 170
In this thought-provoking episode, Bariatric Coach Mabel Joseph deep dives into the concept of judgment – what it is, why it's an intrinsic part of being human, and how it affects those on a bariatric journey. Judgment is a normal brain behavior, a mechanism through which we comprehend the world, determine safety, define right from wrong, and make efficient decisions to safeguard our well-being. It is a very normal human behavior. But when our loved ones judge our decision to undergo weight loss...
Nov 01, 2023•51 min•Ep. 168
If you've been listening to or watching the BariNation podcast for a while, you've heard us say obesity is a chronic and lifelong disease and that bariatric surgery is the most effective treatment. But what happens when our first surgery is not enough? What happens when our surgery does not get to a point where we are metabolically well or our first surgery triggers new and unwelcomed symptoms or complications? Revision surgery is something many patients will go through, yet it is surrounded in ...
Oct 25, 2023•46 min•Ep. 168
Walking is one of the most accessible types of movement, yet we often hear bariatric patients downplay the amazing role it can play along our journey. “All I did was walk today” is something we often hear spoken in the community, and we are on a mission to flip that script! Waking has tremendous health benefits that span all facets of our overall well-being. It positively impacts brain and cardiovascular health and can help us eliminate the visceral fat that often leads to dangerous medical issu...
Oct 24, 2023•57 min•Ep. 166
