The BariNation Podcast

You have made the decision to *consider* bariatric surgery! WOOHOO! Now, how the heck do you prepare for something you have never done before? WE'VE GOT YOU! In Episode 4 of the E2W_WLS Struggle Bus, we walk you through some steps we recommend you take to prepare for your first surgical consultation with a bariatric surgeon.  Brainstorming your "whys", worries, and concerns.  Making a list of all of the things that you think will change after losing your excess weight. Questions you should ask the surgeon. Bariatric terms and resources you should become familiar with.  Insurance questions and actions to take to make sure your approval process is timely.  The Struggle Bus is all about in the moment support. If you are struggling with something, we are here to help! Leaving us a voice message on our Anchor Homepage! Send us a Direct Message (DM) on Instagram Comment on the most recent Struggle Bus graphic on our Instagram feed Send us a message on our website Send any of us a DM on our personal Instagram pages Listen on to see how the East2est_WLS crew suggests we work through these struggles and get us moving in the right direction. So hop on and stay awhile...the ride is free and we think you will hop off with some new ideas, insights, and inspiration! You've got this and we've got you!

THE STRUGGLE IS REAL! Hop on the Struggle Bus with @East2west_WLS as we help our community through some of their current struggles.  In this episode, we talk through:  Stalls and how to work through them  What do you when we feel like we are just going through the motions  Dealing with dry skin and brittle hair.   Episode Mentions: Palmers Cocoa Butter Swivel Stick  Osea Undaria Algea Body Oil  Booda Butter Daily Moisturizer  Creve Moisturizing Cream  Carmex  Dove Dry Skin Bodywash  Gratitude Journal  HydroJug  The Struggle Bus is all about in the moment support. If you are struggling with something, we are here to help!  Leaving us a voice message on our Anchor Homepage!  Send us a Direct Message (DM) on Instagram Comment on the most recent Struggle Bus graphic on our Instagram feed  Send us a message on our website Send any of us a DM on our personal Instagram pages  Listen on to see how the East2est_WLS crew suggests we work through these struggles and get us moving in the right direction. So hop on and stay awhile...the ride is free and we think you will hop off with some new ideas, insights, and inspiration!  You've got this and we've got you!

THE STRUGGLE IS REAL! Hop on the Struggle Bus with @East2west_WLS as we help our community through some of their current struggles. In this episode, we talk through: Major sugar cravings- all I want to do is eat sugar! Not being able to hit my daily water goals Being totally D O N E with food (spoiler alert- this is a BIG struggle that taps into multiple areas of struggle) The Struggle Bus is all about in the moment support. If you are struggling with something, we are here to help!  Leaving us a voice message on our Anchor Homepage! Send us a Direct Message (DM) on Instagram Comment on the most recent Struggle Bus graphic on our Instagram feed Send us a message on our website Send any of us a DM on our personal Instagram pages Listen on to see how the East2est_WLS crew suggests we work through these struggles and get us moving in the right direction. So hop on and stay awhile...the ride is free and we think you will hop off with some new ideas, insights, and inspiration! You've got this and we've got you!

Are you struggling with something along your bariatric journey? Do you not know where to turn for support? GET ON THE STRUGGLE BUS WITH US! We are so excited to be rolling out a *new* way to support you along your weight loss surgery journey. Each week, we will share the struggles of this community and talk about ways we can fight back, overcome, and move beyond the struggles and set us on a road to success!  There are a few ways you can share your struggle with us: Leave us a voice message right on the Anchor app! We can then include your message in our podcast and answer your question or address your struggle directly! Join us on our Struggle Bus Instagram Live every Tuesday at 4:30 pm PST / 7:30pm EST and type your struggle in the chat Send us a DM on our Instagram page @east2west_wls Send us an email at east2westwls@gmail.com In our first episode, we talk about 4 of the biggest struggles we encounter in the bariatric community. Regret after WLS Feel defeated with "only lost" thinking Working from home and dealing with snack attacks hitting water and protein goals Listen on to see how the East2est_WLS crew suggests we work through these struggles and get us moving in the right direction. So hop on and stay a while...the ride is free and we think you will hop off with some new ideas, insights, and inspiration!  You've got this and we've got you!

What do you think of your scars? Do you love them? Do you hate them? Do you show them off or do you hide them? Our scars are something we rarely talk about, yet they are a visual representation of our history. They help tell the story of us. Most humans have a scar by two years old and as we age, we keep accumulating scars as our history progresses. After bariatric surgery, many of us are left with scars of varying degrees and after plastic surgery, the scars are large and prominent. We recently met Alejandra and Christina, the founders of ESTAS Beauty. ESTAS stands for Every scar Tells A Story and their mission and vision are beyond uplifting and empowering. They are on a *mission* to help us share our scar stories with the world by learning to embrace and love our scars! In this POWERFUL episode, you will meet these amazing women, learn about their histories through their scars, and better understand how and why we should lovingly care for our scars. Learning more about ESTAS beauty by visiting them online at www.estasbeauty.com and on Instagram at @estasbeauty "If you treat your scars like an alien, they will look like an alien" We also encourage you to VIEW this podcast on our YouTube channel. We shared some graphics and images that aid our visual learners who listen and enjoy listening! If you like what you hear and see, follow/subscribe to the feed and leave us a review! Our goal is to create content that is of value to our community. If you have a topic, idea, question, or threat you would like us to explore in-depth, please leave us a comment on whatever platform you are listening to or watching from or message us directly on Instagram! We are @east2west_wls and welcome your feedback! Please like, share, and review this podcast- your review helps us grow and reach more people. Where to follow along: Instagram: @east2west_wls YouTube: East2West_WLS Jason: @tha_smithsonian April: @actively_april

Caring for our skin might have been something we *neglected* before bariatric surgery. Maybe we didn't enjoy interacting with our bodies, maybe it was never a priority, maybe we couldn't *touch* parts of our body because we simply could not reach it. Whatever the reason, skincare is a VERY important part of our overall health, and neglecting our skin can lead to lasting negative impacts. In this episode, we welcome Celia @estetics.by.celia to talk all things skincare! She is a licensed Esthetician practicing in Tacoma, Washington who has over 10 years of experience in the industry. In this to-the-point (and hilarious) conversation, she helps us understand what skin is, the role that it plays in our overall health, and how we can nourish it for the rest of our lives! If you are just dipping your toe into skincare or are looking for ways to refresh your routine, you will find this episode valuable! Follow Celia on Instagram @estetics.by.celia Products referenced in this episode: Osea Skin Authority Supergoop Booda Organics We also encourage you to VIEW this podcast on our YouTube channel. We shared some graphics and images that aid our visual learners who listen and enjoy listening! If you like what you hear and see, follow/subscribe to the feed and leave us a review! Our goal is to create content that is of value to our community. If you have a topic, idea, question, or threat you would like us to explore in-depth, please leave us a comment on whatever platform you are listening to or watching from or message us directly on Instagram! We are @east2west_wls and welcome your feedback! Please like, share, and review this podcast- your review helps us grow and reach more people. Where to follow along: Instagram: @east2west_wls YouTube: East2West_WLS Jason: @tha_smithsonian April: @actively_april

How can we make the holidays merry and *bari* friendly? In this episode, Michaela Miller @losingtoblooming joins us recently to talk about some of her favorite strategies for navigating the holiday season and not abandoning her bariatric goals. It really all comes down to mindset; recognizing how the "all or nothing" mindset does not serve us- especially in high-stress times, the power and impact of doing imperfect things consistently, and how we can treat an indulgence as just that- something special to be enjoyed every now and then. This episode will leave you ready to enjoy the holidays without guilt, shame, or fear. We did not have bariatric surgery to be scared to enjoy food. We know that getting to that place of confidence can be a long and windy journey. We hope this conversation offers you a path forward on your food joy and balance journey and set's you up for holiday success this year! You've got this and we've got you! Follow the BariNation crew on Instagram and join or join our membership community for that extra layer of support! We offer expert-led support sessions, live classes, peer-to-peer supports, an on-demand video library, printable support guides...so much support! JOIN US as we all all seek our happy, healthy weight! Instagram:@bari.nation Website: www.barination.com Michaela offers some amazing one-on-one and group coaching opportunities! Check out her Instagram page @losingtoblooming for more information about the services she offers!

Being faithful to a vitamin regimen after WLS is key to our long-term success. Not only will it help us reach our weight goals, but it will ensure we remain metabolically well. So many people in our community find themselves hospitalized or under a doctors care for nutritional and mineral deficiencies and we don’t want that to happen to anyone. We sat down with Ben and Stephen, the founders of Paravita Vitamins to learn about their amazing bariatric vitamin! They shared with us why they started Paravita, what makes their vitamins a superior option for patients in our community, and why staying consistent with our vitamins is necessary for our post-op health. You will ABSOLUTELY want to listen to this whole episode! There is an awesome surprise waiting at the end! Episode Topics: Paravita vitamins- what they are and how they came to be The importance of vitamins after bariatric surgery The needs and success stories of the bariatric community! Follow Paravita on Instagram @paravita.co and visit them online at www.paravita.co Listen to this episode on all major podcast players or on our Anchor homepage at www.anchor.fm/east2westwls or watch it on our YouTube channel! If you want to be first to know when new episodes drop, subscribe to the podcast on your player app and on our YouTube channel!

Today, East2West_WLS becomes BariNation! We have come a long way from our humble podcast beginnings. We realized we had the power and capacity to create something meaningful and valuable for our bariatric community and today, we are excited to share with you what we have spent the last year working on! None of our current supports are going away, we are just adding a new and dynamic support option that was created to support EVERY bariatric patient! Today, we welcome to the world BariNation, an online digital support ecosystem where bariatric patients can connect, learn, and grow from one another and experts in our community! Episode Topics: What pushed us to create BariNation? What is BariNation? What supports live in BariNation? What sets BariNation apart from other support communities? Visit our NEW website to learn more about BariNation and the community that has been created just for you! Find us at www.barination.com and for the time being, you can still find us at @east2west_wls on Instagram! As always, you’ve got this and we’ve got you!

Regain is something every *human* will experience. Our weight is designed to fluctuate over our lifetimes, regardless of our bariatric status. Regain is not a bad or scary thing, it is simply data we can observe and collect along the way. Nothing scary there! We also know the stress that weight regain can play in our lives because we are on this bariatric rollercoaster with you and have experienced regain ourselves. If we have regained an amount of weight that does not feel right on our frame, we have the ability to become our own scientists and explore that regain. Our goal is metabolic wellness, not size, shape, or weight. Sometimes regain is *necessary*. Regain is not a negative thing! It is simply one data point that we can use along our bariatric journey to find our happy, healthy weight! We had the honor of sitting down with Jana Wolff, RD, and Lora Grabow, Bariatric Therapist to shine some light on regaining. We wanted to know what it is, why it happens, and how we can approach regain in a safe and loving way. We know regain can be caused by many things, but at its core, regain indicates a change. It means something has changed or shifted and if we want to explore that change, we can. Sometimes this change is out of our control. Other times, the change is within our control. Jana and Lora offer us their clinical expertise from their unique lens' and will leave you with tools to start to explore the change in ways that feel right for YOU. April and Jason will share how to regain impacted their lives and how they went about addressing it in their own, unique ways. Episode Takeaways: Obesity is a disease that will require treatment for the rest of our lives. We will need different treatments at different stages of our bariatric journey. Regain indicate a change and it is ok to explore that change in ways that are right for you. Moving through regaining will require some mindset work.  We must NAME what we are experiencing if we want to understand it.  Reignite, Reprogram, Refocus (Jana) Lapse, Relapse, or Collapse (Lora) COMMUNITY is TREATMENT Follow our amazing experts on Instagram and reach out to them if you need individual support! Jana Wolff @mybaribox or www.baribox.com Lora Grabow @loragrabow or www.loragrabow.com

Bariatric surgery is a life-altering decision. The fear that surrounds this procedure is real, despite the life-saving effects and impacts it can make on your life. Undergoing any type of weight loss procedure comes with risks and costs. It is important to weigh these risks with the potential rewards that come with living on the lighter side of life. We sat down with Dr. Joe Cribbins, the Director of The Texas Center for Bariatric Surgeries in Dallas, Texas to help us talk through some of the most common bariatric fears. We wanted to know: Why are patients scared to have bariatric surgery? What are the risks of NOT having bariatric surgery? Are there some people who are not good candidates for bariatric surgery? How do you help people make a decision that is best for them? How do people tackle their surgery and COVID setbacks? If people are scared to have bariatric surgery but think it might be a good decision for them, where do you recommend they start their research? Our mission here at East2West_WLS is to connect patients with the EXPERTS, so we can trust the information we are getting. Dr. Cribbins is one of our most trusted experts and we are so thankful to have him on Team East2West_WLS! Follow him on Instagram @one_operation_changes_life We also encourage you to VIEW this podcast on our YouTube channel. We shared some graphics and images that aid our visual learners who listen and enjoy listening! If you like what you hear and see, follow/subscribe to the feed and leave us a review! Our goal is to create content that is of value to our community. If you have a topic, idea, question, or threat you would like us to explore in-depth, please leave us a comment on whatever platform you are listening to or watching from or message us directly on Instagram! We are @east2west_wls and welcome your feedback! Please like, share, and review this podcast- your review helps us grow and reach more people.

Well...we made it through September. BARLEY. What we learned this month was a little shocking, in all good ways. By focusing on getting back to our bariatric basics, we learned that: Sometimes you have to slow down to go faster. Even with all of the support in the world, you will still find ways to talk yourself out of doing things to reach your goals. That by hyper-focusing on a few things, we can regain control. If we are intentional with our time, we can accomplish more. Whole food feels different in our bodies. We all need to check out once in a while All three of us left this conversation even more committed to sticking with our basics. We even made a game plan for carrying forward our baby habits into October and have a clear plan for what we want and need to focus on in October. We encourage you to VIEW this podcast on our YouTube channel. We shared some graphics and images that aid our visual learners who listen and enjoy listening! If you like what you hear and see, follow/subscribe to the feed and leave us a review! Our goal is to create content that is of value to our community. If you have a topic, idea, question, or threat you would like us to explore in-depth, please leave us a comment on whatever platform you are listening to or watching from or message us directly on Instagram! We are @east2west_wls and welcome your feedback! Please like, share, and review this podcast- your review helps us grow and reach more people. Where to follow along: Instagram: @east2west_wls YouTube: East2West_WLS Jason: @tha_smithsonian April: @actively_april Natalie: @breakingbari_ers

We made the decision to have bariatric surgery for many reasons. Many of us are seeking metabolic wellness...we have just never called it that! Metabolic wellness can be defined as having ideal levels of blood sugar, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, blood pressure, and waist circumference, without using medications. These factors directly relate to a person’s risk for heart disease, diabetes, and stroke. If we lose our metabolic flexibility, we will have a much harder time fighting off diseases like Type 2 diabetes and heart failure. BMI can be misleading and only gives us a very small picture of our overall health. If we shift our focus to metabolic wellness, we are actually focusing on the things that will keep us alive for the most amount of years! In this episode, April, Jason, and Natalie deep dive into their own metabolic wellness goals and share how they are using it as a tool to get back to basics! Episode Topics: What is metabolic wellness? Why and how can we use metabolic wellness as a tool in our bariatric journey? How do you pursue metabolic wellness? How do you monitor and track your metabolic wellness? If you are interested in learning more about metabolic wellness, we encourage you to listen to Episodes 33 and 38, both with Dr. Ariel Ortiz! We also encourage you to VIEW this podcast on our YouTube channel. We shared some graphics and images that aid our visual learners who listen and enjoy listening! If you like what you hear and see, follow/subscribe to the feed and leave us a review! Our goal is to create content that is of value to our community. If you have a topic, idea, question, or threat you would like us to explore in-depth, please leave us a comment on whatever platform you are listening to or watching from or message us directly on Instagram! We are @east2west_wls and welcome your feedback! Please like, share, and review this podcast- your review helps us grow and reach more people. Where to follow along: Instagram: @east2west_wls YouTube: East2West_WLS Jason: @tha_smithsonian April: @actively_april Natalie: @breakingbari_ers

Mindset is the last thing we think of when we think of weight loss but it is actually the most crucial of all of the pillars of bariatric success. When our motivation and willpower disappear, our mindset is what will actually push us through to make those lasting changes necessary to live at our happy, healthy weight.  In this episode, Jason, April, and Natalie sat down to talk about mindset. We wanted to know what it meant to each other, how it has become a tool in our bariatric toolbox, and how we are using it this month to help us get back to our bariatric basics! We also encourage you to VIEW this podcast on our YouTube channel. We shared some graphics and images that aid our visual learners who listen and enjoy listening! If you like what you hear and see, follow/subscribe to the feed and leave us a review! Our goal is to create content that is of value to our community. If you have a topic, idea, question, or threat you would like us to explore in-depth, please leave us a comment on whatever platform you are listening to or watching from or message us directly on Instagram! We are @east2west_wls and welcome your feedback! Please like, share, and review this podcast- your review helps us grow and reach more people. Where to follow along: Instagram: @east2west_wls YouTube: East2West_WLS Jason: @tha_smithsonian April: @actively_april Natalie: @breakingbari_ers

We are SO PROUD of Natalie! She has reached her ONE YEAR milestone of post-op life and sat down with us to reflect on what this past year has meat to her. This is actually her *third* one-year milestone because she has undergone three, separate bariatric surgeries. Her resilience, grit, and tenacity has allowed to to fine success, and redefine what that means to her. We also had a pretty profound discussion about stalls and how they are NOT reserved for our bariatric journey.  In this episode, we wanted to know: How this one-year milestone is different from her past milestones. What was easier and harder than what she expected. If she is where she thought she would be after one year post-op. What her goals and intentions are in her second year! Follow Natalies amazing bariatric journey on Instagram @breakingbari_ers. If you are interested in learning more about metabolic wellness, we encourage you to listen to Episodes 33 and 38, both with Dr. Ariel Ortiz! We also encourage you to VIEW this podcast on our YouTube channel. We shared some graphics and images that aid our visual learners who listen and enjoy listening! If you like what you hear and see, follow/subscribe to the feed and leave us a review! Our goal is to create content that is of value to our community. If you have a topic, idea, question, or threat you would like us to explore in-depth, please leave us a comment on whatever platform you are listening to or watching from or message us directly on Instagram! We are @east2west_wls and welcome your feedback! Please like, share, and review this podcast- your review helps us grow and reach more people. Where to follow along: Instagram: @east2west_wls YouTube: East2West_WLS Jason: @tha_smithsonian April: @actively_april  

Our body is designed to move. We also understand that you might not always feel like moving! We define “movement” as “intentional movement that is beyond your everyday normal.” We love this definition because it meets you where you are at NOW, not where you were or where you are going. In this episode, April and Jason sat down with Michaela @losingtoblooming to deep dive into movement. We wanted to know: How bariatric movement is different How it can help us find lasting success after bariatric surgery How we can overcome our movement doubts and excuses How we can get back to our movement basics We also encourage you to VIEW this podcast on our YouTube channel. We shared some graphics and images that aid our visual learners who listen and enjoy listening! If you like what you hear and see, follow/subscribe to the feed and leave us a review! Our goal is to create content that is of value to our community. If you have a topic, idea, question, or threat you would like us to explore in-depth, please leave us a comment on whatever platform you are listening to or watching from or message us directly on Instagram! We are @east2west_wls and welcome your feedback! Please like, share, and review this podcast- your review helps us grow and reach more people. Where to follow along: Instagram: @east2west_wls YouTube: East2West_WLS Jason: @tha_smithsonian April: @actively_april

Have you fallen off your bariatric wagon? Has your wagon crashed into a ravine somewhere and do you need some help getting back on track? Don't worry...ours has too. WE GOT YOU!   In this episode, April, Jason, and Natalie share their recent bariatric struggles, setbacks, and stumbles and talk about how they will be getting back on track in September. They set goals and talk through the goal-setting process, helping set each other up for SUCCUSS!   Our goal is to create content that is of value to our community. If you have a topic, idea, question, or threat you would like us to explore in-depth, please leave us a comment on whatever platform you are listening to or watching from or message us directly on Instagram!  Please like, share, and review this podcast- your review helps us grow and reach more people.   Where to follow along:   Instagram: @east2west_wls  YouTube: East2West_WLS  Jason: @tha_smithsonian  April: @actively_april

We have all experienced food shame and guilt after eating something we deemed "bad" or "unhealthy'. This shame and guilt are what might have kept us in a cycle of unrelenting darkness and struggle because we thought there was something wrong with us...something is so broken it could never be fixed. We are here to tell you that you can break this cycle and find your pathway out of food shame and guilt. We are walking this path with you now, and have some tips, tricks, suggestions, and stories to pass along to you! April @actively_april and Natalie @breakingbari_ers sat down to talk about their food guilt and shame; they wanted to understand what it is, how it has manifested in their own lives, and how they are overcoming these feelings and emotions today. In this episode, they will share a working definition of food shame and guilt and share strategies for facing and overcoming these obstacles. We think that by keeping these feelings in the dark they cannot hurt us. But the darkness feeds these emotions. If we want to rid ourselves of these monsters, we need to shine the light directly on them so we can see them for what they are- remnants from our outdated past and misconceived notions that are not at all true. We hope you get as much out of this episode as we did. Follow East2West_WLS on Instagram @east2west_wls and visit us online at www.east2westwls.com Episode Mentions: https://www.self.com/story/tips-for-combating-food-guilt-and-shame https://nutritionstripped.com/food-guilt/ https://www.health.com/food/stop-food-guilt

Life after bariatric surgery can be filled with food anxiety, even though we were hoping to move away from it after our procedure. Making food choices that align with our health goals means that we are -at times- thinking more about food after surgery than we ever have before. And finding creative, interesting, and delicious alternatives to our favorite foods can feel like more work than what it is worth. In this episode, April @actively_april and Natalie @breakingbari_ers sat down to talk about food swaps: what they are, why we use them when we use them, and what these swaps mean for our health. Sometimes we get a food "itch" that just needs to be scratched. How do we handle these itches as they come in a way that supports our health? Listen (or watch) to find out!  And if you are looking for some swap inspiration, check out of friend Maddie @maddie5088 on Instagram and her website https://foodfitnessandbeauty.com/ for all kinds of amazing food swap ideas! Follow us on Instagram @east2west_wls and click here to subscribe to our YouTube channel! You've got this and we've got you!

We sat down with our friend Katie @katie.vsg to see how life has changed 6-month post-op VSG surgery! We wanted to know what has stayed the same, what has changed, what has gotten easier, and what has been harder than expected! Katie has made amazing progress and is honest about her struggles, stalls, let downs, disappointments. But Katie is a FIGHTER and determined to craft the life of her dreams. No matter where you are in the bariatric process, this conversation will resonate with you!   Follow us on Instagram for support that is grounded in humor, humility, and honesty! Find us @east2west_wls   You've got this and we've got you!