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 dance movement instructor, bariatric patient, and BariNation Expert to learn how we can make room in our life for movement.

For us, movement is any type of movement that is above and beyond your daily activities and is accessible to you in the moment. Movement is not bound by time or type, meaning any moments of movement are important and meaningful and that we should not judge ourselves for the movement that we can or cannot do. Movement is all about what we can do now, not what we used to be able to do or what we hope to do in the future. When we start moving and meeting ourselves in the moment, we are making room for movement.  

We hope you leave this episode feeling empowered to find creative and easy ways to make movement a part of each day and that you are inspired to move with us, today! We invite you to join Moniques Movement Meetups in BariNation, hosted every other Friday. Connect with fellow patients and members to talk about movement and tap into the inspiration and motivation of our amazing community! 

If you are a Patreon supporter of the podcast or you are a member of our BariNation Support Community, you will get access to a fantastic bonus podcast episode where Monique answered some insightful questions and shares more of her personal bariatric story. 

Our Podcast supporters get to submit questions for future episodes, get access to bonus episodes with our amazing guests, and are invited to join us at our Community-only Struggle Bus Lives twice a month! Support the BariNation Podcast by becoming a $5 supporter today! Visit www.barinationpodcast.com to become a supporter! 

Did you have an “aha” moment from this episode? Leave us a message and share your takeaways from this episode or any past episodes of the BariNation Podcast! Head to anchor.fm/barination/message and leave us a message that we can incorporate into future episodes! 

You're not alone on this journey. Join the BariNation Support Community and connect with patients who are committed to decluttering along their bariatric journey And in January, you can join fellow members in our Decluttering Challenge! Visit us at https://barination.mn.co to learn more about our inclusive and welcoming support community! 

About our Guest: Monique Coleman is a bariatric patient and founder of ThickChic Fitness, a company focused on creating and providing movement for people of every age and size. She is an advocate for patients seeking to incoprorate movement and rest into their lives. She is a Fabletics Fitness Partner and an Expert int he BariNation Members Community. Connect with Monique at https://www.thethickchixx.com/and on Instagram!

About BariNation: BariNation is a bariatric educational organization on a mission to empower patients to access and utilize the tools, resources, and education needed to find and maintain personal wellness. We connect patients with the support they need, when and where they need it. BariNation produces an award-winning weekly podcast distributed on all major podcast and video platforms and hosts a support membership community that teams up with credentialed and licensed bariatric experts and clinicians. 

Follow BariNation on Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest. You can also connect with us personally on Instagram; follow April @actively_april, follow Jason @tha_smithsonian, and follow Natalie @breakingbari_ers.

You’ve got this and we’ve got you!