Welcome to the first Bariatric Banter episode of 2026! Hannah and Steph kick off the year with some real talk about the dangers of pushing your body too hard post-surgery, the pressure of New Year's goals, and why slowing down isn't failure—it's necessary.

Hannah opens up about her incredibly challenging 2025, from severe pneumonia to cardiac issues, blood sugar crashes, and ultimately hitting a wall of complete burnout. Through raw honesty, she shares how refusing to process her illness and grief led her body to essentially force a shutdown. Steph chimes in with her own experiences of feeling guilty for resting during illness and the realization that our bodies can take 12-18 months (or more!) to fully recover from major events like surgery.

The duo tackles the tricky topic of New Year's resolutions, vision boards, and goal-setting—questioning whether these well-intentioned practices actually set us up for disappointment. They discuss the pitfalls of comparing ourselves to social media influencers whose full-time job is creating content, and why it's okay to skip the elaborate goal-setting entirely.

Plus: Hannah reviews Kirkland protein shakes and Cobb's new protein bread, announces their 30-day sugar reset challenge, and both hosts commit to focusing on gratitude, realistic expectations, and learning to appreciate stillness in 2026.

Key Takeaways:

• Your body needs WAY more recovery time than you think
• Control issues often stem from our pre-surgery lives
• Small, achievable goals beat ambitious vision boards
• Taking a break isn't failure—it's self-preservation
• Going slow helps you go fast in the long run

What is it really like to support someone through bariatric surgery?

In this special mini matinee episode of Bariatric Banter, Hannah is joined by a very special guest—her mom, Mary Ann—for an honest, down-to-earth conversation about what it looks like to be on the other side of the bariatric journey.

From the moment Hannah announced she was having surgery, to attending surgeon appointments, navigating holidays, changing family eating habits, and learning how to support without judgment, this episode dives into the role family plays in long-term success.

They talk about:

• How family members actually feel when surgery is announced
• Why support doesn’t have to mean completely changing how everyone eats
• Reading labels, portion sizes, and avoiding “diet culture traps”
• Navigating holidays, desserts, and traditions after surgery
• Why communication and respect go both ways

Whether you’re considering bariatric surgery, already post-op, or supporting someone you love—this episode is for you.

This week on Bariatric Banter, we’re cozying up with tea (lots of it), navigating rogue stomach gurgles, laughing through unexpected burps, and sharing our top bariatric-friendly food gift ideas for the holiday season. 🌲✨

From Smart Sweets to collagen powders, protein hot chocolate, condiment must-haves, edamame snacks, and the stocking stuffers we wish we had early post-op — we’re giving you the full holiday guide.

We also chat caffeine sensitivity, sipping-while-eating confessions, crunchy knees, naming your stomach noises (shoutout to Gurgling Greta), and staying on track when the season gets hectic.

Whether you’re shopping for someone bariatric or you are the someone, this episode is full of cozy vibes, laughs, and legit helpful ideas.

🎧 Tune in now & get your holiday list started!

This episode felt like one big “okay… let’s get honest.” We’re heading into the holidays while juggling work chaos, winter moods, and the lovely little sugar voice that keeps trying to drag us back into old habits. Both of us admit we’ve slipped in different ways these past few months. Hannah talks about going a bit wild with sugar over the summer and trying to pull things back before Christmas hits. Steph opens up about hitting a plateau at the one-year mark and how frustrating it is when the scale just… stops.

We talk about how sneaky old patterns can be. How your brain tries to convince you that grabbing McDonald’s “just this once” is fine. How sugar slowly gets back into your thinking without you noticing. How the busiest season of the year also seems to be the easiest time for excuses to sound reasonable.

We get into the mental side of all of it. The weird inner voice. The food noise. The habits you thought you broke. And the part everyone forgets: this is a lifelong thing, not a one-year sprint.

If you’re feeling a bit off, or overwhelmed, or like your brain is trying to sell you on cookies every day, this episode will feel familiar. And at the end, we ask for your ideas for our last three episodes of the year, plus your questions for our listener episode.

Welcome back to the Bariatric Banter Podcast! This week Steph and Hannah both tried that cottage cheese pizza recipe that's all over TikTok and Instagram. Spoilers: We both disliked it. Like, really did not like it.

But it got us talking about something bigger - all these bariatric substitute recipes that are supposed to replace the foods we love, and how most of them just... suck. And then you're stuck spending money on expensive ingredients for something that tastes terrible, and you still want pizza anyway.

We're getting into the holidays, and everyone's panicking about how to navigate all the food, and we're both kind of over the idea that we need to find a "bariatric-friendly" version of everything. Sometimes it's better to just have the actual donut instead of eating five different things that don't hit the spot.

Also we argue about when it's acceptable to put up Christmas decorations, because apparently that's controversial.

This week, Hannah and Steph are getting into the REAL shit – like why did our parents let us believe Pop-Tarts were an acceptable breakfast? And why is the North American breakfast basically just "sugar: the meal"?

We're diving into childhood food trauma (shoutout to those judgy grocery store vibes), the absolute mindfuck that is "breakfast food," and Hannah's new obsession with dates that taste like cookie dough (yes, you read that right).

Plus: Steph's on a tea kick, we're plotting some recipe testing for you guys, and we want to know what bariatric products YOU'RE loving right now. Seriously, slide into our DMs because we're trying everything.

This is bariatric life – messy, real, and way fewer rules than year one. Let's banter.

We’re back with a full serving of sass, snacks, and seriously good ideas! 🍁 In this week’s episode, Hannah and Steph dive into the recent protein controversay, lead in leading brands! They also explore alternative protein sources that don’t come from a shaker bottle — from bone broth hot chocolate (yes, really!) to maple sugar magic and the legendary Vector protein cereal. 🥣

The ladies also spill a little early tea on Make Good Food (spoiler alert: some meals are under 400 calories 👀) and chat about plans to start testing products and recipes for YOU — so you don’t have to.

It’s fun, it’s real, it’s slightly unfiltered — and it’s exactly what Bariatric Banter is all about. 💁‍♀️✨

🎧 Tune in and join us as we sip, snack, and sass our way through another week of wellness — with a dash of maple sweetness.

Ever tried eating a block of cheese in a hotel room with no cutlery? Been personally victimized by Starbucks’ “protein” coffee calories? Same. In this week’s episode, Hannah and Steph swap hilarious travel stories, unpack the truth behind Starbucks and Tim Hortons’ new protein drinks, and share their favourite fast-food and coffee hacks that actually work for bariatric life. From Happy Meals to DIY protein lattes, this one’s full of real talk, laughs, and game-changing tips for life on the go.

Grab your protein shake (or a cake pop — we won’t judge) and tune in!

What happens when the scale stops moving, the compliments fade, and real life creeps back in? 😳

In this episode, Hannah and Steph pull back the curtain on the mental rollercoaster of bariatric life — from the rush of early milestones to the gut-punch of comparison, the sting of shame, and the silence of support fatigue.

It’s messy. It’s hilarious. It’s brutally honest. And it’s exactly the conversation we all need but rarely have. Whether you’re fresh post-op, years out, or just curious, this episode will make you laugh, nod, and maybe even ugly cry (we won’t judge).

🎧 Buckle up, babes — we’re going there.

The conversation gets real in Part 2 of our GLP-1 series! Hannah and Steph are joined by the amazing @bypasskass, who shares her honest experience trying GLP-1s before bariatric surgery. From virtual doctors and missing support systems, to side effects, gallbladder scares, and the mental load of weight loss — nothing is off the table.

We laugh, we debate, and we bust some myths about what GLP-1s really do, how they compare to bariatric surgery, and why support systems matter more than quick fixes. Whether you’re GLP-curious, post-op, or just navigating food noise, this episode is packed with raw honesty and the encouragement you need to feel less alone.