Twelve years. Two hundred pounds lost. And more lessons learned than any surgeon, nutritionist, or wellness plan could have ever prepared her for.

Dr. Kristin Lloyd marks her 12-year surgiversary by getting brutally honest about what life is really like after gastric sleeve surgery and a 200-pound weight loss.

In this deeply personal milestone episode, Dr. Kristin Lloyd pulls back the curtain on her 12-year journey after gastric sleeve surgery — not to glorify the before-and-after, but to tell the truth about what happens after the “honeymoon phase” ends and real life begins.

She reveals that surgery was the catalyst—not the cure. What she thought would “fix” hunger and cravings actually became a mirror reflecting the deeper emotional work ahead: trauma, anxiety, ADHD, and years of using food for comfort and control.

This episode isn’t a highlight reel—it’s the truth about transformation, maintenance, and the messy middle no one talks about.

Kristin shares how, in the early days, she believed surgery would “fix” her hunger, silence her cravings, and finally bring peace to her relationship with food. But what she discovered was far more complex. The surgery was only the catalyst — the spark that forced her to confront the emotional, psychological, and energetic roots of her patterns.

True healing, she discovered, goes far beyond the food stuff. It’s about uncovering the emotional wounds, nervous system imbalances, and self-protective patterns that once made food feel like safety, control, or love — and learning to meet those needs with compassion instead of criticism.

From navigating trauma, ADHD, and anxiety, to realizing how “eating clean” can quietly morph into disordered control, Kristin takes listeners through the messy, sacred middle of healing — the part where the body changes faster than the mind and heart can catch up.

It’s an honest look at the emotional and spiritual evolution required for lasting transformation. Kristin discusses how she learned to partner with her body instead of policing it, and how nervous system regulation became her foundation for healing. She explains why shame never works long-term, how self-trust became her superpower, and what it truly means when emotional eating doesn’t disappear… but evolves.

Listeners will hear about the realities of maintenance during major life transitions — motherhood, perimenopause, and identity reinvention — and how curiosity, compassion, and consistency replaced punishment and perfectionism.

This episode is a love letter to anyone who’s ever thought, “I thought I’d be further along by now.” It’s a reminder that your healing doesn’t have an endpoint — and that peace, not perfection, is the new goal weight.

Chapters

00:00:01 - Welcome to Bariatric Mindset Podcast

00:02:46 - Partnering With Your Body for Healing

00:06:50 - Creating Safety and Awareness in Eating

00:16:00 - You Can’t Hate Yourself Into Healing

00:18:57 - Self-Compassion Over Self-Criticism for Lasting Change

00:23:15 - Reparenting Yourself Through Self-Compassion

00:27:32 - Nervous System and Emotional Eating

00:31:36 - Healing Stress Addiction and Food Patterns

00:35:48 - Maintenance Isn’t Sexy, It’s Sacred

00:39:11 - From Obsession to Body Wisdom

00:41:19 - Building Body Trust During Perimenopause

00:43:29 - Scale Doesn’t Tell Whole Story

00:54:42 - Identity Reinvention and Self-Concept Change

00:57:26 - Relapse Isn’t Failure, It’s Feedback

01:01:24 - Peace is the New Goal Weight

01:05:42 - Finding Inner Power Beyond Weight Loss

01:10:38 - Gratitude Beyond Success and Body Partnership

01:12:56 - You Are The Hero Of Your Journey

Key Takeaways

* Why the real work begins after the honeymoon phase (12-24 months post-surgery)

* How to partner with your body instead of punishing or “fixing” it

* The danger of “eating clean” extremes turning into disordered eating

* Why shame-based motivation never works—and self-compassion always wins

* How to develop self-trust using loving, parental inner dialogue

* What it means when emotional eating evolves rather than disappears

* How to expand your nervous-system capacity so you can feel safe in your body

* Why peace—not perfection—is the new goal weight

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Celebrating my 12 year Surgiversary, I’m offering some amazing specials to guide you on your journey, for support this holiday season and beyond.

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