The BariNation Foundation Podcast

By April WilliamsAlternative Health Health & Fitness Mental Health Education Self-Improvement

The BariNation Foundation Podcast episodes

June 15, 2020009: Episode Nine- Dating
Dating- trying out people for the role of "significant other". Dating is a straight-up workout- it takes mental toughness, stamina, and a whole lot of planning to get it right. The rewards can be life long...and so can the scars. In Episode 9, April's friend Veronica (@vko_1977) joins Jason and April to talk all things dating and compare the ups and downs before and after WLS. Having any weight loss procedure can be a real game-changer, but it can also impact and change your dating game. Do you tell people you have had WLS? How will you explain to them that no, you don't hate their cook, you just can't eat a whole lot? Will swatting away someone's act of intimacy always be your natural reaction? Join us for an in-depth conversation around the impacts WLS has had on our relationships and our dating game.
Adding Value:
The Loveland Foundation- providing free mental health counseling or to women and girls of color nationally. Join April and Jason in donating to this amazing cause and foundation!
Headspace- Veronica really enjoys the clarity and calm found in this app.

We also encourage to you VIEW this podcast on our YouTube channel. During the show, we shared some graphics and images that aid our visual learners who listen also 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
Jason: @tha_smithsonian
April: @actively_april
Veronica: @vko_1977
YouTube: East2West_WLS
Thank you for being the best part of this community!
1 hr 23 min
June 09, 2020008: Episode Eight- Q and A, Round 1
We asked, then you asked...and we answer! Thank you to everyone who submitted questions for our first Q and A episode...you sent ins some good ones! Here are the questions that we address in this episode:
How can I prepare for taking 20 minutes to eat a meal post WLS?

How can someone build confidence before and after WLS?

What negative side effects have we noticed post-WLS?

What has been the most frustrating part of your WLS journey?

What are all program guidelines so radically different? Science is science?!

Did you have heartburn before and/or after WLS?

What vitamins do you use?

How should I approach dating after WLS?

Here are some things that are adding value to our lives this week:
Campfire Coffee- locally roasted over a campfire and shipped nationally!

Supporting Black-Owned Business

Paravita Bariatric Vitamins

We also encourage to you VIEW this podcast on our YouTube channel. During the show, we shared some graphics and images that aid our visual learners who listen also 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
Jason: @tha_smithsonian
April: @actively_april
YouTube: East2West_WLS
Thank you for being the best part of this community!
1 hr 29 min
June 01, 2020007: Episode Seven- The Outsider Syndrome
After we have decided to have weight loss surgery, we want to share our decision with our closest friends and family. We are excited and want them to share in our new adventure! But sometimes, our news is met with reactions that we were not anticipating; negative statements, constant and digging questions about our decision, and attempts to talk us out of our weight loss procedure. Often, we are told just to eat less or follow a different diet, to start a specific workout regimen or program, to stop going through the drive-throughs and sneaking food. These suggestions are infuriating and undercut the work we have already done to live our lives at a healthy weight. These statements and actions let us know that we are going against the grain of the group, and if we want to remain a member of the group, we must conform to the group's unwritten rules.
What we see on the surface is not what is going on- by us taking such drastic and lasting steps to improve our health, we are letting others know that they could be doing the same thing in their own lives. We are forcing people to confront the stories they have been telling themselves about their weight issues and struggles- others take our news as a slap in the face. Our news forces people to take stock of their efforts and compare their decisions with the decisions we have made. We know it is easier to stay the same and people will consciously or unconsciously try to keep people in their group "status quo" to avoid change.
In this episode, we welcome Becca @refreshing.becca to deep dive into "The Outsider Syndrome"- a term we have coined to describe the reactions we have received after telling our group members that we will be having weight loss surgery. It is NOT a clinical term. It is something we coined on our own to label something we have experienced along our journeys. We can all experience this Syndrome in different ways, and we might not experience it at all! By understanding what we or others are going through, we can help ease the discomfort of people we love and care about and let them know that they are never an outsider when they are with is.
Episode Notes:
What is "The Outsider Syndrome"?

What does it look like?

How have we each experienced this phenomenon?

What can we do to move through and beyond it?

Why is it important to understand the impacts it has on people?

We also encourage to you VIEW this podcast on our YouTube channel. During the show, we shared some graphics and images that aid our visual learners who listen also 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
Jason: @tha_smithsonian
April: @actively_april
Becca: @refreshing.becca
YouTube: East2West_WLS
Thank you for being the best part of this community!
1 hr 18 min
May 27, 2020006: Episode Six- Pre-Op Basics
The road you have to travel to get to your actual bariatric procedure can be a long and twisty one filled with pit stops, roadblocks, and potholes. In this episode, Jason and April talk about ways to navigate the seemingly endless checkpoints with efficiency and joy. Of course, you need to follow your doctor's orders and meet all requirements set forth by your surgeon and the insurance company. And your surgeon will provide you with some clinical information about your pre and post-op experiences, but we found that what we were provided with from our clinical team did NOT touch on some of the most important elements to finding success before and after our procedures...things like preparing your friends and family for your recovery and transition to the thin life, emotional and behavioral changes, how to best prepare for your physical and emotional recovery, and- as Jason calls is- your "Farwell to Food Tour"! As always, we deep dive into all things pre-op with humor, humility, and honesty.
Episode Mentions
Bariatric Notebook

Measurements and Pictures

The "Outsider" Syndrome

Your "Canned" Response

Fun Without Food List

Belly Binder

We also encourage to you VIEW this podcast on our YouTube channel. During the show, we shared some graphics and images that aid our visual learners who listen also 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!
Where to follow along:
Instagram: @east2west_wls
Jason: @tha_smithsonian
April: @actively_april
YouTube: East2West_WLS

Thank you for being the best part of this community!
1 hr 32 min
May 25, 2020006: Episode 6- Pre-Op Basics
The road you have to travel to get to your actual bariatric procedure can be a long and twisty one filled with pit stops, roadblocks, and potholes. In this episode, Jason and April talk about ways to navigate the seemingly endless checkpoints with efficiency and joy. Of course, you need to follow your doctor's orders and meet all requirements set forth by your surgeon and the insurance company. And your surgeon will provide you with some clinical information about your pre and post-op experiences, but we found that what we were provided with from our clinical team did NOT touch on some of the most important elements to finding success before and after our procedures...things like preparing your friends and family for your recovery and transition to the thin life, emotional and behavioral changes, how to best prepare for your physical and emotional recovery, and- as Jason calls is- your "Farwell to Food Tour"! As always, we deep dive into all things pre-op with humor, humility, and honesty.
Episode Mentions
Bariatric Notebook

Measurements and Pictures

The "Outsider" Syndrome

Your "Canned" Response

Fun Without Food List

Belly Binder
We also encourage to you VIEW this podcast on our YouTube channel. During the show, we shared some graphics and images that aid our visual learners who listen also 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!

Where to follow along:
Instagram: @east2west_wls
Jason: @tha_smithsonian
April: @actively_april
YouTube: East2West_WLS

Thank you for being the best part of this community!
---
Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/east2westwls/message
Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/east2westwls/support
1 hr 10 min
May 18, 2020005: Episode Five- Defining My Identity
Knowing that our identity needs to change after weight loss surgery is one thing, but what if we don't really know what our current identity is? What if we have never thought about our identity before? In this episode, April and Jason welcome Becca- a community member and follower of East2West_WLS, who asked this very question. After listening and watch the podcast episodes on identity and joining us at our virtual bariatric meetup where identity was discussed, Becca realized that she had never really thought about her identity before. But she knew that her current life and lifestyle would not support her after her bariatric procedure. She is ready to deep dive into her identity, and she didn't know where to start.

Working on our identity is not just something people who have had weight loss surgery do, we can ALL do to identify areas of your life that are holding us back and map out the changes we can make to help us live the life we want. This podcast is for *anyone* who is looking to create lasting change in their life. If you are thinking about having bariatric surgery, are in the pre-op stages, or have had bariatric surgery, this podcast will speak to our soul, your struggle, and your future. We hope you find meaning and value in this episode! In this episode, we will walk you through four steps you can follow to help you define your current identity and see if the pieces of your identity are helping or hindering your growth. Then we show you how to refine and revise your identity to support the person you wish to become and how to get clear on WHAT you would need to do to collect the evidence that would prove you are living your identity.

We are not the identity experts...but we are happy to share our own experiences in identity-based growth and talk about the steps we have taken to learn how to live our lives as thinner people. We DO reference some experts; however, in the podcast and recommend you reference their work as you dive into identity! We also encourage you to VIEW this podcast on our YouTube channel. During the show, we shared some graphics and images that aid our visual learners who listen also enjoy listening!

Episode Mentions:
Atomic Habits by James Clear

Wendy Rawlings, Licensed Mental Health Counselor, and a Nationally Certified Distance Counselor

Follow Becca on Instagram @refresinig.becca

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! You can also leave us a voice mail through the Anchor app or in the link in our Instagram bio! We are @east2west_wls and welcome your feedback!

Where to follow along:

Instagram: @east2west_wls
Jason: @tha_smithsonian
April: @actively_april
YouTube: East2West_WLS

Thank you for being the best part of this community!
1 hr 10 min
May 12, 2020 004: Episode Four- Identity Blueprint
How to craft and maintain an identity that supports our weight loss goals.
1 hr 23 min
May 04, 2020 003: Episode Three- Identity
What is identity, how has it shaped our lives, and how can it help us find success after bariatric surgery.
1 hr 28 min
April 28, 2020 002: Episode Two- Changes
Deep diving into the changes we must make if we want to get to a healthy weight after bariatric surgery.
1 hr 10 min
April 28, 2020 001: Episode One- Hello!
Who we are, why we had WLS, changes and challenges post-WLS.
57 min

About The BariNation Foundation Podcast

From the publisher's feed

Welcome to The BariNation Foundation Podcast, where you’ll hear real talk about bariatric surgery, obesity medicine, medical weight loss, metabolic health, weight management, and lifelong obesity care. Whether you're considering bariatric surgery, preparing for weight loss surgery, recovering after surgery, or looking for evidence-based strategies to maintain long-term weight loss, this podcast gives you the education, support, and community you need to succeed.

Hosted by members of the bariatric community who are living the journey themselves, The BariNation Foundation Podcast brings together leading bariatric surgeons, obesity medicine physicians, registered dietitians, psychologists, exercise specialists, and real patients to share practical advice, inspiring stories, and the latest research in obesity treatment.

Obesity is a complex, chronic disease, and lasting success requires more than a procedure. Every episode explores the science, strategies, and mindset behind sustainable weight management. We discuss bariatric surgery, gastric bypass,vertical sleeve gastrectomy, duodenal switch SADI, revision/conversion surgeries, medical weight loss, bariatric nutrition, healthy weight loss, obesity medicine, lifestyle medicine, metabolic health, obesity care, emotional eating, body image, mental health, exercise, protein, vitamins, supplementation, meal planning, and long-term success after surgery.

You'll also hear honest conversations about the challenges that many people face, including weight reoccurrence, plateaus, transfer addiction, emotional health, relationships, loose skin, excess skin surgery, fertility, pregnancy after bariatric surgery, hormone changes, body confidence, and navigating life before and after surgery as well as GLP1’s. Our goal is to provide realistic expectations, expert guidance, and encouragement so you never feel like you're facing your journey alone.

As obesity treatment continues to evolve, we also explore the latest advances in obesity medicine, including GLP-1 medications such as Ozempic, Wegovy, Zepbound, Mounjaro, and emerging therapies, while helping you understand how these medications may fit alongside bariatric surgery and comprehensive medical weight loss. We break down the latest research into practical, easy-to-understand conversations that empower you to make informed decisions with your healthcare team.

Where ever you are in seeking treatment for the chronic disease of obesity, be it researching bariatric surgery for the first time, preparing for your procedure, celebrating major milestones, overcoming setbacks, or supporting a friend or family member through their journey, you'll find expert interviews, patient success stories, nutritional guidance, motivation, and actionable strategies that help you build healthy habits for life.

The BariNation Foundation Podcast is more than a podcast. It's a supportive community built on education, compassion, accountability, and hope. We believe every person deserves access to trusted information, meaningful support, and evidence-based resources that improve health and quality of life.

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, Amazon or wherever you listen to podcasts, and join thousands of people committed to improving their metabolic health, achieving sustainable weight loss, and thriving after bariatric surgery. No matter where you are on your journey, BariNation is here to help you take the next step with confidence.

Website: https://www.barination.com