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:

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:

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 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:

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

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:

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

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:

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:

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!