Weight Loss Winformation

You DO know that if you consistently follow through with a behavior… one of the Gotta Do ‘Em, perhaps… and IF you use an accountability tool, as well… the Gotta Do ‘Em checklist, perhaps… then without any question you increase your odds of developing a healthy habit AND reaching your goals! Listen to how Laura used some BIG anger to motivate her to develop unwavering consistency with one criticall...

The BariAftercare word of the year is Accountability. The word for this week is Consistency. A listener asked for a podcast about self-efficacy. How did I put all of these things together? Well, I added one additional ingredient to the mix and came up with what felt like a really great episode! The additional ingredient?! The brand new version of the Gotta Do ‘Ems, The Gotta Do ‘Ems, Version 2.0!...

Bariatric therapist Lora Grabow joins me for this episode of BariAftercare. Like myself, Lora has worked in the bariatric field for 20 years. Listen to our conversation and hear the discussion between two bariatric therapists about common struggles we see with patients, what is the same today as it was 20 years ago and what has changed! I have the utmost respect for all of the work that Lora does....

In the last episode we talked about what to do when others sabotage, or get in the way of, our goals. THIS week we go a step farther and talk about something even closer to home: SELF-SABOTAGE. When we interfere in our OWN progress toward our goals. It’s not logical to set ourselves up for failure. So, why, then, do we do it so frequently???? Listen in and get some answers… as well as tips for sto...

A listener asked what to do about her husband of many years who brings home foods that are not consistent with her post-op health goals. She believes he is not happy about losing his “eating buddy.” His behaviors have the potential to sabotage her progress! What about you? Are there people in your life that seem to trying to sabotage your healthy post-op lifestyle? What does sabotage look like, wh...

For this episode I am joined by two amazing women who thoroughly understand the bariatric community. Kelly Broadwater is a certified eating disorder specialist with extensive experience working in the field of bariatrics. Chaundra Evans is a registered dietician who specializes in bariatrics and eating disorders. They have been working together to help hundreds of bariatric patients over the past...

Accountability is the BariAftercare word of the year! We chose it because the research is extensive and makes it clear that using accountability measures improves the likelihood of experiencing success, in particular when it comes to keeping weight off! AND… using accountability measures like tracking devices for food intake, water consumption, and movement tends to wane over time. It doesn’t have...

Join Laura Preston and me for a lively discussion about the power of words! We chose the word Accountability for BariAftercare’s word of the year. In this podcast episode we announce a special invitation to join us for a 3-series workshop inside BariAftercare to create a vision project based on YOUR word of the year for 2024! Listen to the end of the podcast to learn how you can sign up for the wo...

NOT to get completely ahead of myself… BUT… I wanted to give you a sneak peak at what we have in store for you in the New Year at BariAftercare! Get ready to learn and grow with our BariAftercare community as we live and breathe ACCOUNTABILITY and all things related throughout the year. Why accountability? Because it is the number one way to get and stay on track when it comes to weight maintenanc...

We’ve all been alone and I’m guessing we’ve all felt lonely at times… in fact, I’d venture to say that most of us have felt lonely at times when we are with other people and when we have been alone. In this episode, I’ll talk about the physical and mental health benefits of spending some time alone and, if you’re uncomfortable being alone, I’ll share some tips on how to make that a bit easier. I’l...

Have you ever been referred to as a control freak? Well, I have. Even if you aren’t a controlling person, chances are good that you know someone who is… or several someones, perhaps! In this episode, you’ll learn what it actually means to be controlling, what being controlling looks like, and the reasons people become controlling in the first place. And of course, we’ll talk about what this all ha...

In this episode, one of my best bariatric buddies joins me to talk about… all kinds of bariatric wisdom, to include how all of us can fall into the social comparison game. But we talk about SOOOO much more in this episode… we get real and personal with you throughout the episode! Let’s just get started… and be sure to listen to the very end as there is a very specific call to action! Resources: Ba...

Wait… What? There’s passive communication… we’ve gone over that. There’s aggressive communication… we’ve talked about that! What then, is passive-aggressive communication? I mean, passive communication and aggressive communication couldn’t be any more opposite? What’s up with combining the two into a category of communication all its own?! Passive-Aggressive communication. Yep – it’s a thing. A no...

We’ve discussed the most healthy form of communication, Assertive communication, and we’ve discussed a pretty detrimental form of communication, Aggressive communication! In this episode, I’ll be explaining what is referred to as a PASSIVE communication style. Passive communication is another form of less-than-healthy communication and one used by a LOT of folks… namely those who “want to avoid co...

The guest on this episode has travelled to an astonishing 70+ countries, to include over a handful since having gastric bypass surgery… which was… get this … less than a year ago! She is ALSO a professional! A professional traveller? No, although I’m not sure a) if there is such a thing or b) what would qualify one as such! Today’s guest, Kenda Harrison is a nurse practitioner who has a private pr...

The goal for everyone when it comes to communicating with others would be to use ASSERTIVE communication… directly, respectfully, and honestly sharing your thoughts, feelings and desires with others. If you know your style tends to be more aggressive, listen to these real life situations and learn how to tweak that aggressive manner – which will create distance between you and whoever you’re deali...

Far from being an effective way to interact with people in life – and definitely as you navigate the many changes you face following bariatric surgery, aggressive communication is almost ALWAYS a lose-lose! If YOUR natural or habitual manner of talking to others has an aggressive edge, or if someone in your life regularly speaks to you using an aggressive tone, you’ll want to listen to this episod...

“How do I tell my mother to back off my teenage girls and their lack of cleaning skills?” “What do I say to my almost-adult kids who told me they were fully supportive of me having surgery but now eat whatever they want in front of me? They tell me THEY didn’t have surgery and THEY aren’t trying to lose weight so they’ll eat whatever they want, wherever they want? HELP!” Here are some real-life ex...

What is assertive communication? This is: “Hey! When you listen to my podcast, I feel grateful because I know you are working to understand yourself better as you create a healthy life you love!” Assertive communication is sharing with someone else how you feel about something, the reason you feel the way you do, and oftentimes, includes something you want or would appreciate. People often fear co...

What does SHOULD’ing on yourself even mean? It means you’re being rigid, causing yourself, guilt and tension, and imposing additional obligations on yourself… by virtue of using the word SHOULD. Using shame-provoking words like “should,” “must,” “ought” and “have to” decreases motivation and decreases self-esteem… and increases stress, which, as I hear from patients every day, is one of the leadin...

Strange name for a podcast episode! But not if you listened to last week’s episode, because it was called the First Six “How’s” of Happiness. What the heck is a “How” of Happiness anyway? Quite simply, it’s a way to increase your happiness… and the 12 items listed in the book titled The How of Happiness have been scientifically researched and proven to help you increase your levels of happiness. A...

Do you know HOW to be happy? We all have an idea of what being happy means, but did you know there is a LOT of research on the topic of happiness. A woman named Sonja Lyubomirsky wrote a book called The How of Happiness in which she lists “how” to create and increase your happiness. I thought this list of 12 “Hows” of happiness fit right in with creating an overall healthy lifestyle for bariatric...

I couldn’t decide what to call this episode. I thought about calling it Those Old Habits That Seem to Creep Back In… Why? Because I hear that saying so frequently! “I can lose weight… but I just can’t seem to keep it off! Those old habits just creep back in.” I wonder every time… what do they creep back in on? Tiny little legs? Let’s get honest with ourselves, my friends! Habits do not have anythi...

This episode of the podcast was so much fun to record! I got to interview Shea Quinn, who many of you may know from her two … yes, TWO podcasts! She hosts Grow with Shea on which she talks not only about her journey of weight loss following bariatric surgery, but openly discusses issues related to emotional healing, something everyone can relate to. Shea is also a host on the Weighting Table podca...

Anger is a normal and yes, a HEALTHY emotion! What can be unhealthy about anger is the way one expresses it. Equally unhealthy – and literally dangerous to your physical health – is NOT expressing anger at all! Yep! Unexpressed anger can increase your levels of stress, which, in turn, can increase the likelihood that you develop high blood pressure, heart problems and diseases related to inflammat...