Tough Love

Hi there. My name is Nikki. Nice to meet you. I imagine, if you’ve not had weight loss surgery yourself, you have a family member or loved one who did. And I imagine that somehow, some way, they have gotten you to this page because you need to hear what I’m about to say. First and foremost, I want to …

Far too many post-ops do NOT know how to accept a compliment. I’ve learned this in my 10 years since surgery. It’s actually fairly important that you do learn to accept a compliment, mostly because it’s a part of being respectful of others, but also it’s an important part of building up your self-esteem. So let’s start with the three-step method …

Man…Foodies. I struggled with this post. Because…10 years. 10 years??? Like…I have really survived TEN YEARS of post-op life. To tell you the truth, I didn’t think I’d survive 10 weeks at the outset! And for a milestone like this, I wanted to write something but nothing felt right. First I tried writing about what I’ve learned in my 10 years. But…booooooring! Then …

At the risk of sounding like a hater…when we start to eat healthfully we get some really screwed up notions about eating. And I get it. The things we have to tell ourselves to get by and yadda. Usually I don’t make much of some of the beliefs I hear expressed. But, frankly, some of them are biting us in …

I’m going to make a confession. Working with a dietitian, historically, has not been one of my favorite parts of the bariatric journey. I’m a rebel, Foodies! I don’t want anyone telling me what to do. And telling me what to EAT? Get outta here! But if there’s one truth I’ve had to accept above all others in my 9+ …

Dear Bariatric Foodie is a blog series where we tackle questions received from folks in the Foodie Nation. If you have a question you’d like to see covered, email nikki@bariatricfoodie.com. The advice given in this article is not professional advice and should not be used to replace the advice of a medical or mental health professional. So I see this …

First off all let me say that I have made every mistake a person can make after weight loss surgery. I have: obsessed over food (to the point where I basically had an eating disorder) neglected my vitamins and follow-up care (and a few deficiencies resulted…lesson learned!) totally rebelled against healthy eating (and had both the little and big bounce-back weight as a result) …

They say when you have weight loss surgery, they operate on your stomach and not your head. Most of the time when I hear this said it’s pertaining to hunger, appetite and eating. But it’s true in so many ways. I don’t know about you guys, but there were ways I was much more balanced as an obese person than …

Disclaimer: This post contains the experiences of a person who identifies as a food addict. The information in this post is not meant to replace advice from a medical or mental health professional. If you or someone you love is struggling with food addiction, please seek immediate medical attention! I was scrolling through Facebook yesterday and I came across an article …

(WOOOOOOOOOSAHHHHHH) That’s me bracing myself for the potential backlash of this post. But I don’t care! I am a part of the bariatric community, which means I am in this community, which means I see the many ways we invent to torture ourselves after surgery. And enough is enough. 2016 needs to be the year where we love ourselves. And if you …