I know, I know…the thought of taking a self-evaluation sounds about as fun as kicking a rock. Am I right? But here’s the deal. One of the most crucial steps we often miss when working on our goals is self-evaluation. And it’s important! Why? Because it gives you the opportunity to see what challenges you, and make a plan around …

Let me start this off by saying that one of my biggest pet peeves is what I call “newbie regain gawking.” That is, watching longer-term post-ops like a hawk for the purposes of “avoiding the mistakes that led to their regain.” Because…you know…nothing makes me feel better than thinking about being someone else’s cautionary tale… But that’s not to say there …

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 …