🎯 Why Uncomfortable Conversations Are Necessary Along Our Bariatric Journey

Hi Reader,

When you think about your personal battle with the disease of obesity, did your primary care provider or medical specialist ever talk with you about it?

Was it a friend, family member, or co-worker who told you they were worried about your health?

Or were you the one who initiated the conversation?

Turns out, people will wait -on average- 9 years to talk with their doctor or care team about their excess weight. NINE YEARS.

How long did you wait before pursuing bariatric surgery? What was the conversation—or series of conversations—that finally opened the door to considering it?

Reply to this email to share your story, we would love to know more about your path to surgery.

Here are our personal stories of our "weight" conversations.

From Natalie:

My weight was a constant topic at nearly every doctor’s appointment for as long as I can remember. By the time I was 15, my pediatrician sat down with my mom and me to talk about bariatric surgery, specifically LapBand, as a possible way to help with my obesity. She was kind but firm, explaining that I needed real intervention and that, at the time, LapBand offered the best chance for me to take control of my health. It was the first time someone truly acknowledged how serious my situation was and did so with both honesty and care.

From Jason:

My PCP told me my numbers were high and that we needed to do something, but for months she avoided saying what that really meant, even as my weight kept climbing. When my blood test results finally came back, she told me I was actively dying — that my body was giving up. It was the first time she’d been truly direct with me. But even then, it wasn’t until I mentioned that my cardiologist brought up surgery that she finally said I probably qualified for bariatric surgery and should seriously consider it. For so long, neither of us knew how to talk about my weight, and that silence nearly cost me my life. She recommended I look up a bariatric center and schedule an appointment.

From April:

When I was 26 or 27, my primary care physician encouraged me to "eat less and move more" when my BMI shot above 35 and I shared my fertility struggles, but she never believed me when I said my lifestyle was packed with exercise and whole-food eating. Later when I shared my miscarriages, she told me that my weight was a direct cause and that I would be able to carry to term if I was at a healthy weight. Surgery was never a treatment option discussed or shared; I was prescribed metformin and told to seek out a doctor-supervised medical weight loss program. The only reason I made the decision to have bariatric surgery was a friend of mine was brave enough to share her story with me. And that's how I learned surgery was an option for me.

Imagine how different your life—and your bariatric journey—might have been if, early on, your doctor had named the disease of obesity for what it is. What could have changed if you were empowered to start the conversation yourself?

When providers help us understand the pervasive, complex nature of obesity instead of framing it as personal failures, we can approach treatment differently.

And if we are open to initiating the conversation with our care providers, we might explore the many treatment options with greater clarity, compassion, and confidence.

How might your story have changed if someone had given you the language, the knowledge, and the support you deserved from the very beginning?

➡️ If we aren’t having these brave conversations, we’re not accessing the care we deserve.

This week, we’re sharing an encore episode with Dr. Ann Rogers, Past President of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. If we want more people to access meaningful, effective treatment for obesity, we have to start having these brave conversations more often-and this episode is a powerful place to begin.

Dr. Rogers shares with us the important role we can all play in these conversations and why continuing with your follow-up care will help researchers gather more accurate data on patient quality of life and weight recurrence after surgery.

Links to watch and listen are at the bottom of this email.

🎙️ Ep 234- ASMBS Past President Dr. Rogers on Ending Stigma & Shame in Obesity and Bariatric Treatment

❤️ Why Your Support Matters

Every week, BariNation delivers expert-led education, safe community spaces, and hope to thousands of people navigating bariatric life. But we can’t do it without you. Your one-time or monthly recurring gift makes a big impact on our grassroots organization.

$39 gives one post-op patient a month of access to our membership
$50 helps produce our next expert-led podcast episode
$100 helps sponsor a virtual event for the whole community

When you donate, you’re not just giving money, you’re giving someone the tools and support to thrive after bariatric surgery.

Learn More and Donate

No matter how long it took us to undergo bariatric surgery and start to understand the disease we are battling, we are thankful that we are where we are in our journeys.

Obesity keeps people stuck. It keeps them isolated, scared, and small.

But the world—especially right now—needs the best of us to show up. And that means fighting back against this disease every single day.

Thank you for working so hard to ensure that the best of you shows up—for yourself, your loved ones, and your community.

You got this and we got you.

With Gratitude,
April, Jason, Natalie, and the BariNation Team