Well, hello there! It is so nice to meet you. If you are reading this, you are a person who is battling the disease of obesity, or you love someone who is, and you are here to gather as much information, insight, support, and encouragement as you can.
Welcome. You are in the right place.
We are BariNation, a bariatric education organization on a mission to empower individuals through community to access and utilize the tools, resources, and support needed to find and maintain personal wellness. What does all of this mean?
Well…it means that we are here to not only connect you with the tools you will need before and after bariatric surgery to succeed, but we are also here to help you learn HOW to use those tools most effectively. We believe that community has been the missing treatment in the fight against obesity, and we are creating a warm, welcoming, safe, and inclusive digital community where every patient belongs. It also means that your size and shape-your weight and pant size-is, as one of our most beloved hosts and friends, Maddie Sphar, says-is the least interesting thing about you. Becoming a bariatric patient is more than your BMI. It is greater than your gravitational pull toward the Earth. It is about YOU, your values, identity, purpose, and soul. It is about you most holistically. We want to acknowledge and honor all of you, not just a single part of you.
Weight is a tricky subject. Our weight limits us physically but also holds back our personality; it sits heavy on life's mission, clouds desire, and muddies our future. The disease of obesity impacts every facet of our lives, and before surgery, it robbed many of us of the capacity to fight back against it. It was only when we onboarded treatment, real TREATMENT, that the disease grasp loosened, and we could wrestle ourselves free for the first time in decades. So if you feel like there is a greater purpose to your life, a different way of living, a brighter future, but your weight and the disease of obesity have you frozen, you are not alone, friend.
This blog will be dedicated to sharing the BariNation story. It is a space to talk about obesity from the patient’s lived experiences. A digital home to push back against accepted “best practices” and challenge what it means to offer exceptional bariatric care. It is a place to shine a bright light on the darkness of obesity so that we may see it for what it is- a chronic and lifelong condition that does not need to scare or intimidate anyone anymore.
Learn what BariNation is from our Founders, April Williams, Jason Smith, and Natalie Tierney.
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We are BariNation. We are three patients on a mission to support every bariatric patient in new and meaningful ways. We are here to flip the script on obesity medicine and help patients build their new lives from our strong bariatric pillars of movement, mindset, and metabolic wellness. We are creating what we need and think it will be what you need, too. We are BariNation, and we are so glad you are here.
You’ve got this, and we’ve got you.