We’re so excited to share what’s been happening in our lives! Over the past few months, we’ve been pausing, pivoting, and resetting, and we’re so grateful for your grace and support during this time. In this episode, Natalie talks about the whirlwind of starting a new job, moving to Portland, and how BariNation has helped her stay grounded through all the chaos. April shares why taking a step back to realign priorities has been so important for her, while Jason opens up about the confidence he’s gained through our amazing community. From taking big risks to embracing moments of vulnerability, we’ve all been navigating some big changes, and we’re so excited to share it all with you.

Thank you for being part of our journey. Together, we’re proving just how powerful a supportive community like BariNation can be!

IN THIS EPISODE:

• [0:34] What’s going on with Natalie
• [4:03] April describes the massive network of BariNation
• [5:04] Natalie is working out the details
• [7:00] Jason shares his new routine 
• [11:06] The importance of BariNation and the support provided
• [11:51] April explains why she has been more visible and Natalie reminds listeners that April has done an exemplary job keeping the program rolling

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Embracing New Beginnings Amidst Chaos. Natalie is navigating significant life changes, including starting a new job and relocating to Portland. Despite the chaos, she remains hopeful and views these transitions as opportunities she's been waiting for. Her experience highlights the importance of prioritizing, focusing on self-care, and using community support like BariNation to stay grounded.
• Rediscovering Confidence and Community. Jason has transitioned to working from home, which has freed up time to connect more deeply with himself and the BariNation community. Through these connections, he's experienced personal growth, building confidence in ways he never imagined, like speaking at events and embracing moments of vulnerability. This shift reflects the transformative power of aligning personal and professional well-being.
• The Power of Pausing and Pivoting. April emphasizes the need to pause and reassess to realign priorities. BariNation has required adaptability, especially as the team manages both personal and professional responsibilities. This approach exemplifies how strategic reflection and pivots can ensure sustained impact and growth, even amid life’s unpredictability.

RESOURCES:

• BariNation Website 
• Join the BariNation Membership community meetups to support you on your journey with obesity treatment. https://barination.com/pages/join-our-community
• Want to see bonus content? Head over to Patreon to get more and to support the podcast for as low as $5 per month! https://www.patreon.com/BariNationPodcast 

ABOUT:

If the BariNation podcast helps power your bariatric journey, become a monthly podcast supporter and help us produce the show! Visit www.barinationpodcast.com and help us support people treating the disease of obesity with humor, humility, and honesty.

April: You've just tuned into a podcast that welcomes you into a community, a resource center, and a safe place that powers your [00:00:15] journey towards personal wellness.

Natalie: Our goal is you leave us today feeling hopeful, inspired, and ready to live your best bariatric life.

April: We're, we're all here together. We are so excited to actually be recording the, this episode for you. We know it has been a hot minute and today we are coming to [00:00:45] you with some life updates. It's literally, yeah, this is what it's all about. We know that, um, we have been absent. It's been crazy. We ever, it's been hit or miss and we're excited to fill you in on why and, and kind of give you a [00:01:00] little sneak peek what's been going on behind the scenes.

So. We're going to start with that. Give us your life

So I can't, I can't be too down on myself [00:01:30] about it. Um, but biggest one is that I. Well, two, I got a new job, which is great. Um, I had been somewhat unemployed on paper, uh, [00:01:45] not including what I was doing for Bari Nation for 18 months. And it was really hard to be constantly applying for jobs. I probably, you guys applied for a thousand jobs.[00:02:00]

So I guess I'm moving, uh, three and a half hours away. Um, never lived in the [00:02:45] city before. Uh, all of that good stuff. So that's, that's really what I'm going through is adjusting to the good old nine to five commuting, all of that stuff. Uh, and [00:03:00] I've been finding a place to live. I've been very graciously staying with my, my cousin and her boyfriend for the last 5 weeks.

It's like, by the time I get home, I am toast. I'm done. That's where I've been. Uh, but the last couple of weeks I've been really turning to [00:03:45] Bari nation, turning to the community, attending groups where I can, uh, leading meetups when I can, um, and that's been super grounding. Uh, so yeah, I don't know. That's where [00:04:00] I'm at.

That's where I am.

Natalie: Yeah.

April: And we say this all the time in Bari Nation, right? We have to pause so we can pivot. And that's exactly really what has been going on these last few weeks.

It is massive. And it's the three of us who are running this with a leadership team. That's it. So, right. When our personal life gets rocketed and rolling [00:05:00] too. Yeah. It just has to

Natalie: look different. Right. It's that pause. And Yeah, and pivot. I mean, and I did, I had to pause. I had to, you know, text April and Jason and just be like, I, this is, this is reality.

Um, and really that's what it's been. Um, I have just been blinders focusing on [00:05:45] my job learning. I mean, this job is like a whole new process of, I've never done anything like this really, uh, before and, uh, haven't commuted in five years. Since the pandemic [00:06:00] started, I mean, so many things where I'm like, wow, these muscles, these brain muscles have not been utilized in five years and I'm having to relearn how to use those muscles and relearning how to use them in a way [00:06:15] in my current way, uh, like bariatric king meets.

So,

Jason: All of the things, uh, new job, uh, like Nat, uh, transitioning from being in the office four days a week to being working back from home again, going from like eight to 10, 000 steps a day to go into like maybe 1200, if I'm lucky.

Um, it's been liberating in a lot [00:08:00] of ways that I was able to kind of translate into my regular everyday life as well as my bariatric life. So, you know, a lot of you guys have seen kind of some of the videos and pictures that have come out from retreat. So I was able to go to [00:08:15] retreat and really kind of fulfill a lot of things that I didn't think I was going to be able to do.

So I, it's, it's been awesome. Plus, you know, you guys support me and I was being there for me to be able to talk to whenever I am not feeling my confident self. It's been, uh, it's [00:09:00] really been amazing to see the shift that, uh, has been going on for me since, uh, I've been out of the previous job that I was not pleased in.

Take [00:09:30] those positives and turn them into more positive. So pretty much at this point, I would say I'm playing with house money because all of the things that I've been able to, that I've just kind of been able to morph from one thing into another, just kind of turning all the positives into one big positive [00:09:45] win.

So it's been, it's been good. It's been busy, but it's been good.

I mean, you, you look different. You show up different. You, you are, you are more present. You are more engaged. You are more all of those things. And it makes my heart so happy when I talk to [00:10:15] people in, in the community. And they're like, yo, Jason was at this meetup today, not leading it. He was like there, there, like he was there as a member.

Jason: Yeah, no, it's, it's exciting to see and to see people's reaction when we're just in there to hang out and not do anything.

It's not. No, I'm just here for me because I want to

Natalie: I need some connection.

Jason: I'm just too lazy to log into my own account. So I just use the master for everything because that's how it works.

Natalie: But that's where the connection happens. You know, like for years we, we are co founders. We created Bari Nation and this is proof.

Jason, you are able to utilize it because of your work situation because you deserve to have the support that we all get and that you [00:11:45] give

April: thank you.

Jason: It's been good.

April: Well, it's been awesome. And my life update, I'll keep it very short and sweet. Jason and Nat have been transitioning into this awesome new place in their lives.

So we are excited to be returning to that in the new year. So Don't worry, you'll be seeing less of me and more of them. And thank God. Thank

Natalie: I was just going to say, can we all, if you are watching this on YouTube, if you are listening to this on your podcast player, can you all just comment, thank you, April, because like truly the amount of [00:13:00] work that she has done and she is downplaying a lot of it. It's immense. And so we, uh, I'm saying this for, uh, for Jason as well.

Jason: Big thank you to April and thank you to the community as well, because you guys allowed us the space and the grace to make these transitions and do these [00:13:30] things and not give up on us, not turn away from us.

April: We literally can't do this without you. We, we are building this with [00:14:00] you. We are building it for all of us together. And when we are aligned in that mission, really amazing things happen as, as you get to see on the podcast, in the community, out of the community, right? It is, we are very nation and you are a part of that.

Jason: Bye.

Natalie: Join us at barrynation.mn.co. If you found this podcast valuable, help us produce [00:15:00] it by becoming a 5 monthly supporter at barrynationpodcast. com.