Are you feeling panicked about holiday eating derailing your bariatric journey? In this episode, we’re joined by Kelly Broadwater, who works closely with bariatric patients and shares her insights on navigating the season confidently. From understanding "BariMath," a tool that helps put indulgent meals into perspective, to tips on recognizing actual hunger cues and staying mindful, Kelly provides practical advice for enjoying holiday celebrations without guilt. Join us as we explore ways to stay on track, make thoughtful food choices, and let go of all-or-nothing thinking this holiday season. 

IN THIS EPISODE:

• [2:34] Kelly works with patients who have eating disorders
• [4:08] How does BariMath work
• [5:32] Stress can make you spiral out of control. Eating a few meals that are not on your plan over the holidays will not derail you. 
• [7:47] When you eat, focus on how the food will make you feel rather than labeling it as good or bad.
• [11:49] Learn to recognize the difference between hunger cues and other eating urges.
• [12:44] Kelly gives the listener advice on planning and mindful eating 

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

•  “BariMath" is a helpful tool for bariatric patients to reduce anxiety about holiday eating. By calculating the number of eating opportunities (305) in November and December and comparing it to the handful of meals that might be off-plan (five or six), patients can see that these few indulgent meals are unlikely to derail their progress. This approach helps manage stress.
• Avoid the all-or-nothing thinking with your bariatric eating plan. If you go off-plan for a meal, it’s not a failure—simply focus on making your next meal bariatric-friendly.
• Avoid perfectionism and guilt in bariatric eating. Instead of focusing on strict rules or labeling foods as "good" or "bad," consider how certain foods will make you feel physically.
• During holiday meals, prioritize protein-forward choices and approach indulgent items mindfully. Instead of feeling pressured to eat something immediately, consider taking it home to enjoy on your terms. This approach allows flexibility, removes the urgency to indulge immediately, and supports thoughtful decision-making around food.

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 

GUEST RESOURCES:

BariEDucated - Website

BariEducated - LinkedIn

BariEducated - Facebook

BIOGRAPHY: Kelly Broadwater

Kelly has provided preoperative assessments and postoperative counseling to metabolic and bariatric surgery patients for over 20 years. An expert on eating disorders in the bariatric population, she is passionate about educating others on this topic. She is the co-author of the book BariEDucated, published in 2023.

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.

Monique Coleman is one of our amazing movement experts. She's been going live every day, offering inspirational messages and tips and tricks for how we can say, stay consistent even when life gets busy. We all need [00:01:00] community. We all need help from our friends. This journey is not designed to be done alone, and you can find your people, find your community in Berry Nation.

And our conversation is really today going to focus on are all around how we can lower the temperature when it [00:01:45] comes to eating during the busy holiday season. Um, but before we get into it, Kelly, I'd love to kind of turn the microphone over to you so you can introduce yourself to our friends, followers, listeners, and watchers.

So. Glad to be here. Yep.

And the first thing that we really want to talk about is, is a tool that I discovered maybe two years [00:02:45] ago. And I literally stumbled upon it because I was kind of beating myself up mentally. I could not figure out why I was so panicked about the holiday eating that was coming up until I took the time and I actually added up how many days there [00:03:00] were left in the year.

So I started calling it Barry math. We call it that in Barry nation. Uh, and, It's a great tool that, that we can, that we can use. So to summarize, right in the months of November and December, we [00:03:45] have 61 days, 30 days in November, 31 days in December. And as bariatric patients, we usually have about five eating opportunities a day.

So Kelly, like, is it, is it right for us to kind of use this as a tool to go, okay, five or [00:04:30] six eating opportunities out of 305. If I completely, let's say, go off the rails and I'm not following any of my bariatric guidelines in those five or six meals, am I going to derail my entire progress?

Kelly: No, I love that.

I'm being bad. I'm off my diet. It's like, no, you follow your plan, follow your guidelines. And there may be a few eating occasions where you're not. [00:05:15] You know, to a T doing everything bariatric appropriate and, but you don't have to let it derail you. Like you said, also to like each day you have several new eating opportunities to like get it back [00:05:30] together.

And it's like, it doesn't have to be that way.

And initially [00:06:15] it might feel like a relief or a release because it's like, okay, I don't have to think about this anymore. It's like, I've given myself permission to not think about, you know, staying aligned or, or, you know, my bariatric planning or eating during the holidays. So. But [00:06:30] what I have found in my live patient experience is that it might feel good in the moment or for a day or two, but then I just start stressing about how far away from my bariatric life I have become that starts really eating [00:06:45] or gnawing at me.

So I'm not even going to try. So I'm just going to not even think about it. But then that starts weighing me down. Right.

Um, and I think about how this food is going to make me feel physically, like, you know, when you sit down at Thanksgiving, [00:07:45] there are going to be things that you probably eat that are presented as opportunities to eat that would make you feel really bad physically as a very african patient. So thinking about it in that terms, instead of the calories or the amount or that just thinking about it in terms [00:08:00] of how is this going to make me feel physically versus trying Yeah.

Abandon a diet, follow a diet, you know,

Thanksgiving is [00:08:30] a protein forward meal. All of the holiday parties that I know that I'm going to be attending, they're all protein forward. Uh, our Christmas celebration is absolutely protein forward. So I don't even need to panic about, you know, Oh my gosh, is that meal going to be [00:08:45] aligned? I can already take that off of my brain because a, I know it's going to be aligned.

And just to have that distance between right, that [00:09:15] food item and what I'm actually feeling is so helpful because if I look at something, let's, let's say pie. And I know, like, I actually don't want that, but I'm worried about, I don't know, maybe offending or making whoever made that item. upset [00:09:30] because I'm not enjoying it.

So they feel great because they. Believe that I'm going to enjoy it. I get to take it home and enjoy it when the time is right for me, but I also can take it home and I don't [00:10:00] have to eat it. Right. I might not ever feel like I want to enjoy that. And that's okay. That person doesn't need to know that. And I get to make a decision in terms of what I'm going to do when I get home later.

Right?

You said, am I even in the mood for it? That's, that's the word that triggered in my mind. Like, am I in the mood for it? Like, maybe you are, maybe you aren't, or [00:10:45] maybe it's like, you know, instead of feeling like, Oh, I only get this once a year. It's like, well, you could make. Something pumpkin some other time of year.

April: Yep. Absolutely. As patients and just as humans, [00:11:15] it, it is easy and many of us are disconnected from that intuitive side, uh, of ourselves and, and our own hunger cues and learning to, you know, to, to listen to ourselves, to really tap into that, in that intuition that we have up [00:11:30] here, uh, can bariatric journey to really help us make decisions that, that, that are aligned for us.

Kelly, what's the one thing that you're hoping people are leaving this conversation with?

You know, you may not know everything that's going to be available, but just, you know, making sure that you go into it with the right [00:12:30] mindset and game plan rather than just. Just, you know, kind of getting caught in a, in a moment of panic and not being aware of what's going on. I mean, I think preparation and, and just mindfulness and intentionality can go a long way.

Kelly: for having me.

Natalie: Join us at berry nation.

Jason: And just remember at the end of the day, you've got this, we've got you and we'll see you next time. Bye [00:13:30] everybody.