Shownotes
Bariatric support groups provide an essential community for weight loss surgery patients. Today, we welcome Jonathan Cleveland to the BariNation Podcast to discuss his transformative experience just two months after VSG surgery. Jonathan shares how the BariNation community helped him navigate post-op bariatric surgery recovery challenges, from managing protein intake to celebrating non-scale victories. He reveals how the "space and grace" motto became his daily mantra when struggling with post-op bariatric life expectations. Natalie Tierney and Herb Lentz, who host the beginner bariatric meetup groups in the BariNation Community, co-host the episode to advocate for the power of peer connection versus unreliable internet searches and Facebook groups.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
✅ How bariatric support groups provide emotional validation and practical advice that Facebook groups and internet searches cannot match
✅ Why connecting with the bariatric community with Natalie Tierney in BariNation helps navigate post-op bariatric life challenges like protein and hydration goals
✅ The "space and grace" approach to managing frustration during weight loss surgery recovery and celebrating non-scale victories
✅ How beginner bariatric patient support meetups create a safe space for pre-op and newly post-op patients to share experiences
✅ Why joining trusted virtual support groupsand meetups in BariNation leads to better outcomes than self-diagnosing symptoms through unreliable online sources
Tune in, and don’t forget to join the BariNation Community to attend community meetups, watch exclusive bonus content and support the podcast for as little as $5 per month! You can also contribute to BariNation and become a Drive To Thrive Supporter with a one-time or recurring donation.
TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 Natalie Tierney opens the episode and invites Jonathan Cleveland and Herb Lentz to introduce themselves as members of the BariNation membership community. Jonathan is a two-month post-op bariatric patient, and Herb hosts beginner bariatric meetups
02:36 How bariatric support groups provide a community with like-minded individuals who understand the unique struggles and non-scale victories
06:05 The "space and grace" motto helps manage frustration with protein intake after surgery and hydration goals during weight loss surgery recovery, and other tips
10:17 Overcoming fear of joining bariatric community online meetups as a newbie and finding welcoming peer support
12:32 Jonathan shares why bariatric support groups provide trusted advice versus going down rabbit holes on Facebook groups and unreliable internet sources
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
💎Bariatric support groups offer understanding that friends and family cannot provide, creating a space where members celebrate non-scale victories like not needing seatbelt extenders with genuine excitement
💎 The "space and grace" mantra helps manage early post-op bariatric life frustrations when struggling to meet protein intake after surgery and hydration targets during weight loss surgery recovery
💎 Virtual support groups provide vetted advice from real bariatric patient support members and medical professionals, preventing harmful self-diagnosis from unreliable Facebook groups and internet rabbit holes
💎 Beginner bariatric community online meetups create cohorts where pre-op and newly post-op patients practice curiosity, ask questions without judgment, and build family-like connections
ABOUT THE GUEST:
Jonathan Cleveland currently resides in Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas. He is 6 months post-op from VSG surgery by Dr. Edmund Chen of the Texas Center for Bariatrics & Advanced Surgery. He has lost a total of 115 pounds. He loves to travel across the world in his free time.
RESOURCES MENTIONED:
Transcripts
April Williams: 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 Tierney: Our goal is you leave us today feeling hopeful, inspired, and ready to live your best bariatric life.
Welcome everyone. [:Jonathan Cleveland: Hi, if you don't know me, um, my name is Jonathan Cleveland.
s post-op. Um, I got the Vsg [:Natalie Tierney: We have had the pleasure of knowing you, uh, from your surgery date until now.
ah. Herb. And I just want to [:Herb Lentz: Absolutely. My name is Herb. I have been a member of a Bari Nation, member of Bari Nation for quite a while. Um, I joined shortly after my surgery, which was four years ago. To the date [00:02:00] today date, which is crazy. And within Bari Nation, I have the distinct honor and pleasure of hosting beginner bariatric meetups where people who are preoperative or newly postoperative can come and hang out with their bariatric peers and get all [00:02:15] of their questions, concerns answered, and share all of the amazing wins that they have.
rst question is just how has [:Jonathan Cleveland: Yeah, that's a good, awesome question. It has given me that sense of community and support overall from like, [00:02:45] like-minded individuals most of the time.
sight from other members has [:You can [00:03:15] be yourself with and open up about questions and not feel judged or shamed for something. It's kind of getting, you know, those tips and tricks along the journey, um, through Bari Nation and other members. What, [00:03:30] what has worked for them or not worked for them, and kind of applying it to my journey also.
might share those non-scale [:Extender and it's just, you know, has given me that kinda long term kinda support [00:04:15] feeling of, you know, everyone here is like very family oriented. I would say. Like some people here like kind of play a family role in my life, like. I might consider some other members, like a mother to me, like a very mother or a [00:04:30] very sister.
icians, licensed therapists, [:Natalie Tierney: I love, I love everything that you said.
That
Herb Lentz: was so great. [:You know what you say? One of my favorite things in beginner Bear is when someone says something and [00:05:30] I say, how many of us can relate? And everyone's hand goes up, right? Everyone gets what you're talking about. Whether they've had lived that very specific experience or not, they understand where you're coming from when you're talking about it.
nk about the last two months [:Jonathan Cleveland: Since joining this group, it's kind of like a self tip that I've, that's really stuck with me through this is, you know, the motto is, you know, give yourself space [00:06:15] and grace.
ou know, don't beat yourself [:Herb Lentz: I love the deep bench of creativity that we have within Bari Nation.
and I always learn something [:So I love what you said about, you know, getting all those different tips and tricks regarding protein and water and mental agility in our journey. The list goes on and on.
nd tricks. I always say, and [:Oh, this works for Jonathan. Maybe I'll try this out. Oh, that actually worked. I'm gonna keep that and use that for next time. Um, and that's that big [00:07:30] community piece, right? A lot of times we wouldn't know how to navigate the protein, um, or the water, right? You can barely drink and eat right at the beginning and, and so.
tive, you have to be willing [:You mentioned space and grace, and that's a huge. I guess motto, slogan here in Bari Nation and we, we love to use it for a [00:08:15] multitude of reasons. When was the time, maybe Jonathan, where you like really had to hone into that space and grace?
tting frustrated with myself [:So I would get frustrated with myself and say like, what am I doing wrong? Like, is there something else I can be [00:08:45] doing? But then I realized like I would beat myself up too much. And probably way more than what I should. So that's really where I would have to tell myself like almost every day, like, just give yourself space and grace.
It'll come with [:Space, space out from that and give yourself grace, you know, set realistic expectations and alignments for yourself and kind of target with how, how you look, [00:09:30] you know, from a pace perspective to get something done.
Herb Lentz: The biggest habit we have to form, I think, as folks battling obesity, is that ability to be curious and to keep trying things.
ght be working for you right [:You're trying to meet in different ways. So I just, I, I resonated a lot with what you said just there. When you signed up for Bari Nation and you signed up to attend a meetup the first time, and you hit join, were you, did [00:10:15] you have trepidation? Were you scared?
Jonathan Cleveland: First joined Bari Nation, I guess I didn't fully know what to expect.
s, flyers about it. I didn't [:And I was just kind of afraid of like, where are they gonna think of me? Of [00:10:45] newbie joining the room. So I was of course a little, little scared at the, at the beginning, but I made sure, like my first session I signed up for was Natalie because I knew I met her in person, and [00:11:00] so I knew a familiar face and that kind of really helped me.
mation from other people or. [:Herb Lentz: Yeah, absolutely. I, what I love about variation too is you can come as you are, if you are out on a walk and you're not able to be on camera, you can just listen in and, and soak up [00:11:30] information like a sponge.
dunno what you dunno. Yeah. [:Natalie Tierney: It's clicking into the zoom. That's the hard part because you don't know.
goes back to that curiosity [:Jonathan Cleveland: It was still the best clicking of join that I have ever done.
Natalie Tierney: I
Jonathan Cleveland: love it.
ari Nation and how would you [:Jonathan Cleveland: I would share what, what I have taken from it and how my journey might've looked without Bari Nation versus being a member and actually, you know, joining Bari [00:12:45] Nation a week or two before my operation.
ith it, because I'd probably [:Herb Lentz: You know, if you are someone who is deep in [00:13:15] your head thinking about this, if this is right. Deep dived, gone deep into the recesses of the internet. You've been on TikTok, you've been on Twitter, you've been on Instagram, you've been on Reddit. You've done all those things. That was [00:13:30] me and it was really detrimental for me.
bariatric patient is not all [:And that includes, you know, medical professionals, [00:14:00] licensed therapists, registered dieticians, and folks like myself who are just folks who have had the surgery. It is truly a place to get good. Instead of going down those wormholes of [00:14:15] pits of despair, so get off that Facebook group and instead click join the Bari Nation.
You're not gonna regret it, I promise.
time on Facebook groups. I'm [:People that actually lived this, besides people hiding behind a screen that they might not even been on this journey. It might even be a for all we know. [00:15:00] So that's definitely a big benefit of nation.
listeners and to us here in [:Jason Smith: Awesome. Thank you all both. It's been a pleasure being here today.
g episode of the Bari Nation [:Natalie Tierney: Join us at Barination.mn.co. [00:15:45] If you found this podcast valuable, help us produce it by becoming a $5 monthly supporter at Barinationpodcast.com.
we'll see you next time. Bye [: