THIS WAS SUCH AN AMAZING DAY!

Insights:

About a year ago now I was interviewed on the AMAZING Our Sleeved Life Podcast - cannot tell you how many people I have recommended this podcast to! Kellie & Mel are so laid back, down to earth and KEEP IT REAL in the bariatric community.

When working with clients I would often find a bit of a gap in what I could provide - and that gap was lived experience. Myself, nor any of my dietitian, nurse or physician colleagues have ever had bariatric surgery. We've read the books, we've sat the tests, we've got through uni. but we have not Walked. The. Walk. Personally, I think it is SO important as a health professional to seek advice and inspiration from those with lived experience.

Behind the scenes - the interview sheet of questions Mel & Kellie sent me went to my spam folder & I never received them before going on air.. I was WINGING IT!! Big time, I was nervous, I stuttered under pressure & forgot my words at times but Kellie & Mel are so lovely and awesome podcast hosts they supported me every step of the way.

Here are some key topics we discussed:

1. Relationship with food

How to identify and address emotional eating, binge eating, and night eating, and develop a healthier relationship with food that supports your wls goals and how it is an ongoing journey, even years after surgery. All of us bariatric surgery or not - we are all in control of our health. How we choose to move our bodies, what we put into our bodies and how much we engage in mental health support. That is the ongoing evolution of health for every single one of us!

2. Self Care Strategies

Why it's important to prioritise self-care, and how to incorporate self-compassion, mindfulness, and stress-management techniques into your daily routine. My philosophy is that the more self care strategies we have the less we emotionally eat as we are better equipped to PROCCESS and SOOTHE emotions, not just NUMB them with emotional eating... although sometimes we will still need the TIM TAMS!!

3. Diet Culture

How to recognize and challenge the harmful messages of diet culture, which often promote unrealistic expectations, shame, and discrimination, and can lead to disordered eating and mental health issues. Once you can see the BS you can't unsee it!!

4. Counselling Tools

So much of my early career was focused on creating Cognitive Behavioral Therapy tools to empower others to heal their relationship with food, body image& self esteem. (PS want to know a secret?! After YEARS of creating them - although highly effective - I barely use any of them! Because once you get to know a person therapy goes on the tangent that it should. Talking nutrition & emotional eating is just the band-aid to the underlying issue that's causing the distress in the first place. Unless we resolve the core issues in therapy - there is literally no point talking about why you want to eat less chocolate 🙄SO I was SUPER excited to be able to share on OSLP one of my counselling tools that ANYONE can use at ANY STAGE to complement their journey without needing me, the therapist. Making counselling tools ACCESSIBLE for ALL is my main goal, so check out my food script and compass analogy to map out your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors around food, and develop a personalised plan that fits your idea of what health looks like.

5. SELF COMPASSION 🙌

OK I'm not yelling at you but yes I am shouting it from the roof tops. Self compassion is everything if we want to be able to do inner work or make change. Otherwise our default is negative self talk which only perpetuates more of the same. Curiosity & compassion 101!

Are you looking for inspiration and education on your bariatric journey? If so, you definitely want to listen to the Our Sleeved Life Podcast:

Our Sleeved Life Podcast