Welcome to BariNation

Well, hello, welcome to BariNation! If you are reading this, you have found your new bariatric home. 

🎯 If you are here, you are thinking about having weight loss surgery or already had bariatric surgery. You are looking to onboard a missing piece of your treatment plan, community.

You are in a moment of great personal transformation. You have decided to treat your disease of obesity with the most effective tool, bariatric surgery. 

But you know that the surgery alone will not be enough. You understand that the disease of obesity is a chronic condition that has no known cure. And you are going to onboard all of the available tools, resources, and community to find success before and after surgery. You are a fighter. And you are looking to build your team. 

BariNation is a patient-founded bariatric educational organization that aims to empower patients through the community to access and utilize the tools, resources, and education needed to find and maintain personal wellness. 

We believe there are four pillars to bariatric success: movement, mindset, metabolic wellness, and community. Building our bariatric lives around these three pillars will make us lifelong successful. 

Our organization supports all patients in four significant ways:

• Through our weekly award-winning podcastS
• In our Membership Support Community
• Through advocacy and education.
• With our partnerships with leading obesity medicine specialists, centers, and organizations, we create and deliver outstanding support.

Each month in BariNation, you will find

• A safe, secure, and private space built by and for bariatric patients. No shame, guilt, or trolls here. 
• Virtual support groups are led by licensed therapists who specialize in bariatric support.
• Virtual classes taught by Registered Dietitians, Wellness Coaches, and other experts in bariatric medicine.
• Live and on-demand movement classes taught by certified movement specialists.
• A robust and ever-growing on-demand video library we call BariUniversity.
• Targeted support by bariatric stages.
• Live virtual meetups led by patient experts and moderators.
• Printable support guides and workbooks created by patients and experts to help guide you along your journey.
• Safe places to connect in real-time with other patients in the same bariatric stage as you.
• Dedicated chat spaces to ask your questions, seek feedback, and celebrate your big and small victories.

BariNation is built for *anyone* who is fighting the chronic disease of obesity. Our community serves patients of every age and stage of their bariatric journey, from surgical contemplation to patients 20 years post-op.

Our community is diverse and inclusive. We offer targeted support for our BIPOC, LGBTQIA+, and 50 years and older communities, and our Inclusivity Committee works hard to ensure that everyone feels and knows that they belong in BariNation. 

BariNation is built for:

• Anyone who is thinking about having bariatric surgery.
• Patients in the pre-op stages of their journey want to connect with fellow patients.
• Newly post-op patients are looking for resources and meaningful support along the way.
• Patients who are in the Maintenance stage and looking for targeted support.
• Veteran patients looking to connect or reconnect with a vibrant, bright, and positive community.

The BariNation Support Community is built in Mighty Networks, an online and app-based digital platform that allows you to always be connected with your community and the support you need. Here is a sneak peek of our community!

🏁 The main menu will direct you to the support you need.

👥 Connect with fellow members who are in the same bariatric stage as you or are interested in the same activities in the private spaces built into the community.

📆 Browse the upcoming events for the week and RSVP to the ones that will be most meaningful to you. You can even sync the BariNation Events Calendar with your personal digital calendar so you never miss an event!

🏫 Access the support and resources you need, when and where you need them by diving into our On-Demand Video LiBari, where you will find thousands of hours of pre-recorded classes and educational content.

🏛 By using BariNation's robust search engine, you can look up topics and supports by hashtag, making it easy to find what you need.

Behind everything we do at BariNation, you will find a real human. April, Jason, Natalie, and Jody are real patients who love connecting with fellow patients in service of our community!

Find all three on Instagram @bari.nation

If you have questions about our membership community, are an expert who would like to join our community, or have general BariNation business inquiries, please reach out to April Williams, our President and CEO, or Natalie Tierney, our Chief Administration Officer.

• April Email: [email protected]
• Natalie Email: [email protected]