Bariatric Aftercare Program
Classes are held in the Conference Room of Dr. Johnell’s Greeley Office or in classrooms on the ground level of North Colorado Medical Center.
Register by calling (970) 378- 4433 or toll free 1-866-569-5926. Whenever possible, office staff will help you schedule your office appointment close to class time to avoid multiple trips to the clinic.
Bariatric Essentials (1 hour)
To live well with your pouch for the rest of your life, you need practical skills. This fast paced, fun class will help you with grocery shopping, meal planning, managing time, increasing your daily activity, and making healthy food choices. Planning ahead is a key to your successful weight loss and your new lifestyle. You will quickly discover the importance of tracking your daily food intake, eating habits, moods and activity.
Who: Ideally for all bariatric patients within 4 to 8 weeks after surgery. This class is appropriate for all patients, regardless of the length of time since surgery.
Changes for a Lifetime (1 hour)
How can you stay motivated to make self care a priority for a lifetime? Self care after bariatric surgery involves healthy eating, regular exercise, and managing stress for the rest of your life. Build on the skills you have learned. This class includes self monitoring of your daily lifestyle logs, making activity fun, ways to avoid empty calories, reading food labels, knowing proper serving sizes, ordering from a menu, making healthy choices at fast food restaurants, and setting realistic goals.
Who: Appropriate for all patients, regardless of the length of time since surgery.
Emotional Eating (1 hour)
In this class our clinical psychologist, Dr. Barr, will help you learn about the connection between eating and emotions and identify how your emotions trigger unhealthy eating patterns. You will learn how to develop healthier ways to meet your emotional needs other than by overeating. Stress eating is addressed and you will use a stress processing model to manage your stressors. Other topics will include the possible effects of bariatric surgery on relationships; self image; asking for what you need; building confidence and competence; dealing with cross addiction; and learning right and left brain concepts to achieve your goals
Who: This class is appropriate for all patients, regardless of the length of time since surgery. Attend one or two sessions, then attend the Emotional Eating Follow-up class as often as you wish to help you accomplish your goals.
Emotional Eating "Follow-up" (1 hour)
This class is taught by Dr. Barr, our clinical psychologist. Prerequisite: One Emotional Eating Class. This class is a follow-up to the regular Emotional Eating Class, and is designed to help patients evaluate how effectively they are implementing the skills they learned in the primary class. Patients may go to the primary class one or two times, but they are free to come to the ongoing "follow-up" class as often as necessary to stay on track. Follow-up classes are limited to 12 participants, so please register early!
Who: This class is appropriate for all patients. Prerequisite: One Emotional Eating Class.
