Announcing
Katie Jay’s
Virtual Winter Retreat
It’s Time to Fall in Love with Yourself
Live on Zoom
February 11 – 13, 2022
This workshop is over
Do you constantly analyze and criticize yourself for things like grazing, skipping exercise, going to the drive-through, or eating emotionally?
When you look in a mirror, do you harshly judge your body, your weight, or your seeming lack of self-control?
Do call yourself you’re a pig, or some other derogatory term?
What if you could say goodbye to your harsh inner critic (that self-abusing voice that lives rent-free in your mind) and welcome a new, self-affirming voice instead?
When women who have had bariatric surgery regain weight, they often tell themselves they are bad, failing, weak, or disgusting. They shame themselves for feeling out of control and overweight.
It’s heartbreaking to know so many women who have had bariatric surgery talk to themselves that way.
The truth is no one fails at bariatric surgery.
Let’s face it, weight loss surgery alone never was going to be a cure. The real healing comes when you transform not only your body, but your mind, emotions, and relationships. And your relationship with yourself is the most important of all.
Sometimes it helps to pause and give yourself compassionate attention. With a little self-reflection and good support, you just might find a way to break free of your inner critic and find peace and satisfaction on your bariatric journey.
That voice may be telling you that you are in a hopeless situation, but that simply isn’t true. There always is a way forward.
Many of us miss the early days after surgery when the weight seemed to just melt off with little effort. As you get further out from surgery it can feel overwhelming to have to work so much harder at your bariatric surgery lifestyle. Your old habits can come back with a vengeance, and you try to get back on track over and over again.
And you beat yourself up mercilessly.
What if you could grow beyond the drama created by that inner critic and be free and at peace in your own mind and body?
You know the only way to get back up when you have fallen is to keep trying. But it would be much easier if your relationship with yourself was kinder and more supportive, wouldn’t it?
Isn’t it time to tame your inner critic and uncover that loving voice buried deep inside you?
Announcing
It’s Time to Fall in Love with Yourself
February 11 – 13, 2022
Even at home, you can get away from the demands in your life, share an empowering adventure with like-minded women, and develop a kinder inner voice, so you can improve your self-care as well as find more peace and fulfillment.
At Katie’s exclusive retreat, she’ll shed light on a powerful process to release your inner critic, get free of your internal drama, and live into the freedom you’ve long for. And you’ll leave with plenty of tools when the retreat ends.
I recommend Katie Jay’s Renewal Retreats without hesitation. It is for people who are willing to work at their recovery. I went in not knowing what to expect but hoping that it would be a good experience. It was life-changing for me.” Ory Brown, NY
Self-awareness: Observe yourself with curiosity, rather than with contempt or judgment.
Self-compassion: Treat yourself with kindness and empathy.
Self-care: Learn how to nurture yourself at a deeper level, so you can attend to your bariatric needs with confidence and competence.
We’ll discover how the foundation of self-awareness, self-compassion, and self-care can help you release your inner critic.
At Katie Jay’s new retreat, It’s Time to Fall in Love with Yourself, you’ll have the opportunity to:
- Meet other bariatric women in small groups so you can make meaningful connections and feel more comfortable with the virtual retreat environment.
- Participate in activities to stretch your understanding of what’s possible and get an introduction to tools and strategies you can apply in your life.
- Evaluate what has been working for you and what has not.
- Participate in vision-building sessions that focus on the whole person, not just the number on the scale.
- Explore the ways in which you criticize and judge yourself, and the ways in which you can support yourself with a kinder voice.
- Practice skills to help identify when your inner critic has put you into drama, and a specific process to get out of that drama, in a safe and supportive environment.
- Explore the meaning of “Self-Love” and how to express that in your day-to-day life.
- Discover the ways in which a mindful approach to living can help you release your inner critic and nurture a loving approach to yourself and your life.
- Participate in an insight-oriented art project (no skill required!)
The Details
February 11th – 13th, 2022
Friday evening
6PM – 9PM
Saturday
10AM – 12PM
2PM – 4PM
6PM – 8PM
Sunday
10AM – 12PM
Location
This is a virtual retreat via Zoom.
You will need to find a place in your home where you can be alone and completely uninterrupted (this includes by pets, who can be surprisingly disruptive – even if they are cute).
Some attendees plan to stay in a hotel or Airbnb during the retreat, which could really enhance your experience, but please keep in mind the safety considerations with regard to COVID and do what’s best for you.
If you don’t have the option to be alone and completely uninterrupted, this event may not be for you, unfortunately. You are welcome to enroll in any other program Katie offers by Zoom. For the retreat, everyone needs to be 100% present and focused – and not allow interrupting factors that will interfere with everyone’s experience. If you’d like to discuss your particular circumstances, please contact Katie directly at connect@BariSupport.com.
Investment
You have two options for the retreat
Option 1
$449
Retreat Experience
The “Box of Awesome” retreat kit, sent to you by Priority Mail:
- Retreat supplies
- Spiral-bound retreat notebook
- Supplement samples
- Fun snacks
- Surprises!
Option 2
$499
- Retreat supplies
- Spiral-bound retreat notebook
- Supplement samples
- Fun snacks
- Surprises!
Audio recordings of the main sessions (valued at $200)
Important: Please keep in mind that due to the upfront expenses involved in organizing a retreat, your registration is non-refundable. (However, you may transfer the amount you’ve paid for your retreat registration to any other event – or events – in the future, or you may use it for coaching with Katie).
I don’t earn a huge salary. I work in the public schools. But I have found Katie’s retreats to be worth every penny. They are an important investment in myself and have kept me on a healthy, evolving path.” Cheryl McFarland, MD
Questions & Answers
Answers to some questions you might have.
Are you thinking you need to be computer savvy to attend Katie Jay’s virtual retreat?
Here’s what past retreat attendee, Karen Lewis, has to say about that!
“Trust me when I say this… I am 63 years old and not computer savvy, BUT Zoom is easy! I promise.
All you need to do is click on the Zoom link Katie sends to your email address, and you will be taken to the retreat automatically. Once you’re in, and for the entire retreat, there will be a support team to help you trouble shoot. You won’t be left to figure it out by yourself.
Katie also is offering a couple of ‘trial tries’ on Zoom prior to the virtual retreat just to calm the nerves.
Please don’t let technology keep you from attending. You will find the process user friendly, and the retreat will be so very empowering for you.
For me, the best part of Katie’s retreats is the camaraderie among attendees. And yes, even on Zoom, you can make life-long friends!”
Karen Lewis, NC
Won’t Zoom make the retreat feel awkward and impersonal?
Of course it will! But only if you let it. Katie encourages everyone to be “all-in.”
When she says, “All In,” she means:
Be on time (actually 10 minutes early). The retreat will be planned meticulously, and timeliness will be critical. When you arrive late, you miss needed instructions, you miss hearing what others share, you miss the chance to ask questions, it’s possible your partner for a given activity will be sitting alone in her breakout room, and you will create a feeling of disconnection with your group members. We must be there for ourselves and each other.
Be present. When you are in the Zoom retreat, you need to be aware and curious. Engaged and connected. Interested and compassionate.
Participate. When you listen but don’t engage, people can’t necessarily read your energy the way they could in person. So, even if you’re muted you can smile, nod your head, laugh, lean forward, explain yourself in chat, and join in.
Show curiosity about the other women, befriend them, and listen to them.
Share yourself. The other women will want to get to know you, get a feel for you, and feel safe and connected with you.
Attend to your own needs. Zoom requires energy of us that in-person meetings do not. You may become visually tired, need to stretch or stand, use the restroom, refill your drink, and more. Try to attend to the group, but if you are uncomfortable and it can’t wait, quietly take care of your needs. And be sure to ask for help if you need it.
Katie Jay
Katie Jay, MSW; Certified Wellness Coach is an internationally recognized, bariatric surgery professional, specializing in “whole-person transformation.” She is interested in not just physical change, but emotional, psychological, and social transformation.
A leading authority on weight loss surgery success, Katie Jay founded the National Association for Weight Loss Surgery in 2005 and created www.BariSupport.com in 2020.
She underwent a gastric bypass in 2004 and maintains a 130+ pound weight loss (with notable ups and downs). And more importantly, is the happiest and most fulfilled she’s ever been in her life.
Katie is the author of three books: Dying to Change: My Really Heavy Life Story; Small Bites: Daily Inspirations for Weight Loss Surgery Patients; and Katie Jay’s™ Weight Loss Surgery Stages of Transformation.
She is a beloved and internationally sought-after keynote speaker, retreat facilitator, workshop leader, wellness coach, and researcher, whose main goal is to empower individuals to overcome obesity and to transform their lives, by addressing food obsession and cravings, weight regain, carbohydrate sensitivity, emotional eating, low self esteem, and transfer addiction. She also assists surgeons, bariatric programs, and hospitals to optimize bariatric-surgery outcomes.
Meet the Team
Karen Lewis
Meet Karen Lewis! A bariatric surgery veteran, Karen Lewis also is volunteering her time to make the retreat as wonderful an experience as possible for all of the women who are attending. Karen will give us good-hearted support and encouragement and will be available by chat during our Zoom retreat to answer non-technical questions. Karen also will be available and sometimes join in with the retreat activities and discussions. She has contributed many hours of her time to help plan and prepare for the retreat.
Roz Harris
Meet Roz Harris! Not only is Roz a bariatric surgery veteran (who has attended several of Katie Jay’s retreats), she is the owner of Fit Chicks!, an Indiana-based fitness center that offers in person and online personal training and nutrition consults for women. Roz is donating her time to all of us to help make our Zoom experience as smooth and enjoyable as possible! If you’re a Star Trek fan, you could say she’ll be our Scotty (the miracle-working genius in the engine room, without whom the virtual retreat would be a disaster).