What happens when progress stalls, pain flares, and kindness becomes the real work. “I wasn’t prepared for how quickly my inner dialogue would become hypercritical. What I actually needed was kindness.” — Alex Lauren Beyond the Highlight Reel Social media is full of bariatric success stories — milestone numbers, dramatic before-and-afters, and steady downward graphs. But five months post-op, Alex Lauren shares a truth many people aren’t prepared for: the hardest part isn’t always physical. In this deeply honest episode of the Australian Weight Loss Surgery Podcast, host Jacqui Lewis sits down with Alex to talk about what happens when surgery doesn’t magically silence the inner critic — especially when chronic illness is part of the picture. This is not a story about kilos lost. It’s a story about resilience, mindset, and redefining progress. 🧠 When the First Stall Hits Hard Alex explains that her first weight-loss stall wasn’t physically