Rush University Medical Center Bariatric Surgery

12/14/2025

Last Wednesday we hosted our final virtual bariatric support group of the year at Rush Hospital. Together, we talked about setting New Year’s resolutions—and participants shared some wonderful ideas that we’ve highlighted in this post to inspire you too.

💡 Setting resolutions is more than making a list—it’s about believing in fresh starts, celebrating progress, and reminding ourselves that small steps can lead to big changes.

👉 Now it’s your turn: What resolution are you setting for 2026? Share it below—we’d love to cheer you on!

📅 Keep an eye out for our 2026 support group topic schedule coming soon.

🎉 It’s been a great year, and we can’t wait to support you and your goals in 2026!

— Rush Bariatric Surgery Team

07/09/2025

Heads up - today through July 11th is Amazon Prime Day with deals on bariatric multivitamins and calcium - this is the cheapest we typically see these supplements all year so consider stocking up for some savings! Most vitamins have ~1-2 year shelf date so consider buying up to 6-12 months of vitamins today!

Tired of Having to Take Bariatric Vitamins 2, 3, or Even 4 Times A Day? Now, Less Really is MORE. Bariatric Choice ONCE DAILY bariatric vitamin supplement is designed to meet the health needs of those who have undergone bariatric surgery such as gastric bypass, vertical sleeve, roux-en-y, and duo...

05/14/2025

Join us tonight at 5:30pm for our IN PERSON support group Walk and Talk at the Rush Starbucks at Paulina and Harrison!

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1C7Z6mdPHG/

Adding our May Support Group information a bit earlier since it’s IN PERSON 🙌🏼. This is a great opportunity to get to know others going through or having gone through surgery.

We will meet at the Starbucks located at the main campus at 5:30 pm and go for a walk so bring your walking shoes!

Everyone is welcome so feel free to bring a plus one!

As always, this is free & feel free to DM with any questions!! Can’t wait to all get together!

04/17/2025

The links to join our monthly support groups are in our bio! No need to register you can just click the link at the time of the group meeting you are interested in joining (:

04/17/2025

¡Estás invitado! ¡Ven a compartir apoyo con otros pacientes que hablan español y que entienden tus experiencias con la cirugía bariátrica! El apoyo antes y después de la cirugía bariátrica es importante para tu éxito. Las personas que participan en grupos de apoyo reportan mas perdida de peso después de la cirugía y reportan mejores ajustes a los posibles efectos secundarios, así como a cada fase de la dieta. Ofrecemos un espacio seguro para que las personas celebren sus éxitos y hablen sobre sus inquietudes. Invitamos a participar a los pacientes que estén en cualquier etapa del proceso (antes o después de la cirugía). La información para el video se enviará a la dirección de correo electrónico que proporcionaste al registrarte para la clase.

🔗 https://learn.rush.edu/en/8a2vJmt7/bariatric-surgery-support-group-for-spanish-speakersgrupo-de-apoyo-para-cirugia-5a5ZQhBr8sQ/overview

04/17/2025

Adding our May Support Group information a bit earlier since it’s IN PERSON 🙌🏼. This is a great opportunity to get to know others going through or having gone through surgery.

We will meet at the Starbucks located at the main campus at 5:30 pm and go for a walk so bring your walking shoes!

Everyone is welcome so feel free to bring a plus one!

As always, this is free & feel free to DM with any questions!! Can’t wait to all get together!

04/03/2025

Please join us next Wednesday, April 9th @ 5:30 pm for our monthly virtual support group meeting. If you have questions about grocery shopping online or even in the store please join and ask our wonderful RD Molly!

As a reminder this is FREE for anyone (:

See you there!

LINK: teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_ZTE2NjVlMWMtZjQ2ZC00ZWFkLWE4NTYtNjE0NmIzNzNkOTZh%40thread.v2/0?context=%7B%22Tid%22%3A%22822ee4ca-eeac-4bf4-957b-97a4bb0b1697%22%2C%22Oid%22%3A%227a52fab6-f29e-4085-98db-dfd2f33ca835%22%7D

03/10/2025

March support group ft Molly DePrenger one of our dietitians! Lifelong vitamins are a crucial part of the bariatric surgery journey which is why we decided to focus this month's support group on the topic (:

Registration is not required to attend & you do not need to be a patient of Rush to attend this FREE support group.

As always, please DM me with any questions!

Please join us via teams by clicking the link in bio or copy and paste link below:

https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_ZTE2NjVlMWMtZjQ2ZC00ZWFkLWE4NTYtNjE0NmIzNzNkOTZh%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22822ee4ca-eeac-4bf4-957b-97a4bb0b1697%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%227a52fab6-f29e-4085-98db-dfd2f33ca835%22%7d

03/05/2025

Moving on with our meet the RD series!

Hi there! I’m Alex! I am a Board-Certified & Licensed Registered Dietitian & Certified Health Coach. I completed my Bachelor’s at UIC and my Master’s at Benedictine University. I have been a dietitian for just about 5 years now. I started my career in functional medicine and began working a lot with the gut microbiome which is my passion. My goal is to help my patients at Rush with any GI issues they encounter before or after surgery. I am currently studying for my personal training certificate so I like to incorporate a lot of discussion surrounding exercise and daily movement into my sessions!

In my spare time I love to read, exercise, and I am a huge foodie so I love trying new recipes and restaurants!

I run this instagram account as well as my own nutrition page if you’d like even more fun food ideas (:

Thanks for getting to know me!

02/25/2025

✨Welcome to our “meet the RD series!” Where you can learn a little more about our bariatric dietetic providers at RUMC!!✨

Hello! I’m Molly DePrenger, one of the dietitians working in bariatric surgery and medical weight loss at Rush. I have worked in nutrition counseling for weight loss for the past 10 years, since graduating from Rush University with a clinical nutrition master’s degree in 2015. I grew up in Iowa and attended Iowa State for undergrad. I love to work with my patients at Rush to help them understand the impact of foods on their energy, blood sugar, and satiety. I also have many discussions highlighting the benefits of a protein rich diet!

I have developed a new appreciation for the many joys of raising a family and the time constraints my patients experience since having my son in 2022. We love to go to museums, soccer games, and parks all over the city and I enjoy getting in walks to the library when the weather is nice! My recent workout of choice has been Pure Barre but love to hear about creative ways people are building movement into their days. It’s great to meet you!

02/25/2025

Hi there! I’m Melissa (Mely), a registered dietitian on the Bariatric & Metabolic Surgery team at Rush, where I also completed my training and master’s in clinical nutrition.

Born in Bogotá, Colombia, and raised between there and Chicago, I bring the perspective of a first-generation immigrant and a deep passion for advocating for diverse communities. As a bilingual, bicultural provider, one of the most rewarding parts of my work is connecting with and supporting my community, especially monolingual Spanish-speaking patients. I take a holistic approach to nutrition and health—focusing not just on food choices but also on mindset, movement, access to resources, and honoring each person’s cultural traditions and financial realities. My goal is to help patients feel fully prepared for surgery and empowered to build lifelong habits.

Outside of work, you’ll find me spending time with family and friends (including Pumpkin Pie, my fluffy sidekick, who might make an appearance in my telehealth visits!), dancing, attending live music events, learning Portuguese, and enjoying time in nature.

Excited to be part of your support system!

02/12/2025

We are now on Instagram! Please give rushbariatrics a follow for similar content (: