Frequently Asked Questions

Fresh Start provides 2-year support, education and lifestyle coaching programs to support you after your WLS with your lifestyle and mindset changes. 

If your clinic is a FS partner and you have been provided with our details and a consent form by your clinic, then (unless otherwise advised by your clinic) there is nothing to pay as the program is included in your clinic’s surgical package. If you had your surgery before your clinic became a partner then you’re able to purchase the program for a significantly discounted rate (you can see our list of clinic partners here).

Your surgeon has included the program to support you to make the very necessary lifestyle changes required to get the best possible weight and health results after your surgery. The program is designed to be flexible so that you can access what you need and want, when you want and although no element is compulsory, we encourage you to make use of what’s available.

Even if you don’t feel the need to engage in the early stages after your surgery, we recommend keeping aware of what’s available by reading your emails, as over time you may find that you do need or want support in one or more areas of your post-surgery life and we’re here to help you.

All of our Health Coaches are certified Health and Wellbeing Coaches by WellCoaches, the premier school of evidence-based health coaching education and training, or they hold equivalent qualifications. Our Co-Founders Alex Shirley and Amber Kay have additional qualifications - Amber has an Honours degree in Psychology and an Advanced Diploma in Coaching, and Alex has a Masters in Health and Nutrition Education.

You can read about the backgrounds and qualifications of our coaches here.

You'll receive a log-in link in your welcome email that will enable you to set up your account. This will give you access to your Fresh Start Online library of resources and other support elements including the Welcome Program, Mindset Support Audios, our 'Beating Mindless Eating' Program, the 'Get Back On Track Program' and other support services. 

If you don't have access to the library and can't find your log-in link then just send an email to support@freshstartprogram.com.au and we'll send it through to you.

Once you've set up your log-in, you can access your account here.

All information in relation to the preparation, process and recovery for your surgery will be provided by your clinic and surgical team. They are the medical experts and all queries relating to your surgery and diet must be directed to them.

All questions relating to your diet and nutrition, at every stage of your WLS journey, should be directed to your clinic and dietitian as they are best placed to advise you and support you in relation to your individual needs. 

The link to register for the Fresh Start Online library and all other resources is included in your Welcome Program emails, and in your Post-surgery Program welcome email. If you need the link and cannot locate it, simply send an email to support@freshstartprogram.com.au requesting the account set-up link and we’ll send it to you.

Our wide selection of bariatric-dietitian-approved recipes can be located in the FS Online Library under ‘Nutrition Resources’.

Please contact your clinic dietitian for meal plans. We don’t provide meal plans, however we do share bariatric-approved recipes in the Fresh Start Online Library under ‘Nutrition Resources’.

Our 'Stay On Track' webinars are designed to cover the main challenges that are reported by the Fresh Start Community.

Topics include ‘Beating Mindless Eating’, ‘Making Movement Work For You’, ‘Creating A Healthy Lifestyle’, ‘Boosting Your Daily Motivation’, ‘Making Yourself A Priority’, ‘Staying On Track & Getting Back On Track’, ‘Dealing With Relationship Challenges After WLS’, ‘Building And Breaking Habits’ and more. 

Webinars last around 1 hour and contain a mixture of education and self-reflection coaching exercises. At various points throughout the webinar, attendees have the option of interacting with the webinar host by speaking or using the ‘chat’ facility. There is no expectation that attendees participate however and any interaction is completely optional.

At the end of each 'Stay On Track' webinar, we provide a special link for attendees who wish to stay online and connect with other attendees in small 'breakout' groups of 2-3 people to discuss their progress and some of the content of the webinar in more detail. These sessions last for an additional 30 minutes and are a fantastic opportunity to interact with others who have had WLS in a safe, supportive and private space. Attendees have the option of turning on their video camera when in the ‘breakout’ rooms to facilitate connection however this is not compulsory. 

The topic and content for the webinars is the same per month i.e. two sessions on the same topic are run each month so you have a choice of which one to attend. The topic changes each month and attendance is not compulsory. You are welcome to register for and attend a webinar if the subject is of interest to you.

Absolutely. We run webinars twice a month with one topic per month. Each session is recorded and we upload the best of the two sessions to the Fresh Start Online Library. You can access the recordings when you need them and you can access them whenever it suits you. We also send the recording of each session out the day after to everyone who registered for the webinar, just in case they couldn’t attend. Even if you can’t join a webinar live, we recommend you register for a session to ensure you get the recording sent to your inbox the day after.

There is no expectation to speak during the twice-monthly 'Stay On Track' webinars. Participation is voluntary and you can contribute by putting up your hand to let the host know that you’d like to speak or by typing a comment or question into the Chat box. 

For the 'breakout' room session (a separate, optional session after each webinar which lasts for 30 minutes), participants will be allocated into small groups of 2-3 people for live interactions, so there is an expectation to speak in these sessions. If you do not wish to speak then these sessions are not suitable for you, and you can just log log off as you usually would at the end of the 'Stay On Track' webinar.

No, only the host can be seen (if their camera is activated) in the twice-monthly webinars. Participants cannot see who else is on the call, and even if your camera is on, you are not seen.

For the 'breakout' room session (a separate, optional session after each webinar which lasts for 30 minutes), participants will be allocated into small groups of 2-3 people for live interactions. Participants are very welcome to use their cameras so that they can see each other when chatting in the 'breakout' rooms, however the use of cameras is not compulsory.

The wellness vision session is a 1-hour private 1:1 phone coaching session with a Fresh Start Health Coach. The purpose of this session is to help you set clear health goals for life after WLS and create an action plan to achieve them. We also explore your personal reasons for making these changes, as this helps strengthen motivation. You'll identify potential challenges, brainstorm strategies to overcome them, and set both quarterly and weekly action steps so you have a clear path forward.

This session follows an evidence-based health coaching model proven to support positive behavioural change.

If you have additional 1:1 coaching sessions, these are tailored to your needs - whether that’s accountability, problem-solving, staying on track, or refining your goals and strategies as you progress.

If you're on the Fresh Start Plus Program, your package includes four private 1:1 phone coaching sessions.

If you're on the Fresh Start Program, your package includes one private 1:1 phone coaching session.

1:1 coaching sessions are not included in the Fresh Start Online program.

If you're unsure which program you're on, please email [email protected] for clarification.

You are welcome to purchase additional 1:1 coaching support  via this link.

Ideally your coach will need at least 24 hours notice if you are no longer available for your session, however the more notice you can give the better as we may be able to give your spot to another client.

Please contact the Administrator who booked your session with you, if you still have their contact details, or your coach if you have received their reminder text and have their details, or email [email protected] as soon as you know you can’t attend. 

Our coaches are professionals whose time is valuable and your session should be treated like any other very important appointment. Please note that if you haven’t let your coach know that you’re no longer available, and they call to have the session and you don’t answer, your session will be considered used regardless. Exceptions will only be made in exceptional circumstances. Please treat your coaching session like any other very important appointment.

Occasionally, the Coach may need to make a change to your session booking for exceptional circumstances, sickness or when needed to care for a family member. In this event, we will always endeavour to give as much notice as possible, and reschedule the session as soon as possible.

The session is over the phone (although you can request Zoom if preferred - cameras do not have to be used) and will last for around an hour. We recommend putting aside at least 90 minutes so that you can fully relax and enjoy the session, and get the most value out of the process, especially if it runs slightly over, so that you don't need to rush off to something else or cut it short.

Please make sure that you will be undisturbed and undistracted for the session, and do not have responsibility for any machinery or people, as you will be asked to close your eyes at one point.

This is time for you, to focus on you, so please prepare by making sure you can give yourself and your coach your undivided attention.

If you’re on the Fresh Start Plus Program or the Fresh Start Program you have private coaching sessions included as part of your package and we’ll also be calling you every 6 months once you’re on the post-surgery program to check-in and see how you’re going.

1:1 sessions and check-in calls are not included in the Fresh Start Online program.

If you’re not sure which program you are on simply send an email to [email protected] to get that clarified.

You are welcome to purchase coaching support such as our phone accountability coaching program via this link.

You will see the option available in your online account around 2 months after you enrol on the program. You will also be sent the page link in your Post-Surgery Program welcome email. Simply click on the link, read the Group Rules and indicate your agreement with your email address. Once your responses have been reviewed by an Administrator your joining request will be granted.

Keep your eye on FB Messenger as if there is an issue with your request we will first attempt contact with you on there, and then by text if possible.

We used to provide access to the online community immediately once a client joined Fresh Start. We found however that the posts from those who were less than 2-months’ post-surgery were overwhelmingly on the topics of surgical preparation and recovery, and on their pre-and post-surgery diet and nutrition, which are not suitable topics for the forum. 

As we provide lifestyle and mindset support only, and to ensure that clients get expert advice on their surgical preparation and recovery, we made the difficult decision to only give access to clients who had been cleared by their clinic to start the Post-Surgery Program i.e. they have recovered well, are eating normal-textured food, and have attended their post-surgical checks.

Our Fresh Start community connects via Facebook and we do not use another platform. If you don't currently have a Facebook account, we have plenty of members who have joined Facebook just to access the forum and who don't use Facebook for anything else. Many also join with a 'fake name' to maintain privacy and also to avoid getting any friend requests from people they may know on Facebook. 

So, there are ways around Facebook's issues which may work for you depending on your concerns. You are very welcome to try the group out for a few days and see what you think and feel.

Once you get access to the Fresh Start Online library, you'll be able to download our app so that you can access all of our resources on your phone or tablet.

As for tracking apps, Baritastic and Monitor Your Health (MY Health) are most popular with our clients.

All audio resources are downloadable - please get in touch if you're having any difficulties downloading any resources.

Please do get in touch if you need any additional support or have any questions.

You can send a text to your enrolling administrator (if you still have the text that you were sent when you were enrolled on the program), or send an email to [email protected] and we will be very happy to assist!