A Mindfulness-Based Intervention for Binge Eating, Self-Compassion, and Mindfulness in Brazilian Women With Weight Regain After Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery: a Pilot Feasibility Study.

Introduction: From a biomedical perspective, metabolic and bariatric surgery can effectively treat obesity. However, traditional strategies (diet and exercise) to prevent weight regain have not been fully effective, as they may help some individuals maintain postoperative weight loss, but approximately 30% of patients still regain weight after surgery. This highlights the need to explore alternative approaches, including mindfulness-based interventions. This study aims to evaluate the feasibility and describe the effects of a mindfulness-based intervention on behavioral and anthropometric outcomes in women with weight regain after metabolic and bariatric surgery.

Methods: A pre-post feasibility pilot study was conducted with 10 women who had regained ≥ 15% of the achieved weight loss. The intervention combined Mindfulness-Based Eating Awareness Training with elements of the Mindful Self-Compassion program. Feasibility outcomes included adherence, attendance (overall and among completers), recruitment rate, data completeness, and informal facilitator feedback. Behavioral (binge eating, self-compassion, mindfulness) and anthropometric measures (weight and BMI) were assessed at three time points: baseline (T1), post-intervention (T2), and 3-month follow-up (T3).

Results: Feasibility indicators revealed low adherence (60% dropout), low overall attendance (41.7%), high attendance among completers (87.5%), moderate recruitment rate (38.5%), and low data completeness (40.0%). Challenges in engagement were associated with expectations of diet-based approaches. Among completers, improvements were observed in binge eating (22.7 ± 5.4 to 11.3 ± 2.5), “Isolation” (2.6 ± 0.4 vs. 2.3 ± 0.4), “Over-Identification” (3.3 ± 0.5 vs. 2.8 ± 0.2), and “Mindfulness” (3.1 ± 0.3 vs. 3.5 ± 0.4) subscales of the Self-Compassion Scale. From baseline to the 3-month follow-up, we observed improvement in “Mindfulness” (3.1 ± 0.3 vs. 3.9 ± 0.2), “Over-Identification” (3.3 ± 0.5 vs. 2.8 ± 0.3), and “Nonreactivity to Inner Experience” (19.5 ± 1.6 vs. 22.2 ± 2.2). Body weight remained stable throughout the intervention period (82.1 ± 4.0 vs 81.7 ± 4.0) and reduced at 3-month follow-up (79.8 ± 3.7).

Conclusion: Although not feasible in its current format, the intervention showed preliminary benefits, indicating the need for protocol refinement and a new feasibility evaluation before moving to larger trials.