New here...

Hey Christy, What's up with an LDS only group? Our issues with weight loss are universal. I've organized 4 support groups and continue to facilitate one group twice a month as well as 2 additional on-line support groups. I have had the most amazing missionary experiences. My WLS friends have become my greatest pals and many have spent time with us at church; followed by a protein laden Sunday meal. A couple of days ago I was bashed by a new girl on our state board for my religion. She said that she would NOT attend an event (I've organized a WLS Spring Fling aka as Post-Op Prom and will be having it at our Stake Center) because of where it was being held. She went on to describe us as a "cult" and about how evil we are and how we force our children into sex at an early age....yada yada yada. I just responded with a simple "maybe you should watch Bambi again and take Thumper's message to heart...and perhaps you could consider educating yourself about a religion before you ba**** with untruths"....then I sat back and withdrew from the thread. But, my hundreds of non-member friends had things to say to this poor lady. They went on and on about how I had set such a great example blah blah blah and that they would be Mormon's if they were going to be anything and one gal even said that she had read the Book of Mormon that I"d given her and knew for sure that it was NOT a cult. The thing is; I didn't even remember giving her a BoM and so it was useful to know that this gal was definitely ready for the little missionaries to knock on her door. Anyway....it was an interesting bunch of posting that ended very positive. I sent the orginal cult poster a note that it was all behind me and that we'd love to have her join back on the support boards.......Just a thought about including good people in your group. I know an LDS only group would be a comfortable place to be and maybe that's your main goal. I understand that. Starting one? Get 3 committed friends who will share the long commitment involved in the project. Start a yahoo website. Flood the O.H. boards with information after you secure a location (can't be a Church building); (hospitals have conference rooms available if you let them know it is a "support" based group that will NOT charge anyone anything)......Decide on a consistent time/day ahead of time. Put in the newspaper and make some flyers to leave at your surgeon's office and your pcp's office......Word of mouth usually takes care of the rest. You might ask your surgeon's program and the other one's in the area if you can leave a flyer to go in their pre-surgery teaching packets. Let me know if you need any ideas for teaching material or group formatting! Good Luck! It's a great journey; and one that I continue to work hard on. I'm on day 5 of a carb detox and push to get rid of my regain. I hope to be "back" at goal by the Women's Conference! Hugggz, Joyce (Chandler, AZ) -143 @ 3+ years post-op (open proxy Rny)