theres dr. lalor in wood county weight loss center, at bowling green theres a senimar nov. 16th at 7-9 sign up for it,,, i did,,,

Winnie,

Congrats on starting your weight loss journey. From my experience, it is the best thing I have  ever done for myself. At 2+ years people drop off our support group radar. Some stay but the majority leave; only to come back looking for help. The key is getting people to want to come. I am certain a restaurant is a more inviting place.

I know we have a person and probably more who don't want to meet at a restaurant. A person who knows such a person tells me it is because they are having issues with food. Well, meeting at a restaurant with others is a good way to get over that hurdle. Lunches out are some of the best times we  have on our WLS bike club. People really like to hear casual talk about their journeys and struggles. I always learn something more from just a casual chat. 

The few of us thinking about this will most likely do it independently of the support group. Meetup.com works great for the cycling group. It might be a good option for this group. We're think that we will try our first lunch/dinner some time in early 2011.

Tom

Hello everyone!!  Does anyone know of a great plastic surgeon in the Toledo/Michigan area?  Thx for any help you can give!
Rox

(This post was originally posted in the Post-op forum. Looking for other opinions in this forum.)

Here’s a question for the 2+ years post-op folks out there. Several long-term bariatric patients in my local support group are considering organizing some sort of monthly support group meeting for patients who are farther along on their weight loss journey. There is no doubt that the issues and discussions for folks this far out of surgery differs from those preparing for surgery or in the early stages of post-op. We’ve toyed with a few ideas and are wondering if your local support group has some sort of meeting for patients farther out from surgery?

Our idea is not to replace our normal monthly support group meeting with the larger group of patients. We think there is a lot of value in helping those following in our footsteps. A diverse group of people in a support group makes it much more interesting and successful.

We have toyed with the idea of meeting once a month at a Panera or Applebees for an informal lunch where there is no agenda or rules. It’s just an open discussion time to share joys, concerns, lessons learned and seek opinions of others. For many it would just be a time to socialize with WLS people. Our thought is that people 2+ years out need to hear more from fellow patients about how they deal with problems and cope with weight related issues at this time in their life.

We’ve floated this idea in our group. One person believes that the meetings should steer away from restaurants. The belief of the core group considering organizing these outings is that after 2 years there should be no fear of eating out. It’s just a fact of life at this stage in our new lives. To meet in a setting like a library or rec center conference room is pretty sterile. We question whether people would want to come to this type of meeting. The casualness and informality of a lunch seems to be more welcoming. We also believe some people have left our local group because they don’t want an organized lecture type meeting.

So, what are your thoughts on meetings and gatherings for people 2+ years out of surgery? It’s cool if you can share how you local group handles this. We also want to hear what you would consider an optimal meeting location and structure for you.

Thanks,
Tom