To my Ottawa friends...need your help!

 Well, it's been a LONG time since I've been here and it shows....I'm nearly 2 years post surgery and have yet to come close to my goal...I'm sad to say that I haven't even reached One-derland yet...a sad day for me for sure. 
Been in a slump for longer than I care to admit and can't seem to get myself back on track.  I see all of my Ottawa friends looking absolutely wonderful and I congratulate them on a job well done!  Of course, I compare myself to them and it only makes me sadder to realize that I've lost track of my goal.  
So, I'm hoping for some encouragement and reminders on what I need to do to get myself back on track.  I'm going to come here regularly and try to reconnect with some support online and am hoping that will help.  Also, if someone can post the schedule for the Ottawa support group, I'd really appreciate it.
It is incredibly difficult for me to ask for help...I'm pretty much a loner and it bothers me to have to ask for help but I know how important it is to have support around me and therefore, I am swallowing my pride and asking for some support!
Thanks to you all in advance for your encouragement.
T

First Tuesday of the month. For anybody who is pre-op or post-op.

Location is Bronson Centre at 211 Bronson Avenue unless otherwise noted.

 

January 3rd 7:30 p.m.

February 7th 7:30 p.m.

March 6th 7:30 p.m.

April 3rd 7:30 p.m.

May 1st 7:30 p.m.

June 5th 7:30 p.m.

August 7th, 7:30 p.m.

BYTOWN BENCHERS ARE BOOKED INTO BRONSON CENTRE THE FIRST TUESDAY OF THE MONTH FOR APRIL, MAY & JUNE (room numbers to be determined) for 7:30 -9:00p.m. Also note that at last night's meeting, the group agreed to raise monthly contribution to $3 to ensure rental costs are covered.

 

Hey T,

Welcome back to the forum.  Like Brenda already indicated, there are monthly meetings downtown.

As well, for getting back on track.....are you tracking your food and liquid intake?  Are you tracking your fitness?  Are you not drinking with meals?  If you start tracking, it can provide you with the actual data needed to see if you need to tweak your food.

Congratulations on finding the courage to post.  You can do this.  You have the skills, but may have forgotten some of the basics.

Judy

Can we go to the meetings if we haven't gotten a surgery date yet? I've only had my orientation so far.

It's for anybody who is pre-op or post-op. :)

 
Embarrassingly, I made way more meetings pre-op. I think they're good at any stage during your journey, because there's always room for support, information and new friends. :)

 
Hey T,

I'm sorry to hear that you've had such a difficult time. As far as meetups, there are three:

1. Bytown Benchers is held every first Tuesday of the month at 7:30pm at the Bronson Centre, run by Sher1ock/Janet.
2. HeidiA runs a coffee meetup group every third Monday at 7:00pm at the Starbucks off Hunt Club and Merivale Road
3. There's also an Ottawa Bariatric Support Maintenance Group for those 14+ months out from surgery to specifically discuss issues regarding maintenance and weight loss. I'm unsure when or where these are being held, so someone else may be able to chime in about them. They were run by Christine and Bonnie.


As a loner myself, being a single parent, I found that trying to make the support groups were very important because I met a lot of flat-out wonderful people who provide moral support. But not only that, I continually seek support and information elsewhere as a daily reminder.

I've been following the Keto diet, which is mostly the same diet that the clinics suggest but I try to stick rather rigidly to it. Every mealtime, I just focus on protein, protein and more protein. I'll also eat some vegetables and fruits, but it's very rare.  Of course the surgery is doing most of the weight loss for me, 150 lbs in 5 months, but I also try to be in a keto state as much as possible to maximize the loss.

There are a lot of people who are losing weight due to keto and unsure if your pouch is working for you anymore at 2 years out. But I'll send you a link of the keto resource I use for motivation, success stories, recipes, etc. Hopefully it'll help in some way and please send me a message if you need a buddy.

Thanks to all for posting. I really appreciate the kind words and the valuable information. Jonathin - I'd really appreciate the link for the keto information and a buddy sounds great.
Does anyone have more details about the Ottawa Maintenance Group - thanks again...much gratitude for taking the time to respond.
Tracy

Howdy... I'm a little late chiming in on this thread, but I see that many folks have provided you with info on the Bytown Benchers.  This is not the maintenance group, and hopefully someone will give you the info on that soon, but the two are not mutually exclusive either.  I hope you will come out and join the Benchers on April 3 at the Bronson Centre.  Further detals on the meeting will be posted as we get closer to the end of the month, so stay tuned!