Weight Loss Surgery Forums

I have been the events manager for ObesityHelp for the last four years, and I absolutely love planning the events. Putting people together where they can get good information and have some fun with friends from the website is very gratifying. My view doesn’t come from a member’s perspective, so it’s a bit different. Seeing people come to their first event and meet some of their online friends to laugh and socialize makes it all worth it for me. At the closing party, I enjoy seeing people on the catwalk taking pride in what they’ve accomplished, wherever they are in their journey. The process leading to Bariatric Surgery isn’t easy, so being in a spot where everyone understands this and supports you is a very good thing.

I could tell you how great OH Events are but I’d really like you to here it from others! I asked a few of the event attendees to write about their experiences at one of our events and the feedback was fantastic.

Stephanie Gaida:

My primary reason for attending the OH conferences is to remain in touch with my support system. OH has been there for me since before I had surgery. I found the OH website while I was researching WLSand it gave me a wealth of information. The Texas message board, in particular, helped me through the early days when I was just a newbie and had a million questions. I attended my first conference that year and gained a wealth of information and made lifelong friends.

I have attended the conference every year since. I have never had one offered in my part of Texas yet but I always felt it was worth the drive to attend. Through OH, I have made so many friends that we always plan a road trip around the OH event. This year I am travelling with five friends from North Texas to attend the OH New Orleans event.

Now that I have been at goal for four years,I find the most important part of success is having a good support system in place. Unfortunately, I often see people that have strayed from OH and from attending support group meetings that have experienced a significant weight regain. Once they are encouraged to attend conferences and their local support groups,they find it easier to focus on the WLS rules and to lose some or all of that regain.

I take seriously my responsibility to “pay it forward”. I had a wonderful group of people help me and guide me along the way and now I try to mentor others. I love going to the conferences to meet new people and to answer questions. It is important for those considering surgery (or just had surgery) to see that long-term success is possible if they follow the rules and maintain close friendships with others in the weight loss community. Nobody “gets us” like we get each other.

The conference topics address all aspects of weight loss surgery. It encompasses topics that will be important to all surgery types and all phases of WLS. I love the break-out sessions because you can pick and choose the topics that are most important to your particular needs. They also always have a variety of vendors showcasing the latest products that are helpful to the WLS patient. It seems like I always come home with a bag full of goodies to try.

Carla Cooper:

I have been asked by friends and family about my drive to go to support group meetings. I mean, really “do you need to go to three meetings a month?” Well, yes I do. Each group is different, and provides so much support for me. I am also there to help support others. For me, giving support is support in itself. It helps keep me on track. I encourage others to go to the gym, eat right, and stay positive. By doing this, encouraging them to exercise, keeps me going too. Knowing that I am a positive influence on others keeps me strong.

One of the best forms of support I have found is attending WLS events. My first event that I attended was the OH event in Houston, TX. Wow, what an eye opener that was. So many wonderful people, great presentations, samples, and resources that I had yet to explore. Meeting some of these people, it was like being Star struck. Yes, Beth Badore (Melting Mama), Andrea Ullberg (Vitagarten), Rachel Lebowitz (Sleeve Pixie), Cari De La Cruz (Bariatric Afterlife), and Yvonne McCarthy (Bariatric Girl), are REAL. I have met them. Taking home the information from this event was more than worth the cost of the event, actually “priceless”. ObesityHelp and its’ wonderful staff and volunteers work very hard to make sure we have the best speakers with key information that we want and need to be successful in the WLS world. There is so much WLS information out there,and quite frankly a lot of it isn’t… well shall we say, WLSfriendly. Getting the (correct) WLS information is hard, but not when you attend one of these ObesityHelp Events. There is something for everyone in all stages of WLS at the events, so invest in your life, invest in your future, and I’ll meet you at the next ObesityHelp Event.

For more information about OH events click here