No longer a Support Group Leader
You have all made me feel better about this and I do so appreciate your friendship and support.
love and hugs,
Pat R.
As a support group leader myself, I can totally understand where you are coming from. There comes a time when the best we can do is move on.
Support group leaders give, but the biggest aspect for me is what I get, seeing the changes others experience and knowing that what we are doing in support is helping one another get the component that the surgery does not take care of, which it the mentality part of it all. We, who have chosen this way of life, speak a language that others do not necessarily understand, we can empathize as no one else because we've had our struggles as obese people and then once we lose the weight, the struggles are of a nature that if we don't have a support system that understands from our vantage point, we lose ground.
What I tell people in my support group is, that studies have proven that people in support, lose weight more successfully and by continuing support, do better at maintaining it. I have also asked the nutritionist at the facility where I had surgery and where we have our support groups to stress to pre-ops that support is a very necessary component, but as you said, too many people focus on the weight loss component instead of the real issues that caused them to become morbidly obese to begin with and once they have achieved that goal, they go off on their own, sometimes they come back with the regain issue, but I also try to remember that for many, they are living life the way it is meant to be lived and in the manner of which they had not been able to do for some time and so some just reach a point where they don't have the desire to be in support any longer.
So, give yourself a hand for what you've done the past 3 years and try to do what you need to get support for yourself.
Hugs and good wishes, Laureen
My Mantra is that I do not determine my success by the number hanging in my closet, nor will I let the scale determine that success either. . . It is through trial and error I will continue to grow and succeed. . . Laureen
"Success is a journey, not a destination." Ben Sweetland
(((Pat))) So sorry that your group decided that they no longer needed the group of support!!! They will find out over time that they DO need that support because with out it they WILL gain it back!! (weight) I miss my support group back in michgan that I had. I still haven't found one close by me here in Willoughby!! So my support is right here on OFF!!!! :-)
Thankyou Pat for being here and offering your support to me and the others when we need it!!! And thankyou to the others as well!!!!
HUGS
(((HUGS)))
HW: 336 BW:323 CW:265 GW:180
I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength!
Theresa C.
