North West WLS Support Group Update

Greetings everyone!

May we all have a most blessed 2010.  Let this year be one of great successes, humor, happiness, fulfillment, real and fulfilling employment as well as financial, emotional, physical and spiritual stability. 

I am posting this query to the Washington State Board because as the leader of an independent support group serving folks in the Greater Seattle area with meetings at the Redmond Pancake House/Restaurant in Redmond Washington, I am seeking to find out what folks want from their support group, or from any support group.  I would appreciate your responses, positive and negative. I believe I have the only non-hospital and non-doctor affiliated support group in the State of Washington.  If I am incorrect, please let me know.

I'd love to have any and all of you become part of and active in this non-doctor affiliated and non-hospital affiliated group of folks who share a common issue: that of being weight loss surgery survivors in our struggles with obesity.  Our regular meeting is the 3rd Thursday of each and every month except for December.  We meet at 7:00 p.m. in a private area of the Restaurant and pretty much have the area entirely to ourselves.  All the restaurant asks is that we purchase something small to help defray the costs.  But, their food in fantabulous as well as nutritious.  It is easy to get a very nutritious meal if you are so inclined.

But, if some of you prefer, would you rather have a support group who meets by telephone so no one has to drive distances or suffer the long driving times stagnated in non-moving cars down our clogged freeways?

Do you want this support group to have both elements?  Or, what about 3 elements -- adding that of doing something to give back to the community, just as paying for lunches for our police officers, or saluting them as they patrol our streets and cities or collecting donations for orphans, or the homeless, or ....?  Other ideas such as getting together for walks around Marimoor Park, Greenlake, Lake Washington (just kidding on this one but it could be a future goal).

I'd love to receive other comments from each of you regarding the 2010 direction for this group. 

Blessings,


P.S.  To receive information in your In-box that "you have mail from ObesityHelp.com folks" you need to click on Preferences and then check a couple of boxes.  If you don't, then messages sent from my group site will languish forever at ObesityHelp.com only to be seen if you click on www.ObesityHelp.com and find out that you have a message.  This is such a struggle for me as a leader when I am attempting to reach my members.  

I recall sometime in 2008, we had a online chat room for the Washington Board--it was successful for about 3 weeks, but somehow it faltered and never got back... I really appreicate the online chatrooms---if we could create a Washington Chat Online support group on OH with an administrator, etc   that would be fantastic...  What does everyone say to that?    
 
Why not do a Hybrid format (that's the term I learned at the Highline community college) -- a group that does a combination of meeting face to face and also meeting online chat rooms--Maybe for example:
3 mondays of online chatrooms and the 4th monday Face to Face? (that is just a suggestion) with a couple of once every 3 months doing a worthy cause of giving back to the community. 

Just food for thought.

Kelly

P.S. I do not belong to the Redmond group as it's pretty far --- I belong to the Thru Thick and Thin, -- but that was pretty far for me, too... So, basically, the Virginia Mason support groups...the feel was something that I didn't really care for.... I really enjoyed the Thru Thick and Thin and the Merrilou's(Merrilou's had stopped recently--for reasons that I'm not sure about) groups---the informality, very supportive, and inclusivity... Maybe with your finangling(spell?), you could expand the group to include others?

Greetings Kelly:

My group is open to one and all.  Yes, I'd love to expand the group to include others.   Currently my group has folks who live in most diverse areas, from Okanawa Japan to Maryland to Oklahoma, to Redmond WA, to Mill Creek, to Seattle, to Everett, to Tacoma, to Puyallup, to ... you get the idea. 

I have several neat ideas about great things to do.

I have a Plastic Surgeon who is most willing to come to talk with us about plastic surgery after WLS.   I need to have a specific head count of folks who would be interested in learning more about plastic surgery before I schedule his participation.

Another subject that might work for folks would be to put on a Victim - Survivor - Thriver activity which would take 3 sessions. 

The sessions could either be over the telephone (I already have a telephone # everyone could use to call in so we could all be connected at the same time and thus interact with everyone), or through the chat room at OH -- which probably would not work, or gathering together in a central location 3 times where we could all gather.  Perhaps someone's office could accommodate us in one of their meeting rooms or in their cafeteria, or ....

Right now, I am simply deluged with responses to folks at OH to my responses about regaining weight after 2 or more years.  My 5th anniversary for my RNY was 12-30-04.  My inbox is overloaded with questions about how I have been successful with my 150# weight loss, keeping it off, and learning about my Green Smoothies.

Another great topic which I've already presented to my group to absolute rave reviews is a thorough discussion about protein.

Yet another subject is learning how to develop your own self-hypnosis tapes to program your mind prudently about effective weight loss.

Yet even another idea is a workshop to develop positive affirmations to ensure a most satisfying life for each of us.

Let me know your thoughts as we flesh out what to do in 2010 with this "non-denominational" group.

I truly hope other folks chime in and let me know your thoughts.  Don't forget, I need a head count for the plastic surgeon presentation..

Blessings,

Victim - Survivor - Thriver activity  <  what is that?  

You have so many ideas, would it be a good idea to separate each idea in a new topic --- all that is very overwhelming ...

positive affirmations is a great tool that everyone could use

I had experienced telephone conferencing 3 years ago, that sounds like a great idea...

About the plastic surgeon, I find that I don't need.... one... but thanks for asking.

Kelly

Belay that last reply---plastic surgeon.... count me in.... Just tell me where and when (weekends preferably) weekdays evenings (but depends on my schoolwork, though) Kelly

I would love to be involved in a support group however you set it up. I do like the idea of the phone and in person but any I would like. And, for the plastic surgeon, count me in. I am so flabby everywhere it seems. And I need help on how much protein to take in each day to continue weightloss, I just gained 5 pounds and I am freaking out. I started out at 280 and was down to 150 but just in the last month I have gained 5 pounds so I am up to 155. So, any help with this, I would love.

 

Thank you,

Christine Jeffers