Support Group

Monday, we went to our first Support Group meeting.  It really wasn't like I imagined it would be.  I pictures us all (maybe 15 people) sitting around in a circle commiserating about our trials and tribulations.  Perhaps an attaboy or two for challenges overcome.

Instead, there were five rows of chairs of chairs (three rows facing two rows) and about 60 people there.  The meeting started off with a presentation from a guest speaker.  This month the speaker was a fitness coach and wellness counselor from a local fitness club.  He gave a fifteen minute speech about exercise and how we needed to incorporate cardio, weight training, and flexibility into our routines.    For the next fifteen minutes, he answered questions.

Once he left, the surgeon and dietitian had an open time for any type of questions.  Then we went around the room sharing our first name, surgery date, type of surgery, amount of weight lost, and this time an added bonus of what kind of exercise we do.  Depending on what people said, this had a tendency to spark additional questions and discussion.  All in all the meeting was about 1.5 hours.

We plan on going back again.  It is a monthly meeting.  I know we are going to need support, and having people to talk to that have already been through it should help.