Having a support group to turn to when things get rough is extremely important for weight loss success. Your support group should be filled with people who understand what you’re going through because they’ve experienced it. These individuals will have tried-and-true methods for success as a result.
No one can make you attend a support group meeting. Find a way to fit them into your schedule and actually attend them. If your schedule is packed, try a group that meets online.
Benefits of Support Group Meetings
1. Firsthand experience: The people in your support group are your peers. They have firsthand experience with the same weight loss issues and surgery you’ve gone through. There is no more valuable and trusted a resource than someone who truly understands your situation.
2. Education: From expert guest speakers to doctors to other weight loss surgery patients, your support group should be filled with knowledgeable people who can educate you on nutrition, pain management, exercise, and motivation.
3. Help solving problems: You may encounter problems or challenges that you didn’t anticipate and couldn’t prepare for. Individuals who have already experienced those challenges that are unforeseen to you can help you prepare for them.
4. New friends: After weight loss surgery, you might have to end relationships that aren’t good for your health and weight loss success. These relationships, while dangerous to your health, might also be emotionally painful when they end. Your support group can offer an entirely new group of friends who are not only invested in your success, but who are also seeking their own. It’s a mutually beneficial relationship to which you certainly have something important to offer.
5. Success: Years of research have proven that people who are active in a weight loss surgery support group have more success in losing the weight.