Northwest Weight Loss Surgery Support Group
Northwest Weight Loss Surgery is committed to helping you achieve your weight loss goals. Support group is a place to get your questions answered, celebrate your successes, share your experiences with others, and learn in an atmosphere of caring and concern. At group, you can get help and encouragement from people who are on the same journey. If you struggle, you will find people at support group who can give you tips, advice, help, and encouragement.
Support group is also a great place to share your victories and find people who will cheer you on. A board certified psychiatric nurse practitioner runs a small group therapy session for people struggling with emotional eating at every support group meeting. Research has shown that people who attend support meetings regularly tend to lose more weight. An increased frequency of attendance is associated with greater weight loss.
Our exclusive Everett support group meets in the clinic conference room the second Monday of every month at 7 P.M. with a repeat session on the third Thursdays of every month at 10 A.M . You are welcome to bring a support person with you.
2010 Support Group Schedule
January
Topic:Goal Setting
It is important to have a map or at least an idea of where you're going when you set out on any journey. One of the reasons many people don't reach their goals is that they don't define them. Successful people can tell you where they are going, what they plan to do along the way, and who will be sharing the adventure
Homework: Make a list of at least 10 reasons to lose weight. More is better. We'll use this to formulate some goals and a plan to reach them.
Monday, January 11th - 7:00pm
Thursday, January 21st - 10:00am
February
Topic:The Success Habits of Weight Loss Surgery
Colleen Cook set out to find out what habits the most successful weight loss surgery patients had in common. The Obesity Surgery Journal published her results in 1999, and later she turned her results into a book. In this session, we'll review the five success habits that apply to gastric banding. We'll encourage you to adopt some of these strategies and talk about how to incorporate them into your life.
Homework: The Success Habits of Weight-Loss Surgery Patients by Colleen Cook
Recommended Home Reading- The Success Habits of Weight -Loss Surgery Patients by Colleen Cook
Monday, February 8th - 7:00pm
Thursday, February 18th - 10:00am
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March
Topic:Mindful Eating
Mindfulness is a term that has entered the mainstream of the mental health and medical fields, but often there is a lack of clarity about what it means and how to apply it. We will discuss the theories of brain function behind the concept of mindfulness. You will learn how to lessen or prevent emotional hijacking by the primitive parts of your brain. We'll practice some mindfulness exercises that you can use to help sharpen your awareness, turn off automatic eating, reflect on what you are about to do, and increase your chances of making healthy choices.
Homework: Mindful Eating: A Guide to Rediscovering a Healthy and Joyful Relationship with Food by Jan Chozen Bays or Mindless Eating by Brian Wansick, Ph.D.
Monday, March 8th - 7:00pm
Thursday, March 18th - 10:00am
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April
Topic:Food Awareness
In this session, Lucy and Ethel will show you how to play with food. During the games, skits, and examples you will participate in making wise food choices, reading labels, choosing portion sizes, and figuring out food components. We will bring in both good and bad examples of what to eat. We practice ordering in restaurants, and go over how to manage holidays and buffets, and still lose weight. You leave with some good ideas about what to eat and an increased awareness of food. We also provide some recipes for eating well after weight loss surgery.
Homework: Picture Perfect Weight Loss by Howard Shapiro, M.D. or one of the Eat This, Not That books by David Zinczenko with Matt Goulding. Keep a food record for three days before the meeting and bring it with you so you can do a self-evaluation.
Monday, April 12th - 7:00pm
Thursday, April 15th - 10:00am
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May
Topic: Physical Activity
Have you ever thought about going to an aerobic dance class but felt too fat in your clothes? Is that exercise bicycle collecting dust in your basement because you'd rather watch TV? We'll explore the motivational traps that may cause you to avoid activities and attempt to motivate you to include more movement comfortably into your week. We will explore activities for all sizes and levels of fitness.
Homework: If you're very or fairly active bring some ideas to share. If you're not doing much physical activity start with deep breathing and think about two reasons why our society makes it so hard to exercise. Think of two reasons it might be wise to gradually increase your activity level.
Monday, May 10th - 7:00pm
Thursday, May 20th - 10:00am
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June
Topic: Lifestyle Behavior Change
Most people who decide to change something leap headlong into action. Scientific theory suggests there are stages that should precede action if you are to have a successful transition. Learn about the stages of change and tasks and strategies to move towards what you want most. Those who attend will get a Behavior Change Workbook.
Homework: Changing for Good by James Prochaska, by John Norcross, and Carlo DiClemente. Think about what you want to change and why you would want to change it.
Monday, June 14th - 7:00pm
Thursday, June 17th - 10:00am
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July
Topic:Profiles of Success
People who have successfully lost weight will sit on a panel and discuss just how they did it. Our panelists will share their challenges and successes. We'll build a portrait of a winner and talk about overcoming barriers to change and dealing with issues along the way.
Homework: Fighting Weight by Khaliah Ali with George Fielding, Christine Ren, and Lawrence Lindner. Khaliah, daughter of Muhammad Ali, is an Emmy-nominated talk show host who won the Pennsylvania Broadcaster's Award. She lost 167 pounds with her gastric band.
Monday, July 12th - 7:00pm
Thursday, July 15th - 10:00am
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August
Topic:Cognitive Thinking
Can thinking and eating like a thin person be learned, similar to learning to drive or use a computer? Judith Beck contends so, based on decades of work with patients who have lost pounds and maintained weight through Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Beck adapts CBT to specific challenges faced by yo-yo dieters, including negative thinking, bargaining, emotional eating, bingeing, and eating out. We'll review her best selling book and introduce you to new elements such as advantage response cards, and other tools to help you stay focused. In spite of the title, there is no diet, no eating plans, calorie counts, recipes, or exercises in her book. According to Beck, any healthy diet will work if readers learn to think differently about eating and food. Participants will receive a deck of response cards.
Homework: The Beck Diet Solution by Judith Beck, Ph.D.
Monday, August 9th - 7:00pm
Thursday, August 19th - 10:00am
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September
Topic:Food Awareness
In a repeat performance from April, Lucy and Ethel will play with food again. We'll have some different games, skits, and examples. You will participate in making wise food choices, reading labels, choosing portion sizes, and figuring out food components. We will bring in both good and bad examples of what to eat. We'll practice ordering in restaurants, and go over how to manage holidays and buffets, and still lose weight. You'll leave with some good ideas about what to eat and an increased awareness about food. We also provide some recipes for eating well after weight loss surgery.
Homework: Track your caloric intake on www.fitday.com for three days before the meeting. Track it again after the meeting to see if you've made any changes. Bring a healthy recipe or menu to share.
Monday, September 13th - 7:00pm
Thursday, September 16th - 10:00am
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October
Topic: Wizards of Weight Loss
You may have heard the term "journey" applied to losing weight after gastric banding. We will demonstrate what this journey is all about with a costumed skit based on The Wizard of Oz. The post play discussion will focus on how the brain, the heart, and courage accompany you on this expedition to being a thinner person. You'll find out what The Wizard of Oz is really all about.
Homework: Review your NWWLS Guide to Success.
Monday, October 11th- 7:00pm
Thursday, October 21st - 10:00am
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November
Topic: Emotional Eating
Emotional hunger is sudden. One minute you're not thinking about food, the next minute you're starving. Your hunger goes from 0 to 60 within a short period. Emotional hunger causes guilt about eating. The paradox of emotional overeating is that one eats to feel better and ends up berating themselves for eating. We will discuss ways to identify physical hunger versus emotional hunger and talk about how to overcome emotional eating.
Homework: Shrink Yourself: Break Free From Emotional Eating by Roger Gould, M.D.
Monday, November 8th - 7:00pm
Thursday, November 18th - 10:00am
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December
Topic: Plastic Surgery
We will explore what plastic surgery has to offer to a person who has accomplished massive weight loss. Dr Chock will start the group by explaining the cosmetic services offered here at Envisage at Northwest Weight Loss Surgery. She will present information on Botox, Juvederm , Latisse, Vivite skin care and other services. Not everyone wants or needs plastic surgery but our guest speaker is a board certified plastic surgeon who specializes in helping people with body shaping after weight loss. You will be able to see before and after pictures of the various procedures. This is a fascinating topic, even if you are not interested in plastic surgery for yourself. The plastic surgeon will be available to answer all your questions and talk about what to expect from plastic surgery.
Homework: Body Contouring Surgery after Weight Loss by Jeffrey Sebastian, Joseph Capella, and Peter Rubin.
Monday, December 13th - 7:00pm
Thursday, December 16th - 10:00am
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Online Support Groups
Many of our patients use these Yahoo Groups for support and information about weight loss surgery:
SmartBandsters (general focus)
PNW Bandsters (regional focus)
Community-Based Support Groups
Research indicates that patients who attend support groups after surgery achieve greater weight loss. We encourage all our patients to participate in the free weight loss support groups led by Northwest Weight Loss Surgery staff. For more information about these groups and other weight loss support groups in the Northwest, please call us at 800-979-8982. |
