Support group meeting

[cwm812 11]

I've been asked to be the speaker at my surgeon's support group meeting next month. They've asked me to give just a general overview of my experiences with the lapband, It sounds boring so I thought I'd ask you for topics.

What would you like to hear about from my 3 years of experience with the lap band?

Cindy

[Birinak 19]

I've been asked to be the speaker at my surgeon's support group meeting next month. They've asked me to give just a general overview of my experiences with the lapband, It sounds boring so I thought I'd ask you for topics.

What would you like to hear about from my 3 years of experience with the lap band?

Cindy

I think you can obviously break it down into three topics:

1) life pre-band: speak about those issues that most of the people in the audience can relate to (fitting into seats, embarrassing moments, missed opportunities); maybe mention the cycle of dieting and struggle with your weight pre-band; maybe also mention your moment of revelation (when and how did you decide that enough was enough and that the band was your answer)

2) life with the band: when you reached restriction, when you first realized that things were really working, your first or proudest moment of success during the process

3) life after reaching goal: maintenance, the difference between your life now and before the band (things that you do now that you couldn't do then). Finally, maybe mention your strategies of surpassing challenges along the way (the urge to binge, conquering plateaus, dealing with setbacks like weight-gain or stressful events, how you motivate yourself to get to the gym)

Maybe include some interesting anecdotes (a particularly interesting reaction of a person who saw you for the first time in a long time (whatever stands out) etc.).

[cwm812 11]

Thanks for the response. Even though I agreed to speak, I'm a little unnerved by it. I'm not the kind of person who has saved my fat jeans or documented this process with lots of pictures. Your tips will definitely help.

Cindy