2014 Wrap-Up…and How You Can Help BariatricPal in 2015!

[Alex Brecher 10,512]

It’s hard to believe, but 2014 is almost over and 2015 is around the corner! BariatricPal has come a long way in the past year.

2014 Was a Good Year for BariatricPal!

• It is now the largest weight loss surgery community online and on mobile.
• We put out our new and improved mobile apps (if you haven’t already, download yours free for iPhone and iPod , for Android, and for Kindle).
• We published the fourth book in “The Big Book” series (find out how you can get your copy of all four books).

A Sincere Thank You! to BariatricPal Members!

BariatricPal couldn’t have been so successful this year without you. Thank you. Thank you for making BariatricPal part of your daily life. Thank you for your participation on the boards, for helping each other out, and for spreading the word about BariatricPal. Thank you for providing feedback throughout the year.

Share BariatricPal with…Everyone!

BariatricPal depends on you. Please share BariatricPal with everyone you can! Go to the BariatricPal sharing page to see how you can share BariatricPal.

• On social media: Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Pinterest, and LinkedIn!
• Via email
• On your own site or blog

Tell other weight loss surgery patients, your surgeon, members of your WLS support group, and the bariatric surgeons and staff at the office you go to. Let everyone know what BariatricPal means to you and how it can help them. And thanks!

You Can Make 2015 Even Better for BariatricPal!

I’m planning for 2015 to be just as successful as 2014 was for BariatricPal, and I have a lot of improvements in store. To make 2015 the best year possible, though, I need your help! Do you have suggestions for the coming year? Which new features would you like to see? Which services do you think BariatricPal should offer to help strengthen our community and help members reach their health and weight loss goals?

I would love to have your input! Please feel free to post your ideas and suggestions right here. Or, if you prefer, send me a private message (PM). You, the members, are the ones who make BariatricPal possible. You drive this community. Please let me know how it can be improved!

Have a healthy and happy New Year!

[Rovobay 920]

Since I found this site in May I found a doctor, got surgery, 3 months later I am down over 60lbs. So much great info and support on here, I could have never done it with out this site. Thank you!!!

[GreenEyes604 753]

@@Alex Brecher I think something that would be very beneficial to this community would be to set up online webinars here on BP. You could set something up for maybe once a month with a doctor, psychologist, nutritionist, etc. that could answer questions that members may have.

Just my 2 cents

[lisacaron 5,075]

@@GreenEyes604 I agree! Great idea!!

[Julie norton 2,850]

Often I come here for my daily inspiration. Very thankful there are many who share ... Looking forward to 2015. ????

[LipstickLady 25,682]

I think that if I was named "The Great Queen of All She Surveys" here, that would be perfect. Just sayin!

[lisacaron 5,075]

@@LipstickLady you know you could change your screen name to The Great Queen of All She Surveys aka @@LipstickLady

[NewLife'sGr8 241]

Is it possible to find Plastic Surgeons of Excellence around the US and Mexico, who are willing to offer group-rate pricing (Perhaps deep discounts?) for Bariatric Pal's members, just like you've done with WL Surgeons?

IMHO, the Plastic Surgery component is just as important as WLS for becoming (psychologically) healthy to prevent body dysmorphia and obesity "relapse".

Edited December 4, 2014 by NewLife'sGr8

[CowgirlJane 14,259]

Thank you for all your efforts. I think making access to profiles or stats via mobile devices would be very useful. So many people access via their phones and they can't tell the "stats" of other members in any way.

I also found that the private message boards were just too hard for many to navigate. I tried to set one up to talk about dating life as a single woman and none of the members could ever work out how to access it - again, mostly from their phones.

[Miss Mac 6,262]

If there is an FAQ page, I have never been able to find it. I think an FAQ page that is clearly visible from the forums page would help hold back the redundancy of the same few questions that all newbies have coming into this. I know that when I came into the forum one year ago this month, I needed to know stuff and was not yet familiar with how to get around the site....not to mention that there are still older folks who might not be all that familiar with how to search a site.

[amponder 396]

I'm pretty new here but this community has been a big support for me already, I love looking at all the other members stats to see who started out at around the weight as me and how far they have all ready come. I love having people tell me hang in there and not to give up when I've had a down day, and I love getting a Yay YOU when I've had a good one. I also love rooting for everyone else who has struggled with obesity like me, I want to see everyone with this issue, overcome it, no matter which surgery they choose, I'm on your side.

[anaxila 501]

@@Alex Brecher, I can't figure out how to request a new forum and subforums. There are no monthly forums for 2015 yet (http://www.bariatricpal.com/forum/785-monthly-gastric-bypass-surgery-support-groups/), though we're just a few weeks away from the new year. I am having surgery on January 6 (yay!), and am eager to connect with others on the same timeline. It would be helpful to have more visibility into how to request admin support.

Love this group. Very happy to be here.

[meggs353 118]

I'd like to be able to access people's profiles from the mobile app. When I click on someone's name, I can't see any of their stats, their dr, etc. You also can't see anyone's profile pic. I'm only on this app on my phone, so would love to be able to know more about who I'm talking to!

[Alex Brecher 10,512]

@@Alex Brecher, I can't figure out how to request a new forum and subforums. There are no monthly forums for 2015 yet (http://www.bariatricpal.com/forum/785-monthly-gastric-bypass-surgery-support-groups/), though we're just a few weeks away from the new year. I am having surgery on January 6 (yay!), and am eager to connect with others on the same timeline. It would be helpful to have more visibility into how to request admin support.

Love this group. Very happy to be here.

We've added the 2015 monthly support forums. Thanks for the reminder!

You can use the contact link found at the bottom of any page on our site to contact us.

[Alex Brecher 10,512]

I'd like to be able to access people's profiles from the mobile app. When I click on someone's name, I can't see any of their stats, their dr, etc. You also can't see anyone's profile pic. I'm only on this app on my phone, so would love to be able to know more about who I'm talking to!

Thanks for your suggestion! This is a feature we most definitely plan on offering at some point in 2015.