Support groups and forums help patients who have undergone gastric sleeve surgery remain on track and stay motivated and committed to their new lifestyle. Experts believe that patients who have a strong support system in place are more successful at losing excess weight and maintaining their weight loss for the long term than those who go at it alone.
Benefits of support groups
Gastric sleeve surgery support groups provide many advantages such as tips on nutrition information, exercise advice, how to maintain weight and positive thinking. These support groups also offer insights from learning about people’s experiences and journeys.
These groups provide significant emotional support for those going through challenges and difficulties after the surgery and also help to create support relationships that help weight loss surgery patients remain motivated.
It is always useful to have a common ground to come together and share each other’s experiences and learn how to overcome obstacles and motivate others to do the same.
Gastric Sleeve Surgery Support Group for Mexico
If you’re considering undergoing gastric sleeve surgery in Mexico, you may want to join Renew Bariatrics’ support group. If you’re interested in joining our support group on Facebook, please contact your patient coordinator to gain access.
There you will be able to see FAQs, and many before and afters of gastric sleeve surgery.
Types of Gastric Sleeve Support Groups
Here are the best places to find support online:
There are several online forums and groups on Facebook that provide a convenient way for gastric sleeve patients to stay connected. Weight Loss Surgery is a Facebook group that encourages members and shares workout challenges and nutritious meal recipes. They also provide an opportunity for members to share pre-surgery and post-surgery pictures of themselves as a way to encourage and showcase the progress they have made.
Overeaters Anonymous
This is an organization that facilitates local meetings with individuals who have had weight loss surgery. A majority of these meetings are held in local hospitals where medical professionals are on hand to answer important questions on nutrition, surgery options, and post-surgery complications.
The group also has an online presence where members can share ideas and thoughts, meal recipes, how to overcome setbacks and obstacles and how to remain motivated and committed to their new lifestyle.
Weight Watchers
Weightwatchers.com is an online community forum that provides support to its members by facilitating conversations on exercise options, nutritious meal recipes, maintenance, and motivation. Members can register for free and can share their contact information with other colleagues who live nearby.
Members can also create alerts to receive the particular information they are interested in. The overall mission of Weight Watchers is to keep members motivated, informed and moving forward.
Bariatric Pal Gastric Sleeve Surgery Forum
This is a broad online forum that caters to specific groups of people within its site. There are different categories to cater to different interests which range from Basics for Gastric Sleeve Surgery Beginners to diverse groups dealing with gastric surgery such as particular ethnic groups, sexual orientation, age or location.
Group categories range from GastricSleeve.com which is mainly dedicated to Mexican medical tourism patients and Pregnancy with Gastric Sleeve Surgery targets issues surrounding pregnancy and gastric sleeve procedures.
Obesity Help
One of the most patient-centered and educational sites that support gastric sleeve surgery patients is www.obesityhelp.com that provides answers to all your questions. Thousands of weight loss surgery patients log in every day to update their progress and access the different forums available to cater to their genuine information interests.
Find a Support Group that Works for You After Gastric Sleeve Surgery
Experts in the field of bariatric surgery and weight loss management consistently find that patients who have a large support system are more likely to have success in maintaining and reaching their weight loss goals. This success is attributed to several factors. Support groups and forums provide emotional and psychological support, which is vital in dealing with mental and emotional aspects of drastic lifestyle changes.
In addition, support groups can offer practical advice and tips from peers who have actually gone through a similar experience, which can be more relatable than just general guidelines.
