DonRodolfo

Online is nice, but nothing beats getting together in person with people who share the same experiences. Last night, my family and I went to dinner with the THINspiration group (headed by Kevin) then to the showing of All of Me at Methodist Hospital in Dallas where other local area support groups were in attendance. It was a great evening, and afterwards part of the group got together again at another restaurant. THINspiration meets once a month at Seasons 52 in Plano, the next meeting is Saturday afternoon at 1230pm. If you'd like to get involved in one of the local meetings, check out the list I posted in the other thread here, contact the listed coordinator, and let them know you're interested.

v130703 is attached, please contact KevLev12282012 (Kevin Levin) for updates or further information. DFW Area Weight Loss Surgery Support Groups v130703.pdf

There is a link in my signature.

Sorry for the delay, I don't get on here much. Here is a link to the latest version of the DFW Support Groups List: http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/259587-dfw-area-weight-loss-surgery-support-groups-list/?p=3608299

August 2014 Version is attached. Please contact KevLev12282012 (Kevin Levin) for updates or further information DFW Area Bariatric Support Groups 8 14 14.pdf

Hi! They vary in size from venue to venue and from month to month. I've seen as little as 10 to maybe 50. Find yourself the local DFW list and start checking them out!

May I have a copy of the most current list?

Here is a copy of the same list: http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/259587-dfw-area-weight-loss-surgery-support-groups-list/

Would it be correct to say you didn't have any sort of preop liquid-only diet requirement? Assuming you didn't, you are probably detoxing from carbs. It sucks - I went through 4 days of this prior to surgery and it was no fun. On the fifth day I had my energy back and no longer felt miserable. Right now you need to be working on staying hydrated and getting in as much Protein as possible through shakes. This could very well be an all-day endeavor for awhile. It's possible you may not be feeling well by not taking care of these. Do NOT cave into temptation to eat real food right now, it's a good way to end up in the emergency room.

Hi, my name is Carlos and I am 14 months out. If you are in the DFW are there are lots of groups to choose from! Here is a list: http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/259587-dfw-area-weight-loss-surgery-support-groups-list/ I've been to many of these, please let me know if you have questions about any of them.

How about a whole community of sleeve buddies? http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/259587-dfw-area-weight-loss-surgery-support-groups-list/ This list contains both hospital/doctor-based support groups as well as patient-led. A DFW BariatricPal local group is also forming, details in the local group forum for DFW.

Congrats (and thanks) for taking up the lead for the DFW chapter. Happy to get your meeting added to the DFW Support Groups meeting list that is circulated around DFW if you'd like, just let me know once you've determined a location and date(s) and time(s). Looking forward to attending your first meeting!

How about a whole community of sleevers to compare notes with: http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/259587-dfw-area-weight-loss-surgery-support-groups-list/ Highly recommended: THINspiration Weight Loss Support Group, every third Saturday of the month (contact KevLev12282012 (Kevin Levin) here to attend or let me know and I'll tell him for you). Check out the rest as well, we have a great WLS community in DFW.

Thank you!I would like to attend one of those meetings. When and where are they? Updated list is here, let me know if you're unable to open it: http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/259587-dfw-area-weight-loss-surgery-support-groups-list/

You have a limited window - maximize your efforts in exercise and eating (the naughty stuff will still be there once your window has ended).

A couple things: first, you have a limited window (1 to 1.5 years) to work with where you need to get off all the weight you can because outside of that window it could be as difficult to lose weight as it was presurgery. This fact alone should make it a priority in your life. Two, you need to find an activity (ideally activities) that you enjoy. I discovered running. I have friends who bicycle and that would bore me to death. Running bores them lol! Third, I found that setting goals kept me motivated to continue. For me it was being able to run continuously for as long as possible without walking. This was too vague of a goal so I started losing interest. Someone mentioned doing a 5k (which I had never done) and I started training for it. I finally worked up the ability to run 3 miles without walking. The first time I did it I was on the treadmill in the middle of the gym crying lol! The next goal was to be able to do 10k without walking. Accomplished that! Now I am into week 4 of working on a half-marathon training plan. I'd like to do it without walking but the first one will be all about finishing (and getting one of those silly 13.1 stickers to put on my car (and possibly a tattoo of the same!). A frequent question at this point is whether I will ever do a full marathon. I refuse to consider that until I've done a half marathon or two (don't want to get discouraged by overreaching). Lastly, it's said that it takes 21 days for an activity to become a habit. Find your activity and keep doing it until it's something you do as a necessity without thinking (like brushing your teeth or putting on deodorant ever day). It could take you less than 21 days or maybe more, either way keep at it. Weight-loss surgery gave us a second chance - it's up to us to squeeze everything we can out of it.

Hi neighbor (in Forney also)! Hey, what part of Forney? Im in Fox Hollow. It looks like you are doing great, congrats! Thanks for the compliment! I live in Mustang Creek - across Pinson from Criswell Elementary. Were you able to look over the list of support groups in DFW? I go to most of the patient-led groups every month and some of the hospital/doctor led one. Please let me know if you have any questions, my name is Carlos.

Hi neighbor (in Forney also)!

Here's a list of DFW area that includes both doctor/hospital run and patient run groups. There are A LOT of people in the Plano area (from days to years out of surgery) that participate in these. They're free and I highly recommend visiting a few. There is a meeting tonight at 6pm at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Plano - several friends and I will be attending. http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/259587-dfw-area-weight-loss-surgery-support-groups-list/

Hi Paul, I am 51 and I've lost 220lbs since getting sleeved 5/28 of 2013. I followed the plan given to me by my surgeon and I exercised as recommended. The key to sticking with exercise is finding something you enjoy doing - in my case, I rediscovered running and haven't looked back. What a lot of people forget is that we have a limited window of opportunity after surgery (12 to 18 months) where the majority of the weight will come off. You want to maximize the opportunity by eating right and tracking and learning good habits so that they become second nature. The naughty stuff you used to enjoy will still be there once you hit maintenance and you'll probably be able to eat most of it. I want to emphasize that it is VERY possible to kill your weight loss mid journey, end your window far from goal, and be stuck trying to get the rest of your weight off. I know people in this situation, you don't want to be there.

The DFW area has one of the best WLS communities in the country. In my signature is a link to a list of all the support groups here and I highly recommend you check out the patient led groups (like After the Cut or thinspiration) as well as the hospital/doctor groups. You won't regret it.

If you ask people in the WLS community who are the best doctors in the DFW area Barker does NOT make the list. In fact, I've heard more than once to avoid him.

I think that hour has passed! How are you doing after surgery?

Check in when you can and let us know how you're doing!

I'd be more concerned about a person who wasn't scared the night before. Sure it's risky and complications can and do happen. This surgery gave me my life back. I wasted 10 years on the sofa eating myself to death. I'd gladly have this surgery again.