**This invitation to participate in our research study was approved by ADMIN Alex Brecher on May 22/16**

Greetings,

My name is Rebecca Liu and I am a PhD student at Western University in London, Ontario Canada.

My supervisor, Dr. Jennifer Irwin and I would like to invite you to participate in our research study.

As a bariatric surgery candidate or recipient, we want to know your thoughts on the support-related services that you are receiving before, during, and after surgery to support your long-term weight management (i.e., physiologically, psychosocially, and emotionally in the short- and long-term of the bariatric surgery process).

Your perspectives will provide insight as to what still needs to be addressed to advance bariatric care worldwide.

The survey will consist of a series of closed- and open- ended questions. All information given will be kept confidential. When the results are formulated and presented, no identifying factors will be included to protect your confidentiality.

-The survey will take approximately 45-60 minutes
-It will be open until July 1st, 2016 12:00 p.m. EST

Here is the link
https://uwo.eu.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_a95023yRTDafSJL

Thank you and we look forward to hearing from you,

Jennifer D. Irwin, PhD (Principal Investigator) and Rebecca H. Liu, MSc (PhD Candidate-Student Investigator)

Should you have any questions or concerns, please contact below:

Rebecca H. Liu, MSc (PhD Candidate-Student Investigator)
Health & Rehabilitation Sciences- Health Promotion
Western University, London, Ontario Canada
Email: rliu32@uwo.ca
Telephone: 1-416-768-8258

I approve of this study and post.

When I decided to get the surgery, I also decided to plan for a new kind of life that would encourage more activity, less sitting at home, and more meaningful social connections. Upon reflection I realize that the standard suburban lifestyle puts too many walls and other objects between us and the rest of the world, softly encouraging us to retreat, height, sit, watch TV, And eat potato chips! I decided that if I changed my lifestyle radically, it would help me to keep off the weight. I am still losing weight, but I have purchased an RV and plan to move into it and travel around the country. I believe that this will help me to be more active, sit around the house less, and make meaningful social connections. I gained 130 pounds after the loss of my husband, after which I became very isolated and lonely making food my only reliable friend. In the interim, I have done a lot of personal development work. I had my surgery six months ago and I'm down over 100 pounds. I intend to keep going, and I intend to keep it off, but I know that that means making sure that I better provide for my own emotional needs.