Weight Loss Surgery Workshop
The Weight Loss Surgery Workshop is designed for preparation of the surgical candidates and their support people for the surgery and subsequent life change. The workshop hours are Saturday 1pm-9pm and Sunday 9am-1pm. Support people are welcome on Saturday afternoon and Sunday and only Surgical Candidates attend the Saturday evening session. Surgical candidates are required to attend when they can take in the entire workshop in one weekend, as the workshop builds on itself. Topics covered range from the bio-chemistry of appetite and mood to codependent functioning. A primary theme is learning the emotional needs currently being met by the eating behavior and how to get these needs met in healthier ways once the surgery is completed. Participants get the message that awareness allows for choice and choice allows for change. Saturday evening is reserved for surgical candidates only because it is a day of personal sharing with a goal of increased awareness of how the person’s eating got out of hand and how to find their way back to a healthier self. When the support people return on Sunday these changes are applied to healthy relationship functioning and all involved learn what it is to relate from a sense of choice and wholeness.
Topics covered are:
Motivation Maintenance
- Keeping your energy level high for achieving WLS goals
- Touching your spiritual connections
- Enriching relationships
Life Skills
- Yes, say No without feeling guilty
- Effective goal setting
- Building self-esteem
- Stress busters
Self Care
- Develop new self-care skills
- Support for a healthier lifestyle
- Keys to the Kingdom: Journal and exercise
Psychological awareness
- Identify & understand the emotional impact as your body changes shape
- Understand your relationship with food
- Break out of reactive eating cycles
- Listen to the wisdom of your body
Post-op patients may return and attend the workshop at no charge.