Welcome to Banana Bariatrics!

We are a very diverse family. Some members are getting close to surgery, some have recently undergone surgery (within the past year), and a lot are veterans who are at least 1 year out from surgery.

Regardless of where you are in your bariatric journey, you are welcome here.

We all share one common goal: to feel healthy, happy, and back on track while connecting with others who are like-minded and share a similar journey.

Before we move into the community guidelines of Banana, we have a very important disclaimer to make:

This support group DOES NOT take the place of seeing your Bariatric Surgery Provider, their support staff or your Primary Care Provider.

Now, onto the guidelines!

How To Use The Community

We encourage you to let your hair down and feel at home inside Banana. Posts/replies/comments can be informal, but please take time to review them before posting. Please do not write messages in all CAPITAL letters as this can be perceived as shouting.

Pictures, GIFs, and videos are permitted in the open areas of the website (ie: News Feed, Groups, Forums – but not in private messaging). Please be appropriate. Consider this: If your picture, GIF, or video was presented in an auditorium full of your bosses and “higher-ups,” would you feel comfortable showing it?

Along the lines of posting content, it is very important to not give medical advice. This group does not take the place of seeing your bariatric surgery provider or primary care physician.

Website Response Times

Communication online is not always immediate. As Coaches, we will make our very best effort to respond to your comment / post within 24-48 hours.

As a member- we hope that you’ll respond as soon as you are able. You will find as a group we will be more cohesive and connected to one another if we read, reply and post new topics regularly. By adding the website to your phone / computer home-screen, we hope the visible cue will remind you to log in daily to connect with (and support) others.

Being sensitive to response time also includes acknowledging the posts and comments of others. When we interact in person, we include a head nod or a short statement of affirmation or encouragement to signal that we are listening. Since we cannot see or hear each other inside Banana, a short post to say that you have popped in and are reading is helpful.

Letting the group know that you are thinking about a response and will post later lets the group know that their words are important to you and are being read with care.

How To Participate In Support Group

The best way to be a Banana Member is to participate in Support Group! Not only do we absolutely LOVE seeing you there, but it is the most important way for you to connect with other Banana buddies and to form special bonds with them.

Please follow our rules for Support Group:

Keep the space safe:

Be honest about your feelings and thoughts
Use “I” statements and express your feelings, not your opinions
Respect confidentiality: what is said or shared in Banana, stays in Banana

Share the air

Keep your comments relevant so everyone can participate

Listen generously

Hear what people are saying and avoid interruptions

Zoom call etiquette:

Basically- if you wouldn’t do something in front of your Provider at your doctor’s appointment, please do not do it on our Zoom Support Group
Please arrive at the call a few minutes in advance so group can start on time
When you’re not talking, please mute yourself to prevent transmission of background noise
Situate yourself in a location without distractions
Avoid multitasking; treat Support Group as if you were at a meeting in person
Please- no changing, using the restroom, or sharing space with another person who is partially dressed. These calls are recorded!

Treatment Of Other Members

Please show respect for:

Cultural differences
Diversity of views
Policies and procedures from other Bariatric Teams and Practices
Those with a different surgery

No weight loss surgery is better or worse than the others; each has its own advantages and disadvantages. However, feel free to buddy up with other members who share the same surgery as you!

Acceptable Language Use

To ensure the comfort of all Banana members, we ask that you keep your language clean and without foul language. We recognize that sometimes in Support Group you may feel the need to excuse yourself and let out a foul word here and there. We get it- we’re all adults. However, please try to be mindful of the comfort level of others around foul language and do so sparingly.

When it comes to humor, please use it cautiously. We know that laughter is one of the world’s best medicines, and by all means we want you to share what makes you giggle with your fellow members. However, please be very cautious when using sarcasm and humor. Without cues such as voice tone, “subtle” humor can be easily misinterpreted and can sometimes offend others despite the best of intentions.

Guidelines For Giving Constructive Feedback

Constructive feedback with the positive intention of helping, supporting, and encouraging other Banana members is always welcome. However, it is very important to pay close attention to how we are communicating a message virtually. It is easy to misinterpret a comment that is read without the clues of facial expressions, body language and vocal inflections, so please bear this in mind before submitting any posts, comments, or replies.

Topics To Avoid

We literally Google’d “Controversial Topics” and came up with this list. Yes, we’re family, but let’s not make things awkward at the dinner table by bringing up anything along the lines of:

Gun Control
Abortion
Religious Freedom
Animal Rights
Vaccines
Immigration Reform
The Trump Presidency
Transgender Rights
White Supremacy
Black Lives Matter
Cancel Culture

Let’s keep things civil… and keep the salad from being tossed across the table (am I right…?).

Confidentiality

Please help us to keep Banana a safe space for you and the other Banana members. To that end, please do not share your password or the posts from your group with anyone.

We welcome new members to our groups regularly. If you know someone who is interested in joining Banana, please direct them to our sales page.

Although we place high value on respecting your privacy, federal and state laws impose limitations to confidentiality. If there is serious speculation that you plan to seriously harm another person or yourself (e.g. planning homicide or suicide), we are required to break confidentiality in order to warn the potential victim(s) and to secure the assistance of others (police, etc) to prevent serious harm to yourself or to others.

Please feel free to share products, brands, and/or resources that you have found useful in your weight loss surgery journey. However, please do not do so with the intention to advertise, monetize, or earn a commission from posting links or products.

Consequences Of Breaking Guidelines

Lack of adherence to these guidelines can result in any of the following:

Removal of the offensive post(s) / actions
Warning from Banana Coaches to avoid such post(s)/actions in the future
Removal from Banana altogether

Phew! You made it to the end.

As you can see, we truly care about the POSITIVE and ENCOURAGING culture inside Banana. If, at any time, you feel concerned about something you hear or see, please (!!) reach out to any of the Banana Coaches so we can work promptly to resolve the issue.

Thank you for being a part of our Banana family!

See you on the inside,

Coach Kate

Community Guidelines