LilMissDiva Irene

Great progress so far!!! Keep the positivity, it will come in handy!

Slowing down to a few pounds per month, I say it was around 10 months out. That was when I got to around 4-5 Lbs per month. I actually have lost 0 Since december, which is fine. I'm not trying to lose pounds anymore, just tone up. Everyone's different though, and really depends how quickly you get to about 20 Lbs or less to lose.

Happy 2 mos!! You're doing great! Don't worry so much about getting to goal, you WILL get there. Just keep doing all the right things, and goal will happen in time. The questions will start popping up all the time on how did you lose the weight. Be prepared for this! It happens all the time. It doesn't last forever though. I used to get asked 20x a day, now it's only down to 10x... haha Keep up the great progress!!

I've only been burning over 1,000 per day lately. The 1,500 was during my weight loss phase and before my plastic surgeries. I mix them all up with running, walking, elliptical, stationary bike, many DVD workouts which right now I'm doing Kettlebells and Medicine Ball... I just keep doing a bunch of different things every day. I don't want my body getting complacent!

If you're having bad leg cramps you're likely low on all your electrolytes. Water / Calcium / Magnesium / Potassium. It might be a good idea to drink Gatorade. I used to drink the real Gatorade too, it just seems to be more potent than G2. Good luck!

Don't waste your time worrying about how long it will take you to get to goal, when you have the rest of your life to get there. In my world, there is no end. This IS for life.

I do get RLS and I've had it since I can remember. I've never personally gone to see the Dr. about it, because I personally only seem to get it when I'm not working out. If I miss more than 2 days my legs go crazy. It's the oddest most bizarre feeling. I think it was passed on to me from my father - he has it too. Perhaps try and get a brisk walk in every night. Just do it a few hours before bed time or the adrenaline from walking will keep you up too.. longer-life mentions a correlation between that and low Iron. It's quite possible because I'm anemic and I've been anemic forever. So I can't say that's not it. Good luck!!

Oh well! I didn't realize that whoops... LOL Still... you had a lot on you at the time, I can imagine how much of your energy it takes having a brand new life in your world. You're still working on it! All that really matters. To me, only needing to lose 6 Lbs is such a far cry from 60+ from gaining weight back, which in my life would be the case pre-sleeve.

I don't know about y'all but I sure get a lot of fun, humorous or just fantastically inspirational emails all the time. Some I get more than once and many times I think about sharing them here... just in the off chance there is one person who might need to see it at that very moment. I received one this morning that absolutely needed to be shared... so here goes: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Written by Regina Brett, 90 years old, of the Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio . "To Celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most requested column I've ever written. My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more: 1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good. 2. When in doubt, just take the next small step. 3. Life is too short – enjoy it. 4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and family will. 5. Pay off your credit cards every month. 6. You don't have to win every argument. Stay true to yourself. 7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone. 8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it. 9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck. 10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile. 11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present. 12. It's OK to let your children see you cry. 13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about. 14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it. 15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye But don't worry; God never blinks. 16.. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind. 17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful. Clutter weighs you down in many ways. 18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger. 19. It's never too late to be happy. But it’s all up to you and no one else. 20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer. 21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special. 22. Over prepare, then go with the flow. 23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple. 24. The most important sex organ is the brain. 25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you. 26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?' 27. Always choose life. 28. Forgive but don’t forget. 29. What other people think of you is none of your business. 30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time. 31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change. 32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does. 33. Believe in miracles. 34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do. 35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now. 36. Growing old beats the alternative -- dying young. 37. Your children get only one childhood. 38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved. 39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere. 40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back. 41. Envy is a waste of time. Accept what you already have not what you need. 42. The best is yet to come... 43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up. 44. Yield. 45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."

And the taking pictures of myself... oh lawddd... the taking of pictures... the self love is just outta control.

I think an important part of this journey is learning to ignore others opinions of us and simply learning to love ourselves for who we are. Make sure you are doing all this for YOU because really that's the only human life in this world that you have the real power to do anything with. Blessings!

Yayyyy!!! I'll keep a seat warm for ya right here! Congrats on your big day!!! Whooohoooo!!

My family gave me some heck too, but yeah they get used to it. Just keep doin you and do what makes you happy. Just a word of caution, lipo hurts BUT the results were worth it.

Oh thats awesome! You will love him/them... they're the best (imo but I'm biased I guess, ha!)

Yes Protein powder should be discarded once it expires. Not only does it go stale but it also loses its potency, like anything else in our kitchens. Especially anything that expired last year, definitely do not use that. Not only that your stomach will be healing and you don't want to chance any kind of bad food going in it. It will be sensitive enough. Good luck!

Everything you're feeling is VERY normal. Take a deep deep breath, meditate if you have to. Maybe you can find something to do in the mean time to take your mind off the fact you're going in for surgery in a few days. I came here a LOT while waiting on mine and I think I read every success story and viewed every photo album there was to look at... LOL Just know you may come out feeling some pain, some nausea, fatigue and yup... might even regret it or wonder why you had this done. DO NOT PANIC!! These will all pass in time, promise. Stay head strong, walk as soon as you can get up, sip your fluids every chance you get and definitely get your rest. Your body will need that for proper recovery. *hugs*

Soooo amazing! And this is what this is all about... congrats on your awesome success and your lovely NSV!

Peacequeen I'm sorry to hear you're still not doing too well!! Please let us know how your getting on when you can, and I do hope you're calling your Surgeons office ASAP because what you're experiencing isn't all too normal. Big big hugs!!!

fern, watching Dr. Oz yesterday was such a huge eye opener for me. The psychiatrist on his show asked the guests (that were still there...) "Who told you that you were worthless". This made a few of the ladies cry and several others looked around like a deer caught in the headlights. Of course the ladies with the deer eyes pretended or refused to acknowledge that this could be the case for themselves. I don't think they were really "listening" as much as "hearing" what he was saying. Someone doesn't LITERALLY have to call you worthless to make you feel that way. So, in feeling this way - we eat to fill that void... or at least we used to. It is so important to recognize the underlying factors on why any of us used to or currently over eat. What are we truly satisfying? It's definitely not to nourish our bodies if we consume far greater calories than we need to survive. No, its surely something we refuse to accept or are trying to numb by satisfying our taste buds. I still struggle with this, and for the most part I believe I'll always have that notion in my mind to go eat when I'm feeling any kind of emotion that I can't seem to handle. Good for you on working out instead of consuming unnecessary food and calories. I love to workout too, and I also use this as a new means to get out aggression.

I'm so glad I could help out! I know how it feels to be a band "failure" but just know this - if it really was ME and not how the band worked for me... then why did I do so well with the Sleeve? I always think about that. *hugs*

The best remedy for food getting "stuck" is to avoid it all together. First, be sure to measure all your portions before cooking and eating. Next, always take tiny bites, chew many times and eat very slowly. Put your fork or spoon down between bites, let each bite settle before taking the next one. Also, listen to your sleeve intently in the very beginning. You will know after the first bite or two if your stomach doesn't like it. Stop immediately if you get any notions, then avoid that particular food for another week or so. It just may not be ready for it, and that's ok. Everyone heals differently. Lastly, ALWAYS under eat your sleeve. Eating too much is the worst feeling for me, and I feel bloated and gross. Even being this far out I feel like that, so I have to learn what portions work best for me. No matter what it's never really a lot, but less is always more. The short end of it is, if it's not working or fitting, stop right away. Never force things! If you do get that stuck feeling, here's what works for me: Get up and walk around. Go for a walk outside even. I'm not sure why but this really helps me a lot. I usually end up giving a good "burp" and it helps subside the pain. Avoid drinking anything to help it go down, it will only swell up whatevers in your stomach. It will help flush it out faster in the long run but likely you will be sorry for filling more of anything in your sleeve in the short term. Hope this helps!!

That is fantastic!!! Great progress and CONGRATS on hitting such a major milestone!

Agree with Circa here, dehydration will make us feel pretty darn awful. Please go to the ER, get some IV and I'm willing to bet you will begin to feel a lot better quickly. Dehydration is not something to mess with. Get well soon!!

Yanno... we just don't use this section enough. Let's get to know one another, shall we? So here's how this works, Post a question to the person below, and answer the one just prior to the one you posted. Here's a good interesting fact... no one seems to know what comes first, the chicken or the egg. Is being the first post an egg? Or am I just being a chicken? Anyhow, because there's no one asking me anything I'll share a little fun fact with you all: My hubby and I have Six Cats. Their names are Ziggy (14), Romeo (5) Man O'War & Buttons (4) and Celie & Nettie (2). Fun huh? And now you're wondering where I find all the time I do in a day to post here, workout, spend time with hubby and worrying about 6 crazy cats. My Question for the next poster is: Have you ever been to Europe?

Hi Michele, I'll just cut to the chase and answer your questions: I am my son's only parent! -- Which is a perfect reason to do EVERYTHING in your power to give him the best Mom you can be. Wouldn't you like to run with him? Play with him? Feel confident around his friends? Have his little arms be able to reach all the way around you? Live as long as you possibly can, without worrying if you won't be able to see him grow up, get married, graduate college... etc.?? Sorry to be so blunt, but when I was Super Obese, I may have been ALIVE but I didn't TRULY LIVE until I took my life back, and took control of my disease. What if it doesn't work, just like the band? -- I was revised from band to sleeve on 9.15.10 and I went in wondering the same thing. I had many of the same issues you did... I simply never was able to find that sweet spot and I was constantly in pain, especially in my port area. I was banded on 2.11.08. It took me over a year to finally take that step to have a second WLS once I'd heard of the sleeve and how wonderful it was. I can say today that it DID work and the sleeve for me was EVERYTHING that I was always hoping my band could be. Shouldn't I try Medifast first? -- "Insanity: doing the same thing over and over and over again and expecting different results" ~Albert Einstein People tell me it is TOO extreme, and try to help me figure out what else I can do. -- extreme yes... but sometimes that is exactly what it takes to beat a demon. I certainly don't regret doing this extreme surgery, because today I am everything I dreamed I could be, and so much more. I wouldn't give it back for all the tea in China. Besides that, there comes a time in our lives when we have to make our own decisions, be dammed of what anyone else thinks! No one but YOU is walking in your shoes, so no one but YOU should make such a huge decision on what is right and wrong for YOU. What if it doesn't work? -- See all above Maybe there is a hormonal reason I can't lose? -- Yes there is a possibility that there is a hormonal reason you can't lose. Have them checked, BUT that doesn't mean you still shouldn't take the bull by the horns. Excuses will only keep holding you back. What if it doesn't work? -- See all above With that, I'd like to formally welcome you to VST. Take a good look around. We have an entire section of Band to Sleeve stories and most if not ALL are successful in some manner or another. I have yet to see one where they weren't glad they did it. All the best to you and please let us know how you're doing! Chime in and make yourself home.