LilMissDiva Irene

Those ARE great NSV's!! Enjoy the spoils forensik you deserve it with all your hard work!

I'm not sure if you'd ever consider this, but since you didn't mention whether or not you would - I had Dr. Aceves in Mexicali in Mexico. He charged $11,250 for my band to sleeve revision and it was quite literally the best 11K I've EVER spent on myself. My life has changed so much for the better, and I thank GOD daily for him and my sleevie.

LOLOL!! Yes they crack me up too, and YES I do secretly read their posts! Oh I hope they don't decide to shut it down now!

Yayyy Keke!! You're doing EXCELLENT! Kimmr, you got some excellent responses here. Consider your choices wisely of course. All I know is that my band did NOT work for me, whether I worked it or not. I was an excellent candidate for the band, but was never able to find the sweet spot... I had over 20 adjustments in the 2.5 years I had it. I lost 50 with the band and once I gained back to within pounds of my Band weight I decided to stop the insanity. Since being sleeved I have lost to my goal and far beyond, and honestly I still haven't reallys stopped losing yet due to my workout and eating habits. Save for this month of course being Christmas and all kinds of other personal holidays. Good luck to you!

I agree with Lisa, please consult your surgeon. Though just so you know, I have felt this way too a few times. It was straight after eating more sugar than my body can handle at one sitting OR drinking dairy (Lactose issues). Please check in and let us know what your surgeon says!

I totally agree Sandy! Take the time to "smell the roses" as you trot along the path to your destination. I don't know how better way to put it. You have choice, go along enjoying the ride or choose to beat yourself up... haven't we done enough of that? I know I'd had, and I wasn't going to do that to myself anymore. If I couldn't love and respect me, how or why would I expect anyone else to love and respect me? Just isn't fair, IMO. Be fair to ourselves... that's all I'm saying!!

Good morning VST!! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, and if you were anything like me, the pounds did NOT creep up this time! Yayyy!! LOL I wanted to touch on one subject, as I've seen a huge amount of posts lately commenting on their stalls, or slow losses. I feel this is an important subject because it can really get into our heads. Firstly you are not alone, and I myself have felt this too. Though here's what kept me moving, and kept my head in the game so to speak. In this journey the BEST ASSETS you will have are #1 Patience, #2 Positivity and #3 Perseverence. The 3 P's!!! These three virtues are a MUST in this journey. Patience: All good things come to those who wait. You didn't gain 100+ Lbs overnight and you're not going to lose it that way either. You likely gained it over many years worth of time, so think of it like this - you will still lose that weight in the fraction of the amount of time it took you to gain it. No matter how "slow" you think your losses are happening it is still GREATLY faster than your gain. You are still WAY ahead of the game, no matter how you slice it. Positivity: This is going to be a very rough journey. You're not always going to enjoy all the effects of your weight loss surgery. But regardless you will have to keep your outlook bright! If you have to, keep a list of all the things pre-surgery that you are looking forward to. Check them off as they happen, keep it around close when you just need that extra lift of motivation. Looking back is just as important as looking forward on this road to wellness. Speaking of looking forward... check out the Success Stories Forum. Look for Sleevers who are no less than one year post op. Check their befores and afters. YOU WILL BE AMAZED!! Trust me, we didn't lose overnight either. Also, taking before and after photos are super helpful as is taking monthly or bi weekly measurements. The scale is rarely going to say what you really want it to. If it does every time, that's great! Consider yourself lucky!! Perseverence: You know the saying, when the going gets tough... the tough gets going. You will find this is true in this journey. Again I say, nothing about WLS is easy! We may think of it a miracle, a cure from obesity and in some ways it really is. I thank GOD daily for it and having the means to have mine, BUT I do also know being that I'm 15+ months out and having hit so many goals I've lost count that it is STILL a lot of hard work!! You will find that to truly become healthy you're going to have to find some kind of physical activity that you can both handle without injury and keep to some type of good eating regimen. Call it diet or choose not too, doesn't matter. You're not going to hit your goals in any kind of healthy way by eating all your calories on M&M's... know what I mean? However some things I refused to ever do was to give up, give in or beat myself up for being what in the real world is called being human. I have eaten M&M's and by golly I sure don't regret it! I still hit all my goals and had a little bit of fun along the way. You just have to make all the right choices, but at the right times too. That's all I have to say about that... I do hope this helps - and as we are in the middle of Winter where its way too cold for outside activities (at least for me it is!) and all the best eating is all around us, that we can just keep up the hard work that goes into getting to the finish line. If you maintain all three P's, you WILL GET THERE. For sure. Source: Giving It Time To Work...

Good morning VST!! I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, and if you were anything like me, the pounds did NOT creep up this time! Yayyy!! LOL I wanted to touch on one subject, as I've seen a huge amount of posts lately commenting on their stalls, or slow losses. I feel this is an important subject because it can really get into our heads. Firstly you are not alone, and I myself have felt this too. Though here's what kept me moving, and kept my head in the game so to speak. In this journey the BEST ASSETS you will have are #1 Patience, #2 Positivity and #3 Perseverence. The 3 P's!!! These three virtues are a MUST in this journey. Patience: All good things come to those who wait. You didn't gain 100+ Lbs overnight and you're not going to lose it that way either. You likely gained it over many years worth of time, so think of it like this - you will still lose that weight in the fraction of the amount of time it took you to gain it. No matter how "slow" you think your losses are happening it is still GREATLY faster than your gain. You are still WAY ahead of the game, no matter how you slice it. Positivity: This is going to be a very rough journey. You're not always going to enjoy all the effects of your weight loss surgery. But regardless you will have to keep your outlook bright! If you have to, keep a list of all the things pre-surgery that you are looking forward to. Check them off as they happen, keep it around close when you just need that extra lift of motivation. Looking back is just as important as looking forward on this road to wellness. Speaking of looking forward... check out the Success Stories Forum. Look for Sleevers who are no less than one year post op. Check their befores and afters. YOU WILL BE AMAZED!! Trust me, we didn't lose overnight either. Also, taking before and after photos are super helpful as is taking monthly or bi weekly measurements. The scale is rarely going to say what you really want it to. If it does every time, that's great! Consider yourself lucky!! Perseverence: You know the saying, when the going gets tough... the tough gets going. You will find this is true in this journey. Again I say, nothing about WLS is easy! We may think of it a miracle, a cure from obesity and in some ways it really is. I thank GOD daily for it and having the means to have mine, BUT I do also know being that I'm 15+ months out and having hit so many goals I've lost count that it is STILL a lot of hard work!! You will find that to truly become healthy you're going to have to find some kind of physical activity that you can both handle without injury and keep to some type of good eating regimen. Call it diet or choose not too, doesn't matter. You're not going to hit your goals in any kind of healthy way by eating all your calories on M&M's... know what I mean? However some things I refused to ever do was to give up, give in or beat myself up for being what in the real world is called being human. I have eaten M&M's and by golly I sure don't regret it! I still hit all my goals and had a little bit of fun along the way. You just have to make all the right choices, but at the right times too. That's all I have to say about that... I do hope this helps - and as we are in the middle of Winter where its way too cold for outside activities (at least for me it is!) and all the best eating is all around us, that we can just keep up the hard work that goes into getting to the finish line. If you maintain all three P's, you WILL GET THERE. For sure.

SO.. How did it go???

I know I can definitely eat a lot more this Holiday than last. I think it also has a lot to do with metabolism further out, and how much junk food one really is eating. I ate a lot of junk the last few days. At this time of the month, historically speaking is when I lose the most weight. This month I've lost a half pound, so to me that is maintaining. I do have a very high metabolism and I do workout quite a bit (in case anyone didn't know..LOL ) For me, Winter and most especially the entire month of December is always been the hardest for me. My husband and I were just talking about this the other day when I told him I maintained. I told him that was so great because normally Dec has me gaining 10 Lbs at the very least.

Worthy of RE POST. Awesome awesome awesome Cheri!!

Glad to hear that's all it was! I know dizziness is a very scary feeling. Big big hugs and healing prayers go out to you. Good for you on getting yourself to the ER immediately. Though the issue was easily remedied who knows how it wouldve turned out if you didn't get that checked ASAP.

Congrats!!! You worked it, and it worked!!

Congrats Cludgie!!! You rocked it all the way lady!!!

Yayyyyy!!!! Congrats darlin'!!!!

Thanks everyone!!! I hope everyone got exactly what they wanted for Christmas!

Thanks and Merry Christmas to you too dorrie!!

Merry Christmas to you too! 2012 is going to bring amazing things for you.

I wanted to wish everyone a Very Merry Christmas!! Good tidings to all, enjoy the day with your family and friends. Peace!!

You're right on track, most of us will lose about half our excess weight in the first 4-5 months. After that, it's pretty much going to be mostly our hard work and determination that will get us to our goals. Once you get within 30 Lbs of your normal weight, you will find it extremely more difficult. Based on your goal, it looks like you are pretty close to that. Keep in mind too, you are going to be left with a lot of shrunken fat cells and some excess skin. Believe it or not, this has some weight attached to it. The only things you can really do is keep bumping up your workouts (more intense, more time added), continue to intake plenty of Water, eat low(er) carb or stick to complex carbohydrates, I agree try to avoid many fruits right now, eat a lot of green vegetables, and stick to the lean Protein first rule. If you have to, getting further out you might need to start measuring your food again. Also, I started to have to log my food intake because I found I was grazing a little too much. The number one rule however for me was always, have patience. Keep doing all the right things and in time you will reach your goals. Good luck!!! It will happen when it was meant to happen. Can't ever rush a good thing.

Praying praying praying for you Sasi!!!! Hugs!! Please keep us updated on how you're doing... you are tiny already a Size 2. To think they may need to do a GB, that must be a very scary thought...

I'm glad, thanks for checking in.

My response to when my scale moved slowly: Just kept trying harder.

I had my revision with Dr. Aceves - and never have anything but rave reviews for him, the hospital and his staff. That said, I've not come across any bad information about Dr. Kelly except one time. I've also never seen an actual account of that incidence either, it was just hearsay IMO. I KNOW for a fact based on my own personal experience that Dr. Aceves is an excellent choice. Good luck!!

Hi!!! I agree with Lissa, it sounds like you already know what you need to do to get that scale/inches moving again. If this helps at all, Plastic Surgeons don't usually perform skin removals until you are at GOAL for about a years worth of time. If you are really interested in having that procedure done, then work really hard to hit your goal and stay there. Best wishes to you!! Congrats on your 80#'s lost as well, thats really fantastic!!