Diva Taunia

Can you imagine? Yeah, let me go to the beach and wear a BLACK SUIT. That will be super-comfortable. SAID NO ONE EVER.

That's actually a great question. I can tell you from my own experience, it did...quite a bit more than I had anticipated. Your body is your instrument, and sound resonates from within that instrument, so it changed a lot for me. I'd be really curious to hear what her response would be!

Hey Hey Everyone! Last week, Carnie Wilson wasn't able to make it on the show because she was quite sick, so she's going to be on TONIGHT! Do YOU have a question you'd like me to ask her on the show? Leave your questions in the comments section! If your question gets selected to be read on-air, you'll win a prize pack of goodies shipped from me to you, full of WLS and beauty-related goodies! Also, you can win a $30 Gift Certificate on tonight's show to Bravo Bra Pads (www.bravobrapads.com) by being the right caller: 347-857-2052. You can listen to the show streaming on any device at www.backstagepassradio.com. You can also watch us live on Facebook @backstagepassradio or @divataunia. And don't forget that you can save 15% in the BariatricPal Store by using the coupon code DIVAT !!! So go ahead and leave your question for Carnie below in the comments section. (This contest is ONLY for Bariatric Pal folks!) Tune-in tonight to find out if you've been selected! (I'll also updated this thread tomorrow.

Just found this thread and thought I'd chime in because I know of a fix that I swear by and LOVE. There is a company called Bravo Bra Pads (www.bravobrapads.com) and they make inserts that go into your bra and I SWEAR BY THESE THINGS! I wear them every day. They fill out your bra and perk up the girls. And they are SUPER afforable at only about $15 a pair. I've had mine for over a year and a half and they are still in amazing shape through daily wear and washes. Also, just as a tip: they're giving away a $25 Gift Certificate on the radio show this Friday night to a lucky caller. If you listen to the show this Friday (www.backstagepassradio.com) at 7pm PST when Carnie Wilson is on (she was sick last week, so she's going to be on this week), you can call in and win some to try! But honestly, either way, get yourself some of these. I promise you will thank me.

HA! Great costume! Do you really play? (I'm a professional musician out here in LA and I teach music. I'm actually from the Boston area originally - born and raised! Nice to see someone from my 'hood with a good sense of humor. And congrats on your success!

Congrats to you both, and best wishes and lots of luck!

Even though it was a million years ago now (ok, slight exaggeration - 8.5 years, lol), it's COMPLETELY natural. Drinking every meal is NOT natural. BUT, remember that you have a teeny tiny pouch right now and while you might be tempted to eat something, you could cause yourself a lot of physical pain or damage if you do. Honestly, I remember how difficult it was, but after you get through this, you'll realize you were a lot tougher than you thought you were.

Curious what everyone is doing for Halloween this year and what costumes they're choosing? For new pre-ops, I know/remember that this was one of the BEST things after losing weight: being able to get a rockin' Halloween costume! I'm curious to hear how new pre-ops feel and what they're going as this year? Also, for veterans, post your favorite post-op Halloween costume pic! This was my favorite, which was two years ago. I put together the costume myself! Maleficent, which was a LOT of fun wearing to school teaching middle school music students. lol

Reading this thread makes me feel OOOOOOOLD!!! lol

The show starts in just 15 minutes! Listen on any device at www.backstagepassradio.com or directly to the episode at: http://tobtr.com/s/9517791 Don't forget to call in at 347-857-2052 to win the $25 Bariatric Pal Store Gift Card!

@@Djmohr That's interesting that you're Iron got better. I've never heard of that happening before, but that's great for you! I'm curious why having a hysterectomy would mean you didn't need iron? (There may be one in my future as it's hereditary for almost all females in my family.) I don't mean to put you on the spot, I'm just curious about the connection. Iron carries oxygen through our red blood cells, so ....why the disconnect with the hysterectomy? Did they explain that to you? Thanks!

I'm curious to see how many people became anemic as post-ops, and how long after surgery did it become a problem for you? I'm almost nine years out and have suffered nearly zero complications up until last year when I was diagnosed as severely anemic and had to get a blood transfusion. I'm now scheduled for an appointment with hematology this month and it looks like I'll need another blood transfusion and also Iron transfusions. This is pretty common in gastric bypass post-ops, but what was unsual was how long I went (8 years) before it actually happened to me. I realized that I'm further out than a lot of folks, but I'm curious about others: if and WHEN it happened (if it did yet). Thanks!

Hey Krystal, I think the most important thing to remember first is that often times, no matter what the reaction is and whether or not it's supportive or not, it generally IS out of concern and love for you. Try to keep that in the foreground no matter how a person responds and I think it will better equip you to deal with reactions. My experience is that most people are supportive. For those who aren't, it's generally a reaction based in fear and a lack of understanding or knowledge. They are concerned because they've heard stories or some loosely thrown out facts about a fatality from ten years ago (and usually the one story out of thousands). They are scared, and because you are young, that will only serve to make people more hesitant if they have concerns about weight loss surgery already. The best thing you can do is arm yourself with information: facts and statistics as well as a clear definition of why this surgery is important to YOU and your life, and how it will make a profound impact in your quality of life. It's hard for people to argue that, and even if they're still hesitant about the surgery itself, they'll likely feel more secure in your decision and will support you as best they can. What it really comes down to is that it's your body, your health, your future and your decision. You own that. If you feel it's the best decision for you, the people that you love you will honor that and support you. I wish you the very best !

I'm very late to the party here, but I was 35 years old when I start the whole process. I'm 44 now. My highest weight was 320 and I've been maintaining between 160-165, so I'm at about half my body weight. I had RNY gastric bypass surgery and it was the BEST decision I ever made.

Actually, the question should be - who DOESN'T?!! Alex VERY generously sponsored a $25 Gift Card to be given away during tonight's premiere episode of The Backstage Pass Radio Program! If you're not familiar with the show, we create a lively and fun atmosphere to talk about weight loss surgery and obesity topics and welcome callers and chatters to the program every Friday at 7pm PST. You can listen to the show streaming on any device at PB2 Powdered Peanut Butter Gift Pack (raffle drawing tonight) just for liking our Facebook Page today before NOON PST! We'd love for you to come join in the discussion and tune-in. We're working to make weight loss surgery and obesity talk radio fun, entertaining and a little bit crazy! Thanks again to Alex for sponsoring this great giveaway. He's also offering a 15% discount using the code DIVAT or POWERGIRL. Call-in tonight to win so you can shop store.bariatricpal.com!

The toughest part of the journey is the emotional and mental part of it. Worrying, we're always worrying...aren't we? I'm almost nine years out and I've maintained almost all of my weight loss. I started at 320 and I maintain my weight between 160-165. Today I'm at 165. Some weeks I'm at 160. One summer a couple years ago, I got up to 191 again. I freaked out. FREAKED OUT. But I took a look at what I was doing and got honest with myself: I was drinking coke again, I was eating at night again, and I wasn't exercising. I changed those three things and I lost 30 lbs in 4 months. The surgery is a tool, and it's a gift. It makes being honest (above) a LOT easier as a post-op, but you still do have to keep an eye on things. But what I've found in these nine years is that the way I live my life is dramatically different now. Before I had surgery, my life was take-out and frozen foods and there was barely a fruit or vegetable in sight. Now, I cook EVERYTHING and I LOVE TO COOK! I also LOVE fruits and vegetables and my fridge is packed with them. I dance, swim, and walk my dog now. Life just changes a lot post-op and maintenance becomes easier because of the changes in your life. You're not the same person you were before. So while you may have heard stories of people gaining weight back, I hope my story of maintaining for almost a decade (ok, I'm pushing it a little bit...lol) gives you something positive to look forward too. And believe me, my story is just one of MANY! I promise!

I am almost nine years out and I have an odd relationship with dairy products. Things I don't do well with: Regular Milk Ice Cream Frozen Yogurt (Gives me the shakes, almost like a pre-dumping syndrome type of situation.) Lactaid is better, but not great. I tend to avoid these things all-together. Things I do just fine with: Cottage cheese Greek yogurt (love!) Regular cheeses (double love!) I just make sure I get enough Calcium in my diet and with my supplements. I thought my life would be over without ice cream, but I actually don't even really miss it. I miss Cereal and milk more than I miss ice cream!

I'm having trouble editing my profile and keep getting an error message on a number of different pages. I'm getting these two error messages: "Bad Gateway" and "nginx". I've tried using both Google Chrome and Firefox and the same thing happens. I've also cleared my cache and tried for several days now. Any idea what's going on? Anyone else having this problem? Thanks for any help!

Alex, what an awesome picture of you and Carnie! And SO nice of you to be doing a $25 Bariatric Pal Online Gift Certificate giveaway that night too! We'd love for you guys to like our Facebook Page! www.facebook.com/backstagepassradio You can listen to the show streaming online that night Friday 10/07 at 7pm PST at www.backstagepassradio.com, but you can also "watch" it as a Facebook live feed on the Facebook page or on my personal Facebook page (@divataunia) and there will also be a live feed where you can ask Carnie questions, as well as the call-in # at 347-857-2052. We hope you'll all tune-in and be part of the show and the Backstage Pass Radio community! Thanks to Bariatric Pal and to Alex for supporting us!

Hey Lap Banders! Wondering if anyone might know how to get a hold of Ashley "thebandinme" from YouTube? She hasn't made any videos in years, and there doesn't seem to be any way to get hold of her on YouTube, but I'm hoping that someone might know her personally or still keep in touch with her? I need to contact her about a story that was written about her that she should be aware of. I'd REALLY appreciate it if someone could ask her to get in touch with me! Email: info@divataunia.com. If emails don't come through on here (not sure), please direct her to the contact page on my website at www.divataunia.com. Many thanks!

I wasn't such a young kid (lol), but I loved all their music too. Sang it endlessly!

Hi Everyone! First - apologies for my empty profile. I'm getting an error when I try to edit and update this this morning. Next, I wanted to let you know that The Backstage Pass Radio Program is coming back to the air on Friday, October 7th at 7:00pm PST and our first featured guest is CARNIE WILSON! We'll also have Antonia Namnath from the WLSFA on as well and I'll have my first-ever super-fabulous surprise new co-host with me! I'd love for you to jump on over to the Facebook Page and like it. Everyone who likes the page before the first show gets entered into a raffle to win a prize pack of two cannisters of Bell Plantation PB2 Powdered Peanut Butter: one in regular Peanut Butter flavor and the other in chocolate peanut butter (must live in the US to ship, or can pay shipping costs). The Facebook Page is: https://www.facebook.com/backstagepassradio The show will be streaming live online and you can listen at www.backstagepassradio.com. There will also be a live chat that happens where you can chat with us AND we'll be on Facebook live (video) as well, so you can hang with us in a variety of different ways. We want to be as entertaining as possible, but give you great and valuable information. We'd also LOVE to hear from YOU about what topics you'd like to covered, what type of guests you'd like on the show, etc. We want you to be involved and engaged. Tell us in the comments what you'd love from the show! Thanks so much for your support!

I thought I'd just chime in here because I'm an 8.5 year gastric bypass post-op and I'm also an 8.5 year Slimpressions user. I also wear shapewear DAILY, so I like to think of myself as a bit of an expert in this area and I'm happy to give my feedback on this. I buy shapewear for two reasons: 1) daily wear and 2) onstage/performance wear. (I'm a professional musician and perform often, most often in an Andrew Sisters tribute group which requires "pinup" dresses and costuming.) When I wear pieces onstage, they're generally extra-firm and extremely uncomfortable (also VERY pricey $$$), and I'd never wear them on a daily basis. When I wear daily shapewear, the compression is generally moderate and the material and compression is much more comfortable. Slimpressions falls into this category, and some of the pieces I have from them (and there are LOTS), I've had for over eight years. About my "problem areas" I carry my extra weight (no reconstructive surgery here, unfortunately) in my belly, back, and lower abdomen. I usually buy cami shapers, and I have LOADS of them. Slimpressions makes my favorite because of the super-thin (but sturdy) spaghetti straps that make it look like I'm wearing a top and not a shaper. What I like about Slimpressions is the fabric. It's breathable, washable, and very comfortable. The one thing I *will* say is that I generally always size DOWN so that I can get the extra compression that I am looking for. That way, I get a great firm hold, but still get super-comfortable fabric. I have almost every top piece they make (the Have-Nots are the BOMB! They give your bust a boost!) and a few of the bottom pieces as well. Most have lasted me a very long time. Like I said, I have shapewear from almost every brand out there, but I've been wearing Slimpressions the longest because of the fabric and the versatility. I like them quite a bit. Just two cents from an eight-year wearer!