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About this blog

Whatever I'm thinking about at the moment...

Entries in this blog

 

The 12 Steps Of Addiction Recovery

I am a food addict. Or should I say I have an addictive personality. If I enjoy something I have an intense drive to over do it. I don't know why this is, but I am working really hard to fix it.   I. AM. NOT. PERFECT.   But, I will admit I have problems in my head and I need to fix them.   I am posting the 12 Steps of Addiction Recovery.   Know them, learn them, live them.   The 12 Steps   Step 1 - We admitted we were powerless over our addiction - that our lives had become unmanageable
Step 2 - Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity
Step 3 - Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood God
Step 4 - Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves
Step 5 - Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs
Step 6 - Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character
Step 7 - Humbly asked God to remove our shortcomings
Step 8 - Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all
Step 9 - Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others
Step 10 - Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it
Step 11 - Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood God, praying only for knowledge of God's will for us and the power to carry that out
Step 12 - Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to other addicts, and to practice these principles in all our affairs
Where I found this information: http://www.12step.org/     Source: The 12 Steps Of Addiction Recovery
LilMissDiva Irene

LilMissDiva Irene

1
 

From: My Insanity! Journey... Shaun T Would Be So Proud. ;)

Weekly check in!! I just completed Week 4 of Insanity, amongst a billion other workouts too.. LOL - sharing my progress. Current measurements: Ribcage (bra strap) 32" ; Bust 38" ; Waist 28" (I'm only 1" away from my goal waist size!!!) ; Hips 39" (still haha My booty doesn't wanna leave the building, but my Hubby and I are OK with that. AND FOR THE GRAND FINALE: My body fat checked in at: 22.2% WOWWW!!!! Gettin LEAN and definitely FIT. Good day.   Current Photo. Keep working out everyone! It really does help.       Source: My Insanity! Journey... Shaun T Would Be So Proud.
 

My Insanity! Journey... Day 1 - Success!

Ohh Myy Goodnessss!!!! Okay, Fact #1 I am SUPER PROUD OF MYSELF THIS MORNING!!! Amazing I was able to nearly keep up with them on the Fit Test!! Woot!! The only ones I was much slower than the team was on the ones I had to baby my knees, which I'm totally okay with. Fact #2, by the time the Fit Test was over I had to crawl to write down my results and I felt like I wanted to die... and it was just the Fit Test!!! Fact #3, I will need to use the Beachbody Mat next time because I got some rug burn goin' on. :-P Fact #4, I will DEFINITELY need to do a warm up on my stationary bike tomorrow morning before tackling the workout. The 2 minutes they do is not nearly enough. Fact #5, I'm a PRO at stretching... Ha!! ) Have a WONDERFUL AND SUCCESSFUL day today WL World!!!     Source: My Insanity! Journey... Shaun T Would Be So Proud.
LilMissDiva Irene

LilMissDiva Irene

2
 

My Insanity! Journey... T Minus 4

Getting ready!! The fun begins Monday afternoon. Here's my workout routine for the full 60 Days of Insanity! Challenge:   SUNDAY: NO WORKOUTS… (boo!)   MONDAY: AM: 30 Stationary Bike / 30 Elliptical / Walk @ Work PM: Insanity!   TUESDAY: AM: 20 Stationary Bike / 40 Treadmill PM: Insanity! / Kettle bell DVD   WEDNESDAY: AM: 30 Stationary Bike / 30 Elliptical / Walk @ Work PM: Insanity! / Pilates   THURSDAY: AM: 20 Stationary Bike / 40 Treadmill PM: Insanity!   FRIDAY: AM: 30 Stationary Bike / 30 Elliptical / Walk @ Work PM: Insanity! / Kettle bell DVD   SATURDAY: AM: 20 Stationary Bike / 40 Treadmill PM: Insanity! / Pilates   Once the 60 days is complete, I will then judge the results to see if I want to do another round or not.     Source: My Insanity! Journey... Shaun T Would Be So Proud.
LilMissDiva Irene

LilMissDiva Irene

3
 

Every Day I Wake Up It's A New Story...

Hello VST...   So last night I was really getting down on myself because I knew it was time to challenge "me" with better eating. I've been going through a lot of emotional dramas lately and I've found that my eating habits have been downright stinking it up. Well, I'm tell you this! There's no way that can become a habit because quite literally I've gone through far too much to slip back into the old me. No way no how!!   So last night I made a pact with myself... I have a 60 challenge coming up. It's called the Insanity! Challenge. I don't know if any of you know what this is, but here's a link if you'd like to check it out. Anyway, upon completion you send in your before and after photos to Beachbody and they will send you a prize T-Shirt with the Insanity! Logo on the front, and "I earned it" written across the back. Heck yeah!! Are you kidding me? I'm so going to wear this every chance I get this summer. I know I'm physically capable of doing it. It may be tough but I will DEFINITELY do it!!   My motto has always been "Every day is a new chance to start over". I believe this with all my heart, and quite honestly is the sole reason I got to where I am today. My attitude always kept positive that I will get to my goal and I got here. Whatever that means... but now I'm wanting to work on my fitness level. I'm taking it to the next step now, and I'm excited about it. HOWEVER... I cannot do that if I keep eating junk! Last night I decided I needed to do the flush to get those sugar demons out of my body.   I know some of you have heard of my Basics Bootcamp? Well, I've tried to start it a few times, but haven't really been able to grasp on. So, I needed to do something a little deeper, hardcore and unforgiving. That's right... the dreaded liquid diet. AUUGGHHHH!!! I've been avoiding this like the black death but you know what? If I don't do this I'll likely just waste more time getting back on track.   So...   Here I am nearly 21 hours into this. I'm doing 2 full days of liquids, which ultimately translates into a total of 62 hours without food. I'm drinking 64 Oz. per day of water, 4 - 8 Oz servings of G2, Unjury Chicken Soup 3x (which translates to my Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner) and for my 3 Snacks I'm doing an Atkins Advantage RTD. *Whew*!!! Once the two days are up, I plan to do 3 days of super clean eating which every meal will consist of lean protein and green veggies. After that I'll go back to my mindless sleever rules and stick to good healthy meals.   Right around lunch time today I already began to miss food!! I felt a little panicky and I heard that voice in my head saying "Oh it's okay... you've done good today - think about what you're going to have for dinner..." So I decided to leave a status on Facebook to get it out of my mind! I must do this!! I need to detoxify my body and brain from sugar and I'd really love to drop some water retention if I can. If not, oh well - but I have to get over this sugar.   Wow... I feel better already getting all my thoughts out. If you're still with me (because I know I can go on forever if I really wanted to) thank you for listening and reading.
LilMissDiva Irene

LilMissDiva Irene

4
 

The Secret Of My Success

I'm always being asked how or what I did to get to where I am now. I'm always happy to answer any questions anyone brings to me, because I completely understand. I mean, I've been through it - the ups, the downs, the in-betweens... and I had even considered writing up a huge novel-like post to spell it all out.   But life got in the way, and here I am today.   Time got away from me and my project fell off the map. That's okay because I think that made the picture in my mind that I was trying to canvass a lot more clear. I'm seeing the forest for the trees now - and I have to tell you, the secret of my success is far more simple than I ever thought.   Finally early this morning as I was getting ready for work I started to simplify all the things I did that worked for me, and here is what I came up with: The 5 P's to my success: Positivity. Patience. Persistence. Push Fluids. Protein First.
Minding my Q's: Quit the Salt. Quit the Sugar. Quit the Excuses. Quit the Denial.
Avoiding the C's: Candy, Crackers, Cakes, Chocolate, Cookies, Chips, popCorn, iceCream.
When it comes down to it, these are the things that got me to where I am today. Seriously, nothing more and nothing less. I mean sure, I worked out and a lot - but I've got that covered with Persistence AND Quit the Excuses...   Blessings to you all. You'll get there, just keep doing all the right things!! I know, I say that all the time, and you ask - "well, what's that"?? Now, I've got "All the right things" written out on your screen.     Source: The Secret Of My Success
LilMissDiva Irene

LilMissDiva Irene

1
 

From: 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.     Source: Giving It Time To Work...
LilMissDiva Irene

LilMissDiva Irene

2
 

From: My Plastics Journey - My First One (of Several)

I wanted to throw in an update because just... WOW!!! For MONTHS I've been stressing due to all the swellings, weight gains and whatever else comes with plastic surgery... however - as always with time comes healing and RESULTS!!! Every single day now I'm seeing humungous differences!! I'm over the moon right now, and THANKING EVERYTHING GOOD that I chose the right surgeons. They performed literally miracles for me. I. AM. HAPPY.   In the last 4 weeks alone I've dropped NEARLY 15 INCHES off my whole body!!!! YAYAYEEESSSSS!!!!!   Picture Updates:   carweightintrunk.bmp     Source: My Plastics Journey - My first one (of several)
LilMissDiva Irene

LilMissDiva Irene

6
 

From: I Must Retract My Last Goal Thread... Omg You Won't Believe This...

So, I said I wouldn't try for those Size 0's after all... well... I took them out of my closet to possibly return them for a larger size, which I was going to go for a 4. For some crazy reason I though, what the heck - I'll try them on... why not? Who cares? It would just be interesting to see how far I can get them up.   Well... take a look:     For the record, I'm a little weirded out by this. I still have a lot of swelling to go down from my lipo. How small am I gonna get??? WOWWWW!!! Happy? ABSO FREAKIN LUTELY!!!! I fitted my Zero's without even trying!!!! I LOOOVE YOU SLEEVIE!!! I LOVE YOU LIPO SURGEON!!!! YOU'RE THE BEST!!!     Source: I Must Retract My Last Goal Thread... Omg You Won't Believe This...
LilMissDiva Irene

LilMissDiva Irene

13
 

From: The End Of My Weight Loss Journey. New Goal: To Stay Here And Stay Fit.

Hello everyone,   I bring to you tidings of joy for the Holiday Season! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and your loved ones!! :smile1:   I'm writing you today because I have recently had a revealing moment... or two. A few days ago I was walking around our house and I walked into an area where the kitchen light shines against our dining room wall. As I walked by I noticed a shadow appear on the wall, and one I could not for the life of me recognize. I was SO surprised that I had to walk by again, because in all reality I couldn't believe that was me I was looking at. This figure on the wall was tall, slender and super curvy. I was impressed to say the least. I felt satisfied by what I saw.   Let me define for you the word satisfied because this is one I've NEVER used in my entire life when it came to how I viewed myself physically. Not once.   Synonyms: content - contented - pleased - happy - glad   Yes, this was me at that very moment. I'm going to admit something here and now. I've not one time in my life felt this way regarding ME. My reflection would always throw me back an image I couldn't accept. There was always something more I could do, to improve upon. There was even a time in my life where I was even underweight for my frame and I STILL could not accept ME. I always wanted to lose more, a pound here or an inch there. It was a little insane truthfully.   Here I am right now, feeling high from adrenaline and satisfaction - that I am really and truly done with this journey. I put on my first pair of jeans since my final liposuction and they were easy to put on. They slid right up over my thighs without effort. I didn't have to fight them, and I didn't have to wear pants today that were too small in the thigh and too big in the waist. My thighs... oh so lovely thighs... are normal.   Normal synonyms: regular - standard - ordinary - common - usual   Another word I've never used to define myself.   I am me, and I am content, pleased, happy, glad, regular, standard, ordinary, common and I am usual.   I am also a finished product. Now only need to keep up with remaining healthy and staying right here where I am. So, EFF YOU SIZE ZERO!! You do not define me, just as much as my scale does not. My health, both physical and mental - and my happiness does.       Source: The End Of My Weight Loss Journey. New Goal: To Stay Here And Stay Fit.
LilMissDiva Irene

LilMissDiva Irene

6
 

From: My Plastics Journey - My first one (of several)

fill docs.doc Ok folks... here are the one month post op photos. I don't think they'll change much more. My starting bra size was a 34 B/C - today I'm a 36 F (DDD). Those size bras are hard to find!! LOL   I've also posted a full body shot to have a comparison photo from before and around December I should have an after shot. November 4th I'll get my first lipo and Nov. 18th I'll get my second. Whoooo!!!   Source: My Plastics Journey - My first one (of several)
LilMissDiva Irene

LilMissDiva Irene

4
 

From: My Plastics Journey - My first one (of several)

So, yesterday was the big day. I got there at 11:30 am (and can I say I'm lovin my sleeve because I KNOW I would've been starving to death by then.. LOL) and prep time, plus some Planet Earth DVD's passed the time pretty quickly. My surgery started around 1:15 PM. It went super fast as always!! However, I found out by my Anesthesiologist that I have a heart murrmurr. You know, I've been told that one other time over a decade ago. Funny thing I thought it was a fluke because I'd never been told that before ever and didn't again so I'd forgotten about it. Better to put that on record I guess with my PcP next time I see her.   Anyhow, everything went FANTASTIC!!! I absolutely without a doubt LOVE MY NEW BOOBIES!!! OMG, I can't tell you... I'm so glad I did this!!! My pain has been tolerable. Doc gave me Vicadin and an excellent muscle relaxer that are working wonderful together. Right now I'm just resting and my Post Opt Appt is this upcoming Thursday at 9 am.   I gained 7 Lbs from my surgery... crazy stuff. Got me back up to 186.4... but you know what's so funny is the Docs office weighed me in at 175 before all the IV's and surgery. LOL!! I think each implant weighs about 2 lbs each.. so now I'm hopeful that my Lipo's will take off that AND SOME!!!   Next stop will my my Lipo's!!!! Bye-bye fat thighs!!! Hello itty bitty waist!!!     Source: My Plastics Journey - My first one (of several)
LilMissDiva Irene

LilMissDiva Irene

5
 

From: This morning I've lost 150 LBS!!!

What a great morning!! I was really hoping to break into the 170's before my surgery on Thursday... well I beat that by 4 days!! WHOOTT!!   AND...   From my highest weight ever, I'm down a total of 150.2 LBS!!!!!! WOW!!!!!!!!   I never did imagine I'd be right here where I am right now. In only 8.2 more Lbs I'll have lost 100 Lbs total from my sleeve date. Great things continue to happen, while working the sleeve!! It's wonders are boundless!!!!   Source: This morning I've lost 150 LBS!!!
LilMissDiva Irene

LilMissDiva Irene

3
 

From: The BOD POD

So I FINALLY made my way to the Bod Pod. Work has settled down and after working nearly an entire month on my Fridays off I got one to myself. Yahhh!!!   Anyway, I met some amazing outstanding folks at the Vacaville Golds Gym. They made me feel so welcomed, and geesh if I lived there that would definitely be my workout spot. More on that later, here are my results:   Fat: 35.3% 64.0 Lbs. Lean: 64.7% 117.3 Lbs. Total: 100% 181.3 Lbs. (I lost some weight yay!!)   How I measure up (per Bod Pod Composition Test Results Page):   Risky (High Body Fat) >30% Men >40% Women Explanation: Too much body fat can pose serious health risks. Ask your health care professional about how to safely modify your body composition.   Excess Fat (I'm smack in the middle of this!!) 21-30% Men 31-40% Women Explanation: Indicates an excess accumulation of fat over time.   Moderately Lean (29% will be my first goal!!) 13-20% Men 23-30% Women Explanation: Fat level is acceptable for good health.   Lean (Will be my Ultimate Goal <22%>) 9-12% Men 19-22% Women Explanation: Lower body fat levels than many people. This range is excellent for health and longevity. (Sounds like exactly the place for me!!)   Ultra Lean (A bit too much for me) 5-8% Men 15-18% Women Explanation: Fat Levels sometimes found in elite athletes.   Risky (Low Body Fat) <5% Men <15% Women Explanation: Too little body fat can present health risks, especially for women. If in doubt, check with your health care professional.   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   My next goal is to get my total Body Fat to 29%. I am quite pleased by my results! I have come a long long way and to just be deemed as having excess fat now is quite the achievement. However I'm also glad I finally got myself to this appointment so now I know for sure I still have some work to do, and well that's exactly what I'm going to do.   The trainer who helped me, Michele was so nice! We went over a few things as soon as my tests were complete. I asked her what she thought I could do to reduce the body fat while trying not to lose so much lean tissue. Wow!! And I have to say I'm quite impressed with how heavy my lean tissue is! So my thoughts were correct that I am a "heavy girl". 117 Lbs of me is all muscle, bones and organs. Not sure how I compare to anyone else who is 5'7 but I really thought it could be more around 100 Lbs of lean tissues. Not only that, per their scale (which was midday almost at that) weighed me in at more than 1.5 Lbs less!! Yippeee!!!   Anyway, we were talking and I was describing my workout routines for her. Her eyes literally bugged out of her skull and she exclaimed that I do far more than most. That's funny because I always feel like I can do more. She said my workout routine is excellent. The only things she suggested I can do is do at least a little bit of weight training 2x per week. She said that is quite enough, and if I'm up to it, perhaps taking some swimming lessons. She said that burns enormous amounts of fat and will get me lean, no problem. Then we met with the Swim trainer, who has had RnY by the way 4 years ago. She was incredibly nice! Once I'm healed from my procedures I plan to have a few swimming lessons with her to get me to learn it properly.   So with that, I move onward and downward. I imagine a lot of fat is going to be removed with my liposuctions. I hope 6% worth!! :lol:   Source: The BOD POD
LilMissDiva Irene

LilMissDiva Irene

4
 

From: Weight Loss Surgery DO's and DON'Ts

WLS Do’s and Don’ts     DO remove the word ONLY from your vocabulary. Ex: I’ve ONLY lost 10 Lbs in 2 weeks… Now let’s look at this again without the word ONLY: I’ve lost 10 Lbs in 2 weeks!! See what I mean? Perception is reality folks!!   DON’T assume you’ll never eat all of your favorite foods again. This is just an excuse your brain has designed to allow you to indulge. You WILL eat all your favorites again someday, just much less but find it to me more enjoyable. Which leads directly into the next:   DON’T do the “last meal” syndrome. You will only sabotage your weight loss you might have pre-surgery or set you back further from your ultimate goal post-op. This surgery is very serious and is for the serious minded. Use this time wisely to get the feeling of how life might be like post op.   DO learn all of the rules pre-op that you will endure post-op. Such as, no drinking with meals, using smaller utensils and plates, engaging in some type of workout routine, limiting your sugar and sodium intake, joining as many WLS support groups as you can.   DO celebrate every single pound lost! Imagine one pound of butter. Yeah… that’s gone from your body forever. It is noteworthy and worth every bit of a pat on the back as any others that may go along with it.   DON’T compare your successes and losses to others. Chances are very high that you will only come out on the short end and only find yourself disappointed. Everyone’s journeys are their own…   DO keep track of your losses in many different ways than just the scale! Examples:   DO keep one set of your largest clothes you’ve ever worn. Make it a point to try them on, especially when you’re having a down moment. You will find this will really pick up your spirits! This is a real rollercoaster of a ride, and anything that will keep you positive is what you should do!   DON'T keep any other fat clothes around. Get rid of them ASAP. You're never going to fit them again, right? So... off to donations they go. DO take photos of yourself just before your surgery. Keep them close. Again, having a bad day? Look at them and compare them. As a matter of fact, take photos of yourself often. You will also find that the more you lose, the more you will want to take pictures. Nothing wrong with that!!! That goes with celebrating your losses.   DO take measurements of yourself often. Keeping track of all your inches lost will really keep you on the right track when your scale is being stubborn!!   DO reward yourself every time you hit a mini goal. Make some more worthy than others. I like to go shopping when I hit a goal, it is my favorite thing to do now. DON’T let the scale define you. Great majority of us will endure many fluctuations and stalls in this journey. It is what it is… patience is the key here. Meditate and envision yourself months down the road at your goal. Smile, then move on!!   DO find out about measuring body fat! It’s more than just weight loss, FAT LOSS is the real goal here. Keep in mind that the BMI scale is greatly inaccurate and most Health Studies do prove this. According to the American Council on Exercise (ACE) our body fat % ranges should be average: 25-31% for Women and 18-24% for men. Any higher is considered obese. However it does go more in depth, according to ages and more. Everyone has different genetic make ups, frame sizes and fitness levels... even a different ethnicity can post differences.   DO have many goals in sight. Having only one, especially a simple weight goal you will find can be difficult. Have many MINI goals along your journey, and more than just ones that involve the scale. Such as, clothing size goals, body fat% goals, fitness or workout goals, dietary goals, etc…   DO challenge yourself always!! Whether it’s a global challenge with others, or personal challenges... It will keep you motivated and always willing to go further than you ever thought you could!   DO have a mentor! Find someone that you can trust and confide in, and that you know has “been there”. Preferably someone you know in person. You will find many folks in your life who have been there, for obesity is worldwide now and there are so many who have been able to defeat this demon. It’s not easy! It quite literally is the toughest feat I’ve ever had to endure. I can say this too, my job will never be done. This is for life!   And finally…   DON’T ever beat yourself up! We all make mistakes, and dare I say not one person on this Earth is perfect. I try hard to be, no doubt! I always admit that I’m a perfectionist – but I’m far from perfect. I just try to be… The only thing you can do is pick yourself up, give yourself a pep talk, perhaps contact your mentor for reassurance and move on!!! Again, this is for life. Every day you wake up is a second chance.   DON’T EVER GIVE UP. I don’t think any explanation is necessary here.     Good luck to all of you. This journey is a tough one, but if you are here, then you believed in yourself enough to give yourself the life you’ve always dreamed of. YOU WILL BE successful. Always keep that in mind.     Source: Weight Loss Surgery DO's and DON'Ts
LilMissDiva Irene

LilMissDiva Irene

3
 

From: I'm being SLEEVED on Sept. 15, 2010 by Dr. Aceves!!

This was my Surgery Day thread... I had surgery on 9/15/10 by the Awesome Dr. Aceves. If you're trying to find out more information about him or get some kind of an idea on what to expect, please read on. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ That�s right!! Next Wednesday is the big day for me! I�m soooo excited I can hardly stand it! This past 5 weeks has absolutely flown by. I�m still thinking of things I�m going to need� it�s like a never ending story. I'm so glad I decided to start sooner rather than later. I would�ve felt truly overwhelmed this coming weekend. Thank you all so very much for all your support!! This is the best support website on the WWW� no lie. I�m fortunate! So I�ll post my pre-op stuff here and post-op to avoid making new threads for every little thing (unless it's major!). I also won�t dig too much into my past � only that I was banded on 2/11/08 and its going to be removed in the process. All the very best to anyone being sleeved around this time too! Ok, and everyone else too� I mean, I don�t want to leave anyone out. Make your dreams reality!!!   Source: I'm being SLEEVED on Sept. 15, 2010 by Dr. Aceves!!
LilMissDiva Irene

LilMissDiva Irene

0
 

From: My 11th Month Sleeversary Update

So here I am… over 11 months post op now. My Sleeversary is on the 15th of every month, and my next one will be ONE FULL YEAR!! When I decided to get revised from Lap Band to sleeve, I had gone from my low of 227 Lbs all the way back up to 281 Lbs. I was only 2 Lbs. away from reaching my Lap Band surgery day weight of 283. That was not a good time for me. I was quite literally depressed.     It’s not easy making a decision like this… let alone a second one. How was I ever going to get myself back on track to get to where I’d wanted to find myself? One thing I needed to ask myself was – is my heart in it? Yes, no doubt about that. I have a lot of friends who still follow me from my Lap Band days, and they’ve seen me struggle like no others. They would tell you, I was always fighting, trying, starting over, crying, rejoicing and everything else that goes along with a lot of weight loss and gains over the long years of obesity struggles.     So, my Lap Band and I just didn’t get along. We were enemies before we even met. We were never destined to get to the Promised Land together. It is what it is though, no need crying over spilled milk. All we can do is go our separate ways and in my quest to find happiness, like so many other failed relationships out there, continue my search for “the one”.     Well, here I am today, not even a year later after finding “the one” and I’ve hit all of my major goals already. Some I never ever dreamed of hitting, and one in particular was one that I just placed on myself to see if I could do it… and I did.     My major goals were first and foremost getting lower than my Lap Band weight. That was such an awesome day for me. I’d prayed and prayed so many times to do this with my band and that elusive 227 Lbs forever haunted me. I felt really good at that weight, and look at me now!! That was nearly 50 Lbs ago now!! It’s still hard to imagine as I look back and reflect. I’m far beyond that at this point, and really seems like a dream come true.     My second major goal was to weigh less than my darling husband. Wow, what an excellent day that was for me to yell at him with joy and dance around saying I finally did it… he’s finally the man of the house!! LOL I’m not really sure if most understand this, but in my world, I should never weigh more than him. I felt so unladylike and especially out doing him by more than 120 Lbs even. Granted he’s not a really big guy. We are about the same height but still… he IS a man. He SHOULD weigh more than me… and now he does. In fact we have a good 25 Lbs between us now. Oh happy happy joy joy!!     My third and ULTIMATE goal I’d set for myself was to fit into some cute Size 8 Levi’s that I had. I bought them right around the time I had my surgery, or not long after. I had this particular cut and brand jeans that I just love and I’d often as a larger woman still wearing Women’s Sizes often go over and look at them… daydreaming. They looked so itty bitty to me then, and I never dreamed I could actually make it there. When I bought them I felt a little embarrassed because I knew the clerk would see the size and I also knew the clerk would probably laugh at me buying such a small size. Well, I went to a guy clerk after imagining this in hopes for the chance they wouldn’t notice. I’m not sure if he did or not, I just bought them and ran out!! Hahaa!! I’m so glad I did though!! I kept them hanging up on my wall, looking at them and imagining myself in them someday. Well right around 205-208 Lbs, I was finally able to squeeze into those suckers!!! I was in total amazement, and yes I even cried a little bit. It was such an awesome time for me! It was truly truly a spectacular moment. One I will NEVER FORGET!!!!     Ok, so imagine my surprise at being able to get them on and not even having reached Onederland yet. I figured I’d fit them around 190… and that was even wishful thinking. So, since I’d really only had several actual real scale related goals and the most major one being Onederland I had to keep pushing forward. I decided then to make my new goal Size 4 Levi’s of the same cut and style. Wow, when I bought those jeans I about died. They look so small I can’t even describe the angst I felt. I really hate making myself goals that I don’t feel confident I’ll make. The reason is simple… if I don’t make it, I will be left feeling like a failure. I’m a super strict perfectionist. I’m really tough on myself if I don’t end in success, and I think that has a lot to do with my weight issues…stemmed from the past.     Anyway, I kept pressing on. I think it was about a few weeks later that I hit my most favorite goal to date. ONEDERLAND!!! OMG I can’t express to you how amazing this goal was for me. I haven’t seen the One’s prior to this for over 20 years. I fought so hard for it too. My scale was going to C-block me (sorry for the language folks but it’s true!!) as much as it could before letting me get there. My scale has always hated me. It still does. It will NEVER let me have what I want when I want it. I’ll also never ever be 125 Lbs. There’s just no way in the world… that said… it was nice to me for that split second. I was happy. Case closed… LOL     At this point I’m beginning to believe that my journey though not complete yet, is a total success. It was around that time that I started to enjoy my weight loss journey, and started to recognize my fluctuations and just going with them and being patient about them. It was also around this time that a few others of my notable goals were met.     I’d finally run an entire 5K event, and did quite well. Now I can run a 5K without issue and really go for 3.5-5 Miles 4-5 days per week without fail. I’ve also gotten my waist size to less than 32”, which according the the Health World is ideal for a Woman to have, as anything more we are predisposed to diseases such as Diabetes, etc. My panels are all excellent, save for my iron, which is not out of the norm for me. My blood pressure is completely controlled and I never have any problems with it anymore and do not need additional medications for it. There are countless others, but these are my most notable. Oh, and did I mention I was able to get those Size 4’s on? Yeah, I did. There’s a picture of me wearing them in my Signature line. Yayyy!!!     So… where do I go from here? Well, I can tell you this, I’ve never had any kind of real actual Scale goal to reach. I have no idea where I want to land at. I can tell you this though; I’m completely satisfied with me right now. Size 4 is pretty small.     I’m getting my breasts augmented next Thursday. Ladies, I can honestly tell you, a lot of us (not all!! Everyone’s different) are going to lose the boobs. I held mine really good (Full D Cup) all the way up until I hit Onederland. It was about overnight that they just deflated, like as if you would poke a tiny hole in a large balloon. *Whoosh!!* Gone… so I’m having them “re-instated” so to speak, heehee I will likely come out a full DD or maybe even a DDD. Wow… LMAO!! Like I said, go BIG or go home!!     I’m also getting liposuction on my thighs and knee areas. I find that normal size clothing doesn’t give extra room for those of us with thicker thighs. I’m always stuck having to wear a larger size than I need to compensate and left with a baggy bum and waist area. It’s really frustrating. So, I’m going to get those areas addressed. Not only that, it will really accelerate my running with more comfort.     In closing, I just want to say that in reality I am at goal. My brain still needs to catch up however. I’m going through a full fledged surgery and a few other procedures, so my brain is on overload right now. I’m not going to deal with the struggles of “maintenance” until I’m completely healed up and fully back onto some kind of workout routine. I think it would be foolish of me to try to up my carbs and calories right now, especially not being able to compensate by any type of calorie burn. This was really weighing (no pun intended) heavily on me and making me feel out of control. Oh, did I mention I’m a control freak too??? Hahaa!!     Anyway, if you’re still with me, as I know this is in an incredibly long read, I want to just say that I don’t regret one moment of my sleeve experience. I did right after as the first month is quite hellish, but now? NO WAY!!! It truly has saved my life, and has given me what I’ve dreamed to have for so many years. Also, no pictures in this update... I want this to be about my long journey more than anything else.     Be blessed!!!!       Source: My 11th Month Sleeversary Update
LilMissDiva Irene

LilMissDiva Irene

4
 

From: My Plastics Journey - My first one (of several)

My Appt at SonoBello went excellent today!! My Pt Consultant explained everything down to a science on how they do the lipo. They have to contour everything, they can't just do one section. So you have to take a little off here, and balance it by taking a little off there. The prices were great too! I even added in some extra removal on my waist area, so you think my waist is tiny now? Ohh yeahh. ;o) Can't wait!!   She also assigned me to the very best Lipo Surgeon she has on staff. He is FACS (yeahh!! so is my boob surgeon) and tends to be more aggressive with the fat removal too. He has his work cut out for him for sure!   <H5>Also, she set me up for 2 separate sessions. She said the results would come out much better. She was such a doll and never once acted grossed out or weirded about my situation. She was totally professional. She even said she can't wait to see all my befores and afters, and was sooo excited for me getting my boobies too!! Hahaa!!   So, I guess I need to take some befores of my waist now too. OMG this is all going so fast... good!!   So here's the lineup:   August 25th is my Augmentation.   September 25th is my first Lipo session which includes my inner thigh and entire knee area.   October 12th is my second Lipo session which includes my outer thigh and waist.   Whoohooo!!!!   For reference, my breast Augmentation is costing $6,500 total and   my Lipo for all included is costing $7150   Not really that bad I don't think. </H5>   Source: My Plastics Journey - My first one (of several)
LilMissDiva Irene

LilMissDiva Irene

0
 

From: My Plastics Journey - My first one (of several)

My consult today went very well!! This surgeon is one of the top PS in my area. He is reasonably priced too, and I've seen his work in person. My cousin had her augmentation there. He told me that doing lipo on my knees would not have a good outcome. The only thing that will help me is a lift of some kind. I was afraid of that, and very impressed he didn't just go ahead and take my money and do it. He knew I didn't have the funds for any additional surgeries, so he won my confidence right away. So, that said it looks like I look best in the 500cc implants, silicone's. That put me up to a very full D or DD according to him. Ohhh Yeahhh Babyyy!!! :lol: I also want to say that dang those are some rockin' boobs... OMG!!! And here's a little NSV. I even fitted in the Size Small shirt he gave me, even with the implants in!!! YEAHHHHH!!!!   I'm still going to get a second opinion on the knees though. I have another consult at Sono Bello who does strictly liposuction. That is their specialty, on Wednesday morning. I'll see what they have to say.   Source: My Plastics Journey - My first one (of several)
LilMissDiva Irene

LilMissDiva Irene

0
 

From: My Plastics Journey - My first one (of several)

My Consultation is on Monday and I'm hopeful I will be able to schedule for September 1st.  I already know which Dr. I want to use as I've seen his work first hand and it's really really good.  He also does reconstructive surgery for weight loss patients.  I might want to get many consults at that point, and most likely might choose another Dr. for my Total Body Lift.  However, that won't be for a few years from now.  I am still considering doing the arm lift but will wait to see how time heals that.   Attached are my pre-op photos.  Right now my breasts are a 34C, however I bet if I wanted to fit in a B cup I probably could.  My breasts totally flattened out in the last 20 Lbs!!  They were doing great for a long time.  I do believe I'm going to go for about a DD.  As far as the knees, as you can see no explanation is necessary.  I'm sure having that extra pillow of fat will feel so much more comfortable for me, during workouts and just the way my clothes fit.  I'm very excited about this and I'm ready to go!!!          Source: My Plastics Journey - My first one (of several)
LilMissDiva Irene

LilMissDiva Irene

1
 

From: Nearly 11 Mos Post Op - With Photos

I was 281 Lbs at the onset of my VSG journey.  I'm happy.  What else need be said? Everyone have a great day!!!  I'm off to do my treadmill and continue on until I'm 110% satisfied I'm done.             Source: Nearly 11 Mos Post Op - With Photos
LilMissDiva Irene

LilMissDiva Irene

2
 

From: 30 Day Challenge... get ready to kick some butt here!

Hi Luvtheatre and welcome!!!     Hello all, today is DAY 1 and we have 29 DAYS LEFT TO GO.     So the fun has only begun today and yet I'm rocking and rolling on this one!!!  Ohhh goodness it would be nice to see a dip on the scale in a few days!!  If not though, oh well.  I'm more a Size Goalie rather than a Scale Goalie.    I did great today!!  I'm sooo ready for this.  I haven't really been on plan in a month now and thank goodness I have not gained, and the inches are still coming off but not a whole lot.  It's nice to know that even when I don't try the inches still melt away.  Very very interesting.   Anyway I do hope everyone else did well too!  If not, that's ok tomorrow is a new day.  As for myself I'm going to give it MY ALL!!  I would really really love to finally being able to say I'm truly and undoubtedly done.  Hugs to all!!!   Here's my totals for today:   Breakfast: Power Protein Shake & Small Banana Snack: 6 Oz Light Blueberry Yoplait Lunch: 3 Chicken Wings Snack: String Cheese & ½ Serving Sunflower Kernels Dinner: White Chicken breast meat Stir Fry with Broccoli & Bok Choi, and Grated Cauliflower Snack: Fage 2%, 1 Serving This is surely adding up to over 60g protein today!!  Whoohooo!!!   Water totals are: 105 oz.   Workouts: 1 Hour Treadmill, 30 Minutes on Stationary Bike and 30 Mins Calisthenics.   Source: 30 Day Challenge... get ready to kick some butt here!
LilMissDiva Irene

LilMissDiva Irene

0
 

From: 30 Day Challenge... get ready to kick some butt here!

Are you ready to kick start the program here?  EVERYONE IS INVITED!!!  Pre Operative, Post Operative, Struggling, Doing Awesome and want some extra motivation, AGAIN everyone is invited to do this!!!   This is NOT A weight loss challenge.  However if you follow these simple rules, chances are very good it will show up on your scale.    So... the rules are as follows:   ( PS, if you have Facebook, click here:  https://www.facebook...207363012649554 )   30 Day Challenge RULES:     Timeline:   Begins Sunrise Sunday July 24th, 2011   Ends Sunrise Tuesday August 23rd, 2011     Eating:   No Potatoes   No Rice   No Breads   No Cereals   No Candy   No Pastries   Maximum 5 Servings of Fruit per day   Unlimited Servings of Veggies per day   Minimum 60g of Protein per day   Minimum 64oz Water per day     Exercise:   Minimum 30 Minutes, 5x per week        OK, THAT'S IT!!!  READY... SET... GO!!!!!!!   :welcome:   Source: 30 Day Challenge... get ready to kick some butt here!
LilMissDiva Irene

LilMissDiva Irene

2
 

From: As I near the end of my Weight Loss Journey...

Hmmm... well - here it goes... I guess I'm just mentally drained where hard core weight loss is concerned quite frankly. Before I continue let me be clear I may still lose some weight... however as far as really working my butt off and continued food restraint... I think I really am done. Period.   Yes I'll continue to do my early morning running, I'll still do my workouts (this will be always and forever) and I'm probably going to add in some muscle toning exercises. I bulk up really easily so this is actually going to slow down the losses a bit. However, I'm NOT going to actively push more workouts to post higher losses anymore. I'm also NOT going to do low carbs anymore, in fact I'm going to add in more per meal.   Slowing down the routine will probably get me about 3-5 Lbs lost per month. I do believe I am very much ok with this. Physically I am very satisfied with how I look. I am wearing sizes 8-10 in pants right now and I just bought a bunch of size Small shirts and they are all fitting. I even bought size XS at Old Navy (my first time there ever!) and those even fit. Crazy huh? Well... this got me to thinking, how small do I really want to get??? I weigh 185 Lbs. So what??? This is how GOD made me, and I accept this.   I've lost nearly 150 Lbs from my heaviest weight!!! Why am I torturing myself just because of a stupid made up BMI scale??? Its just insanity I tell you!!!   I know we tend to continue losing with the sleeve even once we have decided we are at "goal". I imagine this will be true for me too. I have picked up really good habits so it's inevitable I will still continue to lose from here, I just don't want to try as hard anymore. If I want a tortilla with my dinner, guess what... I'm gonna have a freakin tortilla with my dinner. If I want a slice of bread, I'm going to have a slice of bread. If I want to some white rice one night, that's what I'll have. I can only eat one or two bites anyway!! If I want a few potato chips with my lunch... you get the idea. I just wanted to put it out there that *I* Irene am calling myself nearly done. If I lose a little more, great. If not... OH WELL!!! I'm HAPPY with ME right now and that is ALL THAT MATTERS!!!   It is possible that at some point I may change my mind. Well, guess what I'm a woman so that's my right. LOL!! None the less, I just feel happy and very much ready to let go of the diet mentality. I'm ready to just live my life and enjoy the new me... get used to the new person I've become. I can seriously actually look at myself in the mirror now and be ok with how I look.   I decided to put this in the Success threads because this is a huge success to me... saying goodbye to diets and hello to "maintenance"... whatever that entails (which usually for sleevers is still a little more losing but not breaking our necks for it). Well, I'm here!!! Say hello to the new and improved me. Again, if I continue to lose a few more here and there I'm ok with that. If I don't, well take me or leave me. I'm happy and content.   Blessings!!!   Source: As I near the end of my Weight Loss Journey...
LilMissDiva Irene

LilMissDiva Irene

2
 

From: Diva's journey to GOAL

Hello hello hello to all of you! It has been another week since my last check in. I guess I just don't ever have a whole lot to say... until I start typing anyway. LOL   So me weighing the exact same as I have for the last two weeks really did kinda P'd me off a little bit. However, that said - I have had some really amazing developments in the last few days.   I tried on my size 6 pants and yup I was able to get them on!! Hooorraayyy!!! So, that means I am but ONE SIZE AWAY FROM GOAL!!!! I always did say that once I got into those size 4 pants (same make/style as the recent 6's I fitted and former 8's) that THAT would be it for me. So what am I looking at now as far as weight? 15 Lbs?? 20 Lbs at the most? We will see!! All I know is that I am SO CLOSE!! I'm really going to do it! It feels SO DANGED GOOD!!   I really just put 165 Lbs as a guesstimate. I DO NOT want to get any smaller than a 4. I would have a hard time shopping in normal stores at that point. Especially my favorite Kohl's. They don't go any smaller than a 4. In my world, Size 4 is very thin, and when I get there I'll know I'm finish.   My weight on the scale is pretty meaningless to me, except that I'd really like to stop losing now. If any of you knew this already it is that my original goal was to fit the size 8's. However, I got into them at 200 Lbs!! No way was I going to stay at 200 Lbs... so my scale has had SOME say on where I end up. I didn't want to be near the 2's anymore. I just don't want to see that number again in the front of my weight. EVER!!!   My routines have been going excellent. I'm staying low on my carbs (Good Carbs) and I'm getting in all my protein. I recently found out I may even be getting too much protein. My genetic makeup gathers muscle tone quite easily. Of course muscle weighs a lot, so that is actually going against the grain at this point. My original target was 100g or more of protein per day. However, I'm notching it down to 80g of protein MAX per day. I'll see if that helps.   Also, my workout routines might be a little stagnant. I don't think I need to do less in any way, however - I have done circuit training and I did get good losses by doing this. I think I might get back into this and see if that helps. So tomorrow morning I think I'll start my early morning routine with 20 Minutes on my stationary bike, then do about 35 Minutes on my treadmill. I'll try that for a while.   I hope my scale is kind to me on Friday! Sheesh... I've been working my tail off and eating like an Angel and it's not giving me any love!! However, like I said - I'm getting lots of love where the clothes are concerned.   So... until next time folks!! Keep reaching for the stars... never give up and do NOT let that scale define you! As long as you are doing the right things, the right things will come back to you. Trust me.   Source: Diva's journey to GOAL
LilMissDiva Irene

LilMissDiva Irene

0

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