LilMissDiva Irene

To anyone who will listen: You can lose weight, stall, gain some weight back, gain all of your weight back, eat slider foods, eat junk foods, or you can work your tool - with ANY WLS. No one surgery is better than another to prevent this, sorry to say.

Lose Weight and Gain Confidence! I know this is going to be a short article in comparison to many of my others but I feel like getting straight to the point with this subject. I’ve been on the weight loss and gain rollercoaster more times than I’d like but every time I gain and every time I lose it’s always the same thing. When I gain, my confidence dwindles. When I lose the weight, my confidence skyrockets! Has anyone ever stopped to wonder why this is? Why should the way we feel about ourselves depend on how much we weigh? What does being obese have to do with me loving myself? In my opinion a lot has to do how we feel when we look in the mirror. We wonder what others see when they also look at us. If we look in the mirror and do not feel physically attractive, naturally we will feel “badly”. We all want to be attractive! Let us not lie about that, please. I enjoy putting on make-up, dressing nice when I go out of the house or when I’m taking pictures for everyone to look at. I surely don’t want to look really large, wearing frumpy clothes or showing all the blemishes (or my freckles) on my face. I also have a moon shaped face and when I’m larger my face accentuates this a lot more. Thus brings us to the flipside. When we lose weight we find that our confidence skyrockets to the moon! All of a sudden we want to take hundreds of photos, put on our faces and smiles, wear nicer and smaller clothes that we didn’t have as an option being larger. We also may go out and do more things with friends and family because the embarrassment of others seeing us at our worst is no longer a barrier. How do you feel about this personally however? Does it make you somewhat uncomfortable feeling good about yourself? Do you still get those voices in your head that leads you away from feeling good? You know the thoughts: “What will people think about me if I’m too happy?” or “Will others think I’m doing too much?” If this is you, I have one thing to say… “Who cares what other people think?” The only person completely responsible for your self-confidence is YOU. So long as you have breath in your lungs then you are worthy of loving yourself. Regardless of what size you wear or what the scale is telling you today. Believe it or not the first and most important step in this entire journey is loving yourself enough to get fit and healthy. Enjoy the journey because once you hit your goal and maintenance, reflection will be all you have left. Remember how difficult it was to get to where you are so that you never slide back. Have a little fun with the new you, dress up a little bit, enjoy new outfits and go out and meet new people. Find things to do other than eating that will keep you active. Stay reflective, and most of all STAY POSITIVE.

When spending all day in the Thrift Shop becomes an addiction because you always need smaller sizes.

Hey everyone! We'd really love to see this group take off. It has been far too quiet!! We need to get ourselves situated with face to face meet ups for our areas. There are two new moderators for our personal group. That is FeedYourEye for the Sacramento/Valley areas and MeggieP for the Bay Area. Lets start conversing and getting some support group dates set up. Looking for ideas!!

Hey that is super cool!!! I've never seen your before picture. You've done some amazing stuff there Mr. BariatricPal! Super proud of you. And now I am famous by-proxy. haha

When youre at a family BBQ and you get WAY more on your plate than you could eat in 5 sittings. You take one bite of about 5 things and the rest just goes in the trash. Then you feel the waste guilt for wasting so much food.

I just have to throw in there I suddenly feel like the vindicated "Mom" who always said this would happen and the little ones just rolled their eyes and stuck their tongues out... LOL It's all good. Now you know and you're fixing it. Good for you! You will be fine.

Yep, pretty much. Good luck to you.

You all are welcome to follow me: lilmissdiva_irene

Ha! Well it looks like I have to start over with my "final stretch"... In fact I need to lose 35 Lbs. I CAN DO THIS!!

I am looking for some data regarding GERD and the Rny Gastric Bypass for Post Op's. You can be a virgin stomach or a revision patient, if you are a revision, please reply in the comments as well. I am revising from Sleeve to Bypass because my Surgeon feels it will be best bet to cure my GERD. I have it extremely bad and even if it helped to make it better it would be a relief for me. Thanks in advance!

I am now 11 weeks post op and have recorded my official vote! Yes I did Pre-Op and I have been CURED of GERD Post Op (7 votes [46.67%])

I am 11 weeks post op now from my revision. My GERD is 95% gone. I do still take 40mg of Omeprazole every morning but I want to stop taking it to see how I do. I don't think I need it anymore. I was revised from Band to Sleeve in 2010 which I don't think it was as well known as it is now that the Sleeve can make GERD worse or that it can happen later on in post op. I'd tell anyone that has known GERD to not get the sleeve as it can get worse, then you'd need a revision. Why risk so many surgeries? My Bypass works great and I wish I'd have gotten it from day 1.

Meh... he sounds like a self righteous narcissist. He's not the one. You will find him, especially now that you have opened up some dating time with him in the past.

My bariatric coordinator called me about an hour ago and shared the good news. My insurance has agreed to go with my surgeons referral from revision from Sleeve to Bypass!! All of the tests taken concluded that I have extreme reflux disease an irregular shape formed over time from my sleeve. I do not intend to have my sleeve fixed because it would not fix the reflux issues, which in time would lead to Barrett's and esophageal cancer. That's never a risk I'll take as cancer does run in my family. Anyway I am very excited! I am so thankful that my insurance has approved the request! I have been looking for relief for a long time and feeling better. I am very sick and I just want to live again without complications.

The best person to consult for this would be a professional hair stylist that has years under their belt. Tell them your situation and ask them if it would be okay to get them now or to wait a little longer. I would imagine this situation has come up for someone with a lot of experience before. Good luck!

I lost a lot in my boobs. I went from a well rounded 42D all the way down to a 34B... I could've gotten an A cup but I refused. I did get a breast augmentation too. I didn't get anything like a lift, I didn't need it. I just refilled the empty skin with 550cc... I love them!! So does my husband, but what man wouldn't? It's a painful recovery from it but for me was well worth it. Good luck!

Very cute

Are you finding yourself at over a year out and now you find yourself struggling? Do you miss the excitement that you first had when you had post op surgery while the weight seemed to melt away? If this is describing you, then I want you to listen up… How To: Get Back on Track and Stay There Are you finding yourself at over a year out and now you find yourself struggling? Do you miss the excitement that you first had when you had post op surgery while the weight seemed to melt away? If this is describing you, then I want you to listen up… you are not alone. In fact, I’d say that probably all of us post-operative surgeries have felt this way at one time or another. The difference between all of us is how we respond and how quickly we can hit the ground running again after a setback. So then, what are those who are successful doing differently compared to those who are struggling more? I have been doing extensive research in the last 6 months and I’m going to share with you what I have discovered. I’m hopeful that it will help everyone out there, because none of us are failures. If we have a setback, we MUST forgive ourselves and fight to get back up. The only time one can be determined as a failure is if they simply give up. As long as you don’t give up, you still have a chance. Weighing In: I’ll be the first to tell you that your self-worth has nothing to do with the number on the scale. That said, the scale never lies, but you just have to determine what it is telling you. It will let you know when you have not been on track, that’s for sure. During my weight loss phase post op, I never went more than 10 days on a stall. I’d sometimes fluctuate up a Lb. or two due to hormones and water retention but it was the scale telling me I needed to do two things, drink more water which is a natural diuretic and second reduce my sodium intake. I tend to crave saltier foods at that time and no, the scale did not lie one time. Sodium is a major culprit in water retention, not only that if you have high blood pressure you will always want to be mindful of how much you are getting in. Someone with HBP should keep their daily total to 1,800mg or less per day. A normal person should be around 2,400mg per day or less. Back to weighing in however, doing so at the same time of day daily, weekly or monthly (whichever you personally prefer) is really the best way to measure the difference between your last weigh in. Again, do not allow the scale to crash your mood. It is a measure of success or changes that might need to be made. But it won’t lie to you! If you are up 5 Lbs. then likely you need to put on the brakes somewhere and get back to basics. Put a limit on how much you will allow yourself to weigh on your scale. You decide what that number is, as long as it’s a healthy number for you. The WORST thing you can do regarding staying on track is ignoring your scale altogether. It has to be a part of your regimen because take it from me, it is much easier to lose a 5 Lb. gain than to realize you have gained 40 and desperately need to stop the gaining in its tracks. If you have been ignoring the scale then it’s far beyond time to stop lying to yourself and check the damage. In the smaller sizes it only takes 7-10 Lbs to go up a size. Do not wait until your clothes feel too tight, because by then you probably have already gained that much. Diet: Diet: di·et1 noun noun: diet; plural noun: diets 1. the kinds of food that a person, animal, or community habitually eats. (Google Definition) What does your Surgeon and/or Medical staffs say about this? Did they leave you with any kind of eating plan before you left from your hospital stay? The majorities of all of the journals I’ve ever read regarding post op diet plans are extremely similar to one another, give or take a few variations on when to move to the next step in foods. I’m talking about long term eating however, not the liquids or soft foods phases, but more what and how to eat as a Weight Loss Surgery patient once your stomach has healed. Back in 2011 when I was being asked by numerous members on the website how I was able to maintain my weight so well I decided to create a thread called the Basics Bootcamp. It was a regimen I held close to me if I felt I was falling off track and it helped me to stay at goal for nearly 3 years. I recently have made a bit of a revision to it knowing what I know now regarding nutrition and health sciences. I’ve been studying Nutrition and Health for a while now as well as speaking to many Bariatric Registered Dieticians and Nutritionists. But it still has the basic concepts which are: We do not need to eat so much sugar, we do not need to eat so much salt, we need to focus on protein first and we need to eat our fruits and vegetables. We especially need to be sure we are getting in our minimum of water every day. Sound simple enough? It should be but we have to deal with head hunger too. Indulging in sugar can become a slippery slope. Some people can do much better at moderation of these types of foods than others. I am not one of them. I find that if I abstain from junk food all together I do not think about eating it as much. But once I eat that first bite it feels almost uncontrollable to stop when I should. I continue to crave it for a week or more but then as time goes on the cravings do diminish once again. It all comes down to knowing how YOU react to them and recognizing these behaviors. Getting in tune with your personal triggers and avoiding them is one of the best ways to both get back on track and to stay there. When you hear that sound in your head that says “It’s okay, other people do it and they are okay. Go ahead, you’ve been good, you deserve it.” Realize this voice is a liar and if you listen you will likely find yourself back in square one. Anyhow, here is the thread if you’re looking to kick start getting back on track: http://www.bariatricpal.com/topic/306411-basics-bootcamp-v2-getting-back-on-track/#entry3459464 Exercise: Working out... Does everyone really need to do this? Even if you’ve lost weight really great in the beginning? The answer is definitely YES. Everyone should have some kind of exercise regimen tailored to them, but no matter what everyone should be doing something. Maybe all you can do is sit on the couch and do leg lifts. Then do that. Maybe you’re very advanced and you can run marathons… good for you! But do it and don’t stop. It takes a long time to become conditioned enough to be advanced but only a matter of weeks to fall all the way back to level 1. According to the Mayo Clinic standard adults should get 150 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise every week, or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic exercise weekly. Break that up into 21 minutes per day if you have to, but just be sure to do it. This is a general guide and a good one to follow, especially if you are just starting up or starting again. The secret is figuring out how to stay there is to find something you like to do. You don’t have to train to run a marathon if you hate running. All that will do is burn you out and likely you will want to give up because it does not meet your fancy. Keep searching and doing new activities. Even brisk outside walking is considered moderate aerobic activity. I personally love it; I can treat it as my getaway at work. I put on my head phones to my favorite tracks and just let my mind wander to another place and relax. Yes, I love it so much I find it more relaxing than tiring. I breathe the fresh air and let the sun soak in. Believe me there are so many choices out there, you only need to find your favorites to keep you coming back. If you are doing this for reasons such as health, you will want to add in your workout. That’s not the only thing working out is good for however, it can help tighten your loose skin, toning can help fill it out. Also, being able to withstand longer periods of workout can help with simply being in a good mood. It’s a great stress reliever. It’s all mental: Yes, it really is. Your attitude will always be the driving force to whether you become a success and especially if you stay a success. How do you perceive yourself? Do you see yourself as worthy of being healthy, active, and happy and at a reasonable weight? Celebrate every pound you are down, no one pound deserves more praise than another. Lose the word “only” or “but” when describing how well you’re doing. It is okay to feel good about yourself and shout it out to the world! Take periodic progress photos so on days you’re feeling down, look at them and see how far you have come. Take as many photos as you like! It is not a bad thing. Another rule to hold dear is to ALWAYS forgive yourself, get back up and keep fighting. A baby never learned to walk after his first step. It took many try’s, stumbles and falls – but the baby keeps getting back up and builds those leg muscles until it can walk without effort. One last thing, NEVER compare yourself and your journey to anyone else!! You should only compete with who you were yesterday. Struggling has quite a bit to do with how you feel about yourself, and how you feel about yourself will have everything to do with how often you’re struggling. Stay positive, always. Every time! “If you think you are beaten, you are; If you think you dare not, you don't. If you'd like to win, but think you can't It's almost a cinch you won't. If you think you'll lose, you've lost, For out in the world we find Success being with a fellow's will; It's all in the state of mind. If you think you're outclassed, you are: You've got to think high to rise. You've got to be sure of yourself before You can ever win a prize. Life's battles don't always go To the stronger or faster man, But soon or late the man who wins Is the one who thinks he can.” ― Walter D. Wintle

@@sengelken that's very helpful thank you!