LilMissDiva Irene

That's right, the tape measure can be our friend when our scales wanna be poopy pants. My scale has been really ignorant lately so I pulled out mine and found I've lost another half inch on my waist and one inch each on my thighs and even my arms. I've lost 1.5" on my hips. All this in one month!! Anyway this made me feel much much better. You're doing great, and the scale WILL pick up the tab once in awhile...

Anyone will want to be very careful with taking additional Potassium supplements. I do take them, however I have to because of the low carb eating and I am also on a diuretic. My body cannot handle getting off of them since I've been on them for so long due to HBP - however someday I hope to be able to get off once I can eat more balanced meals. Anyhow, I get my supplement from Vitamin Shoppe and they come in little 3% RDA capsules. You can break them open and use them in shakes etc if you are on liquids only. My first suggestion however would be to go along with anything your Dr. prescribes. Bananas are very high in potassium and before my low carb eating I was actually instructed by my Dr. to eat one small banana every day to balance out my diuretics. Good luck!! Keep in touch with your Dr. very closely on this. Potassium is a very critical part of our nutritional needs. No gray areas, both too little or too much can kill us.

Congrats Jnee!!! Welcome to SleeveLand!!

Here's what I've found works for me. When someone gives me a compliment, I simply reply "Thank You". You will not believe how this will get them to stop talking about it. If someone is critical, I just shrug my shoulders. However, I haven't encountered much negativity really. I don't entertain it, I guess that's why. You'll be ok, try not to worry too much about negative responses. What you are doing is 100% positive and you will know better than those people. *hugs*

If you all get the chance try Walden Farms SF/FF Chocolate syrup. It is in a thin neck glass bottle and I found mine at Bel Air in the Health Food section. It's totally amazing and it's thick just like Hershey's. After trying that I never used Torani again!

Stacy!!! Great job so far!!! I can see a major difference in your tummy - you've been rocking your sleeve lady!!! Hey that's funny you mention the Cartwheels... We have long corridors at work and sometimes I feel so great I just want to do a bunch of cartwheels all through the halls... Now THAT would be sooo funny! Anyhow, keep up the great work - you're on your way!!

Yes, I'm no different to this myself. I just recently woke up the other day and it hit me like a ton of bricks... I'M NOT FAT. If you can imagine how this felt to me. It was the morning after I was able to get into my Size 6's. No one that can fit a size 6 is fat. It was the strangest feeling in the world! I still have a hard time coming to grips with how I look on the outside as opposed to how my brain thinks of me. I still have to constantly remind myself of the new me. That said, I feel great, and I just know it's probably going to take years before I can fully grasp the concept. Being patient with myself is really important right now.

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

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.

OMG I haven't even attempted ice cream. Though I have been thinking about trying it... I love it in Summer time. However I keep reverting back to my "milk" episode and I'm immediately turned off. I never want to feel that again. Ever.

Hi Shanny welcome to your finish line! I hear you on not wanting to get to a ridiculous goal. I'm in the same boat. If I may make a suggestion: maybe you can set little mini goals for yourself regarding your eating. Like suppose you say, starting today I WILL NOT visit McD's for 7 days (one week) and see how that goes. I find that when I do these little mini goals re: my eating it gets me back into the healthy and proper eating routine. Regardless you have done phenomenally well, and I probably don't even need to be giving you any advice!! LOL Good luck on the remainder of your journey!!!

I looove to hear NSV's like this!! You have worked really hard to get to where you are now and deserve all the spilled drinks! Just a hint, I edit my photos on good ole MS Paint. I don't need any of the other expensive fancy schmancy photo shop things. When you open your picture in MS Paint, you just "Resize" or on the older versions it's called "Stretch/Skew" in Edit option. I do size 25% and it comes out nice. Good luck!

With friends like this who needs enemies? Really. IMO, we have all made an incredible and major decision to completely change our lives. Sometimes cutting the fat doesn't necessarily mean our own. Get rid of all the toxic people in your life because you are going to need a lot of love and support in this journey. It is NOT easy!! It IS all about YOU right now, and if someone can't accept that due to their own selfish and jealous reasons... oh well. Good luck to you all, and just know this, you are WORTHY of good friends and family who will treat you with respect and the way you treat them. If they cannot do this, then to heck with them.

Hmmm... 20 Lbs in 3 weeks sounds pretty good to me... am I missing something?

Awwww thanks y'all!!! I was terrified to post these pics of my booty... lol I did once before and felt the same way. I'm so afraid to lose too much more, to be honest I really don't want to lose my butt too much. We'll see...

Hi there, Well I'm one of those people around here who do an hour plus per day. I'm more along the lines of two hours per day really and that's the minimum. I'll tell you what though, that is not something you just jump right into and expect to love it. Working out is something you condition yourself to do a little at a time. You need to definitely find something that you enjoy doing. If it's something like the treadmill you will want to find a focus that will keep you from feeling too bored. I have an MP3 player that I turn on all my favorite tunes and away I go!! Before I know it my hour on there is up and I'm feeling accomplished and on top of the world!!! This will really give you a huge adrenaline rush that you may become a little addicted to. Once again it is important to stick to a routine that you actually enjoy. Start small, like maybe one 15 minute session on the treadmill. You are very early out of surgery too so working out hard is probably not in your best interest now anyway. Keep the speed lower and just get into it and enjoy a leisurely time. Let you mind wander on other tasks like your goal outfit or something. At first you might need little reminders on why you are doing this, because it seems really tough right off the bat. Good luck to you! I find having some form of physical activity is great for us and will only do great things for our bodies. I don't think for one second my shape would be anywhere where it is right now if I had not been doing it.

Yayyyy Cheryl!!! You're going to do sooo great on your 5K! Please check in and let us know how you do!!! As for me, and I know I haven't checked in, in awhile - but I've still been doing all of my workouts. Getting in about 2 hours per day except Mondays, which is today of course. I feel weird not doing anything I must admit. I seriously enjoy working out and I feel out of whack when I need to let my body rest. Oh well!! Tomorrow my routine starts all over again with an early morning run, a mid morning walk at work and a 30 minute set on my elliptical and some Wii Yoga at night. How's everyone else doing?

We have 5 new members today... WELCOME TO ALL OF YOU!!!!

Since this is the very first post, I'd like to formally WELCOME: feedyoureye Foxbins hugsamber kellyw74 lsereno meggiep MLD mnbsleeve (newbie sleever!!!) My Life as Liz Ovalcutie chef neil (joined today!!!) moongirl (joined this week!!!) singand_dance (joined this week!!!) WELCOME WELCOME WELCOME!!!!! I would give everyone doughnuts, but well... that probably wouldn't be a good idea.

Congrats to you!! You really worked your sleeve and it shows!!

Thank you all SO MUCH for your kind words and for all the support you have given during my journey. I cannot express fully what all this means to me. It's been a struggle and I've had to work so hard to get to where I am today. I've even recently had a moment where it finally hit me... I'm no longer FAT!! I just woke up and realized this yesterday morning and it was like the heavens opened up and the angels sang to me... LOL It was incredible and I nearly cried. It was very special, and it feels so good to be so close to being done. I do worry a little bit that I might have a rough time actually *stopping* the weight loss though. It will be an interesting and strange thing, I don't think I've ever imagined what that could be like, or rather that it could even be possible. We'll see! For now I've still got 25 Lbs to go. Hugs to you all, and again - THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!