Search the Community

Hey Koala, I am so happy for you. You just described some of the nsv's that I hope will be coming for me too. I can't wait to go and buy cute clothes off the rack. Well done. You have worked hard for it too, the band was an aid. By the way I love Koalas too.:biggrin1: Susannah

Well, I am going to chime in on these great questions! What is your "Bandiversary" goal? I don't think I had one, but if I had to say, it would be to be to be only 10 lbs to goal. What have you learned this past year? That I am strong, that it is possible, that the weight did not define me, but it did change me, that I can be proud with being ego drivenand... that the support of those you love is the most important part of this entire equation. Could you share your most rewarding NSV (non-scale victory)? Wow... there have been so many buying jeans at GAP being hit on at restaurants being told that I have the vitals of an athlete running my 5 k race being asked to leave a support group, because it was for those with weight concerns (I had to explain) a colleague not recongnizing me... the best... my daughter telling me how fun it is to go sliding together What is your biggest challenge? not being over confident not spending too much money on new clothes (my latest addiction) What tips would you pass on to the April 2007 newbies? think of your band like a tool that will support you follow the rules add exercise when you think you can and know that you are human and we all make poor choices at times What is your greatest fear? gaining weight changing me too much people treating me differently What goals do you have for the future? get to the weight I am happy with run a 5 k in under 35 minutes keep running How has your life changed? wow... is there enough room to list them all??? easily buying clothes I like getting a taxi has never been easier I feel more comfortable in my body physically I can do what I want now without having to worry Has living with the band met up to your expectations? exceeded If you could talk to yourself a year ago, what would you say? It's okay... you will make this journey, you are ready to be in this place, it is where you are supposed to be... and you will be supported and you will be proud Dawn Banded April 4th, 2006 Montreal 358/191/179 exercise this month= 22

Great idea, BOO! What is your "Bandiversary" goal? To get into Onderland! 21 pounds to go til Onderland...wish me luck! What have you learned this past year? Food should remain a source of fuel, not a source of entertainment. Could you share your most rewarding NSV (non-scale victory)? Shopping for clothes in the regular section...I have NEVER done this, honestly. Even as a kid I had to wear "Pretty Plus" size from Sears! What is your biggest challenge? Social eating-DEFINATELY! I still haven't mastered this yet. I still get carried away when I'm at parties/social functions. What tips would you pass on to the April 2007 newbies? Eat, just eat good, healthy foods. What is your greatest fear? Never affording the plastic surgery I need to get rid of this excess skin. What goals do you have for the future? To hit my goal weight, of course! How has your life changed? In every possible way. Mainly, I've learned to take care of myself and set priorities to make my health a no-compromise concept! Has living with the band met up to your expectations? Yes and no. I'm proud of my success but this idea of "restriction" still hasn't set in and I have never experienced it for any extended period of time. If you could talk to yourself a year ago, what would you say? I'd say "You're doing the right thing...stick with the band and not the bypass." And, I'd throw in..."You need to excerise even more because it'll pay off!" HAPPY BANDIVERSARY CLASS OF '06!!

Forgive me but what is PB and NSV???? I am a newbie....lol.

LOL..great NSV.. I loved it when I finally weighed less them y husband, first time in 15 yrs Congrats! keep it up

NSV's are really all that matter, right. Ya right, tell that to me when I'm whining I havent lost any weight. lol. But it's true. Green you are NOT a sausage, mmmmmmmmmmmm I want dinner.

What is your "Bandiversary" goal? Originally it was to lose 100lbs in my first year, but that isn't gonna happen. Now my goal is to get as close to that as I can! What have you learned this past year? I have learned that without the support of fellow bandsters this is a difficult road. Lifting up and encouraging others is what makes us all stronger together. Could you share your most rewarding NSV (non-scale victory)? Most rewarding is that my back and knees are in so much less pain, in fact most days I don't even notice them anymore. When I started I couldn't push a vacuum without crumbling to the floor in tears from pain. What is your biggest challenge? My biggest challenge has been to try to learn to deal with life's ups and downs without turning to food. I never could have known how hard that would be. What tips would you pass on to the April 2007 newbies? 1 - Stick together and take care of each other. 2 - Get fills when you need them and when in doubt ask your fill professional their opinion on whether or not you need one! 3 - Participate in a support group with other banded people like this one! What is your greatest fear? That I won't know who I am without my padding :eek: What goals do you have for the future? To live, to run, to laugh How has your life changed? I am healthier, I can now see me reaching my goal. I always could picture myself thin but not how I got there, now I can see the way to get there. Has living with the band met up to your expectations? Yes and no. I really thought that because I started at a higher BMI that I would lose faster in the beginning. On the other hand, I am totally moving steadily towards my goal weight now that I have good restriction and the band is now helping me, finally. If you could talk to yourself a year ago, what would you say? Don't feel like other peoples numbers affect you personally. You are an individual and your adjustments are individual to you! You are not like anyboy else, no one is. Some people lose 10lbs in there first year and others lose 150lbs, the good news is that it's ok to be an individual, we all are losing (barring any medical conditions that prevent it) and that is what matters. We can all reach our goal if we are willing to put forth the effort to work with our band and not around it.

I only lost 15 my first month. I am 6 months out and have lost 85 total although 10 of it is after a revision last week as an emergency. I had a perforated ulcer which is rare. Do you still work with a nutritionist? If not I highly recommend it. Mine has been awesome! Especially when I had stalls and felt really down like you. They kept telling me that my body has had significant trauma from surgery and is trying to figure out what the heck just happened. I agree with a comment above about it being a marathon. I thought I was losing slow but to see my total weight loss after 6 months I feel better. Maybe put your scale away and weigh in once a month. Also track your NSV’s. I had 6 weeks of no weight loss but I went down a whole pant size!

I guess it's just another NSV to celebrate! ( I guess you'll have to look back to your teen years to figure out what to do in that work situation)

New poster here. My SW was 207 lbs and 6 weeks out, I’m only down to 192 lbs and haven’t experienced any NSV’s like smaller clothing, etc. It goes without saying that I’ve been following the surgeon/nutritionist recommendations for fluids (10 cups/day), Protein (75 g), calories (currently in the 600 range) and exercise (5k brisk walk 6x a week, weight training 2x a week). Purely looking at these results, I guess my self-pay VSG might turn out to be a failure. What I thought might be interesting share is that I am lucky enough to have access to state-of-art instruments that take body composition. These measurements show that over the post-op period, I gained 15 lbs of Fluid and 2lbs of lean mass (hopefully some of which is muscle). If you crunch through the math, I have lost in excess of 32 lbs of body fat. So I guess the #1 takeaway from my experience is that if you are experiencing weight gain and/or a stall, it’s worthwhile to invest in a body composition measurement device. I understand that a decent quality one can be purchased on Amazon for ~60 which might not be 100% accurate in an absolute sense but will suffice for tracking your own progression. After a battery of tests and doctor’s visits, we’ve ruled out the usual medical causes for Water retention like kidney disease, too much sodium, protein deficiency, hormones, etc. I understand from reading bodybuilding forums that exercise itself can cause water retention but I don’t think it’s clear cut that I should stop exercising, since working out can also relieve water retention. The final diagnosis I got was “idiopathic edema” which essentially means that my water retention is a random occurrence for which there is no physiological explanation. When all is said and done, here is the reality that I’m trying to come to terms with. There are a couple ways to do the math but here’s one example – even a highly athletic woman my height carries 20 pounds of body fat, which is “only” 35-40lbs less than my current fat mass. However, I am overweight by 60lbs relative to a 25bmi, and much more than that if you use an alternate formula for an ideal weight. So the arithmetic says that I am carrying around at least 20lbs of excess water, which I have come to learn is a different beast from excess fat. We know that losing a pound of fat requires creating a certain amount of caloric deficit but at this point there is nothing more I can do to get rid of the water weight. The doctor prescribed a water pill but it’s probably not a long-term solution and any water I lose might come back once I go off the medication. I fully intend to use the VSG tool to lose that extra 35-40lbs of fat but at that point, I might still be officially classified as overweight/obese even though the surgery did everything that it was supposed to do. ­­­­Before committing to the surgery, I had scoured through this message board to mentally prepare myself for all the bad scenarios that could come up but this was not an outcome that I was able to mentally prepare for. Hopefully other members out there find my story useful.

Today I was out shopping for a Christmas tree with my fiance, when I saw some cute coats in Walmart. My old winter coat is gigantic on me so I figured "What the heck." and tried a few on...in a size large. And they fit! I was so shocked I kept checking the tags to make sure I hadn't grabbed an XL by accident! This was definitely the boost I needed, since the numbers on the scale have been creeping down very slowly and I was starting to get frustrated. I love my band!

Brenda, I too have been on a plateau for all summer. 2 entire pounds since June, and now we are looking at September. I got so pissed off I almost quit everything, but came to my senses. My thanks to everyone for their encoragement on that. 7 pounds in 8 weeks is not a plateau, it just bearly is below the 1-2 pounds a week. That is still within the realm of reasonable weight loss. Sure, it isn't the amazing rappid loss many of us got used to, but it is still within the expected rate. I undestand your frustration, espcially when we see how amazing some people are doing. We are so excited for our fast loosers, even when we feel a stab of envy because of our own slow loss. I have stopped tracking my weight. I know it is unreasonable on some level, but I have stopped. I stopped for my sanity. I am now solely focused on my NSVs. It really makes this part of the journey tolerable. Today, I bought a size LARGE skirt. Not a 2X but a large. So, I suppose right now, the fact that I've only lost 2 pounds all summer is irrelevent. What are your NSVs? Are you tracking your inches lost?

That is wonderful!!! Collarbones are exciting...last night I was lying in bed and realized that my ribs stuck up higher than my tummy. WOOO HOOOO!!!! Of course, that's only when I'm lying down...but it's a vast improvement! Best of luck and continue to enjoy those NSVs. Rain

I am giggling about this post, because collarbones are the most exciting thing to me too!!! I have a new habit of sitting and rubbing them as a comfort. I love feeling that hard bump of bone that has been hidden under its protective fat layer for as long as I can remember. I totally relate to the shoulders too. I have lost my roundedness and now actually have some shape to my shoulders. Very exciting. I can also suck my stomach in enough to see ribs. They are certainly not visible on their own though. My next goal is to see a hip bone! haha. I imagine that sounds weird to many, but after years of being a human cushion, it is exciting to have some sharp edges again! Way to go on your NSV!!!

sweet- I am a finacial office asst Ok so I asked my boss at the end of the day so have you heard anything and this morning as well and he said no nothing . So I hate playing this limbo crap lol either they fire me or I am not fired lol I have things to do jajaja Ok so its not that bad in my life since I have things to do in the future I think that what keeping me calm and that God is with me in my heart as well as many good people as you all to keep me from thinking other things . On the good note I am so Happy I lost 5 pounds on my trip to Chicago maybe being there will make me loose more Nsv I went to go see my tax advisor yesterday oviously I havnt seen him since last year he knows about the surgery and he said did you get a tummy tuck also . I started laughting said no why I need one I know that . He is like no you look awsome you look really good and I am pround of people like you that take initiative to do what they want in life to be happy. I was so happy when I walked out of there with a good refund lol and a good complemint. oviously it did put me to think that know I am caring more for what I want in life and what makes me happy and doing it taking a chance :mad: read you later girls bev- how are you boo- call you during the week if I can ok :cake: and again thanks for the talk clau

Congrats! That is a fabulous NSV- no more worries for you! I haven't flown on a plane forever, but will be several times in the next year. My first flight will be in mid October. I hope to be around 250lbs by that time. I'm 5'7- do you think I will need to use one? I hope not! I have no idea at what weight people need one. I know it is probably different for everyone- but wondering if there is a ballpark number?

NSV's do mean so much more because they're usually when your head suddenly catches up. I mean I could weigh 30kg and still think I was fat. The number doesnt computer. Its when you catch a sight of yourself from behind in a dressing room mirror and realise you're not 2 metres wide but actually have a nice shape, or see the odd photo of yourself that surprises you etc, THAT's when you truly see how far you've come. Those are awesome moments.

stacechase congrats on the first of many NSV's good for you - prepping for your new sleeved life exercise, eating right, even a juicer!!! wow - you are ready for WLS!!! continue with this great attitude!!!! you are aces!!!! keep up the great job today, tomorrow and for the rest of your longer, healthier, happier sleeved life good luck on august 19th speedy recovery kathy

​I hear you @@jintycb!! I was lulled in as well. Almost planted my flowers and garden then out of nowhere winter came back to Montana! Congratulations @@Sophie74656, that's a great NSV!

@@azsqwurl have you checked out this thread? http://BariatricPal.com/index.php?/topic/276681-How-about-some-NSVs!?!? How about some NSVs!?!?

NSV?? Help me Sent from my iPad using the BariatricPal App

The lady in wawa didnt recognize me, and asked my son if i was his older sister! I had not been there in a few months ans normally i talk it up with the lady who rings us up....that was a def NSV. Im hoping i have the pants victory soon :-)

You are all awesome! I can't wait to be right there with you -- but I have one of "those" questions --- what is NSV?

*Having NO slacks left to wear to work (all too big!) *Crossing my legs. Comfortably..without going numb *Fitting into an XL sports tank (formerly wore a 22/24 top) *I made so many new holes in my belts, I had to get rid of them altogether! There are more NSVs, and I cherish each one.

Fit in the bumper cars!