Search the Community

After reading so many comments about people being near their goal weight, I have to question my own goal weight. The Dr asked me what I thought my goal weight should be based on what I believe my bone size (I said medium). So anyway I currently weigh 265 ish and I am 5'8" ish. I told the Dr that my goal was 160-170 and he smiled. He did not disagree. I wouldn't mind getting back to 145-150 lbs but wonder if that is "too thin". I would rather be 170 and very fit. Since I recently had spinal cord surgery, exercise will not be as intense as it is for other Sleevers. I included that knowledge when factoring my goal weight. The thing is, I wasn't planning on worrying about my weight, but instead to use NSV's as a tracking mechanism. I planned to weigh in maybe once every two weeks.... but I constantly read people weighing in daily (?), or every couple days. Maybe I am looking at this wrong?!?! Lastly, I focused more on other types of goals instead of my weight, such as: - being able to exercise for a full hour per day - I want to do one charity race per year (Avon, Walk for a Cure etc) - walking up the stairs without being out of breath - Walk up multiple stairs LOL - getting into a size 12, 10 or 8 - being able to play with my kids (not be winded or tired) - maybe I will never run again, but chase my kids, or even a light jog daily.. that would be nice - able to have amazing stamina in the bedroom (bow chicka wow wow) LOL - I desire steamy romance, but being big makes it kind of uncomfortable and limits my stamina - and maybe getting a few looks here and there... - this is a selfish NSV, I know. But I am 30y/o and there is still a need to feel sexy. Honestly, I wasn't so fixed on a number. Any number under 200 would be welcomed at this point. I know it sounds odd since so many people have that "number" and stay strict to it. I have always been the odd girl out, never following the norm.. So yeah, my goals seem to focus not on weight but on NSV's and I wonder if that is going to be a problem.

Good for you that you wrote to the manager. He would never know that the server is costing him customers, either because YOU won't go back or because the negative word of mouth (and burning YELP report with do some damage. From the "Every cloud has a silver lining" department, we call this a NSV, Non-Scale-Victory. Actually, dropped drawers is a first NSV for many of us.

Congratulations!!! Great NSV!

Girl, you got the best NSVs lol (referring to your other post). You are having a great time. I am so happy they provided awesome customer service. I can't imagine shopping at VS and that it might be a bit intimidating to me.

What is NSV?

great job! great NSV about the seat belt too. I have to take a 5 hour plane ride in May, I am so hoping the seat fits, not squeezingly tight like before. we shall see.

242 not v hungry...just head hunger bfast 1 egg & 2 cocktail sausages 138 lunch sm chilli & 1/2 BAKD POT 355 CAL 493 4 CRACKERS 50 543 5 COCKTAIL SAUSAGES 170=713 5 CRACERS & SALSA+ 70=783 WALK IN PM NSV! MY BLACK PINSTRIPED JACKET...THE TOP BUTTON USED TO BE ON TOP OF MY BOOBS NOW IS WAY BELOW MY CLEAVAGE!

2/17 & NSV's are shopping in any store not just the plus size section, not thinking about fitting a ride (went to universal had to try those "seats" outside the rides) & no longer thinking you look great but then you see yourself in pictures and look huge Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I can't wait. Anybody else with a January 30th date? To all us pre ops, what are some NSVs you can't wait for? Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

I TOTALLY relate to this NSV, Dooter! This is the best part of eating out, in my opinion...measuring how many inches of free space between me and the table! I used to fear and hate booths. Now I choose them because I can! Yippie!

Athena. I was "only" 242 at my high weight, which felt like hundreds of pounds more than that. I did manage to lose about 20 pounds on my own by going to Curves and exercising regularly. But my eating/portion control was a huge problem. I knew if I could just quit eating so dadgum much, I'd be okay. I found out about lap bands and found this site and knew it was for me. My hubby agreed that is the band worked properly for me, I'd surely lose. So far, so good. I weighed 182 this morning and have been really struggling to lose more weight. My band is not very tight, so I'm trying to really make it work without another fill. It's hard. I can eat 1800 calories a day if I'm not careful with what I choose. And, truthfully, I was eating 1800 calories a day at surgery weight and maintaining. These past weeks I have cut back to 1200-1550 calories a day and I'm hoping it will show up on the scale. It's work. No doubt about it. But it's work I am now able to do. My little band helps me so much. At my fill level, I have to eat slowly and carefully, chew really well, other than that I could get away with murder on my food choices and even with the amounts. The biggest difference for me is that I can no longer shovel and shovel massive quantities before my head catches up with me. I have what's called an NSV thread. It's a thread I started so I can track my Non-Scale Victories. You can zip through that and get a glimpse of my journey. Others here have NSV threads, too. Life IS better after losing weight! Please make sure you know what you are getting into before you do this. I have had good success with my band, and plan on having even more! I have no regrets. Here's the link to my NSV thread. Hope it helps. http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=10252

My thoughts are you are going to feel so good in a yr from now...It takes work...the band is just a tool that we have control of...but I works !!! There will be so many small and large non scale victories (NSV) along the way...rejoice in all of them !!! Good luck hun....Im excited for you !

Oh Yeah! Just got back from internist's office. I've had hypertension for 5 years. BP was high (150/100), even with meds. Now, after the two-week pre-op diet and 2 weeks of banding, my BP is 110/80. Zipadeedppdah!!! I get to cut my meds in half and doc says in another three months he doubts I will need them at all. I have a big stoooopid grin on my face!!! I love my band!!!:clap2:

My 1 year anniversary is coming up in 4 days! I've posted plenty of pictures in the last year but this one is one of my favorites! It has nothing to do with my face or body but has everything to do with my health. I'm still have those "pinch me" moments quite often. It doesn't seem real, my brain still has issues comprehending the numbers that I see on the scale. I feel incredibly blessed to have been given the chance to have a "rebirth" and I want to thank each and everyone of you who has been with me on the journey you guys are a big reason for my success. I would name you all off but It would take forever and I don't want to miss anyone. I am thankful for each and everyone of you and wish you all a successful and blessed journey to health! Let's keep it going! This is a NSV but the numbers are just as important to me. ❤️ WINNING!!! ❤️

Today, a lady at work said "here comes skinny minny." OMGoodness, I haven't been called that in......never!!! Yay!! I told them I still weighed 178 though (i know, I'm my own worst enemy) and still had another 28 pounds to lose. The woman said if I lost another 28 pounds, i'd blow away.

Hi, friends. Just sharing, as I'm so excited. Wednesday made 16 calendar weeks post-op VSG, and as of today, I've lost 50 pounds! Holy cow. I am halfway to goal in just four months!! SW =257.2 Dec. 4th--->Today = 206.0 ---> 170 (or 150--ultimate goal). I was hoping to enter Onederland by June 1st, but I think I'll get there before that, do you think...? I need to do monthly weight-loss tallies, but oddly, I lost 13 pounds this month! (I don't know why, but I'll take it!) OMG. And the NSVs are occurring every week. I really need to take pictures; I think I'll regret not having done so along this journey. Just sharing. This feels good...and I really needed that to happen. For any still wondering whether to have WLS, VSG or any type, I can already attest that it does change your life, energy, attitude, appearance, style, confidence, socialization, sexiness, etc. It all gets better, with more to come, it seems. Have a great day.

Great post Sunnyd! We are learning how to live the rest of our lives in a healthy way both physically and mentally. It can't be all about the number on the scale. We have to relish all of the victories as we make our way through our journeys. I am going to stop and smell the flowers along the way and enjoy the NSVs.

I was wearing size 18 women's jeans before surgery. I easily wore size 14 jeans today!! I decided to try them on cause my others were getting too loose to wear, fully expecting them not to button. Excited!! Haven't been able to wear them in several years.

So last week (week of Thanksgiving) was a crazy week because I went home to Arkansas to spend time with family... First off it was super fun...My daugther is having my first glam-baby and I got a chance to see my glam-baby on the ultrasound. We also had the baby shower the Saturday following Thanksgiving and it was fab as well..Okay I could go on and on about that because I am so happy but that is for another blog.. Well it was the first time any of my family had seen me since surgery and only my mom and daughter knew I had surgery...For the most part everyone had good things to say...My aunt and cousin jokingly called me a "crackhead" or a "cancer patient" as they said I was so small...They aint seen small yet...I got more pounds to lose before hitting my goal...As many of us VSG folk probably was, I was nervous about how I would be around so much food...good southern homemade food....Not to mention all the eateries that are my "have" to go to list when I am home...Admittedly, I did eat more carbs and sweets overall than I have eaten on any day since surgery. However, it was in such small quantity that I did not beat myself up about it. Instead, I just was more conscious about my calorie burn. I do not recall if I mentioned previously but I renewed my subscription to the bodybugg again. I am amazed of how much more efficient my body has become on a reduced calorie diet and less weight. Before the surgery and without any exercise I would burn 2500 calories a day doing just normal activity. Now, I am at 2000 calories a day...While in Arkansas I made sure to hit 2500 mark so I could burn off the extra calories I took on by indulging in cake and dips. In the end I only lost 0.8lbs te week of Thanksgiving. It is actually more than I had on my projected weight loss chart. I said I would lose nothing so I count it as a victory. Things have bounced back this week and I lost 2lbs. I am happy with that but I would like to get my weekly loss up to about 3lbs a week. I am going to get back on my workout regime as I fell all the way off these past 3 weeks. If I am to be running ( I mean running...now walking) a half marathon on June 1st, I need to be in the full swing of daily running like yesterday... And for the not so good...I have had some awesome victories since having my sleeve...My best NSV when I was in Arkansas is I wore my daughter size Large Monkey Suit (Onesie). I have wanted one of those for about two years but could not find one big enough...Well now I can wear a Junior Large...I also bought a Junior Large pair of Yoga pants from Kohls during after Thanskgiving sale...Another big moment...I wish I would have taken a pic with them on because even I must say I think I looked "skinny"..a relative term indeed but it was a skinny moment for me...And the oh girl you are gorgeous...girl you fine comments are coming...oh how I love my sleeve...I guess the best part is not the comments themselves but I actually feel pretty again... But oh back to the bad...My hair has started coming out in chunks...It is so thin...I am wearing hair make-up every day to color in my sides and I have to wear full and half wigs as my hair is so thin in the front. I have been wanting to cut it short anyway but I wanted to do that on my own time...Now entire otherwise healthy strings are hair is just all over the bathroom floor and sink with the slightest comb or brushing...I keep telling myself my doctor has said there are no bald weight loss patients...It will come back and I guess the good thing is when it comes back all the relaxer will be off and I can go naturally curly and short as I wanted to do anyways... I have an Ormin body fat monitor and previous to surgery it said my body fat (bf) was very high about 40.8%..I notice a couple of weeks ago, it now simply says high and now I am 34% bf. That and with some inspiration from my sleeve buddy I decided my next big goal was to get to a healthy bf and bmi. For my height that is 164lbs for a healthy BMI...Hopefully, with the workouts the bf comes on down as well...In the meantime, my interim goal is to be 175lb by Christmas...Gotta put in work to make it happen. I am posting some swim suit progress shots against my better judgement given this is the internet..but I want to give an honest reflection of me...Its hard to hide the flab in a two piece... Beware the photos are horrible but they are becoming less horrible as the months pass. Excuse the blur in the photo and that the distance the photos were taken were not exactly the same but I still think they reflect the 45lb weight loss... Until next week all.... HW 232 & SW 227 (VSG 08/17/12 & 5'8) LW 188.8 Week 14 Weight - 188.2 CW 186.2 [Total Weight Loss 43.2lbs] GW 155 [31.2lbs until Goal]

I'm so excited! I had a NSV this morming when I zipped up my boots. I've always had to scrunch down my knee high boots so I could get them zipped up over my rather voluptuous calves but today . . . I zipped from ankle to knee in one smooth, unscrunched action! Yee Haw!

Hey Everyone, I got a coupon in the mail for the Avenue store. If I buy 75 dollars worth of stuff, I get 30 dollars off my purchase. So I went there yesterday because I need a new coat for the winter and I figured that would eat up the dollars. I also dont own a sweater, need pants etc. Truthfully, I dont have anything for that matter and I have been too cheap to buy clothes. I tried on a 14-16 coat. It was a little too big, but I figured if I put on heavy sweaters underneath it would be fine. It was the smallest size in the store, so it wasnt like I had a choice anyway except to leave. I know that this will be the last year I will be able to wear it, but it was cheap and cute. At least I will be able to wear it between here and goal next year. I tried on shirts that were size 14. They were all too big and falling off my shoulders. I picked up a pair of size 14 pants. Holy cow, they fit!!!! This is the first size 14 I own since 1983 for pants since I am bottom heavy. So it seems like I am officially out of plus size stores!!!!!! On top, I went from a size 26 to a woman;s large or size 12, and on the bottom I have gone from size 28 and I am now a 14 (Gasp!) and sometimes 16. It was clear that some of the women that worked there thought I was nuts jumping around both in the dressing room and at the cash register. I still cant believe that I have gotten this far. No more AVENUE OR LANE BRYANT ever again. This was my last trip there and I am so excited that I never have to go there again! Babs in TX 334/191/170 -143

Yep... I agree with everyone else.... but, what a fab NSV... just take it and enjoy it!! =]

Tonight I did what I thought was impossible! First, to put in in perspective: the Couch to 5k program starts you off with alternating 90 sec. walking with 60 sec jogging in week 1. I could barely make it one minute when I started!! Today I just finished week 5 day 3, which means I ran 20 SOLID minutes on the treadmill!!!!! I can't believe I did it, and it wasn't bad at all!! Just days ago I was struggling to finish 5 min blocks, then 8 min blocks. I was doing more than the people around me in the gym. I haven't ever felt that before! I nearly cried when I was done! But no, to Celebrate, since I had run 3.5K, I said screw it, and ran and walked even more and did the whole 5K tonight JUST FOR FUN. (Seriously, what's WRONG with me? LOL!!) I can't believe I've transformed so much in such a short time. The band has lightened me enough to find strength I've never known before. PS I called my brother, who has almost always been fit his whole life, even fit enough to run the NYC marathon several years ago, and he said that even he probably wouldn't be able to do 20 min right now. HA! Am I getting to be the fastest runner in my family? I can hardly believe it! I was always the slowest one. So I challenged him to do a 5K with me this summer. HA!!!! It's on!!

So yesterday i went to one of my hairdressers that i haven't been to since about a month and a half before surgery. Immediately after i said hello, She was like OMG, You have lost alot of weight. then continues to say, you're about the size you were when i first started doing your hair about 5 years ago. SHUT THE FRONT DOOR!!!! What... did she say that? i'm all smiles over here. So i'm leaving work early today and won't return here on site for over a month. Many people here says daily or no less than every other day about how much weight i've lost, how good i look, or asking how much weight lost, etc. I'll be out of town on buisness for 2 weeks, go on vacation for a week, then back out of town for another week or two. SO when i return back at my site hummmm, let's say at least June 2nd, Wonder what look, questions, or wise remarks that i will get? Lol, What do you think?

I mentioned a couple of days ago that I bought my first dress in I don't know how long. It was a heck of a NSV for me. Well, a co-worker caught the moment for posterity and I've attached it here. Liz in a dress. Who would have thought it. Thank you lapband!! I'm so happy I could friggin' cry.....