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You can't remember your passwork to LBT:smile: Yep, it's been too long. I really took a break in December and am now trying to lose the 5 lbs I gained. Don't let anyone tell you you can't gain weight when you are banded. Anyway, it's a new year, my 6 months bandiversary is on the 15th and I have lost 52.5. Will have lost 55 when this last 2.5 lb gain goes away I'm back to planning meals, staying away from snacks and will make another fill appt. if I don't stay on track. Bought myself a walking tape and have walked 4 or last 5 days. Great I know except my foot hurts like #@$#*&^:w00t: Anyway, I'm going to keep it up. My goal is to do a 5k walk by my 50th BD in May. My other goal is another 15 lbs gone by then. I know staying in touch here will help me reach both of those. Couple of NSV's to start the new year.... I can now take my blood pressure with a regular size cuff instead of stretching the BIG cuff to the max. I can get up and down with my beautiful grandson all day long and not feel like I'm dying. I can wear my winter clothes that would not fit last year. I hope everyone is having a wonderful New Year and wish 2010 to be a year of great health and happiness to all of you.

I have so many, but one of the main ones (that I experienced today) is not getting a painful rash on my inner thighs from them rubbing against each other when I walk. Especially in the heat, when I am wearing a skirt with no stockings! Ugh!! What are you looking forward to?

I read in a few posts about women needing smaller rings. I said to myself that will be the last thing...Who looses weight in their fingers when there is so much else to lose other places with lots of fat on it. Well there is a method to the body losing weight. You do lose all over. More in some than others. However...to my point....I shook my wedding rings right off my finger. Who would have thought!!!:faint:

WOW congrats!! that is really good weightloss and NSV. I can't wait to get to 1derland again. What is your day like food wise?

(1) Research the band, but don't spend 3 years researching it like I did. I'd be at goal now if I had just gone on and pulled the trigger. (2) The WL journey is very rewarding. Even if you have 200+ lbs to lose, it's not very long until you start having NSVs and start feeling a whole lot better about yourself. I thought, at 358, that I'd have to get to 199 before I felt better. That's just not true. Every step of the journey teaches me something.

Congrats! That's an awesome nsv. I hate flying for those reasons. Can't wait till i can get on a plane and not need an extender and be able to properly use the tray table. Funny the things some people take for granted. It sounds silly but god is it sooooooo incredibly validating. Sent from my SM-G925T using the BariatricPal App

No lets just think that this will be the beginning of a new struggles but amazing NSV and Scale ones too lol

I think the preop diet will hopefully help with postoperative cravings because we are getting through them now. NSV: On my fourth day or diet, I went to a Mexican resteraunt with my brother's fiance and sipped water while I watched her eat and drink a margarita!! Yay to everyone who can hold against cravings!!

Very Awesome. That has to feel extremely good. Great NSV!!!

Nsv! Size 12s are loose! Woop woop

12/23/2013 235-172 Down 63 pounds. Not as much as I wanted, but let's see what the next year brings. I am still a work in progress. My waist has gone down from 53" to 42". I have had three closet flushes from a very round 22/24 or 3x to 12/14/16 or Large depending on make and cut. NSV's I am in my first pair of jeans with a zipper in four decades. i can trim my own toenails I can cross my legs. I can wear socks that are not diabetic. My shoes are way too big. My calves actually look pretty darn hot for 63. A year ago, I was still very weak from a stroke (one of the seminal events that convinced me I needed weight loss surgery) In this past year, I have progressed from not being able to lift anything or even open a jar, to one pound weights, to two pound weights, to five pound weights....and last week for the first time...ta da...ten pound weights. And that is on a 3x a week schedule. A year ago, this couch potato was growing roots through the floor. Now I can lift the mattress to tuck in the sheets and I can open my own jars, thank you. I still have balance issues and always will, but my walking endurance has improved from two minutes once a day with support to thirty minutes with support - or close surroundings - twice a day. I have gone from no upper arm strength to being able to do twenty pushups from the second stairstep (cannot get up and down easily from the floor due to a botched knee replacement). Me? Pushups? Who knew? A surprising result was that even at my age of 63 years and one day, I am feeling sexy again, and my man loves my confidence and lack of inhibition. We are both looking forward to those white skinny jeans the next size down and just waiting in the closet. That is when I will post my next picture. I am waiting on those jeans. Although some people get off of blood pressure meds right away, my primary wants to wait until my weight is comfortably below my stroke weight of 185, and 172 just isn't it yet. However, I am no longer pre-diabetic. A specialist that I see only occassionally, did not recognize me the last time I was in his office. He thought the nurse had brought the wrong patient's file into the room. Sweet!

Sooo....since we still have 6 days of fabulous pre op diets to survive, I'd like to focus on some of the NSVs that we're looking forward to. I know we all have several we could list, so let's share what you're excited about. Me? I can't wait to wear a pair of jeans (or anything for that matter) without my "front a**" hanging out! (I have a lot of extra skin from my pregnancies/ c-sections, and that coupled with carrying around extra fat...gives me a big pooch in front...like an a** in front. HATE it!!!) I wanna feel good and look good in my clothes! What's yours??

Howdy! I had NSVs this weekend... 1) I RODE A BIKE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 25+ YEARS! :laugh: We have a very pretty arboretum/park less than 10 minutes from our house that has a 4 mile bike path. I had to walk my bike up the really big hills, but I was able to ride most of the way. I've decided that I will either ride the path 2x or walk the path 1x at least three days/week. 2) I WORE A SIZE 20 FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 15+ YEARS! :smile: The temperature got up to 75 degrees today. I wore a size 20 pair of ankle pants, a lightweight sweater, and sandals. It felt so great to not be bundled up like "Nanook of the North." My hubby commented that I should go do some shopping for spring clothing because my clothes looked too baggy. I understood what he was saying about the sweater because it fit me 65lbs ago. I think I was more excited about the pants being baggy. I might go out next week and try on some size 18s!

Serenity & Sweetbean: Congrats on your NSV'S! Keep up the good work! Looks like we are on our way...:tt1:

In the almost 18 months that i've been banded I've had a few NSV's already. 1. Fitting comfortably on an airplane seat w/o having to use a seat belt extender last summer when I went to Florida 2. Going from size 26/28 (busting out of them) to wearing a size 20 in pants and size 14 in shirts 3. Getting complimented. I've had complete strangers where I work approach me and tell me I've inspired them to lose weight. 4. Constantly being happy!!! This is a major one. i am a very happy person nowadays 5. I was in a wedding last month and I wasn't the "fat one". As a matter of fact my dress I ordered was a size 16W and it had to be taken in on top quite a bit! 6. Taking 5 mile walks with my boyfriend and dog on a regular basis Next month I am looking forward to going to an amusement park and fitting on the seats comfortably. I went to disney last summer and was able to fit on those rides comfortably but this will be the 1st time I'm going to a park with a bunch of thrill rides and some of those rides are old rides and aren't as "large person" friendly.

I can't wait for the NSV's. I want to be comfortable enough to go to the gym pool and swim again, or even join a masters swim club! I want to go sky diving! I want to be able to clean house, play with my daughter and teach all day without being exhausted all the time or having to take breaks constantly. I'd like to buy clothes that are cute and make me feel like me and not someone else. To be able to look in the mirror and smile because I can see me and not the lbs of shame. thank you for this post! It is so uplifting and fun to see everyones aspirations.

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

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

Great NSV! And you're "I don't think so" answer probably really has her wondering what's going on. LOL

NSV = Non-scale Victory: When your body changes, even though your weight stays the same. Your clothing fits looser, you've lost inches, you sleep better, get off of any meds you required before you started the process. Sugery lasts only about 45 minutes, feeling almost normal starts to happen around day 3 or 4. Bloating and your incisions are healed around week 3. Day 1 will be the worst, be prepared by having one point of contact for people who want to check on you. You won't feel much like talking or being bothered by anybody or anything, so be prepared before you go for your procedure. Good luck!

That is a HUGE nsv ....that's what this is all about - your health!!

Surgery is scheduled for this Thursday. I am on day 12 of my pre-op diet plus I had been eating better (mostly) for past 6 months. Today, I was out running errands to get a few last things for post-op days here at the house and my pants kept slipping. I went to tighten my belt another notch and realized that there were no more notches available. Excited (and nervous) to have the surgery, but excited at what I know the outcome will be.

I do get on the scale - every morning – I can’t help myself. But you are correct - those NSV's are the best. They are what really tell the story! Needing smaller sized clothing, fitting comfortably in a charge or airplane seat…. You can’t beat that!

I hate to sabotage @@betterme38 's "self sabotage" thread. But to answer your question, I was pretty strict. But not perfect. Probably did 95% of what I intended to do every day. Here's a post I made on my first surgiversary, which I posted on another message board: * * * A year ago yesterday I was sleeved at age 68. I knew I had the energy for one last shot at getting healthy. Like so many of us, controlling my weight was the one thing in my life I’d been unable to manage. Failing at that was a tremendous embarrassment and disappointment to me, not to mention the cause of mounting medical comorbidities that had almost sidelined me from life. A year ago I’d already been on this forum for 9 months. I could not WAIT to get my WLS show on the road. I’d already lost almost 20 pounds on a 2-month 1,400 calorie diet of my own and, later, my surgeon’s 14-day pre-op diet. I’d been practicing for months the behaviors I’d learned here—eating slower, chewing more, no more soda, a lot less coffee, no NSAIDs (ouch!), walking more (yea, Fitbit!), and my favorite tool of all—planning meals and tracking my food and drink onwww.myfitnesspal.com. Fast-forward to yesterday morning, my first surgiversary. I weighed in at 143 pounds. I feel great, physically and mentally. I look so much younger (I’ll be 70 years old in December). And I truly feel like I’ve been reborn. The New, Temporary Avatar I’m on the down-low about having had WLS. Basically, only hubby and two friends know about this. But so many online VSG friends want to know what I look like, so enjoy my new avatar while it’s up. It’s coming down soon. Tough titty. BTW, I’ll put up a full-body shot of me later. Again, tough titty. But this morning I didn’t have on “the right outfit” to show off my skinny ass. And hubby’s not here right now to take a good photo of me. How I Lost the Weight I was lucky—had no complications, had a great surgeon and team, healed well and recovered fast, and have had more non-scale victories (NSVs) than you could shake a stick at. I’m full of gratitude and amazement at all of WLS’s benefits for me. Below is a list of things I did (mostly pretty well) that led to my success. As always, your mileage may vary. This was my experience. Yours will be yours. • Ate the minimum amount of protein—at least 60 grams to start with (hit that target on Day Five post-op) • Ate Protein first at every meal • Drank 8 glasses of Water daily (or at the very least 8 glasses of liquids daily) Protip #1: Dehydration slows weight loss and makes you feel like crap. Protip #2: Our kidneys work overtime when we’re losing weight rapidly and need lots of water to function well. Protip #3: You can actually die from dehydration. • As healing happened and restriction eased, added healthy (colored) veggies, then non-starchy fruits, then whole grains • Took my vitamins/minerals and Rxs daily and on schedule • Ate 3 meals a day • Chewed my food well and ate more slowly • Didn’t drink 15 minutes before or 30 minutes after a meal • When I got hungry (not bored), I added one or two Snacks of healthy food • Didn’t graze between meals (note that “a snack” and “grazing” are different things) • Avoided / minimized highly processed, high-carb foods and slider foods like potatoes, white rice, white breads, crackers, Cookies, chips, ice cream Protip: These foods slow weight loss and, for some people, trigger binge eating. • Moved more than I used to move and gradually kept moving even more • Followed the Number One Exercise Rule for Old People: Don’t injure yourself! • Got some sunshine daily, which kept me full of happy thoughts and Vitamin D • Tried to sleep 8 hours a night • Minimized stress—for me, this meant I stopped sweating the small stuff and learned that most stuff really is small stuff • Am seeing a shrink, even though I’m not crazy, to understand better why I couldn’t or didn’t care for my health better prior to WLS and to learn how to do better in the future (as the saying goes, they operate on your stomach, not your head). Unsolicited Advice: I’ve been at or below goal for 4 months now. Here are some things I learned while losing weight and during maintenance (at which I’m still a newbie). Some of these things have surprised me. And as always, your mileage may vary. • Don’t feel pressured into telling the world you’re having WLS. Do what is best for you. Just know that “telling a few people” may not be the best way to keep your WLS private. There are a lot of mouthy people out there. • Don’t overeat, but don’t starve yourself either. As your healing continues, eat more healthy food and raise your calories gradually. Otherwise, you may wind up reaching your weight goal but only able to maintain it eating 1,000 calories/day. Ugh! At 143 pounds, my daily maintenance calorie budget is 1,700 calories/day. I am over the moon about that. I think it’s because I didn’t starve myself while I was losing weight. I ate 800 calories during Months 1-4, 1,000 calories during Months 5-6, and 1,200 calories during Months 7-8. As my calories went up, so did my protein grams. I still aim for 100 grams of protein daily. • Post-op, don’t just eat to lose weight—also eat to become healthier. Learn more about nutrition—macronutrients, trace elements, vitamin and mineral supplements. Read articles and good research. As smart as I thought I was, turns out I didn’t know nearly as much as I needed to know to care well for myself. • If you’re craving sugar, you’re probably already eating sugar. The only way I know to kill those cravings is to cold-turkey the sugar. • Don’t let anyone pressure you into having WLS. This is a life-changing deal. A year down the road you’ll probably be able to eat pretty much anything you want, although not in massive quantities at one time. And you’ll need to always be vigilant about your nutrition, meal-planning, eating behaviors, etc. • WLS won’t prevent binge-eating or emotional eating. It will discourage it, but it won’t prevent it. There are plenty of WLS patients who’ve learned to eat and drink around their tools. I personally know folks who’ve wasted their sleeve, bypass or band with (sigh) sweet tea, Mountain Dew, beer, Wheat Thins, ice cream, chips and dips. What those drinks and foods all have in common, other than being high-calorie and lacking in nutrition, is that the sleeve cannot challenge them. They move rapidly through the sleeve and into the small intestine. You can eat that crap all day long and never start to feel full. Remember, it’s a shame to waste a sleeve. Very, very best wishes to everyone out there considering a VSG or other form of WLS. You can change your life with WLS if you use your tool well. But you must understand it’s only one tool in a bigger healthcare arsenal that you must acquire and use daily. Thang ya. Thang ya verra mudge.

Reflections on month 2 of 6 pre op diet ~ Are we there yet? Contrary to my belief, I did not die waiting for my monthly weight in as I slowly get closer to my surgery date. Ok, so this is a good thing and there have been others. I am proud that I still have not had a carbonated drink since December which is actually a huge NSV for me. I have been faithful to drink a minim of 32oz of water a day. Some days I get 64 oz and plan to continue to increase until I reach 64oz per day, every day. This month I have marked a few things off of my pre surgery check list as well. For starters, my second month PCP visit and weigh in. The scale showed a gain of 0.4, but I think that could just be the clothing. I had my sleep study which shows that I do have sleep apnea. I will be getting my machine soon, and when I do I will get my pulmonary clearance as well. I am really looking forward to a good night’s sleep. I have also started attending the local WLS support group. It is a live version of this website and I find the people there are just as candid and helpful as those on this website. I plan to continue with the support group meetings just because I like them. I do occasionally have to give myself a personal time out from this site and obsessing about WLS in general. Everything in moderation, right? Overall, I have a good feeling about what I have accomplished this past month. I hope that the next is just a fruitful. Best wishes to all ~ mykdzmom