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Heck no am I saying you don't have a life, so hope you don't take it that way!!! I was being sarcastic regarding the topic of posting because you have too much time on your hands, I was actually referring to me..LOL. And right now, I do have time on my hands (hope I don't jinx myself). And you are also very right, I am not having any band problems so I guess posting here is a NSV (non-scale victory)..lol I like what you have to say as well

I'm really looking foward to this upcomming year, We just spent the whole last year starting a new life and now we'll spend the next one begining to live our new lives. Congrats to all as each of our days aproach. I went shopping to get a couple of things to wear on our 4th of July getaway. I found myself with a NSV Size 10 jeans!! All I could think was a size 9 is just around the corner, I can't remember the last time I bought single didget clothing. I hope ya'll have a great weekend!!!!

I assume you are talking post op. But either way, I got mine the first few months post op with Premiere Protein drinks from Wal-Mart. They are 11 oz and have 30 gr of protein. Two of those get you the minimum. Also early on Isopure Protein waters from GNC were a lifesaver for me during the all liquid stage. Some people don't like the flavor but personally I enjoyed them. Especially over ice. They come in several different flavors and taste like kool-aid. If you mean pre-op or after the liquid phase, I eat lots of rotisserie chicken or grilled chicken. My favorite yogurt is Danon Lite & Fit with 12 gr of protein per serving. Also the chocolate on top flavors really satisfy my desert cravings when I have them. Grilled or baked fish is great also. Just be sure the package says "wild caught" and not farm raised. My other option for extra protein is in the deli section or your store. They are the Oscar Mayer P3 protein packs. They have nuts, cheese and deli meats. A great snack and each package has 11 or 12 grams of protein My NSV... I got to shop on the right side of Catos last week!! Some super cute stuff

Diabetes: Before surgery while on insulin...A1C = 11....then 9.....now 3 months after surgery, not taking anything/no pills, no insulin...6.6 I left my endo. doc's office with a big smile. LadyPooh and Tigger...congrats on your NSV!

November has been NSV month for me. I have been to two college football games and an NFL game with even thinking about being a tight squeeze into the seat. Tomorrow I fly out to TN and am not stressed on where I will be sitting on the flight and when I get to TN I am going to be in a tree stand that I am not too heavy for.

Leticia, NSV is non scale victory. Examples are crossing your legs (something a lot of us could not do for a long time), walking without getting short of breath, no longer needing a seat belt extender to fly on a plane; things like that. Kathy

Morning everyone! Yeah, Shiny is back! Yesterday my band was VERY finicky...I didn't get 'food' into me until the late afternoon, and that was my morning smoothie! However, by 7 or so in the evening, I was ravenous - and had 1/2 turkey breast filet with an onion sauce, and some cherries and a handful of granola. Then just before bed, I had a few tbsps of peanut butter. I know, not a great choice, but I really wanted to get my protein in. Today, so far, so good. YEAH on the NSV! It's wonderful you met up with Jaime and St. Louis...I'd love to meet all of you someday, but I don't see it happening in the short term. Maybe someday. LilMiss - I am so sorry for what you are struggling with! Yes, go for an unfill - and get yourself back to a place where you can have a healthy relationship with food. Where you can eat solids, have more than 1 tbsp and enjoy! You are correct - how you are eating now is NOT healthy - physically or psychologically. Get an unfill. EXACTLY!!! Yes indeed! I get frustrated/concerned when I read the newbie posts about getting a fill on a schedule rather than based on a NEED...not a desire to lose X pounds quickly. :thumbup: Where are the VVs today?

Glad you have posted. Sometimes it does us good to get all the down feelings off our chests. I don't know to many people who would think 45 lbs was not a HUGE success. It is hard not to compare ourselves with other people. Especially when they are doing so good. I have down in the dumps moments too. For the most part, I stay focused on all the victories I have had. Many are the NSV! I've lost 40 lbs since my surgery and feel proud of those lbs. For me, I didn't have the drive to loose the weight on my own this time, so I got the band to help insure that I wouldn't see those lbs again. Do you have a decent level of restricion? If not go for a fill. I log what I eat daily on a different support board I belong to. I've joined a walker tracker program and am involved in a challege. All of these things are very positive for me. I could easily focus on the short fall of the band with the expectations I had, instead I choose to look at all the changes and postives that have come out of getting banded. For me feeling better and getting healthy is the key. I am not in a race. This WLS is known for a 1-2 lbs a week loss. Hang in there. Staying plugged into a good support group is key for me. I've been going in monthly for check ups at my surgeons office. I post and read on the OCC forum and cruise this one. Think about all the good that has come from being banded, I am sure your list is a long one!

I beg your indulgence because this post is pretty long, but I got all reflective when I started writing. I have lost 60lbs exactly since surgery, so that's been 10lbs a month on average. I am very happy about that. That is what I had hoped for, so I can't complain! I can't believe that I'm so close to my goal, when a year ago I felt so far away from it. If I lose only 1lb a week until my 1 year bandversary, I will be at my original goal of 160lbs! That's a very exciting thought. I would have expected that by now I would have felt decent restriction. I am still trying to find it! While I credit some of the weight loss to my band, I feel that much of it has been on my part because I do Atkins low carb. Since I can still eat pretty decent size quantities, I've had to rely on my carb restriction and exercise to get the weight off. But maybe I don't give enough credit to the band, but then again, I rarely feel its presence. I don't really think about the band that much, and I just live my day to day life like everyone else. I am at my lowest weight ever, I'm in the best shape I've ever been in, and I feel amazing! It's interesting, because major weight loss is a very personal journey. A personal journey that is a very public one as well. There's no way to hide it. My friends and family have watched me shed over 100lbs in the last year and I have had tremendous support from them, for which I am grateful. Sometimes, however, they think they understand what I'm going through because they can see the change, but they don't really understand. For almost my entire life, people looked at me and saw an extremely overweight person. I never noticed the stares (which I'm sure I got), but I didn't care. I still feel like a extremely overweight person, even though I'm not. I think people still look at me the same way, but they don't. I look around a room now and I can see that I'm not the biggest one there anymore. I know I look different, but I still feel like the same person... because I am and I'm not. I am still my bubbly self, my personality hasn't changed but my body has. By no means am I skinny, because I still have weight to lose. So I guess that puts me in the category of the everyday overweight person? It is weird to think that I'm just another one of those "normal" looking people (so I've been told). And you know what? It's not so exciting. Not that losing weight, and having NSVs like being able to fit into smaller clothes and not worrying about the seatbelt on the plane fitting aren't exciting, because they are extremely exciting and they are what keep me going! What I mean, though, is that a regular sized person doesn't have a better life. And I knew this was true even before I lost my weight. I saw (and still see) many of my friends who aren't happy, and they're skinny, so it's obviously not possible that being thin automatically makes you happy. I had to learn that happiness and self worth was independent from the way I looked and how much I weighed. I think accepting myself and my body when I was overweight has made this journey that much easier. My happiness is not dependent on the number on the scale (but believe me, seeing a lower number when I step on the scalemakes me extremely happy!) To put it in an extremely cliche way (and I do beg your forgiveness, but really, it's true!), I think that the journey itself and the things I've learned about myself on this journey are more important then the actual goal itself. I never saw myself as the extremely self-motivated person, but I have come to realize that I wouldn't be where I am today if I wasn't. In conjunction with that, I've learned to be patient and to persevere. When I started this journey, Being under 200lbs seemed ages away and being from the generation of immediate gratification didn't help much. But there wasn't a chance that I was going to magically drop 100lbs overnight (even though tv ads guarantee it!), so I had no choice BUT to be patient. Sometimes I feel like I'll never get there, but then I have to remind myself about the strides I have made. I get immense satisfaction from seeing how far I've come in such short period of time. From walking at 3mph on the treadmill to walking at 4mph. From being totally out of breath, feeling like I'm going to die after 30 seconds of jogging on 3.5mph to running on 5mph for 5 min. knowing that if i really wanted to, I could go for longer. It's those small things that make up the journey that mean the most. Yeah, so those are my thoughts as of late. Thank you for allowing me to share my thoughts and feelings with you. I appreciate the opportunity to do so and I look forward to reading about your experiences and thoughts about your journey. Thank you to those who read my whole post, and if you didn't, I don't blame you!

Dino....great NSV with the new pants size. Each one of those moments are so much fun! Allie...try not to drive yourself nuts with the plateaus. We all have them. Do yourself a favor and see if you can ignore the scale for awhile. Your husband is right. Try to calm down about it all. Before you know it your numbers will be going down again. Cathy..........HELLO....about time we hear from you again (just kidding...think we all just missed hearing from you). Sounds like you are setting the world on fire with your new found energy. You go girl! Still plan on stopping somewhere in TN to meet you on our way to FL. Looking forward to it. Now that we booked our trip (cabin in the Ocala Nat. Forest) our son informed me over the weekend that he is looking at a job in Delaware. Will just have to use our Alaska Airline miles to go and see him if he moves there. Hope he is still in Daytona when we get down there but, if not, we still would have gone somewhere warm for a couple of months. Waiting to hear what time my surgery is tomorrow. Just want it behind me. Not looking forward to the few weeks of down time. Have books and movies lines up. I am fairly independent and can't handle not doing my own work. I always say that I am not a perfectionist but very close to being one. Another cross to bear. I will sit and watch the mud getting dragged into the house and cringe. Hope everyone had a good weekend. We are having a beautiful fall. Weather is perfect. Life is good.

This carrying stuff is a new one for me and this thread is hilarious. While I have been lifted a few times😜 I do not remember my husband ever carrying me anywhere except over the threshold of our new house purchased a month after our wedding. I feel left out....are y'all counting this as a NSV??

Michelle...are you finished with school for the summer? It would be nice to have a time out from it all... Dee...how is CJ doing now? I guess he enjoys the freedom of a summer schedule just as do his siblings! BTW, the Harry Potter part of Universal Orlando has a ride that you need to be small enough to fasten the safety bar in order to ride. The first time we went, I did not even try to see if I would fit. The next time, no worries...another NSV I just realized! DIANE...starting to get worried about you. Please post or text that you and yours are well. Will be back tomorrow. Big hugs all around...

Vines, I think you have some great ideas! I do not count calories and I snack..it has worked well for me. I do know however I keep in therange of 1200-1800 a day just by what I eat on a normal day, today though I went WAY over the 1800 mark and dont feel 1 bit guilty I had a plateua from April to October where I saw NO movement on the scale , I have lost 8 lbs in October..dont get discouraged, keep reading you awesome NSV list. You got lots to be proud of and greatful for so far!

yesterday, i finished my first 1/2 marathon in just under 4 hours. this time last year could not have made it round the block! congrats to everyone on your NSVs.

Yes we all are about due. You are doing a good job. I have lost 104 lbs also, I have 40 more to go. But the scale is moving very slow. I think I need a fill. The last time I went in Sept. for my year check up. He told me to wait another 3 months, they didn't want to overfill me then I am running back to have it taken out. I feel some days I am struggling not to overeat. But all in all it is going very good. Keep up the good work and I love NSV's everyday I have a new one.

NSV time! Some of these may be repeats; if so forgive me. 1. Gained more confidence 2. Husband noticed I can now slide around the restaurant booth 3. Can wear a bathing suit off the rack 4. Can get off the floor easily 5. Less joint pain 6. NO AIRPLANE SEAT BELT EXTENSION 7. Less sluggish 8. Fit into old clothes

Well done. Great NSV.

Great NSVs! I love that my feet don't hurt as soon as I'm out of bed in the mornings. Digging being comfortable crossing my legs again (and not needing the assistance of my arm lifting my leg to cross them). And as you said....loving that food doesn't have the same irrational pull it had on me before surgery. Happy too that the way I look on the outside is starting to match how strong and happy I feel on the inside. Sent from my SM-G928V using the BariatricPal App

OMG...I cannot cannot cannot WAIT for this NSV...I have always been comfortable Indian style (I don't think it's called that anymore...ooops.)...but I want to cross my legs like a lady...I might start wearing skirts again...I never do because my legs stay open while seated... I hadn't even thought of this as a bonus...Something to look forward to. Right now I am 6ft tall and 285...so I don't know if it will happen any time soon...but I hope so! Rain

Alright Ladies and Gentlemen, time to check-in with your NSVs. 11/5/05 All my pants are starting to look like giant clown pants, none of them fit in the butt or thighs anymore. If I didn't have this damn thick waist, I would really be in honest size 18 jeans. My black leather jacket is going to have to be retired soon. It's rediculously large on me now. The sleves alone now hang past my finger-tips and it looks like I could smuggle a medium sized ham in each shoulder. So I tried on my big winter coat, and now it really is my huge winter coat. It's about XX too big. It's fully reversable a suede stadium jacket, with lepord fake fur on the other side. I love this jacket, but next year, some other lucky bandster gets to love it. It's important for me that last winter before I was banded I couldn't zip the black leather jacket up. There was a 2-3 inch gap that just wouldn't meet. While the stadium jacket fit, it was pretty snug. Not any more! 11/10/05 Lastnight I was using my laptop. In my lap. This means that I HAVE A LAP!!!!! Woot! 11/14/05 When I sit on the floor or in a hard chair, I feel the bones in my butt. Not only my tail bones, but other bones (probably my pelvic bones?) as well.

Sarah, that makes perfect sense! Finding "me" again is so important and so very wonderful all at the same time. It's like looking into the mirror and seeing a friend you haven't seen in far too long. Finding that spark, that flame, that glitter. And wow! 35 minutes on the elipictical, you kick my butt! Megan, I'm so glad you are not taking your NSVs for granted anymore! Thise are so important. And Kelly, accepting yourself, and loving yourself is the name of the game! The fact that everyone loves you just as your are should be proof that you are wonderful as is.

Okay, I love this thread but doing the Fall Challenge...well, I'll join in after Thanksgiving. I will, I promise!!! Plus I have my NSV thread going...I just can't keep up. Great NSV's people!

Medium tops...all around and size 8 jeans? I believe, I believe. Thanks for starting this thread, my family gets bored of me sharing all my NSVs...LOL!!!

These NSV's just keep coming ! ! ! I put on a pair of sweats that I had washed, and put away in the Dresser. They are a XL in size. I put them on today, and they were falling off ! ! ! I was going to the Gym, so I said NO ! It can't be.... I need them for today until I come back and do the Laundry. Then I thought WHAT ! What are you thinking "YES!" That means you now fit in a Large in sweats, My husband looked at me and said wow! you are shrinking ! He saw how they just hung on me, so did the top. So I said I'll pick some up somewhere, but at this rate, I'm not buying all new, These are about 6 weeks old, and they were a snug fit. Not Anymore! So now I'll be trying a LARGE. That's a size I haven't been into since I was in my Teens. I had a unfill, so I thought I don't want to gain weight. I guess I was wrong.. You look in the Mirror, and you just see you ! I had no idea at all that I dropped a size in sweats . This band is Great ! If you have patience, and don't worry about the scale so much. Just work out and watch your cloths sizes shrink... This works ! That's how it works for me.... Shirley.

OK here is my NSV for this week. Well it happened over the weekend but it still counts. LOL!!! John and I went to a musical conference and had a display booth there with his music and other items to promote him. There was a friend of ours there that hadn't seen me since I was banded. HEE HEE!! John was talking to our friend and this guy who I have known for 5 years looks at me and says to John, "Who is this?" I look at our friend and say, "HELLO, IT IS ME PENNI!" He takes a jump back and says loudly in a crowded room, "NO FUCKING WAY! WOW! YOU ARE HOT!" LOL!! Isn't that the greatest?! By the way, does anyone else feel taller after losing weight? I just realized I feel taller for some reason. Could be I feel better about myself and don't wanna be in the back or slumped down trying to hid anymore.