Search the Community

Phyl that a BIG NSV for you :eek: Be Happy & proud... You deserve it...:frown: Yep - good job - boring game until the last 5 minutes - My GD & I were for NY - DIL was for NE - I kept asking my Son why the news was so down on ELI - He gave me the scoop - Well now he can tell them all to jump in the lake he won the super bowl....

I am here, but I have been busy. We went shopping yesterday before our party and OMG talk about NSV's. We went to Ross to get some pants, because all of mine were starting to get to the point of putting my career on the line. I mean if they fall off when I am teaching that could put a damper on my career! So I filled up my arms with a bunch of size 12 pants and trotted off to the fitting room. By the time I finished trying them all on, I was in tears. Tears of joy that is. NONE of them fit. They were all too big. I am now in 10s. That was my original goal. I never dreamed that I could get smaller than a ten but with 24 pounds to go to get to my goal, who knows what is possible:biggrin:. So on the brag board I posted my pics along with the 10 ten things that I have learned in the last 6 months, but I want to add another one that I just thought of. Here are the original ten that I posted for those of you who don't stray from this thread often. Top ten things I have learned in 6 months 10. 650 calories takes 5 minutes to eat and 2.5 hours to work off. 9. There is NOT always room for Jello. 8. Sometimes it takes 28 years before you can finally run that mile. 7. Even if no one sees you eat it, the calories still exist. 6. Size 10 is not just for someone else. 5. A double chin is not necessary for survival. 4. I wasn't big boned...just fat. 3. The scale only gives you a number, and I am MUCH more than a number. 2. To chew or not to chew...depends on how much foam you want to spit up. And the number 1 thing that I have learned in the last 6 months... 1. To love who I have become, and to forgive myself for the past. So I think that #11 would have to be...a PB sandwich is not the same as PB'ing a sandwich!:thumbup: I wrote those for my non-bandster friends, but I don't think they would get #11! The party went really well and it was fun because it was on my 6 month bandiversary so I showed them my before and after and everyone was amazed. On another front, I have given up my scale. I have been obsessed with that thing for so long, so I made my BF hide it. I have accomplished so much in the last 6 months that I don't need to define myself by a number anymore. And if I am going to use a number to describe me it is going to be "10" for my clothing size. I will only weigh on my bandiversary dates (9th of each month) from here on out. I am running, holding my head high in cute clothes, and am no longer ashamed to look in a mirror...that is more important than what the scale says. I am not changing anything else. I am still going to workout like I have been, count calories like I have been, but I am not going to obsess about that damn scale. Well I have to get back to working. I still have a few things that I would like to get done before tomorrow. I will check in later. At that point I will go through and respond to everyone elses post. Man around here, you don't check in for a day or 2 and you could spend your whole afternoon responding! I love it!:eek:

I had a NSV last night at water aerobics. The size large flotation belt was too big. I had to use a size medium. Yeah!

Isa Bella, welcome!! Join in any time. Sawyer, great NSVs! When I was traveling to FL this month, it was great to sit in the airline seat and not be crammed in it. I had room to spare against the arm rests! So cool. Shad, that Phil is a P-I-T-A! He totally deserved a male name, just like Christie's Steve! So, when I scheduled my fill for Tuesday, they asked if I had gotten the CD of my Upper GI...uh, did you tell me I was supposed to get the CD of my Upper GI? I don't think so! So, then I had to call and request it, and get stuck on hold, and hope it gets done in time! Sheesh.

Sorry I've been gone so long, guys. I have really been having a tough week this week. Of course, I am getting tons of freaking cardio and stuff in, but the scale isn't moving! I do find it interesting that I am now miraculously able to eat bread and am hungry every 1.5 to 2 hours after eating. THANK GOD I have an appointment for a fill next week (one week from today to be exact). How frustrating! I haven't felt hopeless like this in awhile, and I should be freaking happy as hell--I'm 20 lbs away from goal! I'm such a freaking whiner, I know. I think I've caught up, but apologizing in advance if I forgot anyone. Leigha--my girl. You just continue to amaze me. You are just an inspiration with your weight loss, nsvs and general outlook altogether. I always enjoy reading your posts. Congrats on your additional loss and not being able to get that shovel down all the way, Miss Skinny Butt Amy--25 lbs post op? Awesome! So sorry you had a sliming issue. I must say those aren't fun. I haven't had one in almost 2 weeks, which to me is just another indicator that I need a fill LOL HB--Congrats on getting to a M. HUGE nsv! Doing the happy dance in your honor! Bobbie- #@$!% What a jerk! I am glad you're able to get some assistance. I'm praying that you find something soon WITH benefits and a decent boss!!!! ((HUGS)) Cocoa-- How are you feeling? Glad you were able to get a workout in by taking a shower. You poor thing. I hope you're okay. Betsy--I've seen you around on the board, but wanted to check in and see how Mark is doing? My prayers have been with you this whole time, sister! Anne--1 pound! Nothing to sneeze at, since we're working hard at each one. Throw a 1 lb loss my way, chica ! Stacie--I completely understand how you feel about work-induced anxiety. It's all around me too (and some days even my Zoloft isn't even enough LOL) Hang in there! Hoping time flies so you can get in to see your PCP. Christie-- Yeah! Under 250! Woooohoooo! That's so awesome!! I bet you're so psyched! You will be in onederland before you know it. Congrats! Bob- I'm convinced that farmville has literally sucked you into the vortex and you're happily living there with your animals and plants (or whatever the heck else you're farming LOL--can you tell I don't play?) Hope everyone is doing well. I'll take whatever hope you guys can give me that after my fill next week, I'll be on track because, even though I'm going home to do my cardio and fat burning stuff, I am going to have me a big fat slice of pizza tomorrow night with the kids! Sad thing is, I'll be able to get it down and still be hungry :-(! Me, miss poster child for cheese sticks and protein pudding :-( I am going with tomorrow is a new weekbecause each day this week has been horrible. Thanks for letting me vent, guys and for letting me be a part of this thread. I am so happy to read everything you share on here. Blessings and continued success to all of you!

Karen--what Leigha said, but I'd like to add that if you can't live with it, get a tiny unfill. Even if solids are going down, but not very easily, be cautious. When I got an unfill the last straw was when I could not get yogurt down without pain. I stuck it out for a week, but the pain was too much for me. The band isn't about pain. It's a fine line! My surgeon said pre-op that he prefers his band patients keep them loose and exercise more self-control. That's when my DH popped off with, "if she had any self-control, she wouldn't need a band!" Thank-you-for-your-support. :smile: NSV for me...I made my confession of non-exercise last week. Also, my blood sugar has been over 100 in the mornings on random checks :ohmy: Well, I walked with Butters on Thursday and Friday for about 20 minutes each day. Today...98!!! YIPPEE!!!! :smile2: Hoping that this will keep up and help me with motivation to keep my feet moving.

:biggrin: You are too funny Janet... I LOVE Oprah, but the show you refer to PISSED ME OFF as well. ANd you know what else I think? The people who say " oh I lost it all myself" are jealous that they didn't have OUR tool. Sure the band does help ( am finally getting it now) but I am also choosing Better Calories to eat.. watching my protien, calcium, sodium etc. Oh, and another NSV... by blood pressure PRE-band was 130/78, well now it is consistently 123/68!! I keep re checking it with different machines.. cause its almost too good to be true!!!! I am Happy:tt1: At work today, one of the massage therapists was eating a large chocolate bar and "sharing" ha.ha..... NOPE , thanks anyways - don't want it!!!! I will allow myself a sugar free Hot chocolate but that's it!

Morning ladies, Kari - I'm sorry you had a horrible birthday. :tt2: What you need to do next year is plan your own little birthday party. Heck, you can plan a belated birthday for yourself this week!!! Book a table at your restaurant of choice, dress yourself up pretty and go and enjoy YOU. Nobody else has to come with you, but let them know of your plans and if they want to tag along, they'll have to call and add themselves to your restaurant reservations. :tt2: One of my many mantras is "if I want something done right, I'll do it myself". God knows I love the two men in my life, but if I were to suddenly fall off the face of the earth they'd be lost without me. My son probably wouldn't even realise I was gone until he ran out of clean socks and underwear. :tt2: I went "almost" shopping this weekend. "Almost" as in I almost bought something, lol. I was going to buy new jeans. Finally! And I plucked up the courage to grab some 14s and 12s off the shelf. From the NORMAL people section! :tt2: I tried the 14s on and a couple of them fit okay, except that they were a little baggy on the sides of my thighs or were too long. Then I tried on the 12s and was surprised that I was able to actually get them up AND do the button up! :tt2: They were a little more snug and I didn't like how my tummy kind of oozed over the top of them. They were low riding hipsters though and I didn't realise I'd grabbed them. Probably wasn't looking properly as it's been too long since I was in the normal section of the store. :cursing: I'm very impatient when it comes to shopping and that had run out by the time I'd tried on the 4 different pairs. But it felt wonderful being able to get into both sizes! My NSV for the weekend. Maybe next weekend I'll actually buy a pair or two. :tt2:

Hi everyone :wave: Chim, glad you've finally got your first fill and it's working in your favor so far. YAY! :whoo: I got my second today. My doc told me at my first fill that it might take another one or two to find my sweet spot. I haven't been ravenously hungry, but I've been able to eat more than I should have and not lost any weight in two weeks. But the good news is I haven't gained either! So now I have 2.5cc in my 4cc band and am assured I'll definitely feel the restriction. I'm looking forward to it. There are times when I miss eating and sharing different foods with my family, but I sure don't miss the insatiable hunger and over-eating. I also managed another NSV this week. I went for a check-up with my GP for Insulin Resistance. I had blood drawn and tested for free testosterone and insulin levels. The results came back good! I'm doing better now than I've ever done on the medication I used to get those levels under control. So good in fact I'm NORMAL!!! It's been a good number of years since anyone's told me I'm normal. :confused:

So I have decided that my fill is still too tight. We have been told that we are supposed to finish our meal in 20-30 minutes. But in order for me to get in everything that I am supposed to it is taking me at least an hour to eat because everything under the sun is getting stuck! I got stuck on YOGURT this morning. How in the world does that happen? Then trying to get in my high fiber cereal took about an hour and I did have that much. GRRRRRRR... My snack went down alright, but here I sit trying to eat my quiche for lunch and I feel like I am swallowing an elephant. I am really hoping that it loosens up soon because I don't have very many sick days and I need to save them in case something really comes up. Right now it is just an inconvenience. Nicole - Vegas can be fun, I just didn't like living there. We were supposed to go down there for vacation at the end of the school year but with the upcoming tummy tuck and my soon to be hubby taking 2 months off of work to take care of me we just aren't going to make it. I would really like to go back as a visitor. It really can't be as bad as I remember it! Ruby - That is one of the very few things I like about where we live - no allergies. There is nothing growing over here to be allergic to. But I guess if it takes sneezes to resist the cookies, I am glad you have allergies:tt2:! Jackie - nice job on the cheese cake. My DF and I bought 2 small slices of cheesecake the other night but I only ate 3 or 4 bites cause I didn't really like it. before I would have eaten it anyways but now it just isn't worth it. Huge NSV for me! Peaches - Thanks for the tip on the spag squash. The same thing happened to me that happened to Janet...it was too crunchy! As for a new fill, YIKES I would think that would hurt! That is why I am going to have my fill almost totally removed before my TT because I don't want to end up too tight and have them sticking that big ol' needle in my belly when I am sore. Chim - I sometimes wish that I had gotten a personal trainer. I think right now...what is the point, but maybe after I heal from the TT and am ready to focus on sculpting that I might need to. Janet - Hope your day is going well. You are right about hating being the fat chick. I have always been incredibly shy and refused to talk in front of people unless I KNEW exactly what I was going to say. I could give a presentation or a lecture because I had prepared it but just joining in on a discussion or group participation I refused to do because I always figured if I said something that wasn't right that they would think I was stupid AND fat. At least if I kept my mouth shut they would just think I was fat. Not much self esteem. I am happy to report that I am starting to have some self esteem and confidence. It is an odd feeling as I have never had it my entire life. Well I have copies to make and activities to prepare for tomorrow so I had best get busy. I would like to NOT have to come in at 5AM tomorrow. I miss my sleep during spring break!

Good MOrning Ladies! Breakfast is over and I am just getting ready to do my Wii for the day. We had company last night, and yest afternoon I went into town to (finally) visit my MOM.. I thinks its been 4 weeks since I was able to visit. If you remember they had a RotoVirus that hit the place and it was on quarantine... She was so glad to see me, and I was releived to see her too. Mom was sitting in the lounge when I arrived watching her GOLF tournaments.... Her nose has healed very well, and the graft that the surgeon did looks awesome... And he isn't even a plastics man... an Ear, Nose & Throat guy... he was so nice to my Mom too... So that's one less thing to worry about now. My sister comes back from Mexico this weekend... That'll be goood for my Mom too. NSV yesterday for me was I didn't PIG out on the way home from my Mom's and I didn't eat any COOKIES while there either.... That place is a huge trigger for me, but I just kept telling DIANNA to shut the @$#% up.... THen when I got home I made dinner for our guests, they left around 9:30 so I did my 30 minutes of Wii then... Gosh, the weight it had me at was horrible.. but that late in the day I am just ignoring it and I'll take this morings weight instead... Well I'd better get at it... then work this afternoon/evening. CBL

NSV... my hubby has been away this week..... I have NOT eaten JUNK.... did you hear me???? NO JUNK!!!! I've journaled my food, gotten off my fat ass and exercised.... I am liking the bike for transportation. Now the real test will be on Sunday, when I visit my Mom.... usually there are Goodies Galore that are hard to resist...plus I do this emotional eating behaviour too.... ARGH~~~ I will make a plan for sunday!~~~( I promis Janet)

YEAH FOR YOU!!! You are doing wonderful. I was thinking of doing a trainer a couple of times to. I may just have to get really serious about that. Janet you are 10 lbs away from goal!! You are so close!!! You have done excellent. You have pretty steadley (sp?) lost too. I am so proud of you. You will be to goal in another month probably. :ohmy::thumbup: Your getting to be a real skinny!!!! Ruby- so glad you are feeling pretty good today. I would take the meds 'just in case' to stay ahead of any pain that may come later. Rest and take it easy. Ok I have some NSV to tell. Yesterday when I was having such I bad crappy emotional day while in town I went to the grocery store to buy 'food'. Ok first off my deep freeze, fridge freezers, refridgerator and cupboards are all stuffed so I truly didn't need food. I had already started marinating boneless skinless chicken breast yesterday moring so I needed nothing for supper but I was in that stupor and thought I want junk!!! I went in and I went around that store for almost an hour because I just wanted food. I would pick something up and walk through the store and then think no you can't do that. Anyway, I picked up sugar free ice cream. At least it was sugar free but the 'old jackie' came back and I thought 1 half pint isn't enough so I bought 2. Then I went to McDonalds and I bought 2 large vanilla ice coffee and thought I don't care how many calories. I love these things and limit myself on them giving myself a 'treat' once in a while. I know I know I know NO LIQUID CALORIES but we have to have something in our lives. Anyway, on the way home I started crying and I called my mom and I said "I am about to binge." and told her what I had bought and what I was feeling and blah blah blah. Mom being a mom tried to soothe me and told me that once in awhile it wouldn't hurt. Anyway, not the answer I was looking for. Got off the phone and drove about 35 miles per hour along the road trying to take my time getting home. I thought to hell with this. I am not drinking that second coffee and I will not eat a bunch of ice cream. I 'pulled up my boot straps' as Janet says and thought 'get it together Jackie. You know how long it takes to burn off all those calories you are about to absorb and is it really worth the guilt you will feel after wards and all the hard work?' I came home dumped the half of coffee I had drank out of and offered my son the other and told him if he didn't want it I was dumping it. I gave one of the 1/2 gallon ice cream to my in laws 'to try' (didn't tell them why I bought 2. Just told them I thought they would like to try it since my mother in law really likes ice cream and she is watching what she eats) and I continued making my supper. I made my chicken breast with steamed broccoli and brown rice. I ate VERY little and was FULL. I had not eaten yesterday and only had a half cup of iced coffee for calories so I figured later I would eat my ice cream. I put a cup of ice cream in a dish took a couple of bites and said to hubby 'do you want this I don't.' and I gave the rest away. I was satisfied but more than that very proud of myself for recognizing what it all was. I was angry, upset and just feeling crappy and I was on a hunt for soothing and turned to food. 8 months ago I would have prob recognized that after the fact and all the calories but I recognize it for what it is immediately now. I felt really good about that. I made it through and you know what..........the sun still came up this morning and a new day has started. OK now that I have myself all teary eyed again it is time to get going so I can get to the gym and then tan before coming home to shower and go with my aunt this afternoon. I just want to thank each and every one of you for all the support. I truly don't know where I would be without all of you but I can tell you I think this journey would have been a very lonely HARDER journey without all of you. Thank you. I love you all and care very deeply for you. You are my other family. My family that REALLY knows how I am feeling about this and other situations with food. Ok enough of that. I am on my way to the gym. I will try to check back in tonight when I get home. (Aunt flo better get here soon I am a sobbing mess with these hormones :grouphug:)

Okay folks I would say this fill still hasn't taken me to my ultimate sweet spot because I was still able to eat 3 oz of steak, half a potato and maybe less than 1/2 of my salad at lunch then 6 hours later finished the other 3 oz of my steak and the other half of the potato. Eating very slowly and being very full with the 1/2 of the meal but still surprised I could eat that much before getting my signal to stop. I did have a little NSV over this though... my Mom and I were out eating together and she is always the last one done eating and it was so funny to see her eat a dinner roll, polish off her salad, and eat most of her 10 oz ribeye steak and sweet potato when I ate what is listed before this. In the past, I would have had the bigger steak and been finished way ahead of her. I ordered the smallest size steak (6 oz) and was surprised to see I could only eat half of that.

Hi to everyone. Got back from Florida from vacation and was anxious to get on my home scale this a.m. -- I stayed off the scale on vacation because I didn't want to let it run my life.... AND....drum roll now! I lost 4.8 lbs on vacation from where I was on June 13th when I left to today! Go Shrinking Shamrocks Go!! AND second NSV... I was able to buckle a seat belt without an extension on the flights from Columbus to Charlotte, NC on an Embraer jet that only had 2 seats on each side but I needed about 4" of the extension belt still (darn!) on the 737 jet that went from Charlotte to Florida. Can't wait until I can buckle the airplane seat belt regardless of which plane I fly on but that was such a nice feeling. I've updated my ticker and officially crossed the 40 lbs lost milestone as of today. About 3.5 months since surgery 3/17/08 to lose 40 lbs is fantastic for me. I'm off to church to sing praises and thank God for all he has done for me through this surgery and the friends I have met due to this journey. P.S. Yes, I too now know what sliming and productive burping is. Nothing terrible but I definitely have a different level of restriction with this 2nd fill and if I push it and eat a few bites past my limit, I have that pressure sensation, want to get rid of it, and have excused myself once in a restaurant to be sure I was okay. I know now to just leave the food on the plate and let it to away and try not to feel guilty that my family or friend paid for a dinner and I can only eat maybe 1/3 of it. That's what got me, trying to eat a Thai dinner of chicken and vegetables, I didn't even look at the cup of white rice that came with the meal, and I just had to let 2/3 of it go to waste. I had warned them I couldn't eat much so they knew it wasn't that I didn't like the restaurant's food they chose to go to but I just was full. Okay, off and running for the day! God Bless to all!

Niki - that's a great jeans victory! Congratulations. I got a couple pairs of 26 and zipped all the way up and I was happy on that. Wasn't used to the muffin top of wearing jeans again though. Guess I'll keep trying them on until they look better and looser. My NSV today is buttoning a 24 blazer all the way down the front, all three buttons with no pulling/puckering! Hoping to knock on the 22 door by Thanksgiving and maybe even 20 by Christmas/New Years! I am doing pretty good on the Labor Day to Hallow-Lean challenge - I think I'm going to meet my goal of 14 lbs lost in that time frame. I am amazed.

I had my follow-up today with Dr. Choban, and I am down 13 lbs from surgery! Yayyyy! I am also way excited that I am scheduled for my first fill May 6th. She initially said May 13th, but when they called me to schedule, turns out that she is not available that day. So rather than make me wait 7 weeks, she brought me in a week early. I am totally thankfull for that, and I can not WAIT! Also, huge NSV for me today! I bought a size 24 jean today. And they fit. Well. Not only were they 24's (most of my closet holds 26 or 28's) they were Wal-Mart 24's. Not Lane Bryant, not Avenue, real person 24's. Okay, small victory, but it feels so huge, so I am just gonna enjoy the hell out of it! Also, Dr. Choban and I talked about our little group. I shared with her so many of our concerns, and how happy I am with the people I have met and the support that I receive from them. She thought that it was fabulous, and made the generous offer to attend one of our monthly meetings if we would like to discuss our concerns about the practice, ask questions about our recovery, anything. I thought that was really nice of her to offer. She said that any of the surgeons, nurses, or the dietician are available if we would ever like to schedule them to come and speak with us.

Welcome swood! You have found a great group of people for support and the right place to unload :wink2:. In response to your question, I hand delivered all my clearances except my cardio. BIG MISTAKE! I should have delivered that one as well. It took almost 2 months for them to get it to Charlene. IMHO I would make a trip to each doc and insist on taking it yourself. You will know for sure that each clearance is in Charlenes hands and it will relieve the stress you are feeling right now. Best of luck to you. Hi everyone!! Niki and Kathy~ WOOT!! WTG!!! I love those NSV moments. Smaller sizes are just the added bonus to feeling better and being healthier. Everyone have a blessed day~

NSV is a non scale victory

That a great NSV DENISE, I have that problem too, with taking compliments, we are losing weight fasting than our minds can caught up:eek: You still lovin' it in Twoterville:heh: In about another 44lbs and I'll be leaving you:heh:

My discovery of the day was a major NSV. I worked out in the yard most of the afternoon in 96 degree and very humid weather. I don't think I even broke a sweat and there was no slowing me down. 2 years ago it would have killed me. That's how my day went and thanks for asking!

Melody-Congrats on surviving week 1! Yay for the NSV's & for having a great husband who diverted your attention. Mine may have led me straight to ice cream . (Still love him though:wub:) HB-Not sure if you are into baseball...but one of the pitchers for the Rockies, Jason Hammel, was my husbands best friend when they were little. He is such a super sweet (and insanely tall) guy! Christie--!!!!!!YYYYYAAAAAAYYYY!!!!!!! Tell Steve he better be on his best behavior! I agree with Denise and say soup or something you know that you normally have 0 problems with. Also hopefully your table will be near the bathroom??? Shammah-hope you are feeling good

Gosh, it really stinks that the one place we all go to for support has to be tarnished with some negative nellies. So kind of NSV, I went to support group last night and of course did a weigh in since it's been awhile. Ahh, how I missed that beloved Tanita scale...NOT!! Anyway, my fat percentage is in NORMAL range! That little item "fat to lose" that once was 90 lbs was 6!!!! 6 lbs of fat to lose! I thought there was a number missing! I guess I may not be losing the weight as fast as I used to, but it's reconfiguring the right way! 6 lbs of fat left to lose?!? Doesn't seem possible when I have 20 left until goal, but I'll take it LOL! (I am sure 10 of it is extra freaking skin though LOL) Just wanted to share!

just checking in ........ I have been reading everything, but have not had the time and/or energy to reply to everything. I'm glad Dottie and Anne are both on the mend. I have an NSV to share. This past Friday I was with my son in a Village Inn. I got up and went to the bathroom and he was watching me when I came back to the table. He said, " You look A LOT thinner, I mean A LOT!" It was just so nice to hear it from him. He will be 28 on Aug. 3rd. Every time he has a B.day I feel so much older. (for those of you doing the math, I had him when I was 4 )

Thanks Elfie! Today, so far so good! And c.diff. is a literal and figurative PITA! Wah. HB, great NSVs! woohoo!