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Yesterday was my stepson's 9th birthday, so we took some pics and video of the festivities. I was nervous to check them out, but when I looked at the pictures and video, I still thought I looked "big," but I didn't feel like I looked "sloppy" and I wasn't disgusted and sad after looking. That's a pretty big deal for me--so yay!

That's good that you still had a loss after that weekend. One of my best friends came to visit and I ate a lot of not so healthy things. But we were active. We went horseback riding, sailing, and walking around DC to the monuments. I was down 2.2 lbs last week. I think I only officially worked out once, but so far this week I've worked out everyday. My NSV last week was I was able to buy some size 18 regular Bermuda shorts. I was really happy about that. I got my first "wow you've lost a lot of weight" comment at work yesterday. That really made me happy too. My total loss is 47 lbs. So close to 50!

For the first time in 15 years I buckle the airplane buckle ..no extender needed and actual put tue arm rests down!!!! Thank you sleeve!!!!

ddrobins - you go girl. My husband was not really on board - he wasn't against it, he just thought - here we go again - she'll loose and then gain back like every other time. Well, 1 yr down - 99 pounds down - he now is thoughtful and reminds me to eat slowly, he tries not to eat junk in front of me and he encourages me to exercise. I have been married to him for 43 yrs - that is as good as it is going to get (in the support catagory) ! NSV - last night, he fixed his own dinner as I was in a non-eating mood. You are so right - if he is hungry - he knows where the kitchen is. I spoiled my husband too - now it is his turn to do some of the spoiling. Melinda in Florida

Is almost time for me to get mine resized, too. I think I'm going to do like someone else said and put it up until I reach goal so I only have to do it once. Congrats on your NSV!!

I haven't been able to wear my wedding ring in about 5 months because it started getting too big. I took it in today to be resized. It is going from a 7-1/4 to a 6!!!!! I am shrinking all over

Debbie and Natalie.. when I have trouble finding time for breakfast, I still grab a Protein Shake. My dietician said having one or two a day is an excellent way to supplement the Protein most banders struggle to maintain. I find them handy for when I'm on the go too and don't want to bother with packing food. (Who would have ever though I wouldn't want food!!! now that's a NSV!) Natalie, though you might feel like you are eating too much, looking at your food log, your portion sizes look good. As long as you are eating less than 1 or 1-1/2 cups, you should be okay. Don't deprive yourself of the nutrients you need by eating less, just keep eating the right foods that you have been doing. Do you have your next fill scheduled yet? I go in for my first one last week, YAY! Have a GREAT weekend away! We will miss you. Debbie.. planter facitis.. i know your pain well! do you have a brace to sleep in at night. That helped me alot. I did the cortisone shots too, which would help only for a short while. I ended up getting ultrasound therapy for it and after about 6 weeks of 3 times a week, the pain left! Just in time too, cuz a month later I went to Vegas and got married. There's no way to have foot pain in Vegas! Mom, I'd talk to your doctor about your increased hunger after your fill. I think a 6 inch sub sounds like you are able to eat too much. Are you chewing enough and taking the full minute between bites? Drinking too fast after a bite? Maybe the better question is, are you still losing weight? I was advised to eat protein first, then my veggies and very little carbs. Carbs tend to make you hungrier and don't keep your hunger satisfied for long... I don't do the daily log, but I do want you all to know, I'm still eating good. I'm able to eat a little more which troubles me some but still within acceptable limits, I am exercising, and more importantly, still losing weight. Eating healthy has become fun for me. I take pleasure in seeing how much others overeat, knowing months ago I would have been right there with them. But the feeling the freedom the band has given me reassures me I'm on the right road. I am glad I eat less, I know my portions are what they should have been all my life and they are healthy! I have pride in my eating now, where I would suffer shame before because of my overeating. Though the journey is only beginning for us, find your victories along the path.

Last week’s weight – 209.2 or 207.6 This week’s weight – 207 Total weight lost this week – either 2.2 or .6 Total weight loss since surgery – 39 lbs This week I was on vacation to see my family so the week was filled with eating and drinking. On the plus size they live at a very high altitude so I spent the week hoping that less oxygen meant more calories burned! I did some hiking so I got some exercise in and, unlike my neck of the woods, they live around tons of hills so at times it was a struggle. My mom has a Vitamix and made me a green smoothy every morning full of macronutrients. It really got me thinking about purchasing a Vitamix (at $400!!!!). I liked knowing that I was getting in a good bunch of fruits and veggies in one yummy shake a day (plus there is a lot of other things you can do with it as well). I am still on the fence and need to come up with a way to pay for it but I thought that would determine if I was serious or not. I’m looking forward to getting back into a normal routine this week. Attached is a picture of me (with my neice) wearing a size L t-shirt (which is my NSV of the week). What I have eaten over the past few days of vacation: Breakfast – Omelet Lunch – small salad and small eggplant lasagna Dinner – ½ taco soup Snack – a frozen strawberry lemonaid Breakfast – Green Smoothy Lunch – large cream cheese frosted cinnamon bun and ½ a turkey Panini (super regret the cinnamon bun…my stomach was rejecting it) Dinner – Ate a couple of bites of my husbands bbq and ½ a bottle of white zinfandel Breakfast – Green Smoothy Lunch – Small salad and vegan sheppard’s pie, small fruit dessert Dinner – spaghetti with chicken and alfredo sauce one piece of garlic bread, one boston cream cupcake. Three large white Russians L. (this was spread out over hours) Breakfast – Green Smoothy Brunch – ½ a mushroom, cheese, bacon omelet Snack – small, single serving of, vanilla ice cream Dinner – Edamame, A piece of toast with jam Snack – Homemade strawberry ice cream (made in the vitamix) Breakfast – Green Smoothy Snack – leftover turkey jerky and pumpkin seeds Lunch – ½ an In and Out Burger with ¼ of the fries Snack – caramel popcorn, mikes hard cranberry lemonade Dinner – Wine, spaghetti with meat balls (small serving), two bits of salad, one piece of garlic bread, small slice of black forest cake Breakfast (1) – Atkins bar Breakfast (2) – ½ an egg mcmuffin at the airport Snack – Diet Peach Snapple Lunch – 2 bites of a sandwich (my husband’s) and a high protein peanut butter chocolate shake (yuck! Got it at the airport.) Dinner – Atkins bar

Well today marks day six. Six whole days since I've had my lap band installed ::hehe:: Let me start from surgery until today to catch y'all up! Day of Surgery: Woke up, got to the surgery center at approximately 6am. The nurses and staff were wonderful - all very caring and good at their jobs (I don't even have a bruise from the IV in my hand!) I spoke with Dr. Nirmul, my surgeon - funny guy, very nice and happy to answer questions and Dr. Opara, my anesthesiologist - whom my mother decided to call Dr. Oprah just for giggles <enter eye roll here> Amazing how at 28 years old my mom can still embarrass me haha But I love her and she was worrying about me. I was in surgery by 7am and was on my way home, in the car, calling my boss to tell her I was out of surgery by 10:30am. I went home and rested pleasantly for a few hours before all H3LL broke loose at my parents house. I wont go into details, simply because it's too exhausting to discuss. All I will say is I didn't get much sleep the day of surgery and had plenty of emotional/mental stress. Yay siblings! Days 2 and 3: Pretty uneventful - drank chicken broth and ate sugar free popscicles - slept on and off throughout the days. Day 3 afternoon: went home from parents house and showered, changed, and relaxed. Ate some chicken broth/tomato soup. Day 4: Hungry. Stayed busy but hungry. But sadly used to being hungry. No more green eyes of jealousy when people eat in front of me. Day 5: First day back at work and OMG - I think I'm going to die from the hunger. Pain in my neck Trapezius (shrug muscle), use a heating pad and try to massage it throughout the day. I am verging on *grumpy*. I stop and get frozen yogurt for dinner and eat about a 1/4 of it. The hunger has dissipated and I'm back to being happy. Day 6: Self promoted to the mushie stage, was NOT going to have another miserable day like yesterday. Stopped by Tacobell -because I only really decided to go mushies today while making my 35 minute drive to work- and got two sides of Pintos and Cheese. Sooo happy, I was singing about then in the parking lot of work. Ate those for breakfast/lunch. Got a Pineapple Mango smoothie from McDs and Banana/Blueberry oat meal for lunch. I'm about half way thru the smoothie and ate/will eat all of the oatmeal by the time I go home tonight. MUCH happier day. Still have Trap pain, took some GasX Stripes to try and kill it but I don't find them to be all that helpful. Probably just some referred pain from my diaphram. Not much I can do about that except keep using the heating pads and suffer through it. I'm hoping it will be gone soon though, it is distracting. Well that catches you up to the present. I was excited this morning for my first NSV (non scale victory) I put on a size 38 DDD bra - normally wear a 40 DDD, and those were tight - and am happy to report that this bra is not hurting at all I will say that perhaps the DDD isn't sufficient to hold the girls if I go down to a 38 band but It's just nice to know that the 38 bras fit again

It's tough and I am still struggling. But I kept reminding myself of why I came to the decision of a lap band in the first place. I try to remember how awful I felt AFTER I ate the food that wasnt good for me - how I'd end my evenings in carb-induced coma and so sluggish that I didn't want to do anything but sit around and sleep. How I am sick and tired of being sick and tired. I made a list of all of the NSV's (non-scale victories I want to accomplish). Things I haven't been able to do in a long time - like get on an airplane without an extender belt, wear heels higher than 2 inches and going to six flags without stressing if I am going to fit on the rides or not. I watched video after video on you tube - lap band success stories. I also researched recipes for healthier substitutes of the stuff I want to eat when I am cleared for regular food. I have recipes for a healthier option pizza, Mexican chicken, Chinese stir fry options, burgers - all of my favorite foods. I have been collecting recipes and will begin to make them them and modify them to suit my new lifestyle. I have healthy recipes for the next stage I will be on... Journaling helps a whole lot too. It keeps your thoughts in order and provides a bit of a distraction. Hang in there - this too shall pass. At least for a while lol...

Carly, I am almost 2 years out from my sleeve. I started my journey at 304 pounds and am now at 170 pounds. My goal weight is 140 lbs so I am still 30 lbs from goal and I have def been a slow loser ( or at least I feel I have) Most girls I have talked to have reached goal in less than 2 years. But I myself feel that I couldnt of lost 160 lbs in 2 years if I wanted to! I am in no rush to "get to goal." Sometimes its hard to not compare ourselves with others, but I am convinced that slow and steady wins a race. I have been in this darn stall for 6 weeks and am ready to see the numbers moving. But enjoy this journey and all the NSV's along the way. You will do just fine!

Thanks girls!!! And a NSV is non scale victory! Sent from my iPhone using RNYTalk

What is a NSV?

My father is also a diabetic (not very compliant, unfortunately, but heck he's 84 now and I figure if he wants some sweets at his age, he should have it!). He also has hypertension, and my mother had breast and lung cancer. I am a train wreck waiting to happen! Or at least I was.....now with my sleeve, I think I have a fighting chance to stave off a lot of these impending health disasters (I hope!). The best NSVs ever, in my books!

Ohhh! Non Scale Victory (NSV) that is so very cool!

Ugh I got that at a "5-7-9" store once. I don't even know if they still exist, this was years ago. Shopping for a skinny friend. Clearly at 400 lbs I KNOW I'm neither a 5, nor 7, nor 9. TYVM. I wonder how often thin women - not having any idea what LB is - walk in and make a (probably unintentionally rude) comment about how, "Oh, they only have big sizes here!" Maybe you had them on the offense. Great NSV!

Thanks guys I was super stoked!! Made my day lol and NSV stands for non scale victory

Here's the obvious ones: VSG = Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy VST = Vertical Sleeve Talk MFP = My Fitness Pal GB = Gastric Bypass DS = Doudenal Switch LB = Lap Band LBT = Lap Band Talk NSV = Non scale Victory (Nice moments of weight loss not including the number on the scale)

What does NSV stand for? Congratulations!

Oh, that's a great NSV!!! Enjoy it to the fullest!

WelI yesterday my 10 year old son was leaving to go spend the night at his grandma's and when he was hugging me good bye he said wow mom you're skinnier already I can hold my other hand while hugging you! Best NSV ever! Made my day just had to share! I was sleeved June 4th.

Good for you for jumping back in. It sounds like you have a good dr & support system. Just do your best each day & start counting all the nsv's & weight loss. It goes by much more quickly than you think. You're working hard to take care of your family. Remember to take care of you!

Omg the snoring!!! I fell asleep once only to wake and find every one staring at me! I was so embarrassed! That will will be a huge nsv!

Fabulous! Congrats on all of your success to date. Just being able to feel normal is one of the best NSV's and getting our health back. WOOHOO!!