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Tonight I went to the movies with my parents to see Think Like A Man(good movie by the way). Usually I fit uncomfortably in the seats with both armrests down, the showing was sold out so I had to have the armrests down. I still spill out of the armrest BUT it wasn't painfully uncomfortable. My mom even noticed how I sit comfortably now, I was able to seat peacefully and enjoy the movie .PLUS another NSV I fit comfortably in my dad's tiny Hyundai Accent now, no hunching, looking uncomfortable or praying for a short car ride. Sat comfortably and ran errands for two hours. So excited with these results, can't wait to see what's next! Sent from my iPhone using VST

honey, ill be 54 this summer and while i didnt have any weight probs until i turned 30, l know that being overweight and frustrated is difficult at ANY age ! Instead of venting about what you HAVE"NT done, how about venting on what you HAVE done ?? do you feel better, look better, less meds , etc ? Got any good nsv's to tell, or a nice compliment or two that came your way ?? Any advice for the newbies that might be reading this ? You've made alot of progress so far , just think where you'll be 3 months from today !! Keep up the hard work and you'll get there ! Good luck !

Yes I have felt this way but I am much older and have only been banded for 2 months...what i do is kick up and change up the exercise. I have also resorted back to the preop diet or some version of it and even added calories some days just to change things up...I come on this site for support, remember my NSVs, and value my 31 lb loss that i know would not be possible without my band! Hang in there...there will be plenty more ups and downs! How long have you been banded?

I know I'm being partial here but we are a great group aren't we? Chrissy: Good luck getting some sleep tonight and getting through the weekend run{s}. I'm sure you'll do great! Kudo's on the pants. It's a wonderful feeling when we see those NSV's. It's makes our day. JDI130 Congrats to you on your findings in your closet. I'm also finding mostly tops that are smaller that I put away a few years ago "for when I lose weight". I am pear shaped so the bottom is taking time to chisel down but it's getting smaller. But like I said before, I'm finally embracing my curves that I hated all my life. Thank you Kim Kardasian for showing the world that curves are a wonderful thing. No offense to those who do not have curves, it's just my time, and I'm taking that brass ring!!! LOL

Ashley, Your doing great! Those are great NSVs!

Hello my fellow sleevers, I had my surgery on Mach 29th. I'm still getting used to all the changes but so far im very happy with my decision! This last week I had went to my nieces school concert and I was able to fit in the seat without getting stuck, it was a wonderful feeling. But what was even a greater accomplishment for me was when I put on my "only" pair of jeans that fit before my surgery (and even then they were so tight they looked like skinny jeans), are loose and keep falling off. I also fit into 7 more pair of jeans that I had hiding away! I just love clothes so I'm so excited to be able to fit into ones I've only been able to wear once and go shopping for new ones! Thanks to all of you for your support, positivity, wisdom & humor in all your posts! It's helped me through a lot of my days. Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. Xoxo Ashley

I began my weight loss surgery journey with very nebulous goals. Happiness wasn’t one of them. I knew I was miserable and frustrated and unhealthy, and mainly wanted to neutralize all that so that my future would be not-unhappy. As far as I was concerned, the words “happy” and “weight” didn’t even belong in the same sentence. In his book, Ultimate Lap-Band® Success, bariatric surgeon Duc Vuong (who is insightful about obesity despite being naturally as slender as a blade of grass) talks about identifying a "happy weight" versus a "goal weight". He says your happy weight is the weight at which you are no longer struggling with your relationship with food. You feel good, look good, are confident & active. Me? I have a happy weight, but it keeps changing. When I got to within 20 pounds of my goal weight (which I had casually grabbed off the high end of the BMI chart for a woman of my height), I thought that if I never lost another pound, I'd still be happy and consider my surgery a complete success. I did indeed feel better, look better, was more confident and far more active then than I ever would have dreamed, so I suppose you could say that my Happy Weight was 152 pounds. A few months later, I reached my goal weight, which was most certainly a very happy place. So I suppose you could say that my Happy Weight was actually 132 pounds, not 152. The problem is that my Happy Weight keeps changing. When I regained 20 pounds after a complete unfill to treat a band slip, the 152 pounds that had pleased me earlier was not a happy weight any more. My skinny wardrobe was too tight, my fat clothes were long gone, I tired more easily, my cholesterol went up, and I avoided looking at myself in the mirror. I wasn’t as miserable as I was at 221 pounds, but I wasn’t happy either. I knew I’d get back down to the 132 pounds again (and I did), but in the meantime….I was not happy! What about you? Do you know your happy weight? How do you even define it? Choosing a weight goal, whether measured by your BMI (Body Mass Index), a certain clothing size, reduction or elimination of a medication or the need for a CPAP machine, is fairly concrete. But how do you know what will make you happy? How do you measure happiness? I hate to tell you this, but achieving a certain weight goal won’t necessarily flip the Happy Switch in your brain. It’s quite possible that your happy switch will get turned on well before you reach the end goal, and also that achieving that goal may not yield the results you expected. If you believe (or at least hope) that being a certain body weight will make your partner fall in love with you all over again, things will get messy when you both discover that your slim new shape makes your partner insanely jealous every time someone else gives you an admiring glance. If you believe that a certain body weight will get you the job promotion you long for, and you get laid off instead, what becomes of your happiness? So my advice to you is this: keep your mind and heart open to the kind of happiness that takes you by surprise, and remember that many small NSV’s (non-scale victories) can add up to a huge improvement in your quality of life. There’s one aspect of Dr. Vuong’s definition of a happy weight that illustrates something that’s difficult for him (or any other never-obese person) to understand. That’s the part about your happy weight being the weight at which you are no longer struggling with your relationship with food. Bariatric surgery affects our brain and body chemistry to different degrees depending on the procedure, but it doesn’t cure obesity and it doesn’t forever vanquish our eating demons. That’s why weight regain in bariatric surgery patients is so common, and that’s why I highly recommend counseling, both pre- and post-op, to help us gain the insight and tools to conquer or at least tame those eating demons. Your bariatric surgeon should be able to give you a referral to a therapist who’s experienced with bariatric and/or eating disorder patients. Seeking counseling doesn’t mean you’re crazy – it just means that you recognize that you need help and are willing to give therapy a try.

I began my weight loss surgery journey with very nebulous goals. Happiness wasn’t one of them. I knew I was miserable and frustrated and unhealthy, and mainly wanted to neutralize all that so that my future would be not-unhappy. As far as I was concerned, the words “happy” and “weight” didn’t even belong in the same sentence. In his book, Ultimate Lap-Band® Success, bariatric surgeon Duc Vuong (who is insightful about obesity despite being naturally as slender as a blade of grass) talks about identifying a "happy weight" versus a "goal weight". He says your happy weight is the weight at which you are no longer struggling with your relationship with food. You feel good, look good, are confident & active. Me? I have a happy weight, but it keeps changing. When I got to within 20 pounds of my goal weight (which I had casually grabbed off the high end of the BMI chart for a woman of my height), I thought that if I never lost another pound, I'd still be happy and consider my surgery a complete success. I did indeed feel better, look better, was more confident and far more active then than I ever would have dreamed, so I suppose you could say that my Happy Weight was 152 pounds. A few months later, I reached my goal weight, which was most certainly a very happy place. So I suppose you could say that my Happy Weight was actually 132 pounds, not 152. The problem is that my Happy Weight keeps changing. When I regained 20 pounds after a complete unfill to treat a band slip, the 152 pounds that had pleased me earlier was not a happy weight any more. My skinny wardrobe was too tight, my fat clothes were long gone, I tired more easily, my cholesterol went up, and I avoided looking at myself in the mirror. I wasn’t as miserable as I was at 221 pounds, but I wasn’t happy either. I knew I’d get back down to the 132 pounds again (and I did), but in the meantime….I was not happy! What about you? Do you know your happy weight? How do you even define it? Choosing a weight goal, whether measured by your BMI (Body Mass Index), a certain clothing size, reduction or elimination of a medication or the need for a CPAP machine, is fairly concrete. But how do you know what will make you happy? How do you measure happiness? I hate to tell you this, but achieving a certain weight goal won’t necessarily flip the Happy Switch in your brain. It’s quite possible that your happy switch will get turned on well before you reach the end goal, and also that achieving that goal may not yield the results you expected. If you believe (or at least hope) that being a certain body weight will make your partner fall in love with you all over again, things will get messy when you both discover that your slim new shape makes your partner insanely jealous every time someone else gives you an admiring glance. If you believe that a certain body weight will get you the job promotion you long for, and you get laid off instead, what becomes of your happiness? So my advice to you is this: keep your mind and heart open to the kind of happiness that takes you by surprise, and remember that many small NSV’s (non-scale victories) can add up to a huge improvement in your quality of life. There’s one aspect of Dr. Vuong’s definition of a happy weight that illustrates something that’s difficult for him (or any other never-obese person) to understand. That’s the part about your happy weight being the weight at which you are no longer struggling with your relationship with food. Bariatric surgery affects our brain and body chemistry to different degrees depending on the procedure, but it doesn’t cure obesity and it doesn’t forever vanquish our eating demons. That’s why weight regain in bariatric surgery patients is so common, and that’s why I highly recommend counseling, both pre- and post-op, to help us gain the insight and tools to conquer or at least tame those eating demons. Your bariatric surgeon should be able to give you a referral to a therapist who’s experienced with bariatric and/or eating disorder patients. Seeking counseling doesn’t mean you’re crazy – it just means that you recognize that you need help and are willing to give therapy a try.

nothing really new going on with me since my last post...prom went well for my kiddo and graduation is in june! my mom who has no idea that i have had surgery will be here may 30...i have started sending her pics to prepare her for my subtle changes and she has noticed my face slimming. i have described to her my exercise routine and high protein diet as an explanation for my weight loss...i'm planning on telling her in person when she arrives...:/ i did start the couch25k treadmill version this week:) and i am finally on the upside of this cold...i'm thinking about having another small fill in the beginning of may to kick it up a notch...thinking i'll definitely make an afternoon appointment as i am tight in the mornings and probably have not been maximizing my fill potential by having my fills done in the morning... finally i wanted to share with you all my husbands wonderful progress. he was banded on 3-13-12 and is down 45 pounds:) this includes the preop diet that he went on with me, but wasn't required for him! he is not a slave to the scale as i am, but he has been staying focused on his nsv's! yay him! the scale still rules my world:(

In a heartbeat. I am about 120 lbs down from my heaviest and 85 of that due to the band and I have gone from a 54-56 inch waist to a 38-40. I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes at age 26 and now at 30, I am free of all my meds and insulin. I no longer have high blood pressure or high cholesterol. I was taking up to 5 pills and 3 shots of insulin a day. I am at a point where my goal weight is in sight and I couldn't feel better. I think I had read a post above that someone was having frustrations with the changes that come along with the band. To that I can say that measuring food and remembering to chew and take small bites is so worth it since the alternative would be me still eating 5 (or more) double cheeseburgers from the dollar menu at one time and feeling like a complete failure. I was actually thinking the other day while clothes shopping (at a regular store since I don't have to go to the big boy store anymore) that I couldn't remember the last time I got tired from just walking around. Or being drenched in sweat from just moving around, or feeling self conscious about my weight on a date, or being embarrassed about needing a seatbelt extender on a flight, or feeling uncomfortable in my own skin.... the list goes on and on, but I think you get the point. NSVs are now a part of my life and FAR outweigh any frustrations or changes caused by my band. During the clothes shopping trip that I mentioned above, I tried on a large size shirt. When it actually fit, I literally had to sit down in the fitting room and collect myself I was so happy. I was 10 the last time I fit into anything in the large size. The band has helped me take control of something that was pretty much killing me. In 2008 when I was admitted to the hospital after I collapsed at work, the doctor told me that I was diabetic and not only that, but I had severe diabetic ketoacidosis too. I had no idea I was diabetic and thought I just had the flu. It was so bad that the team of doctors figured that my organs were hours away from shutting down. I was going to leave work early and go home to take a nap. If that had happened the doctors thought I might not have woken up. I remember being hooked up to every machine imaginable and then being told it was a good idea if I saw someone to help me put my affairs in order "just in case". I was in the hospital for 9 days and they were THE scariest days of my life. It was a more extreme wakeup call than most people get, but I honestly don't think I could have come this far without my band. I feel lucky to have been given the opportunity to have it. I consider it the best gift I have ever given myself.

Another NSV for me... more workout clothes. 16/18 for both top and pants. I bought 4 of the same brand, different pattern, so I'm not washing them daily, but they won't be fitting me for long...

Congrats on your NSV's! I'm so glad that your doing so well!!

What a great NSV! Happy for you.

Sooooo my muffin top has disappeared in my fave jeans.. I am still preop and on the liver shrink diet.. i can definitely get used to a shrinking waistline

I am a type II Diabetic. Without meds my blood sugar is in the 300's. With meds my fasting is about 190...which is still to high for fasting. Before I decided to have the surgery I was put on three different blood sugar meds and that was my breaking point. Well - I have to report that I have been checking my sugars religiously all week. I have not been taking any meds and my fasting runs 85-109 in the morning!!!!! It hasn't been that low in 10 years even with meds!

This is a great NSV! I know exactly how you feel. I can't believe I can actually lift myself out of the bathtub now! Congrats to you and have an awesome day! Shell

I have a back injury, so I decided to soak in a hot, steamy bubble bath at about 4:30am this morning. As I was sitting in the tub, I realized that I had PLENTY of room! Also that my thighs are waaay smaller! Sooo...after lots of splashing around, I did something I hadn't done in years: I stood up from the bathtub without worrying that I'd get stuck! Lol! This NSV put the icing on my Wednesday! Sent from my iPhone using VST

My how time flies. I think this is week 6 for me! I'm dealing with a few hiccups but overall I'm doing very well. I've been stalled for about 2 weeks now. It has a lot to do with my gallbladder issues and I'm going to see the surgeon about it tomorrow. Now here is the kicker. I gained like half an inch on my arms and chest while stuck at 237 but I had to remind myself that it will pass. PLUS I've been working out like crazy and lifting weights so OF COURSE I'm gaining inches of muscle! I just wonder will it sabatoge this golden window everytone speaks of the first 6 months being for weight loss. Back to the gallbladder. I don't want to go into the appointment like "I told you so" but I did ask him to take it out with my sleeve and he told me it was not neccesary because most patients don't have issues. I should have insisted on it, but you live and you learn. It really does lower my respect of his opinion. I swear sometimes I feel like I know more about this surgery than him or my NUT..... On a good note, my confidence is through the roof. It's such an eye opening to feel good about myself and realize just how much I turned down chances to hang out or try different things when I was 40 pounds heavier. I've been running, playing basketball, going to bootcamp classes on campus, and tonight I'm going to a Zumba class. I can get through an hour or dancing without realizing how much time has gone by. I'm making plans this summer to go rafting and hiking with friends. My energy level is through the roof! I'm no longer living, I'm finally Alive! Since the scale isn't moving, I'm motivating myself by trying to claim as many NSVs as possible. 1. All of my labs are...normal? What is that word? Normal. I don't remember the last time I had normal labs.<--- Wow! 2. I painted my toes. I was even able to rest my knee as I painted! <----That is EPIC! 3. I can cross my legs. I do it without even realizing it now. <---I've NEVER been able to cross my legs comfortably. 4. i went to a international festival and bought a bracelet. It fits!. <----- I couldn't buy normal jewelry for the past 5 years without some kind of extender. Thank you for reading. I hope each one of you has a wonderful rest of the week!

Haha! I've been in the SCA since I was 17, but I never got into the fighting. I am more of an A&S and Dancing type girl. I am looking forward to being able to do a graceful Volta again without killing my partner on the lifts. LLOL I also play a LARP (Kanar) here in MI, and am already finding that it is easier to run frantically through the woods in a huge dress than it was pre op. It's funny how these little NSVs bring mre joy to activities we love. Fellow weightloss nerds unite!

Maybe you won't need to worry about dehydration so much. That's an NSV. CONGRATS on TOM! Your doing great.

Yes!! I can't wait until my hubby and I can sit in jetted tub together without it overflowing the sides:) Congrats on your NSV.

I already replied but I thought I would add in that the other night my hubby and I went out to a club....after we left....driving home I got way to horney and ended up unbuckling my seatbelt and started ummmmmm well you know....then we tried to go home but our teenage daughter was pulling in the driveway at the same time...so we drove off and went to the park! well lets just say we broke a few laws that night! hehe but it was increadable, and my nsv was that we fit in the backseat just fine together....if you know what I mean!

Got my Flow second month in a row. Woohoo! Downfall is I am retaining some water weight, grrrr.

40.2 lbs! NSV um is a little harder. I would say eating healthier therefore so is my family. Sounds funny but sprinting! Dr Fox told me today to start sprinting to burn more calaries and I just started doing it this week before he told me. So I'm going to try tweeking it a little bit with some advise he gave me. We had a good visit.