Search the Community

today makes 7 weeks banded for me...what a journey already! THE NUMBERS & NSVs jan 23-241-before pre-op diet feb 15-233 surgery day apr 4-212 i completed 30 minutes on the elliptical yesterday!!! it was my first time on that evil machine! it works the hell outta you! my pants are really baggy especially in the crouch and thigh areas:) tightly wearing a stretchy cotton XL shirt! THE SCALE-so i decided that i'd weigh in weekly because i was driving myself crazy with the scale. i was banded on a wednesday so my weigh in days are wednesdays. i joined the april weight loss challenge and the weigh in days are sundays so twice a week it is for april! this has been difficult for me because i was weighing multiple times daily! pure torture! FILL-i had my first fill last Friday and i am not sure how i feel about it (see previous post for details on the fill). there are times when i feel hungrier (real hunger) than i did before my fill...weird. i don't think i really needed a fill to begin with as i was not really feeling hungry and was still losing weight. i could only take an additional 2 cc's on top of the one that was added at surgery. i think i was expecting the fill to be some magical thing that would take over my body and create some type of change...and maybe that's what it's supposed to do, not sure yet. and maybe that's what it did, also not sure yet! i do know that the fill has made me think more about the way i am eating and i have been slowed down at least three times by my body telling me "you are eating too fast" and "that's enough". so the fill is working...i just don't understand why i feel physical hunger more now...any ideas? going to see my surgeon next week for my 2 month check-up...i'll see what he has to say about this... FOOD-i have been super consumed with thoughts of food ever since i was given the green light to be on step 4...which is basically the step where you can eat like a normal person...but i feel that i can't really because i don't know what that is. i talked with a fellow band mate that was banded a year ago and she suggested that i go back to eating the way i did before the band as she had. you know, eat regular like we all did before the band!!! NOW WAY! my eating habits pre-band were horrible and there is no way i'm doing that again i don't care how little i can eat...there will be no fried anything, no pizza, no chips, no sweets, and no "bad carbs"...these are all my downfall...as an overweight person i KNOW what to eat, but as an overweight person in recovery i feel lost. i crave the flavor that is crammed into all the bad stuff and i am not much of cook so this has been difficult. i am also one of those folks that eats rather simply, meaning i eat the same stuff over and over and don't do much to expand my menus:/ this is a major goal for me...MAJOR... YUM-i went to starbucks for the first time since january and ordered a skinny decaf vanilla latte--120 cals...can't become a habit, but it was good:) PUPPY-hubby and i were walking with our 2 year old black lab miles and a family was moving and asked us of we wanted another lab...we were like "noooo". they said they couldn't take her to their new place and were going to take her to the pound...they said she was current on her shots and was house broken...so we looked at her and the next thing i know we are walking home with two dogs! she is six months and we named her daisy!! happy spring all...until next week...in weight loss and beyond

A couple of NSV's: 1. I'm a little over halfway to my goal. So far, I've lost 83 pounds, my goal is to lose 147 lbs. Here's a pic to prove it! I was hanging out with my friends who were glancing through some old pictures and came across the "before" and there was a rousing round of "holy crap! you look so different now!" So we put together a little before and after and I was surprised to see what a difference there was. 2. I've been obsessed with dresses with pockets since junior year prom when I tried one on and couldn't afford it so I had to go with a different option. This weekend, I finally got my dress with pockets - over 10 years later! AND I got it from a regular department store (JCPenney) in the NON-plus size section. Thanks everyone for all the helpful info and encouragement to keep my head in the right space - and my body in a losing space! PS - Also just did my first Zumba class tonight! Fun times! And woah nelly - is an hour of high intensity aerobics a loooooooooong time!

This is an important NSV! Here's to good health!

Great NSV! Getting off blood pressure meds is huge!!!!!!!!! Congrats on the healthier you!

Had two days of serious dizziness so i made an appointment to see my doc and he agrees....I was having dizziness from my blood pressure meds so i am officially off of them! yay!!!! my first thing on my list to get rid of as a result of surgery is gone! so happy!

I am officially in the 2-teens! Goodbye 220s! I won't miss you. I haven't been below 220 since junior high, or at least freshman in high school. I can't be too sure though because I never weighed myself. I'm basically going off of clothes that I've saved and how they fit, even though I've grown several inches since then so naturally my BMI is going to change. I tried on clothes I've been saving since before my rapid weight gain, and some fit and some were too big! I don't need to shop for bottoms now because I've dug out 3 pairs of shorts, 4 pairs of capris, and 2 pairs of pants. All I need now are shirts that don't look like tents on me, lol. Even at my heaviest, I had pretty good blood pressure. It averaged about 110-115 over 70-75. In an earlier post of mine, I was worried that my bp seemed to be higher than it used to be, even though I've lost 70 pounds since my highest weight. Donated blood today and my bp read 100 over 70! I used to have dimples on my lower back, one on either side of my spine, and they have returned! Before, my fat "filled them up" and now they're back. I can now see a slight indentation above my collarbone. If I shrug my shoulders, I can see my collarbone clearly! I work in a movie theater and one of my jobs requires me to go up and down stairs all day. I don't get out of breath anymore. My ticker starts the day of surgery, but from my highest I am halfway to goal! 70 pounds down, 70 to go!

So, for 13 years, this outfit has been, as my daughter would say, "mocking me" in my closet. It's a size 16 pants suit. I wore it one time to a friends rehearsal dinner. After that, I started putting on weight and hung it in my closet because "someday it would fit." Well, my "someday" is here. I tried it on, and it FITS!!!!! So, off to the dry cleaners to get 13 years of dust off of it. Its a beautiful suit, bright mustard yellow, and very well made, so it's still in excellent shape. I am wearing it on Easter Sunday with a brand new pair of rainbow colored sling back wedges! Color, open toe heels, and size 16, oh yeah!. Then, I went shopping and was looking at size 16 dresses, and well, they actually looked to big, so I began looking at the 14's. I found a real pretty one, and decided to try it on for fun, because I was only window shopping. Well, what do you know? That dress fit too! And it just zipped right up the back, with room to spare! Who says the band doesn't work? I started at a size 26, and didn't wear dressed because me legs rubbed together, and here I sit talking about getting into a 14 dress!

Men and women lose weight at different rates. I am 1 year out and have had many stalls. The key is to change it up food & exercise wise. I am in the green zone. I use to lose 2 lbs/ wk. Now that i am closer to goal i lose .5 lbs/wk. I eat 1200 cals and workout 1-2 hrs/day. I feel amazing! I am down 108 lbs and a size 8 from a 24. Keep your eye on the prize & celibrate the NSV's! Good luck all!

Congrats!! What a great way to reward yourself for your nsv

Just got back from a 3 week trip for work - while there I had to buy some new clothes and that was great . I also could relax in the tub - still not as comfortably as I would like, but enough to fall asleep in there! The big Nsv for me was getting out of my hot tub and grabbing my usual towel that doesn't quite fit around me and what do you know!?! It more than fit around me! I had a good 6 inch overlap where there used to be about a 4 inch gap! I haven't been paying attention to a scale - being out of town makes that near impossible - when I got back I had lost another 10 lbs in that 3 weeks and I was bloated from that time of month and from travelling. I celebrated with a nice pedicure Sent from my iPhone using VST

I was banded on 3/19/2012.I've Lossed 22 pounds and I am a size 16. I went before surgery and bought size 14. They fit!! They are snug, but they fit!! Omg! Went back to work and everyone is saying how great I look. ( I shared with no coworkers ). Yea its bandster hell bit staying with it is so worth it.

I'm 12 days post op. I'm having some cravings but I was really wanting the pizza my husband was eating yesterday. I've been experiencing lots of issues like extra fullness from just liquids though. I know just one bite of that pizza or anything else other than liquid would do a number on me right now. It just wouldn't be worth it, just me. Good luck. That is an awesome NSV. I did some pantry cleaning myself. You're doing awesome!

Hey!! I'm here *waving* I will be 3 months out next Tuesday and am now down 51 lbs. It has truly been a roller coaster for me so far. I lost 38 in the first month and then stalled for the rest of February, right after introducing solid food. That was SO frustrating to me! I was doing everything but exercising and NOTHING. I felt like I was on the hardest diet ever if that makes sense. I was counting everything, being sure to get enough Protein and Water, avoiding things that I shouldn't, etc. And no scale movement! I'd hoped to be down 60 lbs by my 3 month follow up, which is next week. By the first week of March, I had enough energy to begin going to the gym. I am now up to walking around 3.5 miles in one hour. That may seem like nothing to all of the true gym rats, but it means the world to me! I haven't exercised regularly since before my wedding in 2008. I also think I was not eating enough calories. I noticed on a week that I would "cheat" a little with some things that I shouldn't have (chips and cake at a baby shower, a little Peanut Butter, half of a hot dog), I lost 3 - 4 pounds. I'm not saying that we should eat these things regularly, but I believe the extra calories helped with the weight loss. I was only getting in 500-600 calories. I have upped my calories and lost something each week since. It's not going as fast as I'd hoped, but I am thankful for what I've lost. For some people it's just effortless! I feel like I wasted some of my honeymoon period with the stalls. UGH! But my pants are REAAAALLLYYY bagging and I have more energy. As of the 2 month mark I was down over 17 inches all over with 6 of those being from my hips. My best NSV was receiving some recent test results. I had some renal issues in 2009 which left me with insufficient kidney function. Nothing that was near dialysis level, but still very concerning. Well guess what?! My kidney function was actually in the NORMAL range for the first time in almost 3 years! My Nephrologist couldn't make any guarantees but thought the weight loss could improve things. Just 50 lbs and the change in what I am eating has made this SO worth it so far! I cried when I received those results! It sounds like everyone is doing great! I am sorry to be so long winded but I know that you all truly understand what it's like with having so much to lose. We got this!!

Yes, sometimes I can't see the forest for the trees. So, for now the realization I'm close to these milestones IS my NSV and when I reach them it will be a SV. Thanks everybody. Love this group.

Sounds like we're all on the right path of getting healthy as well as thinner, if not totally on the scale at least NSV's. My doctor ony does fills every 6 weeks from what I'm being told. And if he feels you don't need it at your 6 week interval, he won't do it. My 2nd fill or shall I say my next visit is 4/19. So far, I'm doing well. Actually, it's been 3 weeks since my first fill and the past week, I've noticed a lot more restriction then initially. I don't think the band was working for me as much as my head was working for me the first 3 weeks which I'm not complaining. However, since Friday, I've had some episode's of being stuck on food I hadn't been stuck with even days before. Saturday afternoon, I had a major craving for Dunkin Donuts coffee roll. It was my TOM although I had a hysterectomy 20yrs ago, I still get the "phantom" urges of sweets during this time most months. I decided not to fight it and treat myself to it. I took one small bite, chewed real good and felt just a little feeling of something, then another and then a 3rd bite and I was so uncomfortable for a good 40 minutes. "Someone" was trying to tell me something, and I didn't listen. I came home and threw that donut in the garbage as fast as I could! I did eat some turkey chili for dinner that night and had no problem. Yesterday morning, I ate egg white scrambled eggs and took one bite and had that same feeling of restriction and stopped eating them. Waited a bit, and tried it again and did fine. Perhaps I was swollen from the day before, I don't know. So far, today, I did fine but learning something new everyday. Still loving my band and how it's helping me to stay true to myself. Erica & NJ2NC: Kudo's on getting into smaller sizes. I think most of us have lost enough weight where people are actually noticing it and saying something which helps our psyche and self esteem. It also helps to start wearing smaller size clothes and a little more form fitting which makes it more noticeable. Keep up the good work and love all your support.

Awesome NSV!!! I bet all of us ladies remember the day we realized our boobs stuck out further than our tummy's I was sooo happy when this happened!

I had this NSV the other day too! I was AMAZED!

I am eating healthier and I only desire good carbs and high protein foods. This is a great improvement for me, because protein was not my thing prior to surgery. Also, I had family visit yesterday, and they questioned me about my age, they wanted to be sure, I said 42. They said you look really good, I looking even younger since surgery. Loving my sleeve, can eat but just enough, feels good.

Oh, I'd be counting that as an NSV and a SV!! You're doing great. Keep on rocking that sleeve!

The NSVs keep me going especially when the scale isn't moving. As LilMissDiva says, I don't wear a scale around my neck! People see the clothes you wear, not the number on the scale!!

fantastic NSV and yes these are the things and motivate us

The SkinnyCow73 Cute One, with your stomach and drawer, i can totally relate. is it "legal"if it i jump in with my NSV too? When I came home from the hospital 12-15-11 - i called my mom, after WLS i came home losing about 2 lbs. - my mom said to me - ok, - now look, are your underwear too big on you? i just thought that was funny. Guess what they are most definitely big on me now. kathy

I've been kinda down about my slow weightloss but, I just realized in 4 more lbs I will have lost 30 lbs and that seems like a lot to me. 6 more lbs and I will no longer be obese and in (drum roll please) 7 more lbs I will be halfway to my goal! Yay! Not there yet but, I'm getting there.

congrats that is a great NSV