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So today is the end of my 3rd week. Saw the doc on monday and her scale said I was 321.6. Not sure exactly how my medical scale (with weights and slide) compares to her digital one. The 321.6 was weighed with shoes and all, so I don't know. I haven't weighed myself today because I returned to work. So lets start the weekly break down. Physical: I've noticed a very large increase in energy. To the point where my wife is getting very happy because I'm doing stuff around the house, not just sitting there tired. I've had the energy to move around and get stuff cleaned up and what not. I can take a flight of stairs with no issues whereas just 6 short months ago it would have winded me. I actually took the 2 flights of stairs to my appointment rather than take the elevator. I started to "feel" the stairs at the 1.5 flight mark. It slowed my pace down, but It didn't take all the wind out of me or put me into a sweat, which was a huge NSV for me. I used to be a VERY active person, always on the go and wanting to do stuff, I could walk forever. I'm happy to see that I'm getting back to that. My pants are not fitting anymore, I used to wear my pants under my gut, now I can't if I do that they fall down, so I've been resorting to wearing them around my actual waist up on my gut over my bellybutton. The only side effect is that now when I walk too far, my underwear falls off my butt! More funny than anything else, my own personal inside joke. My sex life has greatly increased as well, the energy and stamina I have now are getting noticed lol. The downs, I have to wait until the 28th to get my fill and I've been hungry often and if I chew properly I can get anything down in larger amounts than I would really like. I've been doing good with my calorie intake and burn, averaging a 3550 daily burn with a 1170 intake. So I'm tossing 2380 calories out the window each day on average or 1 pound of body fat every 1.4 days. Not too shabby, I guess we'll see how well I'm doing when I weigh in later today. Emotional: I'm feeling SO much better emotionally for the most part. The being stuck in bandster hell has put a damper on my spirits a bit, but I've been keeping things in check with my food log and trackers. I just have to stay strong and tough it out. I'm glad to be back at work. My wife has been extremely happy lately and that is just making things so much better overall at home. I have felt slightly defeated when I stepped on the scale and saw a weight higher than what I had the week before, but when I checked at home, I was the same weight as the week before, so I'm not going to focus so much on the numbers right now, I'm going to keep things in perspective, I'm just starting out and even at a mere 2 lbs a week, that's 110 lbs in the year. I can deal with that. I've actually wanted to exercise more. I take the long way to the rest room at work and even started taking the stairs down a floor than back up on my way to or from the rest room. It's been a icky week weather wise, so I haven't been able to get out and do some walking but I'm finding other ways to make sure I keep my burn rate up. Other: My boys are starting to show some weight loss, even though they are not specifically on a diet which is fantastic. My wife is smiling and happy both for me and about my overall increase in spirits and health. Things have been getting better each day and I love it. Now I did get stuck the other day and I'm sort of glad I did. I was eating an orange (LOVE ORANGES!) at work and I went to bite a piece off a section of 3 lobes that were stuck together, I went to seperate 1 half of a lobe when the whole 3 lobe section broke in half in a way that sent it straight to the back of my throat and my bodies automatic response was to swallow. I freaked a bit, but when I didn't feel anything, I figured that it was small enough or soft enough to pass through my totally unrestricted stomach. I waited a few minutes knowing from reading that I might have to let it back up so I preped for the run to the rest room. Nothing. So I finished my orange. A good 10 -15 minutes AFTER finishing the orange I felt this odd sensation of food moving back upwards, not the contraction like a purge, just stuff trying to work it's way back up. I tried to burp, no burp. I sipped some water, stood up, put my hands on my head and walked around a bit, nothing, the feeling was still there. I sipped a bit more water and it was very hard to get down my throat, this triggered the feeling of needing to purge, still no contractions. I bolted to the rest room, took the handicapped stall and stood so that my stomach was above my mouth and I just let the food work it's way back up with no assistance on my part, it was very odd, I knew not to enduce a purge reaction for risk of causing damage to the only 2.5 week old surgery, I did have 2 instances of purge contractions, but I quickly forced them to stop, I got a good amount of orange, but not the piece that caused the problems. I was producing lots of saliva, but after the pieces came up, I didn't have the purge feeling or the uncomfortable "moving up" feeling, I still felt odd/sick the rest of the day, I drank a bit more water and it went down but slowly. So I kept it liquids for the rest of the day and was feeling fine the next day. Some have asked "why are you happy that it happened?" the answer is pretty easy, with any fears, you don't know what exactly is going to happen, now I know, I know why it happened, I know how to prevent it from happening again and I know that in the off chance it does happen again, exactly what to do. Plus, I really do not want to repeat that feeling ever again. So that little negative reinforcement is a good thing. I will update my weight (good or bad) later when I can weigh in. Until then, Thank you for reading, I look forwards to reading your replies and comments and STAY STRONG! ***UPDATE*** Weighed in at 316. w00t!

Walking!!! That's my biggest accomplishment since surgery, so far! Before surgery, I could barely waddly my fat boo-tay from the house to the car. Walking around a store exhausted me! I started walking up and down my hallway, then around the end of my building, and then on the treadmill. I'm still slowly increasing my distance, but I walked the length of the mall and back a week or so ago and I wasn't tired!! That's amazing to me!! I keep looking for the NSVs, but being able to walk some distance is my favorite thing so far! (Looking better doesn't hurt either!)

That's an awesome NSV. Congrats!

Hi all, Today I reached a major personal NSV. We have been planning on going to Universal Orlando and visit the Harry Potter attraction. When they first opened there was talk about the seats on one ride being small. They made the outer seat larger so overweight people could ride but they were still small and it was a bit of a stigma if you had to sit there because "everyone knows" Well today I got on the ride I was alone because I was the only one brave enough to ride. The seat that was available was an end seat but an attendant had me switch seats to an inner one so the other person could be more comfortable!!!!!!!

I think the people at my kids Taekwondo class thought I was crazy, but your post made me laught so hard. I love your NSV I think is the best one I've read so far. Thanks for sharing.

Wow, that's GREAT!!! (Amanda, NSV = Non scale Victory)

that is adorable, I want someone to say that to me!!!!! I've never seen NSV before, it's great!! thanks for such a fun post.

This may be a really stupid question, but what is NSV?

Ok, today something incredible happened to me! I have been experiencing all the normal NSV's that everybody else talks about, shopping on the non-plus side of the store, etc. But today I had a funny thing happen to me. I travel a lot for work, so I rarely go to the bank at home anymore. I used to be the manager at a retail store and went to the bank every single day. Today I went through the drive through to cash a check. The teller was a lady that I know very well from my days as the manager at the store. She has waited on me a million times. I put the check in the slot. She retrieved it and looked at it and kept looking up at me. She finally walked away and came back. She said "I am sorry maam, but you will have to send your mom in to cash the check. We wont be able to do it for you." I said "What the heck are you talking about. Its my check, why does my mother need to come in. She said "Are you Agnes' daughter? I said no I am Agnes! She told me to wait just one moment. She went and got the bank manager, who thank god knows me well. She came to the window laughing and said "I apologize Agnes. The teller thought you were your daughter trying to cash your check. She didnt recognize you. YOu look fantastic! Between my weight loss and I have grown out my hair and ot a completely new style, she thought I was my daughter!!!! I love it!!!!!!! Everybody keep on plugging away at this thing. Days like this really make it worth it!!

Before I had surgery, I was wearing a tight size 20. I set a goal for myself that I wanted to wear a comfortably loose size 8. I also set my goal weight at 140. Well, I have been hovering around 148-147 for the last while but those 8's fit pretty nicely. Just for kicks, I tried on an old (VERY OLD!!) pair of size 6 pants today and guess what!!!!!! Yep! They fit! I wore them all day and was totally thrilled with my success. I had gotten on the scale this morning and was a bit frustrated that I still was hovering at the 148 level. Darn scale can really depress me. But when I tried on my 6's, just on a whim, and saw they fit...I was happy as can be! I love this sleeve!!!!! Just had to share. Living the dream, Laura

A little less than five months ago, I was 210 pounds. I had a hard time walking around the mall and I never would have entertained the idea of running a 5K. I've been running a few times a week using the couch to 5k app. My physical therapist said that he thought I could do way more than I was using that app. So today, I decided to do it. I went down and ran 17 laps non-stop on the indoor track in 32:33. It is amazing what your body can accomplish!! Next stop, 10K!!! Best wishes everyone!

When my weight was increasing, one of the most depressing events was when I realized that I had to raise the tilt of the steering wheel because it was brushing against my ever expanding thighs. When I lost some weight pre-op, I lowered the tilt some, but thought there was at least one more adjustment. Well, on my way home from work yesterday, I noticed there was quite a bit of space between my legs and the wheel. When I got home, I went to adjust the wheel and ...thunk...thunk...it couldn't get any lower! I was happy and in shock! I know I have a long way to go still, but for me, this was one small reminder that things are getting better.

I am so happy for you! Congrats, lady! What a great NSV.

So today I'm wearing a brand new (i.e. not stretched) Australian size 14 shirt --- AND IT FITS!!! Plus, I saw a new surgeon (for something unrelated to the band) today, and in taking my history he found out that I'd had the band. He exclaimed "But you're not that big! Why did you get the band?!" I was like... ummm, I used to be bigger than I currently am!!! :D

ok i know this may sound corny, but one of my goals is to be able to jog on Lake Michigans lake front while listening to my ipod. i want to be able to do this by the summer. so my latest NSV is that i can jog on the treadmill for 10 minutes, walk fast for 2 minutes and jog another 10 minutes! YEAH ME!!!!

I had some recent NSV's that I want to share: 1. My husband and I frequently take a shower together to save time (busy, busy). In the past, he had to hold on to me to switch places. Yesterday, we swapped places and didn't even touch!!! I was so excited because for the first time I didn't have to worry that I would make him fall out of the shower! 2. I can wear my wedding set again. Tearing up on that one because it's been over two years since it started cutting into my finger and I had to take it off (almost had to have it cut off). 3. A co-worker whispered that I have diaper butt in these JEANS and should probably consider not wearing them again. My only complaint is that the scale has not moved since Nov. 28. Still fluxuating between 215.4 and 215.8. At least it's not going up!! I'm sure it will change soon though. Shae

Renee, How close are you to TOM? Lots of ladies notice a couple of pound increase just before because we are retaining Water, then most see a loss immediately afterwards. That three week stall is a booger, isn't it!? I was so worried about mine, but just kept doing the water, doing the Protein, and then I had a big drop, 4 or 5 pounds, IIRC. I hit another one at the end of my 2nd month/beginning of the 3rd month, so I upped my walking and gained a pound. My regular doc told me that I wouldn't lose until I backed off the walking for a few days. I rolled my eyes when he told me that muscle weighs more than fat, but he's right. And, during that second stall, I lost inches in a hurry! That's when I dropped the second pants size, so always check your measurements when you stall on the scale. Also, always look for those NSV's (non scale victories). I've had tons of them lately and I make sure to keep my eyes open for them. Something as simple as being able to slide into a booth in a restaurant will thrill me, although I might not say anything to my dining companions. I was thrilled to be able to buy a belt...and then it was too big the first time I wore it! I had to adjust my car seat because I not longer need to sit way to one side so that the seat belt latch doesn't dig into my tush. Those are all somewhat silly, but they are the things that make me go YEAH! Good luck to you all!

ONEderful news! Love your NSV too CONGRATS!!!!!!!!!

What a great NSV and SV!! Whoohooo!! I really need to hit Disneyland - fa realz!

WOW!! Congrats! That's an awesome NSV!!! Great job!

Yesterday I ran my first 5K, something I would have never been able to do pre-sleeve. I've always enjoyed bicycling, elliptical machines and working out in general, but, because of my weight, my knees could not handle the stress of running. So, with the sleeve, I started running 2 months ago and signed up for the Jingle Bell Run in Portland, OR. The race was yesterday and I completed it!!! Having never run a 5K (even during training) I didn't know what goal time to set for myself, so I extrapolated the distances I had run with times and figured if I could do it between 30 and 32 minutes, I would be happy. First goal, though was to actually run the whole thing and not stop and walk at any point. I was able to do that but when I crossed the finish line, my time was 26 minutes, 23 seconds!!! I was like HUH?! Did I just do that? There were over 4,000 runners/walkers. After the results were posted, I finished 400th overall, 228th man and 22nd for M45-49. I think I may have found my next additiction!!

Great NSV's and wonderful news on the ONEderland front too! I love hearing about people reaching it.

Thanks everyone! I had several NSV's this weekend. I had to give away more clothes and I was able to wear a pair of smaller jeans and a pullover windbreaker that I have not worn in nearly 5 years! It was big on me! Woooohooooo! I only have one more pound and I will be down 50!!!!! I hope to make this by Thursday, my four month surgiversary!

So, this morning (my official weekly weigh-in) the scale said 199.4. Wow, it's amazing to see that in print. This is such an amazing journey. And... over the weekend, I took my son to Disney World. I was able to easily fit AND get out of all the rides. At the end of each day, I still had energy to burn. This was so much different from times before when I could barely make it back to the hotel. The best NSV was at the playground at the Animal Kingdom. I climbed right up the nets and across the rope bridges. I would have never done this before. Then I went right down the enclosed curly slides and I fit NO PROBLEM. But, the absolute best NSV happened when I got to the bottom of the slide. A women who was waiting on her child at the bottom of the slide said "Oh, you are such a good mom climbing up and going through those things." I just wanted to tell her that she didn't know the half of it. I just wanted to blurt my whole story out but I just smiled and nodded. I was just so happy to be able to do it.