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I am hovering at -75lbs gone and I could not be more happy with my sleeve! I can honestly say I love my sleeve and never had any regret about doing this surgery! I have been frustrated by my "slow" loss but am working on acceptance and trying to embrace it. I did have my 9 month checkup with my surgeon, and when I expressed concern about losing slowly, he laughed and said that I'm doing excellent! He said my weight loss was on target (according to his charts, I'm doing exactly as I should number-wise), my workouts were perfect, and my meals were perfect (I brought in samples of my food logs) so that was wonderful news. He sort of set a target to lose about 15-20lbs in the next 13 or so weeks, and of course that would be wonderful, but as things are slowing way down for me I am doubtful that I can make it. I might be able to swing -15lbs and I would be thrilled with that. That would put me -90lbs for my one year anniversary of getting the sleeve and that would be awesome. So in that spirit I am working on acceptace. I'm starting to Celebrate more of the little things that matter like running up a flight of stairs and not being winded, or the fact that I can bare my arms and wear sleeveless tops, or bouncing on the trampoline with the kids in the backyard...all things that seem small but in reality are huge NSV's. I do love seeing before/after pictures (SO MOTIVATING!) so I will post a comparison picture. It is not a body shot (sorry I have no new body shots) so it will have to be a face shot. Sometimes pictures really DO tell the story and even the change in my face is dramatic. I'm always wowed by the fact that as people lose weight their facial features become more prominent. Not being dwarfed by their own weight, suddenly eyes and noses and eyebrows are SO much bigger on a face that isn't carrying so much extra weight. I can hardly believe it's been 9 months SINCE being sleeved as I remember waiting the 6 months to BE sleeved and feeling like it was an eternity. If you are pre-op hang tight, soon you will be posting that you are 9 months too!

Ok, dumbest NSV ever but I'm just so excited to be on this side of things that I had to post. One week & one day post op (27 # down!), I was talking to someone in my office and fidgeting when I realized that the little rubber finger, page turner thing fit! It cut off circulation before! It's the small things.

I'm 2 months out from surgery and am down 85 pounds total (45 since surgery). I am extremely happy with my weight loss so far, and when I got on the scale this morning I was down into the next 10!! Here are my NSV's: 1. I got to go shopping and buy pants and a bathing suit TWO sizes smaller!! 2. I pulled out a pair of pants that I have never been able to wear because they were too small and I was too embarrassed to send them back, I put them on and they are HUGE on me. 3. My stomach no longer touches the steering wheel when I sit in the car, even with the seat pulled forward. I'm so happy with my decision and I'm finally starting to feel great for the first time since surgery (and really for the first time in years)!!

I am back from my trip and happy to see that everyone seems to be doing well. I was correct in thinking that I wouldn't get any formal exercise in, but we walked soooo much that I actually lost 2 lbs! My NSV from the trip was that on the plane ride I no longer require the seatbelt extender like I did on my flight 4 years ago. Not only do I not need the extender, but there is quite a bit of excess that it can fold back a little! I don't really lose or gain much any more. I stay between 95-100 lbs gone from surgery. I gained some when my mom was dying, but lost that soon after her death. I will begin exercising at the gym again tonight. Oh, and I went for my checkup and my doc did bloodwork and it seems that I am HEALTHY. I have the horrible family history of heart disease, but my blood pressure, cholesterol and all blood work suggest that I don't have anything to worry about, so I guess if I have a heart attack I get to call him a liar and punch him...right? seems only fair! Cynthia, keep you butt moving, girl. Don't stop! Hey, Donna, Good to see you check in. I just came back myself. I am active on a different website, because I hate the format of this one now.

Those are Great NSV's!!!! Loved them Congrats!!!!

Thank you for all the support Ladies! I'm feeling better this morning after a good night's sleep. About to get my day started with a cup of coffee then I'll be like the Tasmanian Devil running around the house cleaning everything before surgery tomorrow. I go to the hospital around noon time tomorrow which is going to be WONDERFUL. I love that I don't have to be up in the wee hours of the morning for this. I get to sleep in! lol Serifa, I am hoping for a similar NSV. Our annual Susan G, Komen Race for the Cure is in September. Last year I entered and walked the 5k as a newly diagnosed patient. This year I plan to cross the finish line running as a survivor! Best of luck to you in your quest for that 5k... you CAN do it!

First and foremost--- MY WEDDING DRESS FITS!!!!!! I'm engaged. The wedding was planned for 2006 in Hawaii. Then my hubby's mom got sick and was in hospital. So we postponed the wedding ( and decided to start trying for a baby- I wanted to have kids earlier in life). Then she passed away while I was pregnant with her first grandchild. Life went on and the wedding has always been on the back burner. We now have 2 little monsters we love to death. Now- keep in mind- the dress never actually fit me before. I was going to " lose a little more" before the wedding. Instead I ballooned out. But it fits now!!! Yay!!! And I still love it!!! I took a couple pics, but I can't find the cord to attach it to the computer : ( I'm a baker by trade. I was always exhausted by end of day. It's a very physical job. Now I fly through a shift faster and more efficient. I don't even break a sweat while working in the ovens!!! And believe me, those be some damn hot ovens!!! In a 2 day timeline, I had 8 ( yes 8) people comment on my weighloss and how great I look. It's simply awsome : ) I'm training for a half marathon and run a 5k 4-5 days a week. When i take my heartrate, it used to go high and stay high when i work out. Now it doesnt go as high and drops back down to a good resting rate quickly. Once I can get my time alittle better, I'll add more distance. But I'm so proud of what I'm doing. One of the best parts is that my body isn't so sore like it used to be after a workout. I guess it's just recovering better? I biggest nsv to date is my attitude. I'm so much of a happier person now. I think alot of it, is just not being so tired all the time, and sore from carrying an extra 80 lbs around, and I'm not ashamed of what I've become anymore. I'm proud to be me now : )

I don't think it's disheartening--I think it's an NSV! I must have looked like a whale! I love it now when people do double-takes and ask my name with that upturn-question-sound on the end, like they're not sure it's me. I've lost two double chins and a second-grader so no wonder I look different. I stand differently, I wear clothes that fit, and I have more confidence. I don't think your feelings should be hurt, you should be happy that you have lost so much weight.

My "Yay! I can now cross my legs!" doesn't seem nearly as exciting as YOUR NSV. Congrats!

That's so awesome!!! Great NSV!

That's so great, and a definite NSV!! We know we're losing, but it's really nice to have it confirmed by someone, especially someone we find attractive! Thanks for sharing the story, I love hearing them. People are really beginning to notice my loss now, annd since its kinda new, i still feel slightly awkward, but it is surprising how good it feels too.

Every since my Dog Sampson was 12 weeks old I have taken him to the dog park every day, he is almost three years old now. I do not miss a day at the park, I get a lot of walking miles in every day while Sampson plays. Being a park regular obviously you get to know the other park regulars, we all walk laps together while the wonder mutts wrestle, play chase and swim. There is this one lady that used to be a semi regular, she hasn't been around for months, the last time she saw me was before winter, lets call her missy . Yesterday when I got to the park all the dog walkers were standing under a large tree hiding from the sun, so I walked up and said hello. Before I even got to group I noticed that "Missy" was there, I always notice when Missy is there, she is wicked hot, the kind of lady that you can tell works hard to take care of herself. I walked up and said hello to everyone, everyone else said hello, and Missy looked at me kind of puzzled, as I said hello to her, and used her name, I thought, how odd, she seemed confused or something. As the group walked and talked every time I looked in Missy's direction she had that same puzzled look on her face. At one point more people showed up, and my dog ran over to greet them, of course I followed him, and then walked a while with that group. When the two groups met up again, Missy walked right up to me in front of everyone and said " Oh my God Tom I really have to apologize to you!" I was like, what? why? And says out loud with like 20 people there, "I wasn't sure who you were! I thought maybe someone else was Walking Sampson for you!" "I Honestly did not recognize you at all." "You look amazing!" " You're literally half the size you were!" " And so damn Handsome too!" At this point I was blushing and kind of embarrassed. Missy goes on to state that if she hadn't asked one of the other dog walkers, she would have never guessed it was me, She went on to say how I am " A shadow of my former self". Mind you, although Missy is Happily married, and was not hitting on me in any way, it felt so good to hear her say those things. Missy is one of the ladies at the park that if she wasn't married, well it would probably insight riots with all the guys trying to chase her, she really is HOT! and as I said you can tell she works very hard to stay in shape. After the whole OM I cant believe it you, her and I talked about our workouts, and compared gyms and so on. he whole time we were talking I was thinking "wow, did this beautiful lady just really say all that stuff to me?!!" I was really blown away, and felt great all day!

Yes, that was a great NSV. I still use shower sheets, but love that when I go to a hotel or wherever, I can wrap the towel around myself when I get out. Especially when getting out of the pool. I like that the towels wrap around me. Hurray for weight loss! Karen

Awesome, that is such an amazing NSV. Keep it up!

What a wonderful NSV, I'm so happy for you and PROUD of you! Awesome job!!! I love your smile, that dress could be a rag and your smile would shine right through! My wedding dress (15+ years ago) was a size 24 and I'm wearing a 14 now, so it definitely is NOT a goal of mine to fit back into that dress, but maybe someday I will renew vows and wear a smaller sized dress AND redo all my photos!

So after the visit with my endocrinologist, he is very happy with my progress and my blood sugar numbers, blood pressure is still a bit high but coming down. I am in pretty much normal ranges in my diabetes. From the 7 meds I was taking, I am now on 4 and 2 of them are lower dosages. My Doc said I should be able to remove more in 2 months when I see him next. Super stoked!

OMG...you're the cutest! I love that you fit into your dress....totally rockin' the late 80's early 90's style! Glam all the way! Congratulations on that glorious NSV

I went for my (a little bit early) 6 month post op visit today. My surgeon said he's proud of me! I'm down 30 pounds since my 3 month post op visit - that's 10 pounds a month. Plus, I've lost 57% of my body weight in under 6 months. He said, typically at 1 year post op, his patients have just lost 60% so I'm well ahead of the curve. He agreed that 145 is a good weight for me, if I want to lose more he'll support that but he doesn't recommend that I try for much more than that. He also told me to get these last 20 pounds off that I want to lose to switch up my exercise regimine, keep my portions to 1/2 cup, and cut out the carbs. I know this, but damn. I'm going to win this battle over my head hunger; I just have to try harder. And he documented this rash I have under my stomach. Tummy tuck, here I come! Then I went to visit my primary doctor because I was at the hospital, and she had said she wanted to see me when I lost my first 20 pounds. Well, I haven't seen her since before my surgery. The ENTIRE office staff came out in the lobby and then my doctor, who has been on my butt for years about losing weight, cried. She actually cried, and told me that she was so proud of me and she kept hugging me. The nurses all said that they would have walked right past me because I don't look the same. Normally I don't like the attention and I blow off people's compliments, but it meant the world coming from my doctor. So, here I am, 20 pounds to go. I can do this! I love my sleeve!

WOW, what a great one! Thanks for posting it. I love hearing the good stuff and am so happy for people when they do post it. Gotta love the band and life when those NSVs happen.

I've had a lot of NSVs so far during my journey but nothing tops the one I had this morning... I got dressed while DH was in the shower - I'm working from home today so I put on a pair of jean capris and a form fitting racer back tank. When DH got out of the shower, his eyes got real big and he just looked me up and down and said "Damn"! I never knew one word could make me feel so good!

Yay! to all! My best NSV, was when I was bowling last Sunday. We were discussing the next week, and I said well Sunday is my birthday, so not sure if we will come. Then I went to bowl.The lady on the other team asked my son how old I was going to be, he said 63. She said "wow! She doesn't look a day over 50." He told me this later on. Man, I was like do I feel great or what. Karen

Wow, that is amazing. Congrats on such a wonderful and meaningful NSV.