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So I had my first actual NSV (except for the usual donating of clothing) since surgery. It seems a little crazy to me, but I was so happy. I got out of the shower and wrapped the towel around me (like always) and it actually fit around me and overlapped a bit and covered me like it was supposed to. Now mind you it's still one of the big ones, but it fit! it fit! it's been 15 years since that happened I was pretty happy. So glad everyone is doing well. We will all be successful. We have to be

Love these posts! Arlene, let's go dancing! Gay clubs were such a a great dance outlet for me in the eighties. Fun times. In the last year we made friends with people who host monthly dance parties in a town not far from here. We've been to two and that's another NSV for me: dancing! We are definitely then oldest people but I can still tear it up. Thanks to my band and losing the two cinder blocks worth of fat.......

This is too cute!!!!! Even your parachute is smiling. I parasailed on my honeymoon at my lowest adult weight. That will be a great goal to have again. Congratulations on your anniversary and your NSV!!!!

Thinking of you, Julie. We have a joke in our house, Ice is our friend." Have no idea what plastics protocol involves but boy do I love ice packs for joint pain. You should see our freezer, lol. Did a little retail therapy today, at the local job lots. Coldwater Creek and JJill for ten bucks per. I now have three pair of pants as next NSVs -- two nice linen pants in a purple and a red. Fancy! And another pair of red dress pants. All size ten a and all too. I can zip 'em but that's it. Need to lose some more gut. But then my my, the pants I will have. So much fun to buy off the rack. It's been twenty years for me to be able to enjoy shopping again. Said goodbye to a loved one today -- I am so glad he got to see me lose weight, choose myself and get healthy. He was a doctor. My godfather. Never said a word but I watched his delight this last year as I slimmed down. He had some dementia but was always so delighted to see me. I will miss him but 90 years is a long time. Dying is hard. Glad to have extended my life by choosing to work on my physical body.

Checking in in everyone . August going so fast almost that dreaded back to school time. Life is happening so fast and enjoying every minute of it despite my slight weightloss stall /plateau. I know I'll get through it just cont to make the right choices first stall in 13 months can't complain . Despite what the scale says I had done funny NSV a friends mother in law stopped at my sisters house and I was not expected to be there. She never met my sis before but knew me and was. Picking something up for my friend. I answered the door she introduced herself and said you look so much like so-so. I said I sure hope so because I am her!!! After we all laughed she said I wasn't kidding I didn't recognize you. Then last night I went to a party and I thought it was odd my friends bro in law who rarely talks to people he doesn't know ( I have known the family for 4 years) was a little cold to me barely replied to my hello. The next day she said you know my bro in law had no idea who you are she said idk ur still the same person just a smaller size lol

NSV today! I did a 2 mile fun run on base today and finished it! There were not a whole lot of people behind me but there were some and s few of them were active duty service members! They had a free slurpee truck and I actually had the small one after the run and it tasted so good!

Hey everybody, Just wanted to log on and say Happy New Year (& new you) to everyone. Having a few closest friends over this evening and I told them to bring whatever they wanted to eat and drink that they wouldn't like my pureed peaches, apricots and plums...lol. Wish you ALL the very best for 2007! Wanted to pass along a little nsv that happened today at church. Three different folks stopped me to say how "well" I looked...lol...Even our Interpreter for the hearing impaired stopped me...she started telling me how she had always been heavy and that she wanted to talk to me more about the lap band...I told her about this site and y'all...

Yes B-man I have remained the same weight for a few days as well I sometimes feel like what am I doing wrong but I think my body just thinks this lady is starving thanks for the kind words everyone I will go see my doc today and find out how I am doing okay is anyone else hating tv commercials I am last night pizza hut was on 100 times in like two hours making me starve to death I have tivo at home and always fast forward through the commercials but was at moms and she doesn't have tivo I LOVE MY TIVO now more than ever I hate fast food commercials and I now realize how many times I ate unhealthy because of senseless cravings I am going shopping after my doc's appt maybe I can be down a size I am ready for a NSV!!!!!!!! carol I love your nsv how neat

YAY! I'm 6 weeks post-op today and I can wear my size 16 jeans that I haven't fit into in probably 4-5 years!!! I am so happy with my progress and my doctor said he is impressed also because he was only expecting me to have lost 5-6 pounds from my 2 week check-up, but I lost 11! Some people are losing faster than me, but hey, as long as that scale is going down, I'm okay with any loss! I'm now released from all restrictions and I can go to the gym and start lifting and toning and doing more than just walking nowhere on that dang treadmill! Another NSV for me lately is that I can walk up 2 flights of stairs and not get winded! Before I would try to walk up 2 flights at once and be huffing and puffing and feeling like an elephant was standing on my chest, not to mention my knees and legs hurting and feeling like spaghetti. Y'all have a great weekend! My family and I are all going fishing on Sunday so hopefully we'll catch something other than a sunburn!

Awesome NSV! Congrats!

No it is a wonderful NSV, and I am happy for you and me both. Mine is somewhat similar, always had to ask for the "hat" in the toilet and sometimes I missed anyway Now I can wipe well and give them a Clean Catch because I can reach things without straining so hard. And those little things mean a lot, don't they? Now I can sit in chairs, even climb stepladders because I am UNDER the 250 pound weight limit. Won't bust things to smithereens accidently. Remember my,late hubby sat down in his favorite fishing chair, one of those with a woven seat. He didn't even wiggle or anything but it let out a,metallic scream and it collapsed to the ground with him still in it. ONLY THING BRUISED WAS HIS EGO but I wish I had sent the cellphone video to ABC for America's Favorite Home Videos, It was a real winner, and he always said he wasn't,OBESE, only me! Ha ha to the max there, he was 6ft3in and 330, but in his heart he must thought he was 195 like when he graduated in 1960. Still have his grad pictures, Tomkitten looks a lot like him, but maybe not much longer. After seeing I could have success, and knowing now I am 30-40 pounds lighter, he is considering Bariatrics for himself. And maybe he'll be a sleeve instead, maybe not, his PCP said he has costochondritis but I'm not sure if. he might have inherited my GERD tendencies also. And if true, he'll become a kangaroo like me! Why are the bypassed kangaroos? Because we all have pouches. Sproing,sproing!

Greetings fellow November bandsters! I was banded on November 22nd and am teeter-tottering between 75-77 lbs. lost. My first fill was on January 7th and my second one is scheduled for this Friday. Unfortunately, I'm in desperate need of fill as I can eat almost anything I want to in any amount. Right now, it is back to the early stage will power....ugh! I've started a hard core exercise program that reminds me of what they do on The Biggest Loser. This is my thrid week with that and I have gained 2 lbs. I'm contributing that to either muscle or my need for a fill! I plan to get back on track Friday. NSV include: Being able to bend over and tie my shoe; Going down 3 sizes in clothes; Walking without being completely out of breath; Blood pressure meds gone; Saving money at restaraunts by sharing a meal or eating off the kids menu; Positive self esteem! Would I have Lap Band surgery again? ABSOLUTELY!!!

hi ladies - Nat - yes I was also very dry and kept feeling like I was catching a cold - which by now I think I would have caught - its been a week! I'm still blowing the boogers - and the cough - was it you who asked? well thats good, a cough clears the lungs of all the anthesia, and I also would think that the little bit of blood was just from the tube or being dry. I was soooooo dry mouthed after the surgery I never felt like I'd rehydrate again. Sweethot - nice to hear from you hon! I never had a pump either, but they gave me shots of it in the iv whenever I asked. I'm not a pillpopper normally and I think I have a high pain tolerence because I only took liquid tylenol 2-3 times, I never fill the script from doc. I never have pain now - now I itch. All around my incisions - itchy itchy itchy - think I'm gonna call dr to see if I can put some hyrocoritizone...(sp? lol ) cream on or around them. Support groups are good - I only went once pre-op - last month - and there were a few banded but most are waiting to be banded. BC/BS local is highmark and they haven't approved the band here so they are all fighting it. I guess my doc is quite the advocate, the lady who had surgery with me said he fought it for 14 months - and used his own lawyers! Not sure thats norm or not but dang he's cute!!! - (Steph <---- still crushing doc Marley) Back to support groups - tonight is one and we are to bring a holiday dish (so I guess it kinda a Christmas party) I'm making sf lime Jello, sf strawberry jello, with coolwhip FREE - I thought I would layer it in a clear glass bowl so it looks all christmassy and pretty. I can actually eat it too - its part of the liquids. Nat you should go - don't worry about fat guy from work - LOL - you're too dang funny!!! I love ya! If he is there just say hey and tell him you'd really like to keep it quiet that you've had the surgery. He might lose the weight and come back as Erik on the biggest loser - omgoodness!!! Who'd have thought such a hunk was inside there? Ok - so a small nsv - when I saw Charlie yesterday he said he can see the weight loss in my face - yippeeeee! Hubby always says I lose in my face first - scale it telling me 15lbs so far - but 8 of it was pre-op and btw did I tell you when I went to doc to look at my incisions (cuz my tape came off 3 days out) I was only down 5 lbs? Yeah I was like WTF - as Nat would say.. lol ... but it must do with the procedure, PA said they don't normally weigh until 2 weeks. I'm not changing my ticker until I get on the dr's scale. mystique - I haven't said hi for a while - hi - sounds like you're doing good. I'm still using the heating pad for my shoulder - its getting better everyday. kari - I was tired alot too - and then on Sunday - 6 days out I finally got over it. Ok tv viewers - why is there nothing on tv interesting during the day? I don't even bother flipping through 400 channels anymore - and what about reading? Anyone read a book lately? I am a BIG reader - like a book a week or more - and I haven't been able to focus on reading since a month before surgery. Do you think its just the excitement of being banded? My only reading comes from LBT. Love ya girls!

I, too am struggling with what I see in the mirror, or what people say to me. I'm a size 4-6 now... I keep yo-yo-ing too (see my post on my crazy swollen feet!!)...but what's so insane to me is, all of a sudden, being a 6 or, dear God an 8 (gasp!) seems like failure. Why are we so attached to those numbers??? Two years ago I would have laughed if someone told me I could be a size 8. Why can't we be happy with ourselves, with our success? I think sometimes that I've tried to lose weight for so long that if I do accept that I am at goal, then what? What do I do if I don't obsess about my weight? I swear, every time I try on clothes, I think "oh, these must run big... really big... I can't possibly really be this size." Just a few comments on other post comments, which I think hit home, in a make-me-laugh-at-myself kind of way. 1. I wear a size 6 but feel like a 13... not sure why this happens, but I concur. I don't feel that different until I'm walking down the aisle of an airplane, not worrying about hitting anyone. 2. I used to watch every show on tv... for me, it's "I used to watch Food Network" constantly, but now it's "What not to wear" and "Plastic Surgery: before and after" 3. The way that people treat you. My success at work has skyrocketed. I can't help wonder if my increased appearance has helped?? I'd like to think not, but you can't help but wonder. I had a real NSV when a co-worker said, "you have got to take me shopping, you always look so cute"... they have no idea that in your "old" life you'd never have even considered it because you had to shop at the plus-size store, and they didn't. 4. Ever notice how, when you're overweight, people look at you with disdain in a restaurant, and you're so worried that they're going to judge what you've ordered? Now, people push food at me... there have been so many times when the waiter/waitress was all "are you sure you liked it? can I get you something different?" Or, "is that all you're going to eat, here, let me get you something else?" 5. One last observation... ever have someone who doesn't know the "old" you make a comment about someone else's weight because they view you as "non-overweight"? It's like a surreal victory, and sad at the same time. Kudos to all who have succeeded, and those who continue to succeed. So many people have no idea what it takes to get here, but IMO, it's so worth it.

On the way out, I did not make it through the airport without buying Skittles, but I did manage to keep it to 2 servings. As I ran 12 miles the next day, no real damage was done and I did manage to avoid them altogether on the trip home. I ate too much, overall, this weekend though and am glad to be back in my "safe" environment for a few days. Yes, I saw lots of people at the wedding and got lots of ooohs and aaaahs. The weirdest one was my Uncle Joe. Now this is a man who has known me since I was 5 years old. Granted we only see each other 2-3 times a year, but still -- he's real family. I drove separately to the wedding from my parents because I had plans beforehand. Anyway, I walked up to him and he literally had NO IDEA who I was until I spoke to him. He was super embarassed and I tried to help him get over that (because he felt so bad), but it was ultra weird. You know, people like former work colleagues who have only known me in the last 5-7 years, I get that they don't recognize me -- they never knew me thinner. But it is weird for someone who has known me 30 years to not know who I was. I've been this size before. I don't fault them -- it's just very odd. One of the things I struggle with is that most skinny people, and even some formerly MO people, think this is a really "fun" NSV. It's not at all to me. Not at all. I'm trying to identify why I hate it so much. I know that a component of it is pure sadness. Sadness that I spent my 20s so morbidly obese that I'm not recognizable to family in my 30s. Sadness that they only see the physical changes and have no concept of the emotional burden that has been lifted -- yet there's a different emotional burden in its place. I guess, in many ways, I feel misunderstood. Even by myself. I think part of my anxt is that I'm still in transition. Until I lose these last 20-30 lbs and have my thigh surgery, I feel like I'm never going to be at a constant and, thus, all people ever want to talk about is my weight. That's fine for people who understand (like you guys), but it's a burden with other people. I feel like once they've seen me at the same size 2 or 3 times, surely the topic will change. Of course, my problem is that's probably still a year away. I know, I know, poor pitiful me for being such a lapband success! I almost want to slap myself.

Don't get me wrong...my ego hasn't gotten to the Beyonce "Flawless" stage: I'm flawless...I woke up like this, I woke up like this... Not hardly. I'd also like to add that I've never had a big problem with self esteem, even at my heaviest I felt attractive. I've had my band for about 9 1/2 months now and it has been a great journey to say the least. I enjoy the weight loss with this device and I like the fact that I can go off course, gain a few pounds, give it a day or two and be back to normal. Love it! Anyway, while I've been losing, there are times when I feel like I am "bad built", out of proportion and simply without feminine form. Now that my weight as stabilized, my body no longer has to go through the big top, small bottom - normal - small top, big bottom - normal - big top, small bottom...you know the thing that seems to happen about every 5-7lbs. I haven't lost or gained in about two weeks and as a result my shape is truly starting to show and I love it. I looked in the mirror this morning and said to myself "damn...I'm sexy!" I've done that many times before (you have to give yourself pep talks or no one else will) but this time it wasn't forced and seemed to just slip out. I guess because I truly feel sexy, in a way that I don't think ever have before.

Losing your pants is the gold standard of NSVs. Congratulations!

Besides the poses everyone else has already mentioned, I also took some of my hands. Specifically showing how far down my finger I could put on some rings that no longer fit. One of those rings that I couldn't get past the knuckle on the before pic, fits perfectly now, even so early out. But without the aid of that pic I would have sworn that I've lost no weight in my hands. It's a great motivator and NSV in one.

Today is my 3 month surgiversary!!! I am so excited to say I am down 60lbs!!! My stats: HW 246 SW 240 CW 186 I went from sz 20/22 2xl to a l/xl and 14/16! It feels amazing I have had so many NSVs, like wearing sz LG scrubs at work, fitting in a roller coaster with my son, and just feeling amazing! I have to figure out how to post pics on here and I will do before and afters. I love my sleeve and loving my life!

I went to Knotts berry Farm on Friday. I had not been for 2 years because I was a millimeter from not being able to fit into the rides. This time there was room to spare! I couldn't even get the bar over my stomach in the bumper cars and there was plenty of room to spare. I ran everywhere and only had enough when the temp reached 105 and I had gone on Xcelerator twice. I went into Goodwill and found size medium tops and size 10 jeans and shorts. They now almost fit. The pants I mean. I am wearing medium tops. I went into target and got this cute little dress off the rack and it fit beautifully. It was the first time I have worn a dress in AGES. We went grocery shopping after church and the girl at the deli counter looks at me and says, "Have you lost weight? You look incredible!" That made my day and I told her so. I didn't even think she remembered me from week to week.

Great to hear your doing good and the numbers arn't the important part, how we feel is the real reward here! NSV's are the best!!!

Yay Audree for getting to the gym! I can't wait to get back to the gym. today is my 10 month Band anniversary! I am down to 167 now. So Excited! I've got to share a NSV for me. I ordered these size 11 Jr. jeans off Ebay, Well, they come in and my DH opened them before I got home, and he mumbled out loud to my daughter, "There is no way she can fit into these jeans, they look like little girls jeans". So, I come home and he showed me the jeans, and I agreed with him, that there was no way I could fit into those jeans. Anyhow, to amuse myself, I decided to try them on to see how far it would take to fit into them. Guess what, THEY FIT. I couldn't believe it. My DH was clapping his hands and saying you do not need to lose any more weight, you are skinny! LOL. It just felt good to see how small the jeans were and to actually fit into them. I also tried on a size 10 slack at the store, and they fit. I didn't buy them, I wanted to buy them, however, I'm holding off to go on a big shopping spree in January for my 1 year Band B-day. Anyhow, hope everyone has a great week and enjoy your family & friends.

NSV- came home from an out of town trip weighing less than when I left:)

Day three, 6 miles so far right on track, wish I could do more... Soon very soon... Nsv today, walked into a gyro place that we had been to before, the kid working behind the counter, after I ordered my meat without bread, says you are looking so skinny, what are you doing? Are you trying to lose cause you look great! Yay!

Happy Monday guys, Well I posted for the October challenge, do have a question though, the 1200 calories, it is UNDER 1200 right? I am getting a fill today and doubt if I can get 1200 in liquids in, but I'll try. OK NSV time: I actually can get into a regular size.........14, WHAHOO!!!!! I can get into the rider's stretch jeans size......12!!!!! I bought a pair a boots this weekend, the tall cute one's, I have never been able to zip them up over my calfs, well I can now..... WHAHOO! Now confession time: How come when I am home on weekends I can't seem to make myself drink water? I either drink tea or nothing. I get busy then forget I haven't drank anything. Whats up with that?