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Hi All - Sleeved on Dec, 21st. Definitely stalled week 3 after 25lb weight loss. Upped my cals and my Water - stall broke...YAY! struggling with psychological stuff more than physical - I live in NYC, the food capital of the world, so it's a challenge to be "out and about" and not partake in MANY things!! It's not that I'm hungry or even need/want to eat - it's just that I know I shouldn't or can't. typical day menu.. Carnation No Sugar Added chocolate shake 1/2 c Fage no fat greek yogurt with 1 splenda & 1/4 pureed no sugar added fruit cup cheese wedge (laughing cow or mini babybel - Low Fat) another shake or 1/2 c Soup ice pop or teaspoon Peanut Butter drink Special K protein/fiber pink lemonade powder in water (2 per day) 30 cals each(5 mg protein/5 mg fiber) having a difficult time with pure Proteins (like salmon, chicken, turkey) deli meat has been okay but must eat very slowly wishing everyone luck... had my first NSV today - someone whom I haven't seen in months called me Skinny! ,Believe me, I have a LONG WAY to go but she noticed which was AWESOME!! Carrie

Love the NSV! Keep them coming.

Hope it is ok to join in late! Age~ 52 Weight on January 3rd~250 Goal Weight for January 31st~240 Exercise Goal for January~walk 5 flights of stairs twice a week Dietary Goal for January~water, water Personal Goal for January~to start listing my NSVs as they happen Date Banded~08/23/2010 Total Weight Loss Since Banding~83

IT is scary, however, with that said, it is also an exciting time in your life and you are sensing the potential change and as humans, the majority of us hate change. The unknown and the so called "faiures" in the past are scary too! This is normal and you have to decide who is going to win the battle. Are you doing this for others or are you doing this for yourself? Perhaps you are doing it for both others and yourself. For once do place yourself in front and take a day at a time. As you lose, you will start to see and believe that you can do this. You will feel better, will look better, and will discover small joys that you have never thought of...the NSVs of life when losing weight. remeber this is a process and you are going to have to work the process for you to succeed anyone thinking differently is only fooling themselves. Remember too that there will be bad days, days of struggle, days of self doubt, days of frustration and perhaps disappointments. You have to be able to put them into perspective, lean on those that you can or find folks that you can count on...many do not have reliable support sources in their lives so they seek support on areas such as this one. Either way can work to let you know that you are not alone and that in and of itself can be comforting. We are here for you as we know you will be here for us! I wish you success, luck and the joys of being a bandster!

That is a great NSV! I had so many sizes in my closet I bought hardly anything as I was loosing. About 6 bags of clothes have gone to my sister. It was so exciting to fit into clothes I hadn't fit into for years. Keep up the good work! Go shopping!

Came home tonight and the Mrs. needed some hangers. So we got into my closet and started checking sizes. Anything shirts over XL and any pants over 50 were gone. I HAD THREE BAGS! Suits, sport coats, winter coats, they all went. Wow I have an empty closet and Honey has a s&%t load of hangers! This rocks!

When I was younger I had a normal BMI (before BMIs were "in") around 20-30 years ago, and I thought I was fat. I was constantly dieting from the age of 9. Slowly, finally I got fat for real. I'm hoping this time I can enjoy my normal BMI, and not think I am still fat! That would be a great NSV!

He, this reminds of my "I can see my a$$" NSV (just less vulgar of course) - LOL

Hi All, I have not had my surgery yet, but I have had a NSV already. I had gone out for dinner to Celebrate my daugher's 25th birthday on Jan 22, and when I got home, the bathroom was calling me. And instead of waiting to undo the jeans I was wearing, I just pulled them straight down. I was shocked I could do that. I knew they had gotten looser with the pre-surgery weight loss, but I didn't realize I could just pull them up and down already. It was a great feeling. I look forward to many more to come. Thanks for starting this thread. I also like the idea of posting the NSV's by my scale and on the refrigerator for extra incentive. Sheila

I keep seeing this and don't know what it means. Can someone please fill me in?

Those are some pretty big NSV's for only 2 weeks out. That is great. Congratulations and keep up the good work.

So this weekend I had to go out and buy new shoes because my feet are now a size smaller and a new jacket. I used to wear a size 3x jacket and now I wear, drum roll please a size xl. As you can imagine I was swimming in my old jacket. Now for another way to go, to date I have lost 102 lbs. 42 lbs since Nov 9th, my surgery date and the rest were lost when I had to do the 6 months of classes and stuff. But thanks to my sleeve this is gone forever and I love it. People at work comment that pretty soon there will be nothing left of me, hee hee. I love how people don't recognize me anymore either. Hubby and I went out to our local bar, which I hung out at before meeting him every weekend for 2 years and no one realized it was me next to him (btw I met him there too). It was kind of mind blowing. One of our friends was pissed at him thinking he brought another chick to the bar and was going to cuss him out, then she heard me talk and realized yup it is his wife, her friend and I'm still there. Her comment was at the time holy cow, how much weight have you lost 100 lbs and my response on that day was nope 99 to be exact, lol. Now one set back from losing all this weight is the hair loss and I'm starting to notice sagging skin. I have really thick and pretty long hair and now it's just coming out by the handfuls, kinda scary. The sagging skin, I'm working out every day but only 10 mins at a time, 3 times a day just so I don't aggravate my back and I'm using resistance bands till I get my elliptical. So we'll see how this plays out.

Wow you've already got some very excellent NSV's!! Congratulations to you!!

Hello? :: taps her mic:: Is this thing on? Is anyone out there? This is my official APB (All Points Bulletin) for all of my fellow Bandits. This thread used to be very active and I loved coming here. It helped me through a ton of my moments and gave me more encouragement than you know. This also used to be a great thread to offer one another encouragement, kicks in the butt (when needed), and to share our successes as well as those frustrating plateus and bumps in the roads that we all have had at some point. Pre-Ops...Newbies..our seasoned Bandits...*Everyone*... has something that they contribute to this thread that may help a fellow bandster. So if you have got a second to spare, just stop in and say hi and tell everyone how things are going. Post some pics, too. Show your face. Show your progress. Share recipes. Meet friends. Share those NSV and other highlights!! Oh yeah...*tell a friend about this site and the Bagnato Bandits section.* I think that we have forgotten to mention this site at some of the group meeting. So spread the word!! I look forward to hearing from everyone. Wishing you great success on your weightloss/healthly lifestyle journey and in all that you do. --Brina

what is an NSV?,,,sorry I am new and not very computer literate

Congratulations! Every tiny little milestone is a reason for celebration! I can't wait until I'm sleeved and can have my own little NSVs.

I like the NSV more than the scale, too. The numbers can be too stressful! Yay, you!

Fair warning – This was a lot longer than I thought it would be. You might want to have your Water bottle with you before starting! Today (plus one day that I've confessed to above) makes one year out for me. WOW! What an incredible year. In some ways it seems like forever and in other ways, just like it was yesterday. As my signature states, I’ve gone from an 18W to size 4/6. My BMI changed from 32.8 to drum roll please .... 20.1. Hard to believe!!! My surgeon was Dr. Thomas Umbach in Las Vegas, NV. I found him through Medical Tourism and am very thankful that together we’ve made sure I have a nice long, healthy life. The typical question – would you do it again? YES, YES, YES! I was known as a “lightweight” since my BMI was “only” 32.8. Was I fat? Definitely! Did I have risk factors? Definitely! I’ve often said that I was the smallest obese person in my family, but I had to personally realize that I was still obese. I really considered this surgery due to my father. I lost him in March 2009 due to complications from his obesity – congestive heart failure and uncontrolled diabetes. He was only 64 years old. It broke my heart to lose my dad at such a young age. I want to be around for my kids (currently 20, 17, and 9) and their kids! Not only do I look better, I feel better. I can run up and down our stairs all day! No more having to sit down because I’m tired after one trip up. I can go to costco, shop, put the food away & still have energy for more chores/tasks. INCREDIBLE!!! With that being said, I still have not been good about regular, planned exercise. My stomach may look better if I had (but part of me thinks not – skin just isn’t going to bounce back but so much). I am thinking breast augmentation, but I probably won’t. Just invest in more push up/padded bras. Do I want to punch out people that say I took the “easy way”? Yep! Is it hard? Yes. Do people who say I’ll gain it all back annoy me? Yep! Does my new tummy give me a tool that can make me successful? Heck yeah! Am I already successful? YES I AM! Am I concerned about maintenance and gaining again? Yes, but with continued dedication & support groups like this one, I can make it! The next question – how much can you eat now? Slider foods – more than I thought I could/should. I can pack down close to pre-surgery amounts of Cookies, ice cream, popcorn, etc. I have been testing a bit with “normal” foods … the other day, I was able to eat almost all of a McDonald’s hamburger with just the top bun & all but 3 slices of the Apple Dippers (no caramel sauce). I had one or two more bites left of the top bun, but knew I was done. I can eat about 3 ounces of steak with a bite or two of salad & maybe 1/4 of a baked potato. My biggest battles right now are (1) head hunger at night and (2) not counting foods as “bad” or “good”. I am trying to change my thinking to “good for me” or “tastes good, but not very nutritious”. I met with a nutritionist last week to talk about my eating plan for life. While she questioned if I still needed to track every bite I eat, I told her that it helped me be accountable. I am now tracking to 60g Protein, 64+ ounces of water, 100+ grams carbohydrates, and somewhere between 1500-2000 calories a day. I will add a confession here – I track Monday to Friday, but rarely on Saturday & Sunday. I just kind of eye ball/mentally track on the weekends. OK – enough rambling … Just want to leave with 2 more things. (1) If you are on the fence about this surgery, I want to strongly encourage you to investigate further. This surgery has truly saved my life & given me a new future and (2) At one year out, I thought it would be fun to go back and read some of my old posts – my worries, fears, doubts and successes. I don’t know if it will help anyone or not, but I’ve listed a few here: Surgery & Post-Op: · http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/3255-on-my-way-to-the-airport/page__p__29783__fromsearch__1#entry29783 · http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/3363-weird/page__p__30519__fromsearch__1#entry30519 · http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/3403-surgery-recovery-sucks/page__p__30905__fromsearch__1#entry30905 · http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/3471-im-gagging-over-here/page__p__31374__fromsearch__1#entry31374 · http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/3538-concerned-should-i-be/page__p__32047__fromsearch__1#entry32047 · http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/3602-finding-the-time-to-stop/page__p__32545__fromsearch__1#entry32545 · http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/3687-advice-for-road-trip/page__p__33232__fromsearch__1#entry33232 Losing: · http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/3884-took-measurements-today/page__p__35215__fromsearch__1#entry35215 · http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/3944-time-to-increase-the-portions/page__p__35826__fromsearch__1#entry35826 · http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/4565-need-some-support/page__p__40607__fromsearch__1#entry40607 · http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/4263-wanting-to-eat-more/page__p__38113__fromsearch__1#entry38113 · http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/4778-size-12s-and-medium-tops/page__p__42293__fromsearch__1#entry42293 · http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/4827-gotta-get-serious-about-exercise/page__p__42772__fromsearch__1#entry42772 · http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/3769-am-i-the-only-one-wanting-sweet-liquids/page__p__34103__fromsearch__1#entry34103 · http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/5217-its-a-fat-day/page__p__46024__fromsearch__1#entry46024 · http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/5065-post-op-when-did-you-have-your-first-carbonated-drink/page__p__44749__fromsearch__1#entry44749 · http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/6305-my-funny-nsv/page__p__55830__fromsearch__1#entry55830 · http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/5869-normal/page__p__51835__fromsearch__1#entry51835 · http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/7060-why-cant-they-just-say-congratulations/page__p__62386__fromsearch__1#entry62386 · http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/7964-irritated-with-people/page__p__69470__fromsearch__1#entry69470 · http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/7376-i-cried-tonight/page__p__64804__fromsearch__1#entry64804 · http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/8064-need-to-be-accountable/page__p__70372__fromsearch__1#entry70372 Moving to Maintenance · http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/8602-calling-those-on-maintenance/page__p__75039__fromsearch__1#entry75039 · http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/6171-weight-regain-with-vsg/page__p__54548__fromsearch__1#entry54548 · http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/8392-today-7-months-out-and-642-pounds-gone/page__p__73224__fromsearch__1#entry73224 · http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/9506-goal/page__p__83431__fromsearch__1#entry83431 · http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/9995-almost-9-months-out/page__p__87012__fromsearch__1#entry87012 · http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/10260-i-am-not-controlling-my-sweet-tooth/page__p__89285__fromsearch__1#entry89285 · http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/10135-holiday-strategies/page__p__88283__fromsearch__1#entry88283 · http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/10981-nsv-nsv-nsv-for-me/page__p__95104__fromsearch__1#entry95104 · http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/11548-so-discouraged/page__p__99499__fromsearch__1#entry99499 · http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/12379-this-is-why-journaling-food-is-so-important/page__p__106369__fromsearch__1#entry106369 · http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/12406-fruits-and-veggies/page__p__106553__fromsearch__1#entry106553 · http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/12769-not-quite-a-year-out/page__p__109462__fromsearch__1#entry109462 · http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/topic/11607-i-have-a-question-about-alcohol/page__p__99986__hl__alcohol__fromsearch__1#entry99986 For newbies … this is a great place to start: http://www.obesityhe...or-New-Members/ (yes, I know this is another website, but many of us frequent there as well as VST.J)

That is great. You are doing so well! Keep telling us about your odd NSVs we will celebrate with you.

Thank you all for your support. And Shad I know what you mean about your wristbone, my watch is actually so loose around my wrist I have to keep moving it up to the fattier part of my arm. Hey ANOTHER NSV. LOL.

I agree Coops! First: wearing a belt (I've avoided them for years) Second: being able to SEE it clearly, not, ah hem, searching for it! What a great NSV!!!

good for you! what a fabulous NSV! keep up the great work!

This is an odd NSV, but I was putting on my jeans this morning, and I was checking that my belt was looped through all of the belt loops correctly. I didn't realize it until after the fact, but today was the first time I didn't have to lift up a layer of flab to accomplish this! I was able to just look down at my belt, you know, all normal-like! That was a bit of a "holy cow!" moment. It's a really pleasant feeling to not have to be constantly lifting up layers of flab to see stuff "south of the equator."