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Today I had the BEST NSV. My 8 year old son gave me hug and asked me how long I plan to keep exercising. I answered, "forever, Mommy wants to keep being healthy". He said "good, cause I can finally do this" and he gave me another hug and wrapped his arms around my waist. He said "I couldn't touch my hands together before but now I can clasp my hands together when I hug you. I like that". Like I said, the BEST NSV EVER. :mad:

Hi Shonda! You look great, as always J Hope you had a great time. Tap, good deal on the challenge with your Hubby. I know that always gets me ready to move it. That might be just what you need to get you over that finish line! SHM, just start slow. Take it easy, but even 20 minutes a day is better than not doing anything at all. We’re all here for you! Ezma, welcome back to the fight! I know you can do it. One things for sure, if I can get back in the program, anyone can. I was out for the count for a long time. As for my self I’m pretty positive I’m going to get a small fill tomorrow. I can eat way too much. I was back up to 251.5 this morning. L I think some of it just might be water, so I’m going to be extra good and flush all day. I even lost my equilibrium a bit this morning while I was getting in my car to go to work. I think my ear might be a little plugged. I checked my blood pressure and it was fine. But, here is a little NSV I enjoyed… while I was checking the blood pressure I noticed the cuff was too big! I’m graduating to a medium cuff now. No Large, No Extra Large. Just a nice normal size cuff. LOL! Who would have ever imagined that would make someone so happy? On the good side I have been blowing through my workouts. I stayed on my elliptical for 80 minutes. I did a first 15 minutes until some company came over, but after they left I finished up with an additional 65 minutes. WOW!! I felt so tired and could barely walk but hey… I did it! I get to do my walk today too since I’m at work. I’m just going to do some muscle toning tonight though. Not a lot of cardio. Ok then, talk soon! Hope everyone has a great day. J

AWESOME NSV TennJenn. I can't wait to follow in your footsteps.

Thank you all. You all are too sweet. It's great to have friends to share this with...only my family IRL know about my surgery, so I can't exactly share my NSVs.

i started working at a new office about 6 weeks ago, so everyone there has never known me as the fat girl. and because i work for a magazine publisher, our floor of maybe 100 people is about 75% women (a good number of whom are very pretty, skinny and fashionable), so the guys that work there flirt, all day long. its not really a big deal, its mostly a younger group (in their mid-twenties) so its a fun atmosphere, but its weird to be included in that group of "hot girls" that these guys hit on. sooo i have a related NSV to this that i feel really horrible telling anyone else, i even feel a little weird telling you guys! but i know most of you (girls at least) completely agree with me that you've secretly wanted this one.... well: of all of the guys at our work, theres really only one that many of the girls actually flirt back with. i can see why, by normal standards, hes very attractive -- tall, athletic, confident --though this isnt really my type so i dont flirt with him. hes still a fun guy though, so i think of him as a nice work friend. but last night a big group of us went to a bar after work and in front of all these girls who were trying to get his attention, this one guy kept on talking to me -- and at the end of the night asked for my number in front of some of the other girls! (and-- stupid me, i actually gave it to him because i didnt believe that he was actually trying to pick up me and not these other gorgeous women that were so obviously flirting with him.... but i figured it out later that night when he sent me a booty text! HA!) soooooo yeah, sorry for this long story, but this is a big nsv for me-- I TURNED DOWN A "HOT GUY"! this is the biggest confidence booster! i feel so horrible saying this one out loud after all of those years of being rejected, but i dont feel so bad, because i assume this guy hasnt gotten turned down very often. and i am only saying it to you guys because otherwise its really embarrassing and i dont think other people would understand why its a big deal... that this guy chose to pick ME up and not the other gorgeous girls.... wow!

My 12's are way too big & I can slide them on and off without unbuttoning them. I bought some 10's from Goodwill & they fit, but I didn't like the way they fit me. So, I've still been wearing my 12's even though they are falling off of me & I look like a teenager who is trying to "sag"! :lol0: Night before last, we stopped at Old Navy to check out their clearance sale. DH really wanted me to buy a new pair of jeans & to be honest, I wanted a new pair that fit as well. So I took 10's into the dressing room (praying they would fit, if not I probably would have cried!). They fit okay. They were a bit loose in the legs so I asked dh to go get an 8...he looked at me with the "this could go terribly wrong" face, you know the deer in headlights look! (I love my dh & he knows me oh so well!) I said, I just want to see how close I am to fitting in a single digit size. He hesitantly obliged. I get them on expecting them to either not button or for me to have to cease breathing to get them buttoned. :laugh0: To my surprise, they went right on! They fit "like a glove"! :thumbup: They weren't too tight in the waist or too loose in the legs. For the first time, I have jeans that I am comfortable wearing. It's a thing of beauty! They cost $34.50, but they were so worth it.

You know I want to start out by saying that I am going to get a little whiney and for those of you who cannot sympathize with Goal Limbo then you are going to hate this post. But I come here to voice my NSV, my SV and so I will post my whining too. I will attach a couple of pictures here. These are my 1 year full body pictures. I have my pre-op pics on my profile page if you want to see. I'm not at my home comptuer or I would upload those. I am so very not happy with my body. I'm not talking about the drooping girls in front. I have to expect that after losing 115 lbs. I am talking about my "big" tummy and the fact that from the side I have no waiste. AT ALL! How depressing is that? When I see myself in the mirror and in pictures (which is the real test) I am actually pretty happy with my front view. I have never had to worry about hips like one of my sisters. I am broad acrose the back, but that has gotten more propotionate lately and with my "sucker-inner" as I call my cami-body hugger I don't have a lot of loose looking skin and it help keeps the girls up. (without the sucker-inner it isn't quite as pretty ) From the side I have absolutely no waste. Infact I think my belt in is direct allignment to the girls up top. People at work call me skinny, which doesn't tick me off like it used to when I thought they were kind of making fun of me. I had a girl at work that thought I weighed 130 lbs. Okay that made me wonder if she was making fun of me again, but I don't think she was. I weigh 170 and I told her so, but I am pretty fit and wear a size 11/12. I would LOVE to go down one more size and hit a 9/10 comfortablly. But I digress..... What is wrong with me? What is wrong with my body. I am a short little thing. Only 5'4". I know that makes a big difference in the way I carry my weight. I know that one year ago when I was wearing a size 22/24 I would have swore when I fit into a size 11/12 that I would be estatic with my body. Now all I see is fat when I look at my profile in the mirror. Oh another thing on these pictures is that I still have a !@#$% double chin! WHAT? I thought I got rid of that. I will have to walk around with my nose in the air so that thing isn't as noticable! Oh I know what some of you are thinking....."What is she complaining about? If I could lose that weight I would be so happy I would never complain" Yeah, I hope that is true because it is what I thought a year ago. Maybe this is good. I have been so happy with my weight and my body that I have gone into maintaince mode. I guess maybe I needed to get to point where I am not happy to get my weight loss moving again. I am so frustrated, but on the bright side it makes me want to go to the gym. It is funny when I first hit this weight and this size I thought I looked good. I am starting to see how skinny girls can actually with a straight face say they think they are fat. I always kind of thought that it was a ploy to get attention, but they actually look in the mirror and don't see a nice figure. Oh this sucks. I guess I will ride the rollercoaster, hopefully get a few more pounds off of my body and hope for a waist line. I have to wait another 4 years before my surgery is paid off and I can get a tummy tuck/ lipo and a breast lift. I hope the next four years seem to go as fast as the last one!

You know I want to start out by saying that I am going to get a little whiney and for those of you who cannot sympathize with Goal Limbo then you are going to hate this post. But I come here to voice my NSV, my SV and so I will post my whining too. I will attach a couple of pictures here. These are my 1 year full body pictures. I have my pre-op pics on my profile page if you want to see. I'm not at my home comptuer or I would upload those. I am so very not happy with my body. I'm not talking about the drooping girls in front. I have to expect that after losing 115 lbs. I am talking about my "big" tummy and the fact that from the side I have no waiste. AT ALL! How depressing is that? When I see myself in the mirror and in pictures (which is the real test) I am actually pretty happy with my front view. I have never had to worry about hips like one of my sisters. I am broad acrose the back, but that has gotten more propotionate lately and with my "sucker-inner" as I call my cami-body hugger I don't have a lot of loose looking skin and it help keeps the girls up. (without the sucker-inner it isn't quite as pretty ) From the side I have absolutely no waste. Infact I think my belt in is direct allignment to the girls up top. People at work call me skinny, which doesn't tick me off like it used to when I thought they were kind of making fun of me. I had a girl at work that thought I weighed 130 lbs. Okay that made me wonder if she was making fun of me again, but I don't think she was. I weigh 170 and I told her so, but I am pretty fit and wear a size 11/12. I would LOVE to go down one more size and hit a 9/10 comfortablly. But I digress..... What is wrong with me? What is wrong with my body. I am a short little thing. Only 5'4". I know that makes a big difference in the way I carry my weight. I know that one year ago when I was wearing a size 22/24 I would have swore when I fit into a size 11/12 that I would be estatic with my body. Now all I see is fat when I look at my profile in the mirror. Oh another thing on these pictures is that I still have a !@#$% double chin! WHAT? I thought I got rid of that. I will have to walk around with my nose in the air so that thing isn't as noticable! Oh I know what some of you are thinking....."What is she complaining about? If I could lose that weight I would be so happy I would never complain" Yeah, I hope that is true because it is what I thought a year ago. Maybe this is good. I have been so happy with my weight and my body that I have gone into maintaince mode. I guess maybe I needed to get to point where I am not happy to get my weight loss moving again. I am so frustrated, but on the bright side it makes me want to go to the gym. It is funny when I first hit this weight and this size I thought I looked good. I am starting to see how skinny girls can actually with a straight face say they think they are fat. I always kind of thought that it was a ploy to get attention, but they actually look in the mirror and don't see a nice figure. Oh this sucks. I guess I will ride the rollercoaster, hopefully get a few more pounds off of my body and hope for a waist line. I have to wait another 4 years before my surgery is paid off and I can get a tummy tuck/ lipo and a breast lift. I hope the next four years seem to go as fast as the last one!

It's such an amazing accomplishment. Congrats on your success, and best wishes for many more NSVs in the near future.

I always retain Water whenever I get into a pool or near the ocean. I can actually see it in my lower legs and ankles. Look for other NSV... don't give up the exercise, it is hard to get motivated to start. Your scale will show your efforts soon. Great job for getting to the gym!!:sad:

I went shopping last night for the first time since losing 30 pounds. For the first time in 10 years I could buy what I liked, and not just what fit. For the last 10 years I have been buying clothes if they fit (which was hardly ever), not if I like them....because if they fit, I LIKED THEM!!! I am also out of big girl clothes - officially can shop in the regular women's department - which as you may know increases the possibilities immensly. I am so glad I did this for myself...I just can't say enough about how great I feel. :confused1:

Oh, I have to say, that I love taking bubble baths now. Before, I could get in the tub, but just hated looking at my fat body..and my tummy protruding out..now it's a nightly ritual..my relaxing soak in the tub. NSV!

Congratulations on the NSV. Lovely picture, lol.

OK - this is such a minor, silly thing, but I LOVE my shadow!!! I have to walk back and forth outside between buildings at my work each day. Before I started this journey, I noticed how HUGE and unshapely my shadow had become. For some reason that got to me even more than looking at myself in the mirror! Well, now that I'm over 1/2 way to goal, I love looking at my much-smaller shadow that actually resembles a woman's shape! Another NSV - we have a 'cuddle' chair (oversized lounger), that my husband and two sons could fit in fine together. When I would sit next to my husband or my two sons, It was a very tight, uncomfortable fit, and when I would get up, the whole chair would lean forward and slam back and I would about launch whoever was still sitting there. Now I easily and comfortably fit with my husband or both sons, and the chair stays in place when I get up and they stay seated.

Congrats tyhelms... this is definitely one of the best NSV's. it is also a great motivational tool to keep going here's to a "shrinking you" good luck josie

I noticed an NSV today... I don't meet with my boss very often, it has been a couple of months since I have been up to his office (where the nice furniture is!). I remember when I first sat in his office chairs and I was sorta "wedged" into the chair. Today I sat in the chair and there was no "wedging", I just sat in the chair. It felt so good as I knew I looked "wedged" into it before. This is all so exciting, I can hardly believe it sometimes!! I love my band, and it has only been two months...

can someone please tell me what NSV stands for? I understand what it is, but can't figure out the acronym. Thanks!

Experiences seem to vary widely as far as surgery and recovery. I felt only discomfort (no pain) after surgery. The discomfort was the feeling of a foreign object in my chest that felt very heavy. This feeling went away in about 10 days. I also experienced a strange rash on my hands and arms that went away by itself. I believe this was an immune response to the band. You may experience discomfort from the gas used during surgery. Most people feel pain in the shoulder area. I did not. I felt the surgery was a piece of cake compared to other surgeries I have had. Your surgeon will put you on a post-op diet that you should follow to the "T". You will get really hungry between days 5-10 but you must not deviate from the post-op instructions no matter how hungry you are. I recommend you focus on drinking Water during this time to keep the hunger at bay. The period between recovery and your first fill are called "bandster hell". It is called this because you will have no restriction and will have to use a great deal of will power to get through it. It does take some time to reach good restriction but once you do, you will not feel deprived of food and weight loss will be relatively easy. I highly recommend you begin walking immediately following surgery and increase the amount of time you walk each day as you are feeling better. My experience has been that you will lose rapidly the first few months if you walk a lot. As soon as your surgeon deems you ready, start a routine/daily exercise regimen. I joined Curves and go 5 times/week and ride my bicycle several times per week for an hour or more. Be sure you get measured at your chest, stomach, hips, arms, legs so you can see non-scale victories (NSV's) for when you can't see the loss on the scale. It is normal to hit plateaus during your weight loss. I find this to be very discouraging but just keep in mind the loss will start up again. This is why measuring is important. I will be happy to answer any other questions you may have if you would like to message me. Best of luck to you!:cursing: Donna

I’m coining a new phrase here on LBT. Because I’m going to need it. Soon. How many threads, posts, and blogs have you seen here about LB’ers who are getting close to goal (usually starting about 30 lbs. out from goal, depending on their BMI) and are facing a whole new set of challenges. Their BMI is lower, as is their weight. Although they’re at their Sweet Spot the amount of food they can eat and still lose weight is no longer working for them. The same goes for exercise. Yeah, they’ve hit plateaus before, but that doesn’t even come close to this…it’s much worse…the weight loss stalls and slows down to a painful crawl…a death march even. I’m paying more attention to all those ‘30 and Goal’ posts (sounds like a football commentary, doesn’t it?). They feel guilty for complaining or even asking for support here…How can they not feel guilty for even seeking support when they’ve lost a ton of weight and are now in clothes sizes they haven’t seen in years…for some, since grade school? How can they justify needing support when others are struggling just to start losing their weight? After all, they’re so close to goal…and look at all the newbies here just starting their 6 mo. diet…or those that are now in ‘Bandster Hell’ and are just trying so hard to maintain and wait for those fills. What right do they have to complain? They’d look like FOOLS for complaining! They’ve lost a ton of weight…they’re almost at goal…they look better…they feel better…they are so happy with their weight loss…I’m with you…WHAT THE HECK DO THEY HAVE TO COMPLAIN ABOUT? Except…now…I’m almost there… These Banders get that. They feel the same way…they feel happy and frustrated at the same time…they’re happy with how far they’ve come, but they’re frustrated with their slow progress getting those last 30 or so pounds off. Should they feel happy or sad? They don’t even know how to feel about it…and it‘s not like the NSV’s are still pouring in to make them feel good as they‘ve now been this weight for awhile. Maybe they even feel a little like a failure and as though they’ve let others or themselves down with their slow weight loss. These Banders feel like they have to apologize for even complaining. Over and over they feel like they had to justify why they had a right to be frustrated at all. So how do you go about explaining how horrible it feels being so close to goal and for your weight loss to stall. You lost the bulk of the weight at least somewhat steadily, but now the scale is barely moving and at this rate it might/is taking years to get to goal. Those people generally get sympathy from others who are in the same position they are, or others that have already been through it (and we know there not as many ‘old-timers’ here…maybe this is why some disappear even?). Don’t we all give great sympathy to those going through ‘Bandster Hell’? It’s because we’ve all been there. I kept thinking…heck, when I was going through that period after banding and before restriction and I was feeling down and needed support all I had to say was ‘I’m going through Bandster Hell’ and I’d get all kinds of support…‘Oh, I’ve been there too’… ‘This is normal’ … ‘Don’t worry it will end soon’ … ‘Try this…’ Mention just two words ‘Bandster Hell’ and you need not have to explain any further…we get it…we sympathize. Here’s the thing…I’ve decided I’ll need an acronym or at least a term for this period in my Band journey. If I can say PB, Slime, Stuck, or Bandster Hell and I don’t need to explain or justify these terms and my being there, then why isn’t there one for this tough, usually longest phase in the Band journey? I looked on several sites and there isn’t one. I need a term so that I can talk about this without having to give a lengthy explanation and justification each time…something like ‘Bandster Hell’. I figure the best time to come up with this is even before I start into this phase. I don’t need your support yet for this, because I’m not there yet, but I will be soon. I looked at words and I found one that really struck home…LIMBO, in limbo: a state of uncertainty or of being kept waiting; a state of oblivion or neglect; a condition of uneasiness or aprehension; a state or place of profound anxiety brought on by the unknown; indeterminate state; a condition of unknowable outcome. Well that works. So I’m coining a new phrase for myself (and anyone else) here so I won’t have to explain or justify why I need support. I’ll soon be 30 lbs. or less from goal and I’m sure I’ll need to continue getting support here. You’ll read this phase name and you’ll just nod your head and know exactly what I’m talking about and hopefully give me the support I’ll still need (because if your not there yet, you know you soon will be). You’ll understand that I have the right to be frustrated or upset because this phase of the journey brings its own set of challenges and it’s own set of emotional issues. I’ll need the same support you give all of us at any point in this journey. You see, I’m headed into that last phase of Weight Loss…and I may be there a LOOONG time so I’ll need your patience and understanding. I’m headed into ‘Goal Limbo’.

Hi Notorious Novembers! That is truly wonderful - that's a big NSV if ever I saw one! One of my best friends keeps saying to me that she doesn't want me to become a 'bobble head' with a big head on a tiny body. :hurt::cryin: I'm getting a lot of comments about me being "skinny enough" lately... DD - I'm following the same train of thought. I think I'd like to get down to 170, hold that for a while and see what I can do with exercise, then plan for a tummy tuck next year. With my DD starting college, there isn't a WHOLE lot of extra money to be had... Course, I'm also having some work done on the 'girls'...they are not what they used to be! :eek:

Hi all, Just had to share the fact I now have some 38E pretty bras and they are lovely and they make my boobs look quite nice, with healthy cleavage rather than just loads of squeezed flesh, if you know what I mean. It's been so long since this has happened I am quite excited :001_huh:

I love days like that...you deserve to pamper yourself! Great NSV on the jeans!!! -BG

Good morning! Hope everyone had a better weekend than I did! I was so sick with a stomach virus. L I feel ok now but darn-it! I took up all my fun time!! Now I’m back at work and as usual do not feel rested like I should. But, I have an NSV!! Even though I didn’t feel good I STILL did my workout! I usually use not feeling good as an excuse to skip out, but not this time. It might have only been 20 minutes and 30 minutes calisthenics but still, I did it!! Tap, I so know how you feel, but remember – you are so close to goal now! Maybe you need a day to meditate and get back into perspective. Don’t fall off now… you can slack off after you get to goal. Not to the point of gaining though either. How do you feel? How is your health? I mean, maybe your body IS done. I know I’m just now contradicting what I just said, but that could be a factor too. There’s a lot to consider when saying we’ve finished. I put my goal up to 160. That I know is doable for me. I’ve been 160 before and I liked myself back then. But, at least if I get there I can always choose if I want to do more. The things my nutritionist really pointed out is that I need to substitute more snacks for fruit. So we agreed at this point I’ll up my one fruit a day to two. She also said no more liquid supplements, like protein drinks. She said a band patient really has no need for protein drinks and just tacks on calories needlessly. Also that if I’m not able to get my protein in through solids then I was too tight. I already knew that though! Lol She made a food suggestion. There are some food wraps in the deli section. They are rather good size and they are only 100 calories (2 points) and they have different flavors too. One last good thing she wanted me to do is make a list of 10 different types of breakfasts that fit nutritiously within 6-7 points. She thinks I’m being too repetitious with my eating and might help with my over snacking in the evenings. Okay, well I’ll check back in soon! Have a great day all!! How’s everyone else?

I really love Lily Pulitzer clothing and a few years back they stopped making size 16. I was upset, but went ahead and bought a dress in a 14 at the end of one season (when it was like 60% off) with the goal of being able to wear it after whatever diet I was on at the time. I never once have been able to get it zipped, when I got really heavy last year, I couldn't get it around my hips. Well, this dress sort of served as my carrot. Every weekend since I started my pre-op diet I have tried it on. This weekend I had another big closet clean out where I try everything on in my closets, dresser, and under bed bins. I got to this dress and told myself that maybe in another couple of weeks it would fit perfect, but guess what...IT ZIPPED! I was so ecstatic!!! I had told myself that it would eventually fit, but to actually be able to zip it up was WONDERFUL. I had my husband take some pictures, I'm going to try to post one here and in my profile. The funny thing is, I don't really like the dress that much now that it fits, but it is such an accomplishment that I will always keep it. Edited: cannot figure out how to put a picture here, so it's just in my album.