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NSV to report, yay!! I went to exchange dress pants that I bought months ago they were way too big when I tried them on this weekend. I was already excited about them being so baggy. Imagine how THRILLED I was when I found that I needed two sizes smaller!! I was so happy.

indigogirl we seem very similar. I'm also 5'4 I started at around 225. I'm a pound away from my 1st big goal of 174 . That's the number that takes me from obese to merely overweight. And my initial longterm goal is 145 because like you that's the number that's puts me in the normal BMI. And you're in a size 4 now. Amazing. And maybe it is possible for me. Here's another NSV for me today. all of my shortss are way too big. Well last night I picked up 2 pair of size 12 shorts assuming they would fit. Well they do fit but with enough room I'm really thinking they need to go back and be exchanged for a size 10!!!! Me in a size 10 never in my wildest dreams. So maybe a 8 or a 6 is really attainable. Thank you guys so much for sharing your skinny stories with me. I'm really starting to think this thing is really possible.

Most often it is not how much you are eating - but what you are eating - you may not be eating enough - but try upping your protein - limiting your sugar and carbs to a bare minimum - and drink, drink drink lots of H20 - that may help - if you don't eat enough you won't lose weight - your body starts holding on for dear life - remember this is a lifetime journey - it doesn't happen overnight - so enjoy all the small nsv you are sure to be experienceing -and enjoy the ride down - it is all good - and you will have many stalls along the way - just take them as giving your body time to adjust - you will start losing again soon. Just make sure you aren't eating absently - or picking - or taking in liquid calories... write down for a day or 2 everything that goes in your mouth - and you may see any problems that are there - hang in t here Anne:smile2:

Hello - my name is Anne and I got the lapband on my 43 birthday - over 2 years ago. Dr. Chand was my doctor at the Cleveland Clinic - and he did a great job - I haven't had any problems - and have lost about 70lb. I need to lose about 100lb total to be at my goal weight - and I have been at a stall for the past 6 months or so - I have only ever had 2 fills, the last being over a year and a half ago. I still have good restriction - somedays too good - so I don't feel my stall is from lack of restriction - I still can only eat small amounts - but my choices haven't been the best and I have been picking on slider food - crackers and chips are my huge down fall - I am determined to get it back on track this summer and want to lose 10lbs by Sept when I go back to school. I am a teacher - and have 3 children - am married 23 years tommorrow to a pretty awsome guy. We are both off all summer - and we enjoy going on our boat, camping and taking our kids to swim meets and softball and baseball games. We have 2 bearded collie dogs - who we love to death - and one cat we wish we didn't she isn't a bad cat - but older with litter box issues so she ends up living in the basement as she has ruined a few carpets. I came here as I know the one way to get back to basics and get back on track is to be accountable and talk and listen with others who are going through this. I have been a slow loser - which is ok with me - I know the 70lbs I lost are never coming back -and and if I take it slow and steady I will reach my goal eventually - I just am taking time to enjoy the journey - it has been a wonderful ride - many small nsv that just creep up on you - one thing I am trying to incorporate this summer is exercise - my dh and I have been walking every morning - for 45 minutes - this is a huge thing as I hate exercise and lost the 70lbs without any exercise at all....so hopefully we will continue! Looking forward to coming on here and sharing and learning! Huggs! Anne

Congrats Veronica!! everyone is different. I keep have to reminding myself the band is only a tool- i have to do the work- meaning stick to the diet, and no grazing ( I'm a terrible grazer!) But have found other things to do instead of eat. (Housework only if I'm desperate!). The fills will increase as we lose weight , so am more concerned about amount of miles walked, protein, calories, NSVs, and the scale. BTW, am down 1# this week to 235. ( Any loss is a win!)

what does NSV stand for????

Oh my goodness that is the best NSV EVER!!!! Congrats!

Scrappy, those family things you shared were precious. Congrats! I got to see my good friend tonight for dinner and when we set up where to go she was so worried I wouldn't be able to eat anything or enjoy dinner. I said, heh, I'll be fine. Let's just go and have fun. I ended up with some meatloaf and mashed potatoes which was a real treat and she was amazed I could eat that even though it took me twice as long to eat half as much as she did. My freind saw me and the first thing she said is I bet you weigh less than me now! I didn't want to say yes, I probably do, and make her feel bad, but I want her to lose weight too but like Scrappy said, she has to think about it and become convinced in her mind when she is ready. I got three more pages put together for my weight loss journey scrapbook. I put a page together about my 100 lb milestone celebration day with friends where I passed out 100-calorie snack packs. Another page is from Easter where I was able to wear the same fancy pink two piece top/skirt set I wore at my sister's wedding 21 years ago. AND... it fit loosely and the two pictures of me years ago versus today is pretty neat. Last scrapbook page I did was my Seatbelt Success story and pictures I posted about from when I went to Florida in May. I took pictures of me with the seatbelt with room to spare and that is a precious NSV I won't forget. Part of the reason I am doing the scrapbook to remember the good times along this journey is so that I will always have that to look back on. In the past when I lost 100 lbs two prior times, sadly so, and regained it back, when I was heavy again I would think how the heck did I lose that 100 lbs and why did I let myself gain this back. I am still plateaued on this same number in the -110-112 lbs range but I got alot of compliments at work especially this week about people who see me in "skinny" size 22 jeans now and can't believe my transformation. I want to get to some magical "12" jeans maybe in a year??? Who knows. Just taking it a day at a time.

Sleep is a wonderful thing ... so glad I'm sleeping through the night again, finally! I read it as a NSV ... so maybe my brain isnt fully functioning yet. Good thing it's Friday.

Congrats! Um, doesn't NSV meant Non-scale Victory?

That's an awesome NSV ! ! !

sorry, little bit new. what does NSV stand for

On Monday, I had to work the day shift to teach a few topics at an all day conference where I work. Normally, I wear regular clothes and a lab coat. For the conference, I wore dressy clothes and no lab coat. I saw many people I had not seen for months (170 people attended). MANY people came up to me to tell me it's quite apparent that I have lost weight, etc. It's nice that the loss is showing. For lunch, 50 pizzas were delivered. I had brought a protein bar with me so I took my 2 pieces of pizza to my skinny secretary and had lunch in the office with him. It felt great to have control over the food. Prior to the surgery, I could have easily devoured 4 pieces.

Dear Don: That's fantastic!:thumbup: Those NSV's (off your meds) are great. I tend to think only of the scale victories, but the NSV's are real too. I'm going for my physical in August and can't wait to see what my internist says. Keep it up

You are doing excellent. You are supposed to be loosing 1-2 lbs per week... that is what we signed up for, slow and steady so that it can be maintained and not gained back. And as far as the inches... some people wish they could hit a NSV (Non-Scale Victory) like that. Look at it all girl... you are doing wonderfully.

How great is that!?! Congratulations on your NSV!

I recently read another thread similar to this one - minus the feud - and I feel the same way about this one as I do the other one. There are statistics and numbers out there for every form of WLS on the market. We really have no idea how they actually reach those results and what the inclusive or exclusive parameters are. I think we each have to make our own decision about what surgery is right for us. My doctor let me choose. I chose the band and have not regretted my decision. I work hard at eating right but do allow myself a great treat once a week. I think that, ultimately, this is about the way it works with each type of surgery. I am happy for all of us who have found our own path and for some of us who have had to find a new path because our original path was not the solution. We are all here with the same common goal...to lose weight and keep it off. I think it would be awesome if we could put our differences aside and focus on that one goal. I, for one, am celebrating many NSVs right now since I have lost close to 65 pounds (does not matter what type of surgery I had)! I have more to go but I am diligently working towards my goal. I am excited for those who have lost weight on other surgeries as well! Look how far we have all come!

OMW, Lori! I can't wait to see the picture of you in that T-shirt. My hubby has been talking about a tent camping trip - it's been a long time, and (like you) I don't think I can sleep on the ground! But I'm getting ready to give this a try - prerequisite is the cot! We are headed to Bennett Spring and our camping trailer this weekend. It is HOT here - and very humid - so hiking may not be on the agenda at this time. With the hot humid summers in MO, we are totally different campers now - we (meaning me) like that air conditioning and that indoor potty! I am excited for you and anxious to hear about the adventure. I know how the knee is - but you have probably strengthened the surrounding muscle structure with your workouts to the point where it may not be an issue for you. It may not feel great the next day, though, as the joint may react more after a few hours. Take along the pain medication of choice so you can get some good rest after your climb. Congrats on the great NSVs you had at the support group meeting. It tells me that maybe you should just not worry about that last 10 - with your LB tool in place, your healthy food habits, and your exercise, that 10 pounds is going to go it's going to go away all by itself without you worrying about it. After all, you are normal!! And the name? I was just kidding... Nobody else can be Long2BThin!

Hi, I have a comment as well, I am only 1 year and 1 month out. To date I have not lost very much weight I seriously thought I was doing something wrong. My eating was better than ever and I had been exercising but I was drinking so called "lo cal" drinks ie DIET anything. Once I cut that out of my diet, for whatever reason I am now losing weight and have found a balance with the band. Don't be afraid to try again, no one here will point and laugh we all have our own horror stories. Just take it one meal at a time, make better choices and get in some exercise. And remember those NSV are a huge part of weight loss. I still "weigh" heavy but I love the way I look, so go figure... Best of luck!

Good Morning Gang - I guess I never got around to posting yesterday - busy at work (will be again today) and last night DGD spent the night and we played Wii Fit - In some areas I am better than a 14 yr old !!!! And if she couldn't do it she cheated or gave up... Well I guess she's not competetive like her old grandma... Linda - Yea for giving the cake to DH - Isn't it such a great feeling when you control the food and it doesn't control you !!! Well I think you would be a hoot to hang with - but I just don't know if I could keep up with you :0) -- I would have to have some naps :0) Charlene - It's getting warm here too - but for us anything under 105 is cool :0) Aren't you luck - here I have to wear heals with my long pants unless I buy petitees - DARLING IT'S NOT BRAGGING IT'S SHARING YOUR SUCCESSES AND NSV... WE EARNED THE RIGHT TO - SO NEVER EVER APOLIGIZE 1!! Yep new pple see as as normal - they don't know what we use to look like - I had a sampler lady tell me I could afford to eat whatever it was that she had samples for. She saw a thin person - not the person who we use to be.. You were an inspriation to those ladies :0) MY VOTE - GREAT2BTHIN - Yep you are a pro - but the game makes us all even - I'm Janet Wright on FB - so send me freind request :0) Meredith - you day sounded enjoyable and rewarding !!! Well gang I have to get my butt in gear - will try and cbl

I used to be 5'6" but after I gained weight I was 5'5.5" due to the fact that the padding on my backside made me lean back a bit, thus appearing shorter. I am back at 5'6" when I got measured today! Woohoo! :smile2:

Good goin' on the cake, Linda. The band sure makes it easier to pass all that stuff up. It's not going to make food choices for us but just having it is a reminder of our new and healthy way of living. I hope and pray that it is with me (and works as well as it does) until I leave this world. Also, great NSV with the co-workers. Isn't it fun when people really start to notice???? VERY warm this week in MN also. Crops look good though with the rain we had over the weekend. Mornin' to the rest of the gang. Hope everyone is having a great day. Running around getting caught up so I can leave again in the morning. Have a bunch of GF's :wub:joining me for a few days. Floating rafts, foo foo drinks, movies, board and card games, etc. :smile2: Big celebration over the weekend in the little town close to our resort. Should be a fun filled weekend. Wish I could snap my fingers and all of you could join me. I am fun....honestly....I would make sure you all had plenty to do, drink and eat. Ohhhhh, maybe next weekend?

Apples, Congratulations on your 1 year band anniversary - I missed it last week, so just wanted to say congratulations and thanks for sharing with us newer bandsters and inspiring us. So sorry to hear of your friend's passing Apples and Janet, I will say a prayer for her family. Meredith, I loved your story about your dad -- what a great dad you have -- and now you only have 3 days left till your band day!! You're going to do so great. Julie, hope you can relax now and get some rest. My dept. was celebrating its 10 year anniversary at work - and we had a little party -- cake and punch. Since I work at night and weekends, I rarely see anyone except my immediate co-workers. Several people from different departments told me how great I look and one girl even told me I look younger! I was worried before that I'd look older after I lost weight, but so far so good. I talked to two different people who didn't even recognize me at first -- then all of a sudden they said, "oh, Linda, it's YOU!" That was fun too and the best NSV I've had to date. I brought home the piece of cake they had put on my desk and gave it to my sweets loving DH. Better in he than in me! Have a great day tomorrow everyone. It's supposed to be 105 here in central Iowa -- along with 98% humidity! Linda

I'm back from my long weekend with DS2. We had a great time with my family. We left early on Friday and arrived in Columbus for an early lunch (white-knuckled trip with pouring rain until we were almost there). I was supposed to be on mushies the whole day and then start solids Saturday (post-fill), so I chose some cottage cheese for lunch. I brought flowers from my garden and between those and Mom's we made about 8 arrangements and took them over to my Middle Sister's to start prep for the party. We worked until dinnertime and I was able to get down a little thin crust pizza and mixed fruit salad back at Mom's. Saturday found Mom and I (and two of her Herb Society friends) on a two hour trip down to a lavender farm for a festival (sorry, I forgot my camera but found these pics of the farm online-no, I don't know that cute little boy). It smelled like heaven as we pulled into the lavender field to park. She'd signed us up for two classes so we went off to the 'Mediterranean Cooking with Herbs' class. As I've said before, I'm not the chef in our family, but I was excited for this class. I have a nice herb garden (most cooks would kill for…my neighbors do come to take snippings occasionally at my urgings) and I'd like to learn to use more of them. I always dry some herbs each year (mainly for show in my kitchen and basement rack), but the only things I really use fresh are the basil to mainly make pesto or my mozzarella/tomato Italian flag salad, the tarragon for a chicken bake dish DH makes, and occasionally some chives, dill, or oregano for an occasional recipe. The teacher is the regional cooking expert for Macy's department stores (I think she works a lot with brides, etc.) and she was very knowledgeable. I'm inspired to try to incorporate the fresh herbs more now while they're in season. We had a meal of bread, salad, chicken, pancetta, and cookies all incorporating the herbs at the end of the demo. I almost had a stuck moment as I was carefully eating the herb salad (I thought I chewed very carefully). I was trapped at an inside table with people all around or I would have gotten up as I could feel the sliming about to start. I was panicking and I'm sure the folks across from me saw my eyes watering…but then it passed in a few minutes. I quickly gave Mom the rest of my salad saying I'd taken too much…whew…that was a close one! The Lavender Festival was wonderful, but small (about 20 vendors and the classes), so then we found ourselves with about 3 hours to kill before our next class. It was almost 90 degrees out so after the 'cut your own lavender' trip to the field and shopping the vendors (I bought; 5 plants, a pair of beaded earrings for DD's birthday in August, and 20 wooden garden markers for DS2's vegetable garden that he can decorate) we looked for a shady spot and bought some lavender ice cream from the Mennonites who had an ice cream and baked goods booth (they had a small John Deere engine attached to the ice cream maker…cool to watch). I asked for only one scoop…OMG that ice cream was wonderful…fresh cream from the cow…a scoopful of heaven! Our last class was making a framed picture from pressed flowers and Mom is going to be doing this at one of their Festival's at the herb garden she volunteers with weekly, so she was very excited. We were done in record time (the heat made us work fast) and we were back in the car for our trip home. Then off to Middle-Sister's for my nephew's HS graduation party (he's in a college program now to become a police officer). It went perfectly; no rain and lots of fun. We collapsed after pitching or bagging up the extra food around midnight. Sunday we stayed until late morning so I could spend some more time with Dad for Father's Day. I gave him a nice box of smoked salmon, which he loved. Unusual gift, I know. DH and I (and the kids) twice visited DH's sister and her family when they lived in Alaska for 2 years. We took my only brother on the second trip. He loved it so much that he and DH arranged a fishing trip there (in a motor home for a week traveling the area) a few years later and they took my Dad. He loved getting the salmon they caught smoked and so the salmon I bought him was labeled as being from one of the rivers in Alaska that they fished…he noticed right away. We got in the car for our 3 ½ hour ride home and DS2 said 'It was a great weekend!' and high-fived me as he said 'It was a nice trip with just you and I!' I forget that the baby of the family, even at 13 yrs. old can still need some quality one on one time. We played Mad Libs most of the way home and stopped at McDonalds for lunch (I ate ½ a grilled chicken club sandwich…went down fine). Had a nice evening of playing Frisbee in the backyard and grilling out for Father's Day back home with the family (Happy belated Father's Day all you Dad's). Tomorrow is the Jimmy Buffet concert with 2 neighbor couples (can't wait) and Thursday morning we leave for PennState with DS1 for our orientation (staying at the old colonial Nittany Lion Inn on campus overnight-run by the PennState hospitality program, so it should be fun). DH took off the rest of the week for all this, but I'll try to post some updates when we have some down time. I'm off to the Drs. (routine) with the boys and then on to DS2's guitar lesson (he AMAZES me with his talent...no idea where it comes from, but it's great for each kid to find something they're good at). Today is my two-month bandiversary and I'm down 19 pounds since surgery (most of that, just post-op though). I'm just hoping to keep losing or at least not gain during this 6 week wait for the next fill. Sorry I went on and on as usual, just catching up. Have a great week all!!! I'll post some pics I just took of my garden later.

What a great opportunity to see what experiences others are having. I haven't posted for a couple of weeks - I've been really busy but the major reason is that I've really been down about my progress. Now I can share my frustration, and maybe even someone else will feel supported by my experience. 1. WEIGHT-I've lost sixteen pounds since my surgery on April 23. Several weeks I've lost no weight, and I have found my weight fluctuates a lot. I'm trying to wean from weighing every single day. 2. FILLS- Realize Band. Have had one fill of 5cc. 3. RESTRICTION-I have very little, if any restriction. Had a bit for about a week after that fill, but now I have none. Sadly for me, my schedule is such that I can't get in for another one until mid-July. 4. RULES-I try hard to obey the rules, though sometimes I long for bread. I had a hamburger bun once, when I was stuck somewhere for a long time and my choices were hamburger or hot dog. No problem whatsoever with the bun, which was a bit depressing. I have no trouble with the "no Water before or after meals". I know I need to increase my water intake. I have always eaten shortly before bedtime, and didn't realize there was a rule about that until I was reading the posts on this thread. Of course I knew it wasn't good, but I have a lot of trouble getting to sleep, and somewhere along the line became convinced that carbs before bedtime helped. LOL 5. ANYTHING ELSE- Sometimes I don't feel like anything is different, as far as my body is concerned, since the surgery. EXCEPT, I now have lactose intolerance, which I didn't have before. I am hungry all the time, and feel very weak. I have a new job and am working 10 hours a day and travelling an hour each way, so that doesn't leave a lot of time for other activities. I'm single and live in an old farmhouse, so I have a lot to do around the home, which keeps me moving a bit. All of this will get better, as my wonderful employer is setting me up to telecommute. I notice big improvement when I am more active. I have a great elliptical machine, so maybe I'll get more than 5 minutes on it soon. I've had no NSVs, and though I know I've lost weight, it would be nice to think that someone has noticed. On the bright side, I know that I will eventually get to that sweet spot, like so many others here, and am trying to pat myself on the back that I haven't been gaining during the time where the band hasn't been able to help.