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Ok I had surgery 4/23 and have lost 40 pounds and it's just now sinking in that I am getting closer to onederland.. But the best thing ever was before surgery I couldn't even reach my feet to tie my shoes and last night I watched tv for hours sitting indian style with my legs folded and comfortable! Plus I tied my shoes this morning haha

My EVLT went well this moring. Not much pain, but I do expect to bruise some. To my suprise, the doctor said that I could go ahead and run if I felt up to it. So I think I'll work on Week 4 Day 1 tomorrow. By the way, I have a pair of thigh high support hose. At least I don't have to pull the panty hose up on both legs and the stomach. I do not think I could even breath with that on my stomach. Bonnie - I ordered a pair of extended calf boots last winter, but I could not wear them because my legs were to big. I decided to go ahead and keep them since I was losing weight. The other day I was in my closet and happen to spot them. I tried them on and they were actually to big in the calfs (NSV) You never know, you might be able to wear tall boots this coming winter.

Wow! This is crazy! I am in SLC with my granddaughter. The auditions are Tuesday but we had to be here two days early for registration so we flew in Saturday. We got in line at 5 am Sunday morning at the Energy Solutions Arena. There were about 2,000 in front of us. (Many who slept in their cars.) Thousands more lined up behind us. This is the line to get a wristband which gets you in for the first audition. The doors were going to open at 8:30 am so that was a long time to stand in line. At least it was dark part of the time so we were only in the sun a couple of hours. After an hour of standing, this wild herd of iPod wearing hopefuls all eventually plopped down on the hard cement to wait for their chance at stardom. (There were few of us who were over the age of 28 and not too many bigger than a size 6.) No way I was going to be able to stand there for 2 1/2 more hours so I made the decision to claim my space on the cement and worry about how to get up later. We were not really in a line, but in a mob. I was somewhere in the middle of the swarm. As the time went on, the little space I claimed seemed to get smaller. Maybe I took up more than my fair share? Everyone kept getting closer and closer as if that was going to get them nearer to the front. You can only imagine what happened when the sun came up and the camera wagon rolled by! It was a stampede to get into camera view! I just sat in a fetal position and protected my head. Made it through that near death experience and finally the doors opened. I could see movement way up yonder as the crowd stood up. We were a human wave! Had to get up and fast! OK everyone, make way! Here I come! To my surprise, I was able to stand up all by myself! I couldn't believe it! And I didn't wobble or bounce off everyone like a giant pinball. My NSV! Well, she got her wristband! (One dream come true. Second one pending.) Tuesday she auditions. We have to be there by 5 am but the seats are assigned this time so I just have to dodge the camera stampedes and one more obstacle: We are in row 28 so I have to be able to climb up with this wild crazy mob! I have a feeling they won't be moving slow! Wish me luck! And oh yes, wish my granddaughter luck too. Her name is Kaleigh.

Haha so true. I dont think I've ever weighed what my license says I do when I renewed it. Tee hee. And great NSV!! amazing

Great Progress leslie! I have my own NSV to post, just haven't taken the time to post it! It has been many years since I've been able to wear any type of pants/jeans from walmart. I have always been too big for anything that wasn't stretchy material. Well just a few weeks ago I managed to fit comfortably into a sz 26 pair of pants that weren't stretchy at wally world!! I was THRILLED!! Before lapand I wore a size 36 stretch pants that could only be found at the ever expensive CAtherines store. And while, sze 26 is where lots of you started off at, being able to buy something in a regular store, hell even cato's for that fact is a great accomplishment for me! We want to try for a baby sometime in the futre and I would like to get down about another 50 pounds or so before we start trying. While I know I'll still be obese, I will have come a long way from the almost 400 lb person I once was!

Congratulations . . . . that is an awesome NSV!!!!

Angie--Yah! I am so happy for you! I can't wait to hear all the details of your journey! oh, and my face is where I see the most difference, by far. I am not sure about anyone else, but the weight is coming off much differently this time. I was in a much smaller size clothes the last time I weighted this much...oh well, at least the scales are moving in the right direction! Kathy--I think 3 oz of steak, 1/2 of a salad and 1/2 of a potato is pretty close to your sweet spot! That can not be much more than a cup of food, and I wouldn't think you would want to eat much less than that! Woot for the NSV, too! Lyn--Glad to hear you are having such a great vacation! Good luck on Wednesday! Mushies will taste better than you can imagine!

Why Am I The Only One Posting NSVs??? I know ya'll have got to have some great things going on...I feel so isolated and alone... I'll post another - hehehehe! My mom has been smaller than me for YEARS. Since I graduated from college and the pounds started packing on. She had on a pair of pants this weekend that were baggy on her. She wore them Saturday and mentioned she'd give them to me. I told her when I get small enough I'll wear them. She told me I was and to try them on - she'd move the button over a little if I needed it. I went into the bedroom and held them up and said to myself, "There's no way in hell my butt is small enough to fit into these". I put in one leg and then the other pulled up and thought not bad. I was prepared to lay down - but I didn't have to. They buttoned and zipped - I didn't even have to suck and hold my breath. I danced the jig right there. I know I looked like an idiot! I ran into the living room and had to show everyone they fit. Mom asked if she needed to move the button - I said NO, they fit. I took them off an put on my PJ's. I casually looked at the tag in the back - wondering 16/18? Nope - 14!!! A Size 14!!! I couldn't believe it.

that is a Fantastic NSV - congrats to you!!

I had to get a replacement drivers license, because I lost mine. I was going to go in, show my proof of residence and pay my $7.00. The lady was staring at the screen and looking at me sideways, she just kept shaking her head and told me that she couldn't give me a replacement, because I was not the same person on the screen. Needless to say, after new paper work, more lines and $22.00 later...I am the proud owner of a new license with the "new" picture on the front!

Congrats, Pix, that is an awesome NSV! Froggi, I can't keep the big @** toads out of my pool! Do you want them too?

I beg your indulgence because this post is pretty long, but I got all reflective when I started writing. I have lost 60lbs exactly since surgery, so that's been 10lbs a month on average. I am very happy about that. That is what I had hoped for, so I can't complain! I can't believe that I'm so close to my goal, when a year ago I felt so far away from it. If I lose only 1lb a week until my 1 year bandversary, I will be at my original goal of 160lbs! That's a very exciting thought. I would have expected that by now I would have felt decent restriction. I am still trying to find it! While I credit some of the weight loss to my band, I feel that much of it has been on my part because I do Atkins low carb. Since I can still eat pretty decent size quantities, I've had to rely on my carb restriction and exercise to get the weight off. But maybe I don't give enough credit to the band, but then again, I rarely feel its presence. I don't really think about the band that much, and I just live my day to day life like everyone else. I am at my lowest weight ever, I'm in the best shape I've ever been in, and I feel amazing! It's interesting, because major weight loss is a very personal journey. A personal journey that is a very public one as well. There's no way to hide it. My friends and family have watched me shed over 100lbs in the last year and I have had tremendous support from them, for which I am grateful. Sometimes, however, they think they understand what I'm going through because they can see the change, but they don't really understand. For almost my entire life, people looked at me and saw an extremely overweight person. I never noticed the stares (which I'm sure I got), but I didn't care. I still feel like a extremely overweight person, even though I'm not. I think people still look at me the same way, but they don't. I look around a room now and I can see that I'm not the biggest one there anymore. I know I look different, but I still feel like the same person... because I am and I'm not. I am still my bubbly self, my personality hasn't changed but my body has. By no means am I skinny, because I still have weight to lose. So I guess that puts me in the category of the everyday overweight person? It is weird to think that I'm just another one of those "normal" looking people (so I've been told). And you know what? It's not so exciting. Not that losing weight, and having NSVs like being able to fit into smaller clothes and not worrying about the seatbelt on the plane fitting aren't exciting, because they are extremely exciting and they are what keep me going! What I mean, though, is that a regular sized person doesn't have a better life. And I knew this was true even before I lost my weight. I saw (and still see) many of my friends who aren't happy, and they're skinny, so it's obviously not possible that being thin automatically makes you happy. I had to learn that happiness and self worth was independent from the way I looked and how much I weighed. I think accepting myself and my body when I was overweight has made this journey that much easier. My happiness is not dependent on the number on the scale (but believe me, seeing a lower number when I step on the scalemakes me extremely happy!) To put it in an extremely cliche way (and I do beg your forgiveness, but really, it's true!), I think that the journey itself and the things I've learned about myself on this journey are more important then the actual goal itself. I never saw myself as the extremely self-motivated person, but I have come to realize that I wouldn't be where I am today if I wasn't. In conjunction with that, I've learned to be patient and to persevere. When I started this journey, Being under 200lbs seemed ages away and being from the generation of immediate gratification didn't help much. But there wasn't a chance that I was going to magically drop 100lbs overnight (even though tv ads guarantee it!), so I had no choice BUT to be patient. Sometimes I feel like I'll never get there, but then I have to remind myself about the strides I have made. I get immense satisfaction from seeing how far I've come in such short period of time. From walking at 3mph on the treadmill to walking at 4mph. From being totally out of breath, feeling like I'm going to die after 30 seconds of jogging on 3.5mph to running on 5mph for 5 min. knowing that if i really wanted to, I could go for longer. It's those small things that make up the journey that mean the most. Yeah, so those are my thoughts as of late. Thank you for allowing me to share my thoughts and feelings with you. I appreciate the opportunity to do so and I look forward to reading about your experiences and thoughts about your journey. Thank you to those who read my whole post, and if you didn't, I don't blame you!

Okay folks I would say this fill still hasn't taken me to my ultimate sweet spot because I was still able to eat 3 oz of steak, half a potato and maybe less than 1/2 of my salad at lunch then 6 hours later finished the other 3 oz of my steak and the other half of the potato. Eating very slowly and being very full with the 1/2 of the meal but still surprised I could eat that much before getting my signal to stop. I did have a little NSV over this though... my Mom and I were out eating together and she is always the last one done eating and it was so funny to see her eat a dinner roll, polish off her salad, and eat most of her 10 oz ribeye steak and sweet potato when I ate what is listed before this. In the past, I would have had the bigger steak and been finished way ahead of her. I ordered the smallest size steak (6 oz) and was surprised to see I could only eat half of that.

Yeah, I'm thinking of opening the waistband of a couple of my elastic waist pants and pulling the elastic tighter to try and stretch out (in!!!) my wardrobe a little longer. But I know I'll feel great when I go into a store and buy a pair of size 24 (or less?) pants. I don't think I'm there yet, but probably in another 20 pounds, when I imagine nothing I can do will keep my pants on me, lol. One of my NSVs would be to be able to buy from a regular catalog. I don't care if it's in the plus-size range, but I'd love to be able to order from Land's End or LL Bean instead of Making it Big and Junonia (though I really appreciate the latter two retailers for clothing me for the last 12 years).

Congratulations everyone! Greyhoundmom - I will be shopping at Avenue and Lane Bryant until their smallest size just hangs off of me. I have no clue where else I will shop, as I am not wanting to give my money to the stores that used to turn up their noses at me if I even dared to walk into their stores. I am open to suggestions. Thinking Kohls and Coldwater Creek. My NSV for today was 45 minutes on the elliptical at the gym, 6800 steps and 3.45 miles. The first time I ever even tried the elliptical I was only on for 3 minutes and simply gasping for breath. I can also run up the stairs to "inspect" my messy teenage daughters room. I think being in the dark about the condition of her room might have been better. Have a great rainy Saturday!

I feel wonderful without the weight. The best NSV is that my knees no longer hurt. Losing sizes and getting compliments are great too but the physical limitations are less now!! I am going to continue on to get to goal. It is just taking me a bit longer!!

Hi! Yesterday I had an amazing NSV! For a"normal" person - not a big deal, but but many of us? You be the judge! After 20 years of not even thinking of trying, I actually got in and took my first bath! It was heavenly! I know, this is not a life altering experience... or is it? I think so! :biggrin2::biggrin2::biggrin2: Katja

It's 99 degrees here and the humidity is 100050% (no joking) NSV. Hubby and I went t Wal-Mart to by him a hat and I heard someone calling my name. I turned around and it was a girl I used to work with about 4 years ago. We stood there and talked for a minutes about the band and she must have said to me at least five times, How good I looked. She kept saying it over and over. It's times like that that makes me love my band even more.

That is the best NSV isn't it!! The only thing I regret about this surgery is not having it done sooner.

Had my best NSV by FAR this morning!! I went and saw my PCP last week as I haven't seen him since my surgery. He was so impressed with my weight loss and incredibly supportive of the LapBand procedure. My two co-morbidities were high cholesterol and high blood pressure. I've been waiting patientely for the results and this morning the doc's office called with the results. ABSOLUTELY PERFECT!!:thumbup::hurray: My cholesterol went from 240 :w00t: to 168:thumbup:!!. My metabolic panel, hemoglobin and everything else they tested were stellar. My blood pressure has been normal for a couple of months now. This is the true gift of the Lapband. I've wanted to be HEALTHY for so long and I literally cried after I got off the phone. I feel hopeful, empowered and proud....things I wasn't able to say prior to this surgery. Another VERY important part of this, is I now have the greenlight to start trying for a baby:smile:. I have an appt with a new OB/GYN next week. As I near my 6 month bandiversary, I would have never in a million years thought that I could have come this far. Thanks for letting me share my victory. Amy

I have seen this thread for days now and just never opened it up. What a mistake that was - I have been missing joyful tears all this time! I am so moved by each and every one of your posts and am so happy for all of you! And I'm happy for me too and just want to share - pretty much the same NSV that the rest of you have reported, but none the less, exciting! 1. I FEEL my husband's arms go around me just a bit tighter and I LIKE that! 2. I have noticed the last week that I have sat in a couple of chairs with arms, like at the doctor's office waiting room, and I SLIDE down into it! Still snug, but I SLIDE!!!! I don't have to fold myself into it. (By the way, I'm crying right now...tears of joy!) 3. People that don't even know I had the surgery are saying to me that I look so happy - if they only knew!!! Thank you so much for sharing you NSV! It's an exciting new life, isn't it?!

i love this thread! i am so glad you made friends AND got to go on the coasters together! this will be one of my big NSVs, tho it will be a while for me (i haven't been under 200 since i was 18 and i am 46 now)! i am in michigan -- maybe i can hook up with you on next year's trip!!!

Home from the rodeo---my little girl in her pink boots and cowboy hat LOVED it. She loved the Queen contenders the most---everytime she would see one of them with their local crowns-tiaras on their cowboy hats, she would get all twitterpated! She was bouncing when she found out she did not have to see them being mean to the baby cows as she refers to the calf roping!!! She got in trouble as we were leaving, so her tears made her fall asleep that much faster---and she has been conked out ever since. I called her Daddy and had a talk with him, I wanted him to hear her crying! He is teaching her to be a smart aleck and I do not like it at all! We were walking to the truck, and we were talking about the bronc riding, and I ask her "How 'bout we put YOU on one of those wild bronco horses?" And she matter of factly replied "How about you bite me?!" It infuriated me, I ask her who lets you talk like that? My Daddy says it she tells me....lip quivering. I told her she would never say that to Granny again, or she would get a spanking----and further more, I meant it! He laughed when I told him. So I told him I didn't think it was funny, he was turning her into a snot like my niece that he nor anyone could stand for years due to her mouthiness!!! I told him when she is 6 no one will want to be around her just like they couldn't stand to be around Kelcie and her smart mouth. He finally apologized and said he would stop and he would talk to her about being mouthy. We'll see.......so anyway she is still sleeping. I should be cleaning, my house has taken not only a backseat this week, I don't think it made it onto the list at all!! I was burning alive outside while we did some things out there, so I succumbed to the ice! BUT.....I just got the shaved ice plain, and had the bright idea to pour a diet Dr. Pepper over it. It was not a good plan!!! The shaved ice is too delicate for the carbonation, so it watered it down to yuckiness!!! But it also took care of the craving!! LOL I am beginning to wonder to Suzanne knew how to swim.......she disappeared when the pool went in!! I really wonder if the other worker ended up not working after all and she is locked in the Curves unable to escape!! Has anyone thought of a good place for us to meet next?? Haydee I knew your wedding would go wonderfully!!! You are so beautiful anyway, I can only imagine you in the light of the sunset, and the twinkling candles--I seriously doubt the bride held up in comparison! Congrats on the plane NSV!! Well, I have finished snacking at my chicken salad....so guess I will go do something with my house while the kiddo is sleeping. We will have making up to do after she wakes up, and some talking to do as well!! It is hard----I am trying my best to use different rewards, and different methods with her. Not to use food----as a celebration or consolation thing. I also do not want to totally spoil her by buying things for those times. So I am trying to make doing something the reward---like going to the park---but it is so fricken hot! I think today if she wakes up in time, and we talk we might do a run through the sprinkler---Granny too!!! Kat

Haydee-I can not wait to see pics too. It sounds like you did a great job! Congrats on the NSV...awesome job !! And as far as Terrys' post...YA, WHAT SHE SAID! That is what I was trying to say this morning, you are just an artist with words! :biggrin:

oh yeah, i think we should post nsv's. ok, so i went shopping last week with my 15 year old cousin. she is smaller than me, but she's not skinny. anyways, we can wear the same shirt!!! i decided i dress way to old and fat for my age, so i went and got some of those cute form fitting thin tee shirts...i love them. also, i found a pair of jeans that fit me perfectly that do not have W attached to them!!!! i can't tell you how long that has been. ok, so they are an 18, but they are a regular 18. plus i bought some shorts (never wear shorts but they were for camping) and they are a regular xl (16/18) and they are almost too big!!! ok, so here is the big one, i just got a picture back of myself a couple of weeks ago at a family reunion and when i looked at it, i actually did not think that i looked fat!!! it was amazing.