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oh, i almost forgot, an nsv, before the whole ugly reeses thing! this morning i was clean out the shoe closet and started trying on all my summer shoes and sandals, deciding which to throw out. Well they were all WAY TOO BIG!!! I mean my feet were falling out of them too big! hugely too big! so my nsv is that my feet are no longer fat:rolleyes: !

That really IS a good nsv Neenagh! WTG!! :clap2:

Good for you, especialy while out! That had to put a smile on your face or a tear in your eye. I had the same kind nsv when we got a t-shirt in at work and they gave it to me. I thought I would give it to my son. When I got home I opened it and tried it on and it fit and was also a large. I cried.

Congratulations!! I think that recognizing that smaller clothes fit is a second NSV. Keep up the good work. Celeste

I was freaking out from the day before my surgery date, but lucky for me I was too embarrassed to show it. The morning of the Big Day, I arrived at the hospital with my best friend and got checked in. As we waited for the nurse to come and take me back, I so wanted to turn to my friend and say that I'd changed my mind and we should go home, but embarrassment kicked in again. How was I going to explain running out the door and blowing off the surgery when I'd spoken of nothing else for the last three months but getting that sleeve? So I stayed and I did it, and I'm so glad. Aside from a respectable beginning weight loss (I still have a long way to go), there have been many NSVs. It has already proven to be not only worth it, but one of the best and smartest things I've ever done. I'm glad you're rescheduling. Be brave and go for it!

Today in the shower I noticed I was able to shave certain areas with a lot more ease I didn't even realize it until I was halfway done - that I wasn't struggling to reach places. My husband will be thrilled

Definitely an NSV ! ! !

Hi Amber. I think everything you are feeling right now is normal. This surgery is going to change your life. Make sure you set little mini goals for yourself. I made the mistake of setting really unrealistic goals as far as my weight loss went....then was very depressed when I didn't meet those goals. Now I set little goals and am much happier. The NSV's (non scale victories) are great also. Remember, everyone here will help you on your journey. The love and support you get from everyone here is awesome.

Hi guys! So much going on! Hey, Patty! I'm just glad to see your face, and hear what's going on with you! No permission ever needed to rejoin us here in the chat thread...so glad you stopped in. And, so sorry to hear of the troubles you are having. I will continue prayer for you and your surgery, and the well-being of your family. Don't feel like you have to do personals all the time if it's too much; just post what's going on, and let us know. Beanie, I'm sith Darcy on this one...check on your DH's cognitive state...that high fever plus lack of sleep plus meds could be trouble. It would freak me out too. I guess you are still going to put some thought to your career path, which is good. You'll know when you have the answer that is best for you. Kat, what in the world...your poor DH, and YOU! How is he doing tonight? He's going to need to read a copy of the bandster rules...small bites and time between bites; and we know how hard they are to follow. So sorry you are going through all this again, but hope he is doing well now. Take care of yourself, too...that's important! Mary, how fun to plan a surprise trip! Let us know what you have cookin' for that! Deb - seriously, check out that fill, and see if you need to back off on that. Sometimes slower really IS faster...sounds weird, but it is sometimes true. Darcy - hope your FIL gets a grip on his issues...I know it is such a struggle for the family. What is the situation on your sister's business? Sounds interesting. You're still treading heads and tails above all of us in the exercise dept., you know. I just wear the pedometer, and tally all of that up. Mandy, did you change your ticker? On my screen, it is showing up with a little red x. 159! Yahoo! I only dream of that...but some of my dreams have come true already, so maybe that one will too, who knows? I hope your meeting went well this afternoon, and I think we all agree that you have made a great decision in intervening early. You are very wise. I think you are blessed with clear vision, and the ability to take action, and that is indeed rare in this world. Let us know how it went, okay? I have an NSV to report...strangely enough, even though I am stuck like chuck at 202 lbs, my body is definitely shrinking/changing...today, I pulled out a t-shirt I bought a few months ago, and couldn't wear, because it was skin tight. Today, slipped it right on, and it fits perfectly! Get this, it's a Junior size 17. It makes me laugh, just thinking about it. You may ask, why is this older lady buying junior clothes...well, it has Tinkerbell on it, and it's for the trip this summer...LOL! For Deb, who's a little "newer" than the rest of us...even when the scales don't move, your body still changes. I swear it is true! Betty, how's it going, lady? Are you working and working? Are the roses blooming? We don't have roses blooming yet, but irises and tulips are out! Eileen, nice to see a long post from you! ((hugs)) Love all of you...Sherry, Chrispy, and Dianne...and anyone else I missed! Cindy

We will all hit our one month "bandaversary" this month, so let's use this thread to check in. When you hit the one-month mark, post how much weight you have lost, non-scale victories (NSVs), and just how you are doing. Hope everyone is healthy and happy!

It has been four weeks to the day of my banding. My one month Anniversary will be 5/10/08. I'm proud to say I'm down 31 pounds (lost 8 pounds pre-op). This week I hurdled through a two week plateau. I was down 2 pounds this past Saturday and yesterday was down another 5 (total of 7 this week!). I know I'm in the healing time so I'm thrilled to have lost anything. I was expecting to stay plateaued until my fill (May 22nd). <<doing the happy dance>> NSV's Smaller Clothes - Went from a 18/20W & sometimes 22/24W to a 14/16W. food Cravings Are Gone! - I no longer crave food all of the time. I no longer bing. My life isn't consumed with eating. I now focus on living. The "Shelf" Is Gone - the shelf I used to have for my arms to sit on, when I sit down, (upper stomach) is gone. Which means my boobs are now bigger than my stomach. Wow! Sex - My drive is back. It has been gone for SO LONG! I hated the way I looked. Loathed would be the correct word. I'm getting some of my confidence back!!! I'm looking forward to NSVs that are yet to come! I feel so much better than I did two months ago. I really do feel like a new person.

Congrats. That's a lot of NSV's in one day - isn't it great!?!

I'd have been running up and down the street in my underwear, holding the pants above my head screaming, "they won't stay up! They won't stay up!". Hahaha Congratulations on the NSV!

Hey Everyone, Thanks for the words of encouragement. It is so great to come here and see everyone doing so well and know that I am getting right back on track. Hannah - You are very welcome to join us! I put in your info on the spreadsheet. It's great to see how everyone is doing and share in our journey. One thing I have to remind myself of is this is a journey and there will be times that I won't do as well. This last week I also chalk some of my weight gain up to high stress at work. We had a huge deadline to meet by Friday and thus some of the highest stress for work in a long time. But those are only excuses. I did do very well with my walking and like FWWAB mentioned I had some great NSV's this past week. I got the spreadsheet up to date with everyone on here. Not sure if your wanting to join too JohnC. You would be welcomed! It is great when the Doc takes us off meds we have been and beating Diabetes is a huge step! Congrats!

I have no answers for you. There is no right or wrong answer to this- it is really a damned if you do and damned if you don't situation. Writing as a 53 year old mother who has always had a problem accepting gifts- especially big ones- I see where she is at. As a daughter who has lost her mom 5 yrs ago, I see where you are at. With all the other things you have written, the only thing I can say is to go slowly. Be an example for the surgery so Mom can see it really can work and talk about your experiences and NSV's and how happy you are with the whole process slowly a little bit at a time for a long while. This may take time but after she sees you and hears you, slowly she may come around. I would not try to push it or just present it to her- sometimes we can all be like little kids and automatically run the other direction!! Good Luck!

I am going to a wedding and feeling down cause after all of my weight loss i can't find anything to fit. Went to layne bryant Everything was too big but couldn't find anything in reg stores either. Since my top and bottom are two different sizes I decided to get a skirt and dressy top. Easier said then done Last week I got a skirt size 12. So far so good This week i went through the tourture of looking for a jacket/ top to wear to the wedding. I went to Lord and Taylor and there were tons to pick from. But would they fit??? Yup they did. Thats not the NSV, well it is but not the one that i was posting about. When i finished in the dressing room The sales woman said which side did you get the clothes from so it is easier to put back and i figured large size right. I told her i didn't understand the question, cause they were 14, 16. To me that was a big size right. I told her the left side not right. She said oh thats the small side. OMG No one ever told me i was a small size. so a 12 on the bottom and 14-16 on top. I couldn't move i was in shock!! Wendy

Hey all, Happy to see so many new faces on the thread, I have not been here in a long time. For those of you not telling anyone, people who know you will notice that you have done something, they will pry it out of you, and yes you will get those people who say oh you cheated, and what I tell those people is no, I finally did something about it. This was not an easy decision for me, and it took me a lot of work to do this. Some people have to live in the closet because of there families and jobs. Don't make your self more miserable by trying to hide one more thing. Ok, for a nsv I love to body board in the ocean, but last year I could not because of my weight loss I am always too cold, in fact I always cold no fat on these bones, if it is 110 out side it is comfortable for me, any way I went to a dive shop and was able to get in to a women's 9-10 wet suit. I was so jazzed, my wife said she did think she wanted me to go to the beach. She is so sweet. lol Ok, I will stop rambling, best of luck to all of you, I will try to log on more often and check out the thread.

It sure has been quite in here. I wonder what has happen to everyone over the past couple of years? Anyone heard from MS DAD and others? Here is an NSV/Update It is hard to beleive that it has been 13 months since I have been banded. A lot of things have happen since being banded and I will do that in another post.In June of 2007 I went in for a sleep study and found out that I did indeed have sleep apena. I was put on a CPAP machine in August 07 and did ok with it. I was banded in September of 2007. After being banded I was having some issues with the CPAP machine, in regards to being bloated all the time and taking the mask off at night. I talked with my doctor about this and he had the machine set to the lowest settings. He also suggested that I look into getting a dental applaince. I went and meet with the dentist who deals in sleep apnea and she said it would not be a problem and so it took about 4 months to get it approved by insurance. I was fitted with the herbest retainer in February, 2008. I went back to my doctor who handles the sleep apnea in August and he was real pleased with the way I looked and the amount of weight lost. So the doctor order a new sleep study. I had the sleep study on year to the date of being banded. I will say that the band can help people get away from using the CPAP. Keep in mind that everyone is differant and what works for one might not work for the other person. Here is the results of the study:Per BandOriginal study (pre weight loss) Weight 250 BMI 40Breathing event per hour: 68Total breathing cessation per hour: 49Lowest recorded oxygen level: 70%BandedNew Study: post weight lossWeight 186 BMI 29.1 Breathing events per hour: 19.4Total breathing cessation per hour: 19.4Lowest recorded oxygen level: 91%With the Herbst Retainer Dental Device:Breathing events per hour: 4.6 (counting little bitty ones 6.2)Total breathing cessation per hour: 4Lowest oxygen level: 92%It turns out that with the Herbst, you are worst when you lie on your left side. Then you have 8.3 events per hour. In dream sleep, you have 10.2 events per hour.I went to the sleep doctor this week to review this study and he said that I could stop using the CPAP Machine and continue with the Herbst Retainer. He also said that my numbers were low enough that even if I did not use the retainer that I could do away with the CPAP. He also felt the numbers would go down lower with more weight loss. My goal range is between 165-175. He also said that I did not need to come back and see him unless I feel that Iam having problems. He said that I can just go back to the dentist and get a new herbest retainer when this one wears out in a few years. Also I no longer have any snoring issues either.So as you can see here proof is in the pudding about the band and how it can help everyone out. It just takes a lot of time and effort to make it all happen. It does not happen overnight.Chris

as i said in an earlier post, she apparently doesn't feel comfortable in her own skin to tell people about the WLS at this time - maybe she won't later either - but thats ok i only told my immediate family prior to WLS once things progressed i did tell people when asked about my weight when someone asks me now about my situation - i do think to myself, should i tell the whole truth, or just say, diet, small portions, exercise et al i have chosen to now tell anyone who asks. even expained some of my NSV's when they comment on my tattoo. many times - explaining the connection for me and the tattoo and my increased confidence i am sometimes"concerned" about different peoples thoughts sometimes how silly is that - justify/defend myself by telling them "this is not the easy way out" then i explain the hard work, major surgery. how silly is that - explaining, defending myself, no more!!

Hmmm...I have a NSV (Non-Scale Victory) to share. Before I had the band I could not ride on roller coasters due to being too big for the rides. One of my goals was to lose enough weight to finally enjoy the coasters again, especially since I currently live about 5 or 10 minutes from Busch Gardens. Once I hit my goal weight of 250 lbs, I bought myself an annual pass to Busch Gardens. The following weekend I went there with a friend and I was able to finally fit in the seats. The bad part was the roller coaster bars kept pushing in on my port and after a few hours I was in pain. I think maybe once I lose more weight this might not be an issue. I was happy because I finally got to do something I had been telling myself I would not be able to go again. It was nice to be wrong. I hope everyone is setting NSV's and accomplishing them too.

Had my monthly appointment with my surgeon today. According to their scale I lost 14 pounds since last month. Woo! (I want their scale at home, I only lost 9 according to mine!) I didn't get a fill today. So far, no fill and have lost 20 pounds since surgery, 39 since start of pre-op liquid diet. Only 50-ish left to go! I've been blessed with not being hungry. I still crave bad for me food all the damn time, but I don't have the physical hunger anymore. If I keep myself busy I can usually ignore the craving long enough that it goes away or I just forget about it! That has to be my favorite part of having my band! NSV's - I'm wearing size 14 jeans, training for a 5K, am able to shop in normal stores, can run up the stairs without my legs collapsing/lungs gasping, and best of all - I have collar bones and hip bones for the first time in my adult life!!! Life is definitely good!

I've been grumpy frumpy today...and part of its been the stress over the last few weeks. San Fran was great, but it made coming back to the teenager not getting out of bed for school and the 5 year constantly "bugging" her all the harder. Then I got mad because I lost weight...how funny is that. But the only reason I lost weight was because I'm eating NADA because I'm sick. Then I was like...in four months I have only lost 35lbs. I stressed over this for awhile. Then I like went over and checked out the reunion board on obesity help. Everyone there kept posting...at my 3 month check up (back to that in a sec) I lost 53lbs or 58lbs or...you get the picture. So i sulked more. Then it hit me..they said 3 months...so got looking and I'm not 4 months I'm 3 months. And I went back and looked and NONE of those that had posted were lapband patients. I don't visit obesity help as much as I used to...and forget its mostly rny patients. So I'm embracing the 35lbs which comes out to just a little over 11lb a month. I'm going to stop grumping and ask for a fill next week. I'm going to be thankful that I'm loosing and not gaining as I did in the months waiting for the surgery. I started one of those journals to grump into that Kathy mentioned. Kathy thanks for knocking some reason into me today...your nsv list is amazing. Diane you are always so supportive..thanks girl Kim, you are doing great, I keep wanting to do as well as you guys I"m glad Curtis is feeling better. My fever is down but the coughing is driving me nuts. My port area hurts...I hope I haven't coughed something wrong. Melissa

I have lost 52 pounds and still have about 80lbs left, but the second picture was taken of me this weekend and I actually thought I looked skinny (ish) and wanted to share. Nice to have these NSVs!

Actually, I think you had two NSV's there. One for choosing the walk over the food and the other for not killing your husband.:phanvan

So I ran into a friend I have not seen in about a year and she told me she didn't recognize me because I was so tiny. I have never been called tiny!!!! I'm only 2 months post op and have lost 40 lbs, so I still have a long way to go, but this just made my day. The scale means nothing. It's about how you look and feel. Here's to many more victories!