Search the Community

Today the family and I went to the mall to do a little shopping, the Red Cross was there doing a blood drive. I walked passed at first afraid to ask if I would be able to after having surgery. When I walked by again, by this time i have eaten and was feeling brave, so I stopped and asked if I could talk to the doctor to ask her a few questions. I told the doctor i had vsg and ask if i was able to still donate? She asked first if it has been more than 6 months (check) and if i was feeling fine (check)! Five minutes later the doctor nurse pulls me back to check my vitals and to ask 100 questions. First she ask me my name, then the dreaded question, my weight, but this time I didn't lie! Haha. Then she checks my temperature, normal, then my pulse, it was like 96! I was a bit nervous because while I was waiting I literally saw a guy go into convulsions, but that's besides the point! Haha! Then the fun part! She uses the SMALL blood pressure cuff to check my BP and then my BP was an AMAZING 102 over 70. If she wasn't a doctor, I would have made her do it again! Haha. The grand finale, I was able to give blood without any problems! No convulsions for this lady!

I was at a local restaurant today and apparently, they had one chocolate cookie left (I hadn't noticed). They offered me the cookie and my first response was "no thank you". No thought, no desire, no regret...before WLS that would NEVER have happened.

So excited, almost 7 months out and down 90lbs, I've been contemplating getting rid of my old clothes for awhile, I've gave a majority of them away but really should have sold them! I ways bought quality plus size clothing at Addition Elle. I thought hey, why give clothes away when I payed lots of money to clothe my old body, and now that they new has changed and I'm needing new clothes lets just sell them, I made 160.00 dollars today just getting rid of some old work scrubs and some hoodies! This will help me buy new clothes, I love it.. So excited I thought I'd share... Just not wanting to sell the new silver jeans I bought in November first pair of silver jeans and they now fall down when I walk, let's hope I have nothing in my hands...

I have lost 32 lbs post op & 43 lbs total. Unfortunately I am still worried that I made a mistake. I throw up nearly every day! It's such a downer. I have started eating really moist/wet fish daily & that's going well so I'm hopeful, but this has definitely been harder than I thought it would be. I HATE Protein shakes, milk & sf pudding. I wanna chug Water by the gallon but struggle to get 64 oz in. I know it will get better eventually........right? That said, I'm totally stoked about the loss & this was even with a one week stall !!!! Off topic: what's a nsv? I see it on here all the time but have no clue!

Think of it as your body pausing to regroup and realign , then it will relax and the weight loss probably will resume. In the meantime you might have NSV like your clothes and shoes becoming looser. It will all balance out but it's hard to stay patient. Don't stress yourself out. Sent from my VS880PP using BariatricPal mobile app

I am in a stall. Totally sucks. I've only lost a couple lbs the last three weeks. I was sleeved June 5th, just over 7 weeks ago. I have decided to try carb cycling. For me that will mean NOT being ridged about my carb count for just one day a week (today was my first day) and im hoping that will jump start my metabolism again. I have been exercising every day since I hit 6 weeks and eating around 700 cals. I know some people are really against this but im tired of being stuck at this weight when im working so hard and following the rules. We'll see what happens! At least all this exercise is making me feel fantastic! Plenty of NSVs even if the scale isn't moving. Good luck to you!

Technically, it's scale related, but it's huge for me. I'm no longer over the weight limit for the scale we've had in our house for years!! I had to buy a scale with a larger weight capacity a few years ago, I feel like tossing that one out of the window today!!! (But can't, my hubby still needs it!!!)

I can't believe I haven't updated my journal since one week post-op. I enjoy reading all the other journals, but have been lax in updating mine. Went back and got my list of things I wanted to do, so am updating it here: I hope to be able to do all these things when I lose some weight: 1) Ride my horse without worrying that I am breaking his back!! Too hot, haven't even tried. He's having fun in the pasture. 2) Have the energy to clean my house and shovel out all the stuff I gathered thru the years. I have more energy, and have started cleaning out some (namely clothes that are getting too big) but sad to say not real enthused about this yet!! 3) Stick my arm in that blood pressure thing at Walmart and not have it get stuck there!! And use a normal blood pressure cuff! Haven't tried it yet! 4) Walk somewhere without huffing and puffing and stopping to rest 20 times. Can walk 45 minutes on the treadmill and am finding daily walking a lot easier! 5) Get off all these pills I am taking - or at least most of them!! My blood pressure is pretty much normal now (with the pills), but it will probably be a while longer before I decrease them. My blood sugar has decreased but still a ways to go. Went off Metformin when I got the surgery. Going to the doctor tomorrow and will get blood tests for sugar, cholesterol, etc. 6) Quit getting my butt stuck in chairs/theatre seats, etc with arms. This has decreased dramatically, with just a 24 lb weight loss. 7) Have enough energy to play with grandkids, do some gardening, ride my bike. Stayed off the bike for the 6 weeks after surgery, still not gotten back on it yet. Maybe today if it's cool enough! 8) Not be the biggest person in the room. (Already accomplished this when I went to the bariatric clinic-how sad. Finally sat in a chair too big for me!! But I don't consider this a NSV) What a sick mentality I have that I rejoice that someone in the room is bigger than me - this isn't usually the case tho. 9) Do something besides read, crochet and watch soaps on tv all day long because I don't feel like doing much else. Still need to work on this. 10) I'm sure there are many more but I have gone brain-dead for now.

Yeah. Ok. I suck at journals. It has been AGES since I made an entry - but since have passed my first year, I thought I would make some observations and mark some of the things I have learned: 1) I am incredibly spoiled and lazy. The urge to continue on letting my band do all the work is strong - but my inclination to immediate gratification is leading me toward a better path. Exercise will have to be more frequent and desserts will have to be more infrequent... The same old crap I have been hearing since birth... but for the last few weeks, the scale has been rewarding me for good behavior. I can't knock it if it's working. Between February 6, 2006 and my annual appt on Feb 6, 2007, I went from 331 to 295 - a loss of 36 pounds. Since my annual follow-up in 2007 - I have lost another 5 pounds. My unofficial weight this morning - 290. 2) I used to eat a HECK of a lot of food... I had somehow convinced myself that I wasn't eating much more than your average joe - but I know now that I was. I had no concept of what a portion size ought to be... and really, I am still struggling with that - but I am getting closer. It has taken over a year - but my eyes/head are finally starting to sync up with my band. Now, I only think my portion should be twice as big as needed... LOL! I find that if I plate up HALF of what I think the portion should be, I am satisfied and don't need to eat more. 3) I am starting to recognize the point at which I should just set my fork down and stop eating. Now, this doesn't mean that I actually DO stop all the time (Damned Pizza!) but at least I can tell when I should. At this moment, restriction is not such that I am forced to stop, or that I have pain or anything like that if I eat past the satiation point - but I am hoping for a more punative effect with my next fill. I am not very disciplined. (see #1 - spoiled and lazy) 4) Exercise is really not optional. If I don't go to the gym, I don't lose weight - or at least not much - even if I am trying to "diet". For me, eating perfectly is much less important that hitting the gym for 30 minutes at least 4 times a week. 5) I need to figure out how to eat more Band Effectively in restaurants. I travel for a week every month - so I spend the week of travel eating like a huge monster pig - and the following week (or TWO) getting back to where I had been before the trip. That means that AT BEST, I am only working toward goal for two weeks of the month - and I don't really do well on the weekends - so that means about 10 days a month of active dieting. It's not exactly shocking that my loss has been slow. If you factor my loss into 120 days instead of 365 - it makes total sense. I lost about a 3rd of a pound for every day of active dieting in my first year - very much what my docs told me to expect - a 3rd of a pound a day, or about 2 pounds a week. I guess that is about all that I have learned so far. I know I still have a great deal of learning to do. I also have a great deal of work to do yet. At a third of a pound per day, I still need to do 375 active dieting days to get near to goal. But my goal has actually changed a bit. My doc referred me to the "Aftercare" program at AIGB. The gal there measured my body fat on her little magic zinger scale and found that I have a body fat percentage a bit over 56%. (ICK) According to her calculations, I need to lose another 125 pounds. I was thinking 140 lbs - but if my lean mass is anywhere close to what she calculates, I would be beyond skinny with only like 5% body fat or something like that. I am never going there. So, my new goal is to weigh 168 lbs - and as ever, I will be happy with anything under 200. My true goal is to wear a size 14, or *gasp* maybe even a size 12. It doesn't sound very ambitious - but I haven't worn anything from a "normal" store since I was 18 yrs old. For now, that's the most that I can imagine. We'll see how it goes when I get there. The other part of the After Care program was exactly what you would expect - grilling on my daily & life habits with some gentle persuasion to reform. I guess it was more a way for me to focus in on what I need to do. If it keeps me from totally losing control - then it's worth taking one afternoon a month off. Besides, I had pretty much already come to the conclusion that reform was necessary to satisfy my Immediate Gratification urge. I am ready to work the band, again. NSV's: 1) Airplane travel without extenders - not always - but sometimes. 2) Wearing clothes that have been hanging in my closet for months or years cause I loved them, but they were too small. 3) Walking without pain & with no trace of the fat lady waddle. No longer uncomfortable or afraid to swing my hips and walk like a girl. 4) Fitting into chairs - mostly. I still hit the side of the chairs at the theater - but at least it doesn't HURT anymore. 5) Not choked by my seatbelt anymore. I can actually pull a good foot of excess belt away from my body! So, after a year + 23 days - that's all I know. Onward! Maybe I will journal again a little sooner. We'll have to see how that goes, too.

Yeah. Ok. I suck at journals. It has been AGES since I made an entry - but since have passed my first year, I thought I would make some observations and mark some of the things I have learned: 1) I am incredibly spoiled and lazy. The urge to continue on letting my band do all the work is strong - but my inclination to immediate gratification is leading me toward a better path. Exercise will have to be more frequent and desserts will have to be more infrequent... The same old crap I have been hearing since birth... but for the last few weeks, the scale has been rewarding me for good behavior. I can't knock it if it's working. Between February 6, 2006 and my annual appt on Feb 6, 2007, I went from 331 to 295 - a loss of 36 pounds. Since my annual follow-up in 2007 - I have lost another 5 pounds. My unofficial weight this morning - 290. 2) I used to eat a HECK of a lot of food... I had somehow convinced myself that I wasn't eating much more than your average joe - but I know now that I was. I had no concept of what a portion size ought to be... and really, I am still struggling with that - but I am getting closer. It has taken over a year - but my eyes/head are finally starting to sync up with my band. Now, I only think my portion should be twice as big as needed... LOL! I find that if I plate up HALF of what I think the portion should be, I am satisfied and don't need to eat more. 3) I am starting to recognize the point at which I should just set my fork down and stop eating. Now, this doesn't mean that I actually DO stop all the time (Damned Pizza!) but at least I can tell when I should. At this moment, restriction is not such that I am forced to stop, or that I have pain or anything like that if I eat past the satiation point - but I am hoping for a more punative effect with my next fill. I am not very disciplined. (see #1 - spoiled and lazy) 4) Exercise is really not optional. If I don't go to the gym, I don't lose weight - or at least not much - even if I am trying to "diet". For me, eating perfectly is much less important that hitting the gym for 30 minutes at least 4 times a week. 5) I need to figure out how to eat more Band Effectively in restaurants. I travel for a week every month - so I spend the week of travel eating like a huge monster pig - and the following week (or TWO) getting back to where I had been before the trip. That means that AT BEST, I am only working toward goal for two weeks of the month - and I don't really do well on the weekends - so that means about 10 days a month of active dieting. It's not exactly shocking that my loss has been slow. If you factor my loss into 120 days instead of 365 - it makes total sense. I lost about a 3rd of a pound for every day of active dieting in my first year - very much what my docs told me to expect - a 3rd of a pound a day, or about 2 pounds a week. I guess that is about all that I have learned so far. I know I still have a great deal of learning to do. I also have a great deal of work to do yet. At a third of a pound per day, I still need to do 375 active dieting days to get near to goal. But my goal has actually changed a bit. My doc referred me to the "Aftercare" program at AIGB. The gal there measured my body fat on her little magic zinger scale and found that I have a body fat percentage a bit over 56%. (ICK) According to her calculations, I need to lose another 125 pounds. I was thinking 140 lbs - but if my lean mass is anywhere close to what she calculates, I would be beyond skinny with only like 5% body fat or something like that. I am never going there. So, my new goal is to weigh 168 lbs - and as ever, I will be happy with anything under 200. My true goal is to wear a size 14, or *gasp* maybe even a size 12. It doesn't sound very ambitious - but I haven't worn anything from a "normal" store since I was 18 yrs old. For now, that's the most that I can imagine. We'll see how it goes when I get there. The other part of the After Care program was exactly what you would expect - grilling on my daily & life habits with some gentle persuasion to reform. I guess it was more a way for me to focus in on what I need to do. If it keeps me from totally losing control - then it's worth taking one afternoon a month off. Besides, I had pretty much already come to the conclusion that reform was necessary to satisfy my Immediate Gratification urge. I am ready to work the band, again. NSV's: 1) Airplane travel without extenders - not always - but sometimes. 2) Wearing clothes that have been hanging in my closet for months or years cause I loved them, but they were too small. 3) Walking without pain & with no trace of the fat lady waddle. No longer uncomfortable or afraid to swing my hips and walk like a girl. 4) Fitting into chairs - mostly. I still hit the side of the chairs at the theater - but at least it doesn't HURT anymore. 5) Not choked by my seatbelt anymore. I can actually pull a good foot of excess belt away from my body! So, after a year + 23 days - that's all I know. Onward! Maybe I will journal again a little sooner. We'll have to see how that goes, too.

Give the lapband time to its thing! You are so not a failure! The weight will come off and like carolinagirl said, I bet your clothes are looser and bigger on you. I'm sure there are NSV's (non-scale victories) all around you! Look for them. In a few months time, when you're down all those pounds, it won't matter how slowly the weight came off, only that it did Chin up, sunshine, you're doing great!!

You probably made her day! And how come your meat and 2 veg were lacking undies ? LOL Congrats! Great NSV me thinks

I needed a new coat for the kind of weather we are having now in NY. One month sleeved & already a size down. Bought some PJ's also & two sizes down & they are still loose!! Just wanted to share.... It's a good day!

That's fantastic!!! Congratulations on everything!! You have lots of SVs and NSVs to look forward to in the months ahead

Awesome NSV!

I am just days away from 2 months out, but wanted to share my favorite NSV so far. I am a Type 2 diabetic who has been on Metformin for 10 years and a Bydureon non-insulin injectable for 2 years. Even while on medication my average fasting blood sugar was 140. I was taken off all medications during my pre-surgery liquid phase with the docs intention to add them back in slowly once we had a better idea of where I would be post-op. 2 months later and not only am I not on meds, but my fasting blood sugar was 85 this morning. Thank God I went forward with this surgery. If I never lose another pound this alone would be worth it.

So, people are starting to notice that I started losing again. I'd been at a plateau for a little more than 3 years and after the fill I had in late April/early May, started losing again. Slowly but surely. I'm back to reaching weights I've not been in 19 years! And I'm fitting in some jeans that I bought at the thrift store, before I could really fit in them. Wore those last week! Some shirts and other things are fitting better as well. I'm starting to try and break out of my shell more. And I'm feeling a little better about myself, because of the slow & steady weight loss. These are all little victories. If you're stuck or frustrated, don't give up. Keep on keeping on.

So...is this an NSV? I'm not really sure....so I'm going to put it here anyways. I'm down about 60 pounds from pre-op and feeling great, which in an of itself is an awesome accomplishment. I've noticed though that I'm getting a certain amount of attention from our male patrons at work and I'm not really sure I know what to do with it. Yesterday I was handling billing questions from a guest, when he asked me if he could take me out to famous dave's for lunch. I thanked him for his generosity, and told him that I already eaten. He then looked at me and said "Well I could pick you something up and keep it in my room....you could always come up for dinner later.." and then winked at me! Ummm....okay. I have another male guest who came into the office yesterday afternoon asking for change. I went in back to the safe to get it out, and he proceeded to tell my GM of all people how "I'd like to take that little girl home to momma." He spent the rest of the afternoon walking past my office and staring....he even ran into a door frame he was so busy looking! Not to mention this guy was old enough that he should be hitting on my mother...not me. WTH?!? I'm nowhere near goal yet, and I don't see much of a difference in the way that I look, and while it's nice to know that people think I'm looking better I really don't know if I'd consider this an NSV because the way that these men are looking at me makes me feel like crap. I'm so much more than the way that I look, and all the attention makes me really uncomfortable. That and how anybody could find my work attire sexy is beyond me. I'm still wearing slacks that are WAY too big (I'm a poor college student and am putting off buying a new pair as I'm dangerously close to the next size down from what I am now, and don't want to buy something that'll only fit for a short amount of time), a hideous button down shirt with the company logo, and a black sweater that really doesn't have a shape. All in all, I refer to my work attire as hobo chic (that whole, I don't really care, but I'm not so unsightly it's unprofessional thing...it's a balance, whatever). Alas, I am choosing to pay attention only to the bright side of this situation, and view this as me gaining my old confidence back, and getting my mojo going again! I'm hoping that it's the old addage "When you feel good you look good." Is that how it goes? Whatever. Has anyone else experienced an increase in unwanted attention at work? Best way to go about addressing it without coming off as a snob?

... except when it's not! Okay, this is a pre-sleeve NSV for me. We went to the movie theater tonight. I actually managed to walk right past the concessions stand without stopping for either a popcorn (large, extra butter, please!) or a beverage! This is difficult for me. Recently I've been compromising - small popcorn, and a large unsweetened iced tea (now that our theater actually has decent iced tea!). But I LURVE buttered popcorn. It's something that I really want to eat - it's part of the movie experience, and it is something I have a weakness for. Tonight, I wasn't hungry as we had just had dinner, nor was I thirsty. I also knew I couldn't come back out later and get it if I changed my mind, since we were going to the late show and the concessions area closes about 15 minutes after the last movie starts. I just said no. Didn't even really think about it. Me: 100 points, Food: a big fat ZERO. I win! Anyone else had a victory in the battle of resistance this week?

Well, I started this journey wearing a size 26/28. Last night, I went closet shopping and pulled out some pants from the WAY back.....well, the 20s are loose and the 18's FIT !!!! :Banane45: Plus.....I went shopping the close-out rack tonight and the 14/16 tops fit! Wow this feels good...... :success1:

That's awesome! I look forward to doing my toes again without huffing and puffing. lol It's those little nsvs that keep us going sometimes, isn't it? Keep up the great work!

I LOVE when people share their NSV's! That is fantastic! You should give yourself a big pat on the back!!! All of you :smile:

@@kimpossible67 - That's a NSV for you and hopefully ill be a blessing for the missing individual and their family.

@ that's wonderful terrific NSV weighing less than hubby how cool is that keep up the good job i know you will 104.9 lbs gone, gone, gone!! don't look for them LOL kathy congrats