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Janine: Ketosis is when your body starts burning fat for fuel INSTEAD of Carbs/Sugar....... (It is a joyous place to be even though the breath that comes with it is BAD! LOL) Thanks for answering Tracey - I'm in such a different time zone that I easily miss posts. Once you are in this mode Janine, your appetite really does decrease & that is what Optifast puts you in. Well, day 8 post op for me & every day is certainly getting that bit easier. The port site is still very tender as is sitting upright for any length of time, but I'm basically back into regular routine. Had my first NSV today too! Jeans seem to be the flavour of the moment, & when I got out of the car today with my 14 year old daughter, she exclaimed "Mum!!! Your jeans are so baggy!" Love it!!!! I've nearly worn through the knees too, so am hoping to drop a size before I have to get new ones. Mind you, I probably have some now pretty out of date ones in the next size down in my wardrobe somewhere:rolleyes Now my turn for questions: I mentioned n my last post that I found out at my post-op appt that I already have 3cc in my band - is this something unique to New Zealand, or have others surgeons done this too? Also, I'm very tight in the chest of a morning (think this is also exasperbated by sleeping on my back all night) - it takes a few hours for me to feel normal - is this the case for everyone? Have a great day Marchies! Cate

Lisa- Good luck with the filll! Congrats on the NSV's! I'm impressed that you're running. That is very cool.

Karey...sounds wonderful! I got a bathing suit last week (one of those "Miracle Suits") on sale for$25 instead of $100 plus. It's actually a tankini! Size 16 for now...hopefully less by the middle/end of summer. Mim....have you noticed that your balance is off? Hope you are feeling better each and every day. Thanks for the encouragement BTW. A new NSV for me today....the weather was a cool 63 degrees with a light breeze and I ran 5 miles! I enjoyed every minute of it! Not sure what to do when the temps get up over 100 but I plan on finding something else to do. This is just too good to be true....a first for me ever! Sadly, the scale does not reflect what is happening....I am at 190 this morning...up one pound. Just realized that the scale hasn't really moved in a month. Getting a fill tomorrow. I am so ready!!!

NSV = Non scale Victory I can wear all my old clothes again... I can fly without a seatbelt extender. They are things that just ARE - whether the scale is gracing me that day, or not.

Whats NSV? nancy

Happy Bandiversary, Lisa!! How much have you lost? What are your best NSV's? Revel in the fact that you have made a positive step in life and you are still workin' it! Happy Day!

Comparing yourself to others will only frustrate you. There are so many factors you don't know. We all have different starting weights, ages, heights, medical issues that affect how quickly we lose. You can only focus on yourself. Make sure you celebrate NSV(non-scale victories) as well! Measure yourself, have your cholesterol and blood pressure checked and progress in those areas will motivate you. Remember, we did this for our health, not just to look great! You are not a failure! You have already lost 15 pounds in 2 months! On the stretched pouch issue, it is possible to stretch your pouch 2 months after surgery. But, usually only if you have been consistently overeating and Pbing. Find ways to keep busy and distract yourself when "hungry". It may pass if it is head hunger.

Pam Banded, You crack me up!! I found out where I am loseing the weight, in my hands and wrist. I have old lady hands and my watch spins around my wrist. Is this a NSV?

I am sooooo happy for you hun! What a great NSV!

That's a great NSV!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was at the local hs track today with my DH and two of our kids walking my laps and when I was all done walking (everyone else petered out early, hehe) I decided to join them at the long jump site where my kids had been competing to see who could jump the farthest. Well let's just say none of us are going to the olympics based on todays performances, lol. I decided to give it a go, it has been almost 20 years since I have run track and done the long jump but I figured what the heck. So I ran, yes ran! and I jumped albeit not far but I jumped and landed in the sand all of me after my feet hit I slid and ended up full on covered in sand, lol. It was so much fun!!! A year ago I could not walk for 5 minutes without terrible pain in my lower back, now I walk 2 miles a day and have no pain! I would have never dreamed of running before but today I ran full on, not jogged but ran full out! Once I hit my century mark, 22lbs to go, I am going to add jogging to my walking! I knew that weight loss would relieve me of much of my pain, but I never imagined how much! This surgery has given me my life back! This year I will be going to the zoo with my kids and not have to sit on a bench the whole time! We are going to have such fun this summer

Great NSV! Good work and enjoy the new clothes!

I think that is reffered to as, a NSV- non scale victory! The smaller pants, losing inches, etc.. I've lost 24# but, no smaller clothes.... I've refused to go any higher for a while (they are too small) and wear them anyway!! Soon, very soon, I will be seeing such change that I will have to get smaller clothes too. GOOD LUCK AND HEALTH TO YOU AND ALL!!!

A great NSV (non scale vicotry) I was feeling my stomach today (and I have always stayed away from my belly button because it is soooooo sensitive~girls you know what I mean) and my belly button is not so deep~wierd the things we notice huh! I had a HUGE inny and now it is not such a huge deep inny. (the things we share) ha ha

Calling all April Bandits of 2006: Let's come together and share our successes! What is your "Bandiversary" goal? I never really set a goal for "Bandiversary" just small goals along the way. What have you learned this past year? I have learned that I can pass up former favorite foods and that the world will not come to an end if I don't eat everything in site. :hungry: Could you share your most rewarding NSV (non-scale victory)? My best NSV for now is buying a pair of designer jeans to wear to the Trace Adkins concert. What is your biggest challenge? My biggest challenge is consistent exercise. I really have to make myself do it and it's still hit or miss most days. What tips would you pass on to the April 2007 newbies? Hang in there! Good things come to those who wait. Oh, and liquids can be your friend. What is your greatest fear? That I will lose my band and regain all the weight plus more. :paranoid What goals do you have for the future? My next goal is to get to 199. When I do, I get a pair of diamond studs. How has your life changed? Life is so much better. I can get up and down off the floor with my students. I don't tire as quickly. I can ride roller coasters again. Has living with the band met up to your expectations? Living with the band has been great. I really can not believe that it has been a year. And due to all of the research I did before hand, there really haven't been that many surprises along the way. :bounce: If you could talk to yourself a year ago, what would you say? Keep at it. Life is only going to get better. I really can't believe that today has been one year. Someone asked me at work yesterday was I going to take myself out to eat to Celebrate. I told her no, that I look for other ways to celebrate now rather than with food. Of course there are still surprises along the way, but that's ok. I'm learning to roll with the punches. I look at how much more some of our group has lost than me, but I also know that they have taken a different road than I did. I started this journey at 300 lbs. and this morning I weighed 255 lbs. When I first started working on weight loss before banding I weighed 348 lbs and had lost down to 280 before it started creeping back up again. After diet, exercise, life style change, and work with a personal trainer for 8 months, I realized that I needed help on this journey. A co-worker was looking into the band for herself and suggested that I go to a seminar and check it out. I did that two days before Thanksgiving and then less than five months later I was banded. Would I do it again? In a heartbeat. I tell anybody who asks me what I've done to lose weight. Because I've been so open at work, some of the others are looking into it as well. No one thinks twice about what I do at work as I think most have even forgotten that I had it done. I'm losing slowly in weight, but the inches are coming off. I bought new tops for work and they are 1X, the last size before I shop in the regular sizes. I found a velvet dress for Christmas for $14.00. It's a Large. I will be wearing it! For now, I'm just working for my diamond earings. :biggrin1: Pic

Great NSV! congrats to you!:clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2:

Thanks everyone. I am feeling pretty (momentarily) defeated right now. But amazingly I think I've had a pre-band NSV of sorts...I haven't picked up a fork or a spoon and shoveled anything into my mouth that I shouldn't have. I'm getting MAD. Now, how to get another 15lbs off in three weeks... (my next PCP appt is 4/25)

WOOHOO!!!! Excellent NSV!!

went shopping at the Avenue last weekend for some capri jeans. 28s - big in the waist just a tad snug in the tummy went to 26s - fit in the waist, bit more snug in the tummy bought the 26s .. they will stretch a bit in the tummy ... :mad: pre band - my size was 44/46 (6x) :cry nowhere to go but down!!!!

Hello Everyone! Hey, Kim, I live in NE Wyoming. March and April have always been the worst times for blizzards. But when the snow melts, it is so GREEN! I had a NSV on Sunday. We went up to Billings, MT (about 3 hours away) and since we were up there and they actually have a mall and clothing stores, unlike here where all we have is Walmart, I decided to look for a dress for my son's wedding. I found a beautiful skirt that was a large that actually fit without being tight or anything. Then I found a shirt that looked good with it. The sales lady brought me the shirt and another one with a bit different style. I tried on the one shirt and it was too tight across the chest and they brought me back an XL in both. I tried on the one and told the sales lady, "hmmm, no, I don't like it...." and she said, "well, no wonder, it's too big!" Too big??? AN XL too big???? It made my day. Needless to say, I found a nice white shirt to go with my pretty sage green skirt and I'm set for the wedding. The wedding theme is "a casual summer picnic" so the skirt and shirt are perfect. Now I just need shoes. We have to go back to Billings at the end of April and I will find my shoes then. I didn't do my walk/run yesterday because I was building a chicken cage for my 6 chickens I bought last week. My DH isn't very happy with my chickens and they are getting too big to keep in a large tub in my laundry room much longer. They'll go into the storage shed in thier new enclosure until all the snow melts, then I will build them a chicken house. I wonder how long that will take since just building a 3x3x7 cage took me all afternoon and into the evening and I'm STILL not finished. I have to make a door for it still so I can get in and clean it out. I just read back a few pages (I missed some with my internet down) and saw that we have a new challenge! I'll join in. May 1st is my bandiversery. That's about 6 weeks. So a pound a week will be 6 lbs. Sounds doable! That would get me under 190. Have a great day!

You will do alot better if you think about how you look compared to before, vs how you 'want to look'. For myself, there are so many 'spots' on my body that I just hate how they look, and while 'deflated' is better than fat and puffy, it's still not really what I'm going for, you know? Whenever I start to get on myself for that, I just think about what it was before. How much stomach I could grab before, vs now, how I always had a double chin before, and I only do now if I try to put my chin on my chest, or how I CAN SEE MY COLLAR BONES. Those are all NSV's... you should start an NSV list, it's really neat to see all that stuff in one place. I have a before picture from when I was pretty much at my highest, maybe JUST a little less. Yikes. There are plenty of times where I just don't feel smaller and I still feel huge compared to my sisters (even though I'm only 15lbs bigger than one of them), etc, but when I look at that picture, I see the difference and I know I'm doing well. I still have some days where I run from my reflection, but what I've been trying to do lately is look at myself and who I'm walking with and trying to see the comparison. My reflection doesn't completely block their's, even if I'm between them and the window

Okay, Today I bought a pair of size 14 jeans that FIT when I tried them on!!!!!!! I was a sophomore in high school when I outgrew my 14's... YAY!!!!!!!!!

Hi Stephanee, the first thing we have to relearn is being good to ourselves. Our thought become real. So next time you pass the mirror just smile to yourself and say "I'm on my way". Congrats on your NSV. Good job!

LLSibley, that is what we call a NSV, non scale victory! Way to go!

Congrats! Don't you just love those kind of NSV's?:clap2: :clap2: