Search the Community

Vines, I ditto the answer above! I think if you have to go down to 800 to lose you should try to lose, but also bringing the exersize level up can help (grimmace - exersize sucks!!! ot at least I think it does). Anyways, most likely you will have no problems with your band and have it forever so you won't have to worry about weight gain if you ever had the band out. I just worry b/c I am only 26 and I haven't had kids yet so I would rather eat the 1200 calories now, lose weight slowly, have healthy babies, and then at that point I can weigh weigh loss v. metabolic slow down. Also, about the exersize - the basic thing to remeber is that if you burn more calories than you eat you will lose. Simple as that (unless you have a medical metabolic problem). So if you eat 1200 but move around enough to burn 1300 you'll lose, or eat 800 and move around enought to burn 900 you'll lose. I wasn't trying to scare anyone w/ the 1200 comment - I am just being proactive b/c unlike some people who think thier band will last forever, I have 60-70 years left in this lifetime (hopefully) and I don't see my band lasting that long -- I wish it would but I don't think it's realistic to expect it to (I know alot of people would argue with me on this but it's just my opinion). Anyways, I'm totally rambling on here, but the metabolic study Melissa suggested is an interesting idea. I would like to have that done too b/c my metablolism seems awfully slow! Anyways, good luck and even though you are a turtle I think you are doing great and I think your NSV list is really inspiring!!

@@jenn1 can't have too many NSV's your accomplishment/bravery must have felt great!! you have lost your "excess" weight enjoy what you are now able to do 122 lbs down keep up the good work kathy congrats

Day 12. I am missing the one pee drug we ran out of. It has been a huge hassle to find out who the urologist is/was and to get more.(still don’t know) My wet behind the ears, fresh out of med school PA will not renew the prescription because “I am on too may diuretics” well I will stop taking the one YOU prescribed, give me the one that WORKS, so I don’t get up 6 time a night and dribble. I like to get a good night’s sleep. I have stated elsewhere that I find it appalling that I had pee issues prior to going to my WLS seminar and the soonest “new patient” appointment I could get is in October. I went from seminar to MAJOR surgery in 32 days but I can’t see a &%$#@* urologist! Scale said 328.6 I can see the difference in my legs, not so much in the belly. I have had a few NSV’s the last two days. My clothes fit a little looser, I can get in and out of the wife’s car easier, and I can get my wallet out of my back pocket while in said car. But the biggest NSV for me so far happened in the middle of the night last night. I can finally do a thorough job of wiping. My body can now twist enough that I don’t have to worry.

piercedq78 woo hoo!!!! look at you!!!! YOU look amazing in those jeans!!!! clothes are one of the most popular wonderful NSV's we all love to have here are to many more great shopping days, in smaller and smaller sizes keep up the good job kathy congrats

Hi Everyone, This morning I had a NSV which struck me to ask this question here. I bought a dress long ago, could never get into them (Yes, yes, i didn't try them on.. but it's so pretty!). Tried them this morning, it was kinda lose... but, at the arm hole, it's tight... So I was wondering, if you can all share which body part do you think it's the hardest to loose the inches and what do you intend/have done to help? Personally, its the arms for me. The skin is really loose there, i've been applying all kinds of lotion, spanx, etc, it's just going too slow. Now my arms look like their bigger than my body ( ok , I wish...) Gwynne

Oops, meant NSVs!

I was thinking that we should have a newbie dictionary/ abbreivation topic. I was very confused when I first came to the board. I am not sure what all we need to include. Just a thought. NSV- Non-scale Victory PPI-?

Great job! Doesn't it feel great?!? I remember when my 18s fit again. Now they are getting too big. Oh darn. Congrats on your NSV.

Kristin; Congratulations on your NSV!!! Keep up the good work. That's the one thing I'm looking forward to the most. Buying new clothes!!!!

So, I seem to be on a mini stall right at my three month post op mark which seems to be a trend around these parts. I have been losing and gaining the same pound for the last ten days, and my loss for the last 30 days is "only" about 8 pounds. My clothes are getting a wee bit looser but nothing significant. This slow loss certainly isn't what I signed up for when I chose to have WLS because I just knew I was going to be one of those people who loses 20-30 pounds a month, blah blah blah. I've lost more than this on WWs the gazillion times I've done that program. GEEZ LOUISE!!! That said, I am having HUGE mental NSV each and every day!! I am still tracking my food every day even though my efforts aren't being rewarded on the scale. I am still finishing up my 10k steps every day. I am still excited to get on the scale every morning (yes, I am one of THOSE) and I love the number I see even when it goes up .2 or .4 from the day before. And best of all? I can't quit!!! I am no longer able to use my stall as an excuse to eat everything in the fridge. My day is no longer being planned around stopping at my favorite restaurant for those yummy onion rings or most excellent fajitas. I no longer feel the need to plan out each meal in excruciating detail only to blow it all with an unplanned stop for ice cream. (And y'all know THAT deal, once you've blown it for the day, you might as well "start over" tomorrow. Or Monday.) This restriction thing is the BOMB DIGGITY!! I know it won't last forever but I do know it's teaching me to eat the right food first and it's getting me out of the habit of living to eat. I love my sleeve. I know I am still a "honey-mooner" and I don't care!! I am not living for the future, I am living for the now, and I am going to enjoy every single minute of this journey because I want to. Another really cool revelation? (This was something my 15 year old pointed out to me yesterday. Love that girl!!!) We were at a consignment shop yesterday picking out some items to get me through the fall. I made a large stack of tops and with each selection, I would hold it up and ask my kids if I liked this one. (This one? This one?) Finally, my daughter looked at me, told me to PLEASE REALIZE that I am no longer severely limited in my choices because of my size and reminded me that I no longer had to settle on clothes just because they met two criteria - they fit and they weren't hideous. (And OH LORD, as I cleaned out my closet last week, I noted that I missed on that last bit of criteria many times.) The choices I have now are UH-MAY-ZING!!!! Not only can I shop at almost any store, but I actually have to look at the items and figure out what size I am. I might be an XL, I might be a large and kick me in the junk and call me a cheese doodle, but I bought two tops in MEDIUM yesterday. WHUCK!?!?! Granted they were cardigans, but who the funk cares, they were beautiful and they were MEDIUM!!! Oh my good gawd, ladies and gents. I am in heaven. I seriously am.

wheeeeee! i can't wait to do that! congratulations, great NSV!

Hello all! I wanted to share my first NSV with everyone... I have been suffering with high blood pressure for nearly 12 years. I am 1 week post-op today and I no longer have high blood pressure! Just so you can understand my excitement I was on 3 blood pressure pills a day for a year. Prior to that I was on 4 blood pressure pills daily...... I am shedding tears of joy because for the past week my blood pressure has been normal without medication... Prior to surgery after medication my blood pressure was never normal.... Thank God for my sleeve and I am so glad I decided to have the sleeve done.. I know I have a long way to go but so far I would say I am off to an awesome start!! SW 261 Day of surgery 249 Weight this morning 239

That's awesome Tiff! I know what you mean about NSV's being rare when you are a bit out.

I have a lot of NSV's but my most memorable, my favorite is when I could see my collar bone!!!

Great NSV!

Hey guys! Well, today marks my 6th month surgiversary and I am down 65 pounds. I am currently in a stall that has lasted about 2 1/2 weeks. I started inching down by tenths since Monday. We will see if its breaking in the next several days. I seem to be in a holding pattern where I lose 8 or 9 pounds one month, then stall and lose 6 the next month, then it catches up and I lose 9, then stall again and lose 6. Overall I am thrilled with the results so far! I feel I am halfway through my journey as I plan to lose all my excess weight by one year post op and I am 65% there so not a bad start! I have struggled like a lot of folks with the fact that others who are the same as me have lost more than me but I have to keep focusing on myself and just be happy for them and keep keeping on with my plan. I have full faith that I will get to my goal! My sister has decided to join me on this journey and she is getting scheduled for June. So excited for her! This will also benefit me as I will have to be more diligent in my eating to set a good example for her. I dont know about any of you that are six months out or more but I have found that my bones are becoming a problem! They are starting to protrude and bother me when I am trying to sleep. My ribs and hip bones are digging into the bed and feel uncomfortable. I thought I was laying on something or had my gown or the covers bunched up, but it was my ribs! Holy Crap! My husband says I am getting bony. I knew from being skinny in college that I have very prominent bones but I had forgotten because its been 22 years. I still have fat and skin hanging but my bones are really showing up now! Cool or not so cool NSV... I will try to post a pic tonight when I get home from work!

Thank you so much for this..i do get caught up in the numbers and not enough on the NSVs. I have gotten in smaller cloths, I can do more activities that I couldn't do before and I have tons of energy. You never no how limited you are till you loss that weight.

after my shower i have a plastic chair i would sit in front of the full length mirror to blow dry my hair, use curling Iron, i couldn't/wouldn't try and stand up doing this. i was uncomfortable. 92 lbs down, chair is now put away, and i stand in front of the medicine cabinet and do my hair, luv it. big accomplishment for me NSV? when DH and i went to grocery store, i would sit and wait in the car. various "leg/knee" reasons it was just easier. now, i go into the store while my DH closes his eyes in the car NSV not only am i walking better, i have built up my confidence that it doesn't bother me walking through the store amongst many others NSV

You're doing great! Remember, there are a lot of NSVs (non scale victories) that you should be experiencing. Do you clothes fit better? I didn't think I was losing fast enough until I did a side by side photo and I saw how much smaller my face was. I'm two months post op and have lost 40 pounds and I feel amazing! I"m losing inches and most of my clothes are too big! Hang in there and remember not to compare yourself to anyone else.

That is a great NSV! Just told my husband I would ride with him after I lose weight. I ride my own bike too.

I just came home after visiting the grand-kids in Georgia for one week they were wonderful and i was so active, i was amazing drove 4 hours to stay a couple of nights at the beach, it was wonderful i wore a bathing suit for the first time in xxxxx amount of years I didn't look "hot" like a young sexy chic but remember..... i am cute as a button!!!! sorry not brave enough to post pic - but daughter took one of me for posterity here's to many more new wonderful NSV's for the rest of my healthier, happier, longer life Kathy

I haven't seen my ex fiance in about 10 years. She used to always wear a size 7 to 8 pants and a medium top. She was actually pretty darn attractive. I ran into her sister at Walmart. I stopped and said hi to her sister and asked how she was doing. It turns out she was standing right next to her sister and was probably close to 300 pounds. Needless to say my ex yelled at me and called me lots of colorful names. She then stormed off into Walmart and her sister turned to me and said you look damn good. Boy am I glad I got rid of her! I could care less about her physical appearance but her lovely attitude certainly isn't missed!

For the first time ever at the gym today, I was the only one running. The 3 other people were walking, but I was running!! I was the "fastest", and I kept it up for a nice 15 min jog!! Made me feel so proud!! Then to Celebrate I went down to the weight room and busted my butt. At one point a skinny mini was on the bar to do hanging leg raises and I totally did more and faster than she did. I felt actually somewhat normally fit!! LOL I have always been a completely non-athlete my entire life until recent years. Today I felt like I belonged there.

I'm going to Cali in six days to visit my son at Camp Pendleton, who is recovering from an injury. He shattered his leg in a training exercise last October and had two surgeries, plates and screws. His ankle is frozen from months of being immobilized and he needs physical therapy to get motion and strength back. His doc says he should be back to normal by the end of the year. He asked us to come visit him and meet his girl. My hubby can't go because he just started a new job so I'll be going by myself. The only time I ever left New England was when we went to his graduation at Parris Island a few years ago. And I've NEVER been away from my husband in all our 35 years together! I'm excited and scared at the same time. So in a way this is also an NSV because I would never have considered a trip like this when I was heavy. It's warm in Cali which is something I've always hated as a big person. I'm actually looking forward to being warm - I haven't been warm in months, it seems. I also would never have the confidence to go anywhere alone. I feel up to the challenge of getting my rental car in San Diego and driving to San Clemente (I'm a little afraid of California highways, probably from watching too much TV). I'll be staying alone at my hotel and spending some of my time there alone while my son has duties (even injured marines have work to do). I picked a hotel walking distance to the beach (another thing I never would have done) and it's close to a pedestrian walkway that follows the beaches (I plan to walk it every day!). I'm going to a little exploring on my own. My son, his girl, and I will be going to Laguna Beach, Oceanside, and San Diego to do different things. My son will be taking us to a shooting range (a marine's idea of a good time, LOL) and I just might get my first tattoo there. I've been buying lots of clothes for my trip (sz8!) which has been fun. My hotel room has a fridge so I can buy Protein shakes, yogurt, and other pouch-friendly foods. The hotel has free hot Breakfast every day, also. I think I've planned for everything. It should be fun! I'm ready to go! :-)