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Good afternoon, everyone! Well, Saturday was my 8-month anniversary out of surgery, and also the day of my very first 5K run ever. I'm down about 70 lbs overall, including what I lost before surgery. Should it be more? Yeah... I think so, because I had a long stall in there and am in the middle of another one. It's my own fault, I've been eating more like I'm on maintenance rather than still in the losing phase. I still have about 18 lbs. to go in order to reach my original goal, but I think I want to go another 30 and wind up at about 148. -Ish. Something like that. I have posted a ton of before and current pics on my profile if anyone's interested, but will attempt to post a few here too. Some of these (specifically the '80s jeans ones) are referenced in a thread I started a couple of weeks ago after a particularly emotional day, between a really good run and getting those damn jeans on for the first time in about 22 years. That thread is here, http://verticalsleevetalk.com/vertical-sleeve-gastrectomy-surgery-vsg-success-stories/9113-best-week-ever-nsv-after-nsv.html, if you want to read the story. I'll try to post some of the better ones here, if it works. The ones with the jeans are Those 80's Jeans, as far up as I could get them before surgery, and actually ON now. The rest are all in my profile anyway, if you want to take a peek! It uploaded them in reverse order so you get the current ones first and the befores last. Apologies in advance for any psychological trauma these cause. :eek:

NSV - We just had 50+ posts about GAS!!!!!!!! Congrats everyone and give yourselves a pat on the back!

Congratulations! What a wonderful NSV. You must celebrate by doing something wonderful for yourself today...a pedicure...massage...new purse, perhaps?

Okay, what did we used to call those "non pounds loss" happy things that happened to us? Was it NSV(non sleeve victory)? can't remember, but I've had SEVERAL today! We had a focus group meeting in my office of several Financial Advisors from around the state that I have worked with over the past many years but whom many have not seen me in a couple/several years. I had not one, not two but at least three of them single me out over the course of the 4 hour meeting and tell me how "wonderful" I looked and how much had I lost and how long, etc? FIRST, it made me realize - You know what? I HAVE accomplished a lot and I AM almost three years out! When I told one who asked when did you lose it, "Three years!" And it HIT ME! It's been three years!!! THREE YEARS!!! That made me feel really good! Just to have the affirmation again of a "job well done" and a huge accomplishment meant a great deal to me today. Not bragging, simply stating that perhaps we need to "lighten up" on ourselves some and see what others see. A real change in who we are and what we have accomplished. It surely opened my eyes today. And then... I went and ate 3, YES THREE, donuts. Oh well, its back to low carb.. )) We've got this, Pals!!!!!!

Can someone recommend something I could wear that would help me get accurate calorie burned numbers while working out. I want one that is accurate but not to expensive. I worked out on my WII today with the biggest loser game and did a 20 minute moderate level full body work out as well as a warm up and cool down and it said I burned less than 100 calories (measured I guess by me holding wii remote). The work out consisted of lunges, push ups, jumping jacks, planking, etc and my heart rate was up and I was sweating so I find it hard to believe I burned less than 100 calories..... Thanks in advance for any suggestions. and I am LOVING my sleeve! Oh... one more thing... an NSV... I measured today and I have lost 18 inches in the last month and a half... that makes the stall I have been at for over a week ok

Ok so I was banded just a little while ago and have lost 17lbs so far. Well my kids and I were playing football and I was throwing the ball. When the ball flew through the air, My ring did also. I guess my hands are getting thinner because My rings won't stay on my hands. I guess its time to put them up till I can resize them... Its a pain but very exciting to me HEHE....

@@Griggs2alr - the small goals are the BIGGEST ones sometimes. Keep trying on clothes you haven't worn for NSVs. Don't forget to measure yourself NOW for the stalls that will mess with your head. Inches "lost" are SO much fun to lose

Is everyone ready?? Tomorrow is the Surgery Eve for many of us! OMG OMG! I finished my 2-wk pre-op diet today. So I went out to the store and got all kinds of sugar-free things I am allowed on my 1-day pre-op clear liquids and the several days post-op. I ordered some unjury today, it should be here about the time I start needing it. Hubby and I went out for a date night tonight -- went to the Atlanta Shakespeare Tavern. LOVE That place! I thought it would be hard, since I'm not eating, but it wasn't bad at all. I brought in my Mio flavoring to add to my Water, and I drank 3 glasses while I was laughing my butt off at the great performance. I have an NSV already - I had 3 people compliment me on my beautiful new red dress, and it felt like heaven. I'm so used to being ignored, and wow, that felt so good... I have to work in the morning (I had scheduled to be off), but after that little chore is done I'm going to spend the day straightening up the house and making ready for post-surgery. I need to still drop off the script for my post-op pain meds, and I'd like to have time to go get my post-op Vitamins. I'm a little bit freaked, but mostly trying not to think about it. Hope all of you are doing great, packing your bags for the hospital, and getting yourselves siked up for the next chapter in your lives!!!

Hey all, I am really happy to report that I no longer needed a seat belt extender on recent flight and I was thrilled!!!!!!!!!!!

Congrats! Love hearing the NSVs

I cab from the train station to the office and most of the regular cabbies know me pretty well. So yesterday I got into the cab and since I've been out a lot because of the hip replacement surgery, the driver hadn't seen me in a while. English is not his first language so I have to remember that he meant it as a compliment when he told me that I was skinny now and not big fat any more. What could I say except thank you... LOL.

Congrats, Kimmy! A wonderful NSV!!!

On my 4 month "surgiversary" this week, I noticed I was feeling sleepy and lethargic. I took my blood pressure over a 4 hour period, and it was running about 95 / 55. I'm surprised I was up and walking around! Talked to my doctor. She had me cut my blood pressure medication dosage in half. I had already eliminated one of the two drugs I had been taking for blood pressure after my 3 month check-up. So I have gone from 2 pills twice a day to 1/2 pill twice a day. YEA! So far, my blood pressure is running about 105 / 65. I feel much better. Zumba class later this morning - I don't think my blood pressure will be low after that!

I started walking after the 1st month. I started out with a goal to walk 10,000 steps each day. Took many months, but I finally got to that point. http://www.bariatricpal.com/blog/9018/entry-31216-nsv-2-you-best-step-off-b-hatch/

I realize we're in the minority here, so I wanted to share a male NSV with my "Band of Brothers" out there. Pre-band, I wore size 48 Jockey briefs. My local department store carries the Jockey "Big-Man" sizes (48 and above), but there's a catch. Big-Man briefs come in a package of 2 for $16.50. So when I'd need six sets of briefs, it was $50 or $8.25 a pair, rather steep, by what's the alternative? It's expensive to be overweight. Well, my supply of 48's is now much too large for me after dropping 40 pounds pre- and post-surgery, so I went back to see about smaller sizes. Now shopping in the regular Jockey section, a package of 3 briefs, size 44, is $17. Great deal so far, right; now it's "buy two, get one free". So 6 pairs is only going to cost me $34. But wait, as I'm about to checkout, I see a clearance table and guess what? Jockey briefs, package of 3, size 44, $8.50 (now we're under $3 a pair). So I grab two packages of 44 and, when do you ever find Jockey on sale, I grab 2 packages of size 42, planning for the future. I go to the checkout counter and the clerk begins to ring up the clearance packages and the register displays $4.99 a package. Hold on, now the cost per pair just dropped to $1.65. Back to the clearance table for sizes 40 and, just for good measure, 38. Grand total for 24 pairs of briefs was $42 tax included. I just bought 24 pairs of Jockey brand men's briefs for less than 6 pairs of "Fat-Boy" (oops, Big-Man) briefs. Damn that felt terrific. I was just tickled pink. And my DH was with me on the underwear excursion so she got to share my joy firsthand. I don't mean to toot my own horn; in fact, I have so, so much to be thankful for. I just wanted to share this experience, because I know how downright demeaning it was for me to have to shop at the Fat-Boys stores. Maybe someone on the verge of deciding whether or not to get banded will benefit from this rambling. Just as an aside, anyone looking for large-size name-brands mens wear, e.g. Dockers, Jockey, at reasonable prices may want to check out Gustwillers.com; it's a clothing store in Ohio that carries large sizes in name brands at below MSRP prices.

Hello Maysters! Anyone heard from DREWS? Hope her surgery went well.. Ousner, you rock! Paladin, its so good to hear from you! How is 3loves? How is her band treating her? All is well, I hope! Marci - I say go for the marathon, but if you start to experience pain, you should stop! You can't be too careful with your hip! Wanted to pop in here with a quick update... After my second fill on October 24th, I am finally back to eating "normal" foods. NOW I KNOW WHAT RESTRICTION IS!!! I can't eat very much, and the weight is falling off! It's a struggle to get in just 900 - 1000 calories. I think 2cc's is my sweet spot. Example.. went to Cracker Barrel for lunch yesterday and ordered grilled chicken tenerloins, green Beans and baby carrots. The tenderloins are small (about 1 oz. each). I was only able to eat one tenderloin, about two bites of green beans and about 2 baby carrots. Needless to say, I had enough food for supper and lunch again. I can't believe it! When I got my fill, Dr. Rose said he was gonna "give me my money's worth", and boy did he! I am making sure to get my Protein in and taking several multi-Vitamins, so I feel good! I am now doing 1 hour of cardio and 1 hour of weight training 3 - 4 days a week, and I am really enjoying the progress that I'm making... 3 Major NSV's: 1. NO MORE BLOOD PRESSURE MEDICINES! 2. NO MORE CPAP MACHINE! 3. MY BMI is down from 51 to 39.1 (NO LONGER MO!)! Hope you guys are continuing to do well.

Well, this is really a two-in-one NSV.... I buy alot of my clothes at the local thrift store. My DH and I went there looking for a pair of pants and he said--"hey you should go over and look at the blazers--they are free today". I made a face--like, how good can they be if they are free???, but I trotted over there anyway. Lo and behold, I found a bright red ST JOHN blazer--size 16 and it fits me like it was MADE for me! WOoooohooo! Then, I decided I needed something decent to wear with my new fance schmanctzy blazer, I walked into our higher end ladies's shop (where before, I couldn't fit into anything they sold) and the sales lady asked me what I was looking for. I told her I needed a pair of dressy black slacks. She asked what size and I said 16. She brought me a pair and they were way too big! She brought me a 14--TOO BIG! She brought me a 12 and they fit (but are miles tooo long)! A 12!. I haven't done anything spectacular in the arena of actual pounds lost in the last few weeks--so this just proves that if you are moving, your shape WILL change! A 12! Still can't believe that! Kimberly

I went into the store today and I fit into a size 22 ahhhhh!!! To most people that's nothing in still considered fat but to me going from a 28 To a 22 is alot !!!! In down 105 lbs jn 5 months and am loving the changes in my body still have a long way to go but with gods help !! Ill do great

Hey guys! I am so excited to give you all an update of my newly sleeved progress. Although, these last few wks have been challenging, when I got on the scale this morning, it was ALL worth it. I am down 22 LBS since being sleeved, I cant believe it! I have not lost that much weight before. I am 80 lbs before I reach my goal. Below are thing that I feel have been working for me: 1. Ive been working out everyday 2. Drinking at least 70 oz of Water for the last 5-6 days (im finally able to drink an adequate amt of fluid) 3. I have found a Protein supplement that I can tolerate: (pro to go's creamsicle protein drink- just add water and there ya go. It has 15 grams of protein in it, around 80 calories, around 7 carbs. I drink about 3 per day. Then for the rest of my protein I add the unjury's unflavored protein to my Soups, Jello, etc. Oh yeah and I have an NSV. I went to a restaurant to get some Soup (as I was tired of that ones that ive been having). They gave me an 8 ounce cup for my soup. I got home, took about 5-6 tsps full and WAS STUFFED! Can you believe that. That 8 oz will probably be my lunch and dinner today! What I am finding is that water easily goes down but when the item is thicker (such as cream of chicken soup, etc) I get full so much quicker. I just had to share my first scale and NSV's with you all. I know that its not likely my weight loss will continue at this rate but im glad that I got a good start with it. ONEDERLAND will soon be here in about 20 lbs, so im looking so forward to that! Thanks for listening to me rant.......:patriot:

Maybe you aren't eating enough? Are you getting 1200 calories? Sometimes Less is not more.... If you aren't giving your body what it thinks it needs then it will just cling to every little thing that you eat. "but not until I have eaten way more than a Bandster should eat" - ok and how much is that? Please try to remember that everybody is different. If the scale is still moving in the right direction - even if it is moving slowly - then you are still ok. Also - look for NSV's - If you are exercising 30 minutes a day, maybe you are gaining some muscle mass - which would offset fat that you have lost. The scale could read the same number while your body is actually getting smaller. How are your clothes fitting? The fill choice is up to you - but I have seen lots of posts from people with too-tight fills and it doesn't seem to be any fun. Are you having the fill under Flouro? You seem to have had great success since April... it could just be Jack's Old Fat Theory: Those last 30 pounds have been around. They are wiley and they will fight for their lives... and you will have to just keep chipping away at them. You have done GREAT!! 42 pounds since April is nothing to sneeze at. Slow and Steady wins the race. (Oh - and when I come whining to the board in 6 mos because I think it's going too slowly - feel free to quote this post at me.) :]

Hello everyone! One month ago, on May 17, I went into the operating room and received my brand new sleeve. And what a month it has been! The first two days were the worst - I underestimated both the gas pain and how tired I would be. Had it not been for the gas pain, I would have felt great, but it really hit me hard. However, come the day I was released from the hospital, it was all gone and I felt like myself again. I have to say, I feel like my recovery has been a lot easier and quicker than some I've read on here. I have not touched my pain or nausea medicine at all, I've had no heartburn, no depression, no fatigue, everything I've eaten has gone down just fine, and I can eat more than the one or two tablespoons some people talk about on here so I guess my swelling is gone. I've only thrown up once, and it wasn't food related; oh no, I learned the hard way that when your ursodiol (gallstone prevention medication) says for you to take it with food, you do as it says and bottled water is not a substitute. I have really small bouts of nausea here and there, but it's usually when I take my vitamins or in-between my meals. They quickly pass over, and don't happen often. Before surgery, I was able to lose 140 pounds, and post-op I have so far lost 21, bringing me to a total of 161 pounds. But, I weigh today, and I hope I've lost more! I go swimming and walking everyday for my exercise (I bought a shakeweight for men too but it wears me out really quick!). So here I am, one month out and doing very well. I'm not sure what size bougie my surgeon used on me, so I'm going to ask him when I go back. I go to see him on June 30, and I believe this is the day he will place me back on solid foods. I have noticed I get some weird cravings - I want a burrito from Taco Bell, and I never ate there before, for instance. I am missing solid food and can't wait to start eating normally again; I want to feel how this sleeve really works. I haven't weighed what I do now in years, and I'm amazed. I hope to post on here again, as I'm not done yet and have much more work to do. But before I finish, I do have an NSV I'd like to share. As several of you know, I love anything to do with trains and railroading (I think my name and avatar give that away). If you search the internet, you'll find online train stores that sell t-shirts with all sorts of railroad logos and artwork on them. However, they don't make most shirts like these beyond 3x sizes, so I was once left in the cold from wearing any of these awesome shirts. But yesterday, in the mail came a shirt I ordered from one these sites in a 3x size. I put it on, and it fit great! Finally, I have a railroad shirt to show off to the world. I just might post a pic, but I'm some what leery of doing that. But when you once wore a 6x size shirt and can suddenly fit into a 3x shirt, it makes a world of difference.

Thank you for sharing your story. I am very happy for you.. I love your NSV. Best of luck to you, Toyia

So I bought a cute pair of jeans on clearance a few weeks ago in hopes of being able to wear them a few weeks post-op. Wellll, I tried 'em on this morning on a whim and THEY FIT!!! wOoooot! Surgery is Monday. Can.Not.Wait.

First of all, great job! It's so important to recognize NSVs along the way, and those are awesome! Second of all, bodies are so weird. I just celebrated getting into a size 16 in a plus size store and I'm 183 pounds at 5'5. You're gonna be a size zero at that rate, great job!

Last night I went out for a drink with my friend who is also banded and has also lost 150 pounds. We saw two 22 year old girls that we both knew so we sat and visited with them. There were 4 men sitting a couple tables away. One of them got up and walked over to our table and said, "I just wanted to tell you that we all agree, you are all absolutely gorgeous!" We thanked him and he went back to his table. The girls were unphased by it but us old broads just looked at each other and grinned!