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Thanks for sharing this wonderful NSV!

So I am three weeks post op. And so far I've lost 43 pounds. 22 before surgery. 21 after surgery. Well today was my first day back at the gym. Before surgery I use to work out all the time but when I started my wls program I kinda cut back A LOT. I didn't go at all for about a month before surgery. Today I ran my fastest mile EVER. On my FIRST day back at the gym in about 2 months when I use to go EVERY OTHER DAY! I couldn't even come close to a 15 min mile but today I did it in 14! I just can't believe I did it. I had no expectations going back to the gym. I told myself I would take it slow but instead I let my body tell me what it could do and it paid off! It's like the healthy me who's been trapped inside all this fat for years was screaming at me "LOOK WHAT YOU CAN DO KACY"! I seriously wanted to cry. I've worked so damn hard for years to manage my weight. And it blew my mind how big of a difference 40 pounds makes when it comes to exercise. I loved working out before. But now I love it more because I know it's actually helping me this time. In the past I worked out for months and never lost a single pound. Now I want to keep pushing myself and KNOWING it's going to pay off now because of the surgery just makes me so excited to go back to the gym. On cloud 9 right now

It's best to avoid pasta, rice, potatoes, bread and sugar, those things will slow or stop weight loss and cause cravings. Focus on lean/fat free Protein sources and non-starchy veggies. When you eat out, just ask that foods be prepared without added fat/oil and eat your protein and non-starchy veggies first. f you have room left, then have a bite or two of pasta/potato or bread. That way, you know you won't overdo on those things. After a while your whole relationship with food will change. At home, get creative, there are some great recipes out there. Instead of telling yourself, "I CAN'T have.........." say, "I DON'T eat......." Just that small change in your thinking, takes it from feeling deprived to feeling empowered. You will find what works for you, in time, be patient. You got this! NSV's are things like being able to do something you couldn't before, etc...

Oh, Neva, Everyone hits that three week stall. Yours may have come early since you have a lower BMI than a lot of us. Just keep looking for those NSVs and the SVs will follow right along! You're doing great!!!

sounds great congrats on the NSV and Happy anniversay and Bandiversay

HE HE HE, hubby and I have never been "dull" in the bedroom..but with my weight loss and energy spike there have been some exciting new angles we are able to reach, LOL!!! He is definitely enjoying the new and improved me...I can't complain either..13 yrs later and we are still 2 kids getting to know one another HE HE HE :thumbup: I guess that would be my NSV!!!

Great NSV! Just wait till your pants start falling off! LOL LOL

While I have been happy with the weight loss progress that I have made since surgery in November, today was the first day that I felt genuinely excited. For years, I have wanted to take my wife to the Dallas Arboretum, which is a pretty spectacular 66-acre place near where we live. A trip there involves a good amount of walking. Since, before surgery, I would get out of breath just walking from the parking lot to my office or my back would be agonizing just waiting in line briefly for something, a day at the Arboretum was previously impossible. When I had my surgery in November, I swore that I would make enough progress to be able to do a trip to the Arboretum before the new year. That was today. All in all, we had a great time and I walked over 4.5 miles with no back pain and no breathlessness. I actually felt like a normal person! My knees hurt now, but I will take that.

Very happy for you, that was one of my goals too! I went this past summer and loved every minute! I wasn't tired & could have stayed longer. My husband agreed we'd go every year, I love flowers. The nsv's are countless.

Hi Everyone! Missed you guys! Feels like forever... We are coming up on our 6-month-aversarry! :-) I'm doing pretty great! Foods are agreeing with me, working out some, etc. I started officially at 293 and I am now at 208.8 so that's over 80 pounds down since surgery! I am very excited and happy... I have a check up on August 11th and I hope to at least be 199 by then... I would be so happy if that happened... NSV's *I am at my 2009 weight which is the weight I was at when I got married. My hubs is deployed so when he gets back he won't be able to recognize me which is amazing! jk! Hes been so supportive. We facetime all the time so he knows what I look like now, but still the effect in person is going to be crazy! *I had knee surgery after I hurt my knee in 2012. I have always been 217 plus post knee surgery. This is the first time I've weighed this little since that knee surgery and I feel amazing. No knee pain at all. *I am a size 12 in dresses! Down from a tight 16. *I am a size 14 in pants! Down from a tight 18. *My BMI was 47. Now its 33.7. Only downside to anything is hair loss. Yeah. I lost a lot in a patch but that's because I wasn't diligently taking my Vitamins. I have since started taking them all, each day, on time and the hair has mostly grown back. That's it! Hope everyone is well! Looking forward to the 6 month mark!!! Keep up the good work ladies!

So I went to a wedding this Sunday I had this picture taken and I can't believe how skinny my neck looks

Congrats. Great NSV. Sent from my iPhone using VST

i went to the store today to buy some jeans. Last ones I bought were 48X30's. Today, my new size is 38X30 and they arent even tight!!!. Mn that really made my day Now I am only 6 inches away from my goal size...

Hi all, after seeing quite a few pictures from (Before & After) thread and (NSV photo) thread I noticed the need to start a thread to show the ladies breasts before and after the band. I think it would be a great source of info since we can get a clear picture of how breasts reacts to weight loss, and in the same time it would be a great chance for ladies to show off their most valuable asset to our community. Regards, Magic

you're awesome ! the weight didnt go on us overnight , and i guess it wont be coming off of us overnight either. sigh ..................patience is'nt one of my virtues either but im still happy when the clothes started getting loose, and i had to buy new pants, . then again, and then again, etc. Hold on to those nsv's and dont worry so much about the scale #. Its only a # ! Im no expert, but maybe this will help as far as food goes. My hubbys diabetic so almost everything we eat is diabetic friendly. He usually cooks dinner, i take dinner leftovers for lunch and stick to some thing healthy for breakfast and snacks as much as possible. Occasionly we have a little weight watchers ice cream in the house but thats it as far as junk food. We eat alot of baked fish, chicken, some red meat, ground turkey, and lots of fruit and veggies. any carbs are whole wheat . No white flour , just Diabetic friendly recipies. This has helped alot because whole wheat products "stick" in your stomach longer because they take longer to digest, so you're not hungry much between meals. Try a diabetic cookbook from the library and give it a try ! Hope this helps !

I only weighed myself a couple times/month in the beginning. I can actually remember each one.... day 1 of preop diet, day 11 of preop (to make sure I was losing what my surgeon required) surgery day postop day 5 (when I returned from Mexico) postop Day 11 (New Years Day) 6 weeks, 7 weeks, 10 weeks, and 3 months. Don't even know if I had the infamous 3 week stall! But I do know I gained 3 pounds between weeks 6 and 7 and still weighed the same at 10 weeks. Then randomly lost 13 pounds by the 3 month mark. Not weighing myself drove one of my friends crazy. She had bypass 8 years ago and she weighs daily. She couldn't believe I never knew my weight when she'd ask. It was fun torturing her ???? Ever since then I've weighed once/week so I have something to post on the challenges on here. I don't own a scale, so I weigh at work on the dog scale (after Breakfast and coffee), fully clothed with shoes or boots. No clue what my actual naked weight is. For me, NSV's mean so much more than numbers

The band is amazing and like many others have said it is no magic cure! It takes work and commitment…as does most good things in life! I am one year out and down 93 lbs. I have had no fills and no stuck episodes. Everyone is different and needs to make their own path down this journey. There are no comparisons of how much one person lost over another or how much they have in their band or whether you are walking around the block or doing a 5K. You MUST do whats works for you, in conjunction with your doctor and their protocol. This is not a sprint to the end…it is a marathon….and in my opinion, anyone who is trying to only sprint their way to goal is going to feel bad about so many things. Enjoy every pound off of you when the scale moves down…if the scale isn't moving don't cry PLATEAU feel how your clothes fit. See how much more energy you have …see what other NSV's (non-scale victories) you can see BESIDES just the number on the scale. Don't get me wrong…seeing that number go down, down , DOWN is awesome and what WE ALL WANT….but it isn't going to move down every day or every week…its just not always going to happen. I don't even read the negative nellies on here anymore…and its one of the reasons Im on here less and less…it is sad but true….sometimes those people get the best of you no matter how hard you try. Best of luck to all…we ALL deserve the BEST!

I'm back from my long weekend with DS2. We had a great time with my family. We left early on Friday and arrived in Columbus for an early lunch (white-knuckled trip with pouring rain until we were almost there). I was supposed to be on mushies the whole day and then start solids Saturday (post-fill), so I chose some cottage cheese for lunch. I brought flowers from my garden and between those and Mom's we made about 8 arrangements and took them over to my Middle Sister's to start prep for the party. We worked until dinnertime and I was able to get down a little thin crust pizza and mixed fruit salad back at Mom's. Saturday found Mom and I (and two of her Herb Society friends) on a two hour trip down to a lavender farm for a festival (sorry, I forgot my camera but found these pics of the farm online-no, I don't know that cute little boy). It smelled like heaven as we pulled into the lavender field to park. She'd signed us up for two classes so we went off to the 'Mediterranean Cooking with Herbs' class. As I've said before, I'm not the chef in our family, but I was excited for this class. I have a nice herb garden (most cooks would kill for…my neighbors do come to take snippings occasionally at my urgings) and I'd like to learn to use more of them. I always dry some herbs each year (mainly for show in my kitchen and basement rack), but the only things I really use fresh are the basil to mainly make pesto or my mozzarella/tomato Italian flag salad, the tarragon for a chicken bake dish DH makes, and occasionally some chives, dill, or oregano for an occasional recipe. The teacher is the regional cooking expert for Macy's department stores (I think she works a lot with brides, etc.) and she was very knowledgeable. I'm inspired to try to incorporate the fresh herbs more now while they're in season. We had a meal of bread, salad, chicken, pancetta, and cookies all incorporating the herbs at the end of the demo. I almost had a stuck moment as I was carefully eating the herb salad (I thought I chewed very carefully). I was trapped at an inside table with people all around or I would have gotten up as I could feel the sliming about to start. I was panicking and I'm sure the folks across from me saw my eyes watering…but then it passed in a few minutes. I quickly gave Mom the rest of my salad saying I'd taken too much…whew…that was a close one! The Lavender Festival was wonderful, but small (about 20 vendors and the classes), so then we found ourselves with about 3 hours to kill before our next class. It was almost 90 degrees out so after the 'cut your own lavender' trip to the field and shopping the vendors (I bought; 5 plants, a pair of beaded earrings for DD's birthday in August, and 20 wooden garden markers for DS2's vegetable garden that he can decorate) we looked for a shady spot and bought some lavender ice cream from the Mennonites who had an ice cream and baked goods booth (they had a small John Deere engine attached to the ice cream maker…cool to watch). I asked for only one scoop…OMG that ice cream was wonderful…fresh cream from the cow…a scoopful of heaven! Our last class was making a framed picture from pressed flowers and Mom is going to be doing this at one of their Festival's at the herb garden she volunteers with weekly, so she was very excited. We were done in record time (the heat made us work fast) and we were back in the car for our trip home. Then off to Middle-Sister's for my nephew's HS graduation party (he's in a college program now to become a police officer). It went perfectly; no rain and lots of fun. We collapsed after pitching or bagging up the extra food around midnight. Sunday we stayed until late morning so I could spend some more time with Dad for Father's Day. I gave him a nice box of smoked salmon, which he loved. Unusual gift, I know. DH and I (and the kids) twice visited DH's sister and her family when they lived in Alaska for 2 years. We took my only brother on the second trip. He loved it so much that he and DH arranged a fishing trip there (in a motor home for a week traveling the area) a few years later and they took my Dad. He loved getting the salmon they caught smoked and so the salmon I bought him was labeled as being from one of the rivers in Alaska that they fished…he noticed right away. We got in the car for our 3 ½ hour ride home and DS2 said 'It was a great weekend!' and high-fived me as he said 'It was a nice trip with just you and I!' I forget that the baby of the family, even at 13 yrs. old can still need some quality one on one time. We played Mad Libs most of the way home and stopped at McDonalds for lunch (I ate ½ a grilled chicken club sandwich…went down fine). Had a nice evening of playing Frisbee in the backyard and grilling out for Father's Day back home with the family (Happy belated Father's Day all you Dad's). Tomorrow is the Jimmy Buffet concert with 2 neighbor couples (can't wait) and Thursday morning we leave for PennState with DS1 for our orientation (staying at the old colonial Nittany Lion Inn on campus overnight-run by the PennState hospitality program, so it should be fun). DH took off the rest of the week for all this, but I'll try to post some updates when we have some down time. I'm off to the Drs. (routine) with the boys and then on to DS2's guitar lesson (he AMAZES me with his talent...no idea where it comes from, but it's great for each kid to find something they're good at). Today is my two-month bandiversary and I'm down 19 pounds since surgery (most of that, just post-op though). I'm just hoping to keep losing or at least not gain during this 6 week wait for the next fill. Sorry I went on and on as usual, just catching up. Have a great week all!!! I'll post some pics I just took of my garden later.

Today....I did a 5k with my friend. Yes, I walked it. Yes, my time was 52.10 which means I was walking a slow turtle-like 17 min mile...but I did it. I finished it. It was a BEAUTIFUL walk through San Francisco and I found it to be easy, actually. Six months ago and 75 lbs ago I could NEVER have done this. I physically could NOT have done a 5k. This morning I did it with relative ease. And that my friends is an NSV!!! Yay me!!!!!! Yay Katrinka (my band)!!!!

Karen that is truelly a great NSV. Congrats!!!

Hi there, I am doing good, not losing as fast as I wish I was but I did have about a month of holidays and didn't gain so I am really happy about that! I feel really good and just starting to run. I am lovong the feeling of it. I have not been really watching what I eat but I have not been eating the crazy amounts I once did. big NSV How are you and the hubby doing??

Hi Everyone. Just thought I would pop in and say hi. I am doing well. The scale is giving me a hard time, but I am trying to stay focussed on inches right now. I have been doing 2 different boot camps, so something good must be happening. NSV...my uniforms are a med now...a little tight, but still a med!!! My mom had a mastectomy and unfortunatley the cancer has spread. They are starting chemo in a couple weeks. Your positive thoughts are appreciated. Thank you for the support. I haven't had a fill since march...seem to be ok with that. Have a lot of restriction when I eat 'good' foods. I have someone helping me with nutrition, so that helps too. That is all for now. I enjoy reading your posts, even though I don't always join in. Well, gotta run, I am off to bootcamp before work. Have a great day everyone!

Thanks guys!!! My laptop decided to give up the ghost so my ability to post anything to the internet is temporarily suspended, but once everything gets figured out I will definitely post a Then&Now. Another NSV this morning - a year before my surgery I had bought a cute t-shirt in the biggest size available from a grocery store in my hometown, it had the store logo and dancing vegetables and I thought it was cute. The biggest size in the women's style was an XL and when I tried it on I could barely get it over my breasts, it felt exactly like a corset, and forget about pulling it down any further. Fellow sleevers, as I write this, I am wearing that shirt with a pair of jeans. In public. =) =) Oh, and I'm down another 2 pounds - I am now officially half way to my surgeon's goal, and 10 lbs from halfway to my personal goal. =) =) =)

I am 15 weeks out today. I lost 1 pound this week. I almost said "ONLY" before that 1, but I am not going to do that! A loss is a loss. It's ONE pound gone forever! I'm just going to be happy that the scale is moving in the right direction. I started working out this week, so maybe I am building some muscle. I think I was really dehydrated the week before, so this past week I have been drinking a lot more. I also ate some pretty bad stuff this past week, so I am going to make sure to stay on track this week. I weighed in at 278 pounds today! It feels so weird to say that. Last week when I was 279, I wrote 297 in my notebook where I keep a weekly record of my weight. Either I am dyslexic or just not use to that "7" in there. So, here are some NSV: Some I have shared before, but I felt they needed to be re-shared 1. I am up to 10 mins on the elpitical machine (HUGE FOR ME) 2. I went to the cardiologist for a re-check last week. Haven't been there since a few months before surgery. My BP, with no meds since date of surgery, was 122/84, and pulse was 72! Can I get a "WOOT WOOT"..........the doctor shook my hand 3. I could squeeze my butt into size 20 jeans Still tight, but I could zip them I put my size 24's in the dryer and they are still baggy. But I don't have any 22's and don't want to buy any. I went to a store where I know the stuff is cheap, and NO size 22's!! So, I just bought a few 20's. Just bought some sweat pants for $3 to wear until I fit into the 20's. 4. I got a job! Not a RN job, but it's a job for now. I got a nanny job for a family I have known for 8 years. It's just part time, but it gets me out of the house 5. I can walk from my basement (up 3 sets of small steps- quad level house) carrying laundry and still have the energy to fold it and put it away without sitting or resting! 6. While working, I can run up the steps to check on the kids, and not feel like my heart is gonna jump out of my chest I couldn't walk to my mailbox before surgery without the need to lean over the counter when I got inside to be able to breathe. 7. I can shower and get out and not have to sit down and rest. Sometimes, before surgery, I would have to lay in bed naked because I couldn't do anything else. 8. I shoveled the snow from my entire driveway and sidewalks with no break I couldn't even shovel 1 path last year. 9. I fit into a booth at a resturant without moving the table. 10. My periods are freaking NORMAL!!! 11. I met a friend for lunch the other day that I haven't seen since I was 6 weeks post-op and she said "WOW, where did the rest of you go" 12. I can play with my dogs, and run around (somewhat) with them and play hide and seek, which they love. I can take them for walks (which I need to do more of). Okay, now some # victories: 1. I am in the 270's! 2. I am 11 pounds away from being half way to goal!! 3. I am 9 pounds away from losing 100 pounds!! 4. Starting BMI was 53.... today.... 39!!!!! I know I say this a lot, but I am SO glad I have you guys to share all my victories with :D For anyone just starting this journey, trust me, it gets better, and it will all be worth it!!!

Some NSV's to share: (in no particular order) I can see my cheekbones. Im down from a size 22 to a 18 i can take a comfortable bath again my calf-high boots fit perfectly Yesterday i was called a milf (look it up in the urban dictionary LOL) Lots of fun!! What are your recent NSV's? Please share