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I'm feeling pretty good about my progress today. Of course I still feel like I want every excess pound off yesterday, but people are starting to really notice and comment now. Yesterday a patient said, "you have lost a lot of weight since I saw you last time, haven't you?" I told her how much I've lost and she wanted to know all about how I did it. This morning on my way to work I went through the Starbucks drive-up. (I get Starbucks about 1-2 times a week and not always at the same store.) I got up to the window and the gal said, " It is you! You have lost a lot of weight! You look Great! " It made me feel good that someone who doesn't really know me and has only seen me at the drive-up noticed and said something. I have 3 part-time jobs. I worked the job that I have had the longest today, so the patients have known me for many years. Most of them said something about my weightloss. I guess those are pretty much "scale victores.", but I did have a NSV today too! I fit in the jeans I couldn't get zipped last time I tried! I will be wearing those this weekend!

I beg your indulgence because this post is pretty long, but I got all reflective when I started writing. I have lost 60lbs exactly since surgery, so that's been 10lbs a month on average. I am very happy about that. That is what I had hoped for, so I can't complain! I can't believe that I'm so close to my goal, when a year ago I felt so far away from it. If I lose only 1lb a week until my 1 year bandversary, I will be at my original goal of 160lbs! That's a very exciting thought. I would have expected that by now I would have felt decent restriction. I am still trying to find it! While I credit some of the weight loss to my band, I feel that much of it has been on my part because I do Atkins low carb. Since I can still eat pretty decent size quantities, I've had to rely on my carb restriction and exercise to get the weight off. But maybe I don't give enough credit to the band, but then again, I rarely feel its presence. I don't really think about the band that much, and I just live my day to day life like everyone else. I am at my lowest weight ever, I'm in the best shape I've ever been in, and I feel amazing! It's interesting, because major weight loss is a very personal journey. A personal journey that is a very public one as well. There's no way to hide it. My friends and family have watched me shed over 100lbs in the last year and I have had tremendous support from them, for which I am grateful. Sometimes, however, they think they understand what I'm going through because they can see the change, but they don't really understand. For almost my entire life, people looked at me and saw an extremely overweight person. I never noticed the stares (which I'm sure I got), but I didn't care. I still feel like a extremely overweight person, even though I'm not. I think people still look at me the same way, but they don't. I look around a room now and I can see that I'm not the biggest one there anymore. I know I look different, but I still feel like the same person... because I am and I'm not. I am still my bubbly self, my personality hasn't changed but my body has. By no means am I skinny, because I still have weight to lose. So I guess that puts me in the category of the everyday overweight person? It is weird to think that I'm just another one of those "normal" looking people (so I've been told). And you know what? It's not so exciting. Not that losing weight, and having NSVs like being able to fit into smaller clothes and not worrying about the seatbelt on the plane fitting aren't exciting, because they are extremely exciting and they are what keep me going! What I mean, though, is that a regular sized person doesn't have a better life. And I knew this was true even before I lost my weight. I saw (and still see) many of my friends who aren't happy, and they're skinny, so it's obviously not possible that being thin automatically makes you happy. I had to learn that happiness and self worth was independent from the way I looked and how much I weighed. I think accepting myself and my body when I was overweight has made this journey that much easier. My happiness is not dependent on the number on the scale (but believe me, seeing a lower number when I step on the scalemakes me extremely happy!) To put it in an extremely cliche way (and I do beg your forgiveness, but really, it's true!), I think that the journey itself and the things I've learned about myself on this journey are more important then the actual goal itself. I never saw myself as the extremely self-motivated person, but I have come to realize that I wouldn't be where I am today if I wasn't. In conjunction with that, I've learned to be patient and to persevere. When I started this journey, Being under 200lbs seemed ages away and being from the generation of immediate gratification didn't help much. But there wasn't a chance that I was going to magically drop 100lbs overnight (even though tv ads guarantee it!), so I had no choice BUT to be patient. Sometimes I feel like I'll never get there, but then I have to remind myself about the strides I have made. I get immense satisfaction from seeing how far I've come in such short period of time. From walking at 3mph on the treadmill to walking at 4mph. From being totally out of breath, feeling like I'm going to die after 30 seconds of jogging on 3.5mph to running on 5mph for 5 min. knowing that if i really wanted to, I could go for longer. It's those small things that make up the journey that mean the most. Yeah, so those are my thoughts as of late. Thank you for allowing me to share my thoughts and feelings with you. I appreciate the opportunity to do so and I look forward to reading about your experiences and thoughts about your journey. Thank you to those who read my whole post, and if you didn't, I don't blame you!

So I'll be 2 months out Monday. Yesterday I decided to go try on pants, didn't think I would actually buy since my "skinny" pants aren't *that* loose. Today I'm wearing a brand new pair of size 16s! The last time I was a 16 I was a sophmore in high school. I shopped in the "regular" department - I don't know the last time I even went in the regular department! I was kind of embarrassed to even be over there at first, I felt like people would see me and think "who does that fat girl think she's fooling?" I'm so excited, I think maybe there was a part of me that didn't really believe the sleeve would work, even though I've been loosing weight - somehow new pants make it real!

Thanks Faith, and Peaches, that was what I was trying to ask...I wish it had worked for you Faith!!! I too had a complete hysterectomy several years prior to banding, and I do not take any HRT. My hysterectomy was done due to cancer, and at that time with the chemo, I lost ALL my hair, soI have also wondered if that predisposed me to lose more again. Mine has stopped falling out, several months ago now, and is regrowing in quit quickly. I would say I have been growing vs. losing for 5 months now, and the back has gotten to the point it now goes into my ponytail---just noticed that NSV this morning!!! Now the top and sides are still fuzzy. When I lost my hair to chemo, I lost lighter blonde straight hair, when it grew back it was darker and curly!!!! Seems the new hair growing in is still curly!!! Frizz is a pain, but with product, it is worth every strand!!! It is interesting to hear what the age span that the biggest hair loss occurred in.... Kat

Not sure what the the letter mean for NSV but I know it means something good. I had a follow up appointment with my Cardiologist the other day and he was so happy with my progress that he told me to follow up with him in 1 year!!! (I was going every 6 months for episodes of tachycardia with hrt rates in the 200's) Also according to his scale a month before the surgery my weight was 276. So technically I have lost a total of 40lbs since April !!! Yay me!!

NSV = Non Scale Victory. When something positive happens that isn't related to the number on your scale. Clothes that suddenly fit great, comfortably wearing those pants you could never quite fasten, riding an amusement park ride and having the barrier bar close without crushing your stomach, easily fastening an airplane seatbelt, a compliment from a total stranger - it can be anything. And yes, yours is definitely an NSV! Congratulations! Dave

My how time flies. I think this is week 6 for me! I'm dealing with a few hiccups but overall I'm doing very well. I've been stalled for about 2 weeks now. It has a lot to do with my gallbladder issues and I'm going to see the surgeon about it tomorrow. Now here is the kicker. I gained like half an inch on my arms and chest while stuck at 237 but I had to remind myself that it will pass. PLUS I've been working out like crazy and lifting weights so OF COURSE I'm gaining inches of muscle! I just wonder will it sabatoge this golden window everytone speaks of the first 6 months being for weight loss. Back to the gallbladder. I don't want to go into the appointment like "I told you so" but I did ask him to take it out with my sleeve and he told me it was not neccesary because most patients don't have issues. I should have insisted on it, but you live and you learn. It really does lower my respect of his opinion. I swear sometimes I feel like I know more about this surgery than him or my NUT..... On a good note, my confidence is through the roof. It's such an eye opening to feel good about myself and realize just how much I turned down chances to hang out or try different things when I was 40 pounds heavier. I've been running, playing basketball, going to bootcamp classes on campus, and tonight I'm going to a Zumba class. I can get through an hour or dancing without realizing how much time has gone by. I'm making plans this summer to go rafting and hiking with friends. My energy level is through the roof! I'm no longer living, I'm finally Alive! Since the scale isn't moving, I'm motivating myself by trying to claim as many NSVs as possible. 1. All of my labs are...normal? What is that word? Normal. I don't remember the last time I had normal labs.<--- Wow! 2. I painted my toes. I was even able to rest my knee as I painted! <----That is EPIC! 3. I can cross my legs. I do it without even realizing it now. <---I've NEVER been able to cross my legs comfortably. 4. i went to a international festival and bought a bracelet. It fits!. <----- I couldn't buy normal jewelry for the past 5 years without some kind of extender. Thank you for reading. I hope each one of you has a wonderful rest of the week!

This journey is definitely a learning experience and I keep learning and seeing new possibilities. Having what I would say is a less than great day at work, frustration, moodiness (me and others), TOM and just feeling like things are not in the best place. So this morning, I felt the need for a pick me up...went for the chocolate (alcohol would have been preferable but it was 10am), had 2 bites and that was enough to take the edge for a bit. Not wanting to succumb to the food hunger, had a tea and went to the gym to work out some frustration...a healthier way to deal with stress. Anyway at the gym, i tried (have been slightly attempting for a while) to do a sit up. I have never done a sit up (i dont even remember doing this as a kid). And all of a sudden I COULD!!!! It felt easy and simple, like i should have been doing it for years....my body just decided that it could.....score, definitely a fist pump, blog moment )))))) For lots of people the action of doing a sit up is nothing but to me it is huge!! And it another one of my physical goals that I have achieved. FYI I am stalled right now with another 30 or so pounds to go...but when I have these kinds of wins, the weight doesnt seem as important.

Pssssssssssst.... ((looks around to see who is looking)) HUSH HUSH NEWS BANDSTERS!!! ((come closer to the screen I have to whisper)) Can you all keep a secret???? (nods nods nods nods all around) Well we had the BEST time on this cruise I thought that maybe I would venture to put together yet ANOTHER one (although less expensive and 4 nights/5 days). It would be out of LA port on Royal Caribbean in Early December. Give me a week to work out the details, but watch for the thread!! And shhhhhhhhhhhhhh:kiss, don't tell anyone yet!! (hee hee, I have about 5 cabins going already and I don't even have the exact prices yet!!):cry This cruise will be open to children, husbands, spouses, significant others, friends, siblings, banded or not that want to go. We created such strong bonds between all of us and I want that to continue to grow. Maybe someday we will have enough of us that we will book the ENTIRE ship! This bandy cruise is going to be even bigger and better (which by the way will be hard to top!) P.S. To my June cruisers: you are all wonderful and I miss you very much. Thank you for laughing at my dumb jokes and my karaoke fiascoooooooooo!:faint:Each and every one of us showed the true "us" with our laughter, comedy, pranks, sexy dresses, confidence, self respect, and comfort. GREAT NSV TRIP LADIES!!!!! THINK ABOUT ALL OF THOSE NSV'S YOU DID LAST WEEK REALLY!!!:hungry: Gotta go before someone hears me....... (sneaks out the door):bandit

As of this morning, I have lost 77.8lbs. I realized that my 10 year old daughter weighs 71lbs. I've lost a 10 year old child!!! SO happy with my sleeve!

Wow this was a great post, very inspiring. I'm happy you "woke up" this is the new and improved you, don't look back, and you have no reason to beat yourself up tomorrow, you took control of your life Yay!!! Congrats on your first NSV!!!! :purplebananna: :not_ripe: :purplebananna:

That IS a mind blowing NSV!! Congrats girlie, you're truly rockin your sleeve!! :Banane08:

I went through something similar in the beginning & I also hid in my room because I could not stand the sight of food let alone have to smell it. It sucks big time but that too shall pass. These are all normal stages of the process in the beginning & I am sure there are others who also felt the same way & there will others who follow behing you who may experience similar experiences. Just stay positive, stay on course, keep your eyes on the prize, & just like life take it all one step at a time. You are doing great & your rewards will be all your NSV's!!!

Great NSV! Let's hope you won't be "slippin' down the shower drain any time soon! LOL

wow Michelle, great NSV - most of our huge towels wrap all the way around me now but I'm still holding on to this really grotty bath towel that I used when I was 20 and pregnant with my now 14 year old son - I have a photo of me 9 months pregnant with the towel completely wrapped around me, bump and all - and it still won't go around me yet! One day soon tho! Well done you!

Good Morning Chica Bonita's and Ira.. I have been very very busy here at work and at Home but have taken the time to lurk. First of all {{{HUGS}}} and well wishes to Betty and her Family. My Prayers and thoughts are with you... Darcy ~ Whew what a relief for you that you did not have a vet visit. My Tequila has Epilepsy. He does not have alot of episodes but when he does I wrap him up in a towel and give him drops of milk. Believe or not ~ got that from my husbands side of the family. To tell you the truth I do not know if it is the milk or me sitting there rubbing his head calming him down till it passes that works? That is also scary on the med mix up. God forbid had you taken it.. I just picked up my prescriptions on Tuesday and they over charged me. And no matter what I said they said nope that is the price you pay. I called my Ins and talked to them then called the pharmacy and lo and behold they did overcharge me. Betty / Cindy ~ There is always next year...At least the Mav's made the finals. I always tell the to my Brothers about the Bronco's and then I duck. Cindy ~ Sounds like you had a good outcome at your appt. Hopefully one day they can get those nasty Migrains under control. Sherry ~ That girl needs to be reprimanded if not fired that is just plain Lazy. I have to reconicle every month and though I do it with Qty, if I am even off 10 I am looking for it. I need to know for my sake that it is a rounding issue and not a me thing. Working in AP at one point that would have been a big NO NO. What a great NSV with your License!! Beanie ~ So fun to be in the Big Apple and meet the other chica's.. I envy you but not the working part.. Mummm Italian food my favorite.. So did you have a Hang over??? Don't envy that part either. Pat ~ that grandbaby is so cute ~ just want to kiss those sweet cheeks.. I love your pool it looks so inviting. Seems those boys are just relaxing. Great NSV on the shorts. Eileenie ~ How is work today with no Boss? Mine is not here as of yet. I love the picture ~ you are beautiful and so is your DD. Patty ~ Have you heard anything else? Hope everything is getting better your way. Donna ~ What a handsome young man you have there. God Bless Him and all that serve our Country. Dianne ~ How did it go on your last night for Choir??? I cannot even hold a note or worse yet I cannot even clap to a beat. I am the one who is always clapping out of turn. Waiting to see those Pics.. Where is Kat??? Is she on a break??? Sending warm thoughts that everything is going good for her and her hubby. Sorry if I missed anyone ~ going off memory here at that is not a sure thing. Not much happening in my neck of the woods. EX has agreed to sign off on the house so we did not have to go to mediation and it looks like we will not have another court appearance. My Lawyer is going to send the paperwork and Ex has agreed to all the terms now he just needs to sign and we are done. Whew finally ~ actually he has been acting like a different man ~ could it be his new girlfreind?? Good for him is all I can say ~ keeps him distracted and out of my hair. Kids are great and we all go to the Childrens Rodeo tomorrow. No they are not in anything we are all spectators. Then the Rides start at 4pm and we will be back for that. And of course the Concert. Cannot wait ~ so excited. Well chica's better get back to work or best start. Been here way to long.. OK ~ I just came from the Picture thread.. Those that posted your after or now Pics need to update your aviators. You are all Beautiful and your then aviator does not do you justice..

Greetings! I am a little over three weeks out and can finally wear a belt and tuck in my shirts!!!! This is a whoo hoo moment for me. Also, I took all my smaller sized blouses, sweaters, and skirts to the cleaners this week, and it's like I have a new wardrobe. Plus my hubby told me I'm looking sexy!! Wow! Love my sleeve. I will be fit before I turn fifty. To our good health- Fit

I have been so excited over the last few days with my renewed committment. That is great! However, with my new excitement, I have been talking about it A LOT and I noticed that a friend of mine's eyes started to glaze over a bit. HA!! I'm not at all upset because she is SUPER supportive, but it does tell me that I need to close my mouth and show...not tell. :thumbup: That is what my blog is for!! My fill went well yesterday. I typically go to the fill doctor, but yesterday my surgeon was the fill doctor. He did a great job! He told me that I looked very close to my sweet spot and he only added 1/10 cc. I told him that is what the other doc added last time and it really made a difference for about 7 weeks, then it just seemed to drop off. He is quite concerned about over-filling and I appreciate that. I told him I have been having acid reflux at night due to my allergies and I think that added to his concern. Hopefully this darn ragweed will go away soon and I can get back to normal. He also told me that I will not need to get a COMPLETE UNFILL for my tonsillectomy. His first reaction was that I wouldn't need to get any taken out, but then he thought about it a few seconds and said that I probably should, but half would be appropriate. That sounds good to me! It is always interesting to me to listen to the other people getting adjusted. Fills at my doc are cattle calls. We are given time frames and then first come, first served. We are checked in and moved to a holding area where we wait for the procedure then return to that area post-procedure to drink water. I like the system and it gives people a chance to discuss the band with otheres. Kind of a mini support group... I really do try not to judge, but it amazes me how differently people approach this process. There was a very sweet girl talking about eating dinner rolls at a restaurant and knowing it will make her sick and she says that she still does it. Over and over. She said that she has a love affair with food. She also says that she doesn't exercise, but I can't remember if she said why. It made me a little sad because if getting sick or having physical pain isn't a deterrant to bad choices, then I think she is going to have a really tough time. She is a super pretty girl that has about 150 pounds to lose. I truly hope she finds a good support group and something that can help her move forward. My scale was down 2.2 pounds this morning. I know that isn't REAL weight loss for one day, but I don't care. Today, I'm going to strut around like I'm 2 pounds lighter!! HA! I have on a sassy White House/Black Market shirt that I bought several years ago when I was last small. I think it looks really nice! Yesterday, I had two NSV moments. (They sure do seem to be flying at me from everywhere at the moment!!) First, I was talking to a friend (who also struggles with weight, but not nearly to the extent that I have) here just about everything. I told her that I'm just giddy from feeling so good the last few days. I feel like I have gotten a TON of compliments and things just feel so awesome. She said that she thinks that I crossed the threshhold from being fat to being "normal". I think she might be right. For a long while there, I was losing weight and it was noticable (and great!) But going from a size 24 to a size 18, while absolutely EXCELLENT is not something that is really understood by "skinny" minded people. Now that I have moved into "normal" range clothing (even though I'm still a fat person in my head), people see me as "normal" and that they recognize. Does that make sense? I think it will take a long time for me to adjust my thinking as I discussed in my entry yesterday. But I get that other people may not need that time to adjust. The second NSV...I was walking out of work yesterday afternoon. As you go out to the parking garage from my building, there is a wall of mirrors that you face as you turn a corner. For so long, I would cringe or avoid looking at that wall of mirrors. Yesterday, I looked right at myself and I didn't cringe. I have a long way to go before I think I'm hot (ha!), but it is so lovely to be able to not hate my reflection.

Just wanted to share a huge NSV - I bought a pair of size 14 jeans from Old Navy on Sunday and they actually fit YAHOO!!!!!!!!

Love those NSV's!!! Dont they make it all worthwhile? Congratulations!

I'm a teacher and I've always been the fat teacher. I work with inner city kids, so I've been called fat a$$ and other lovely names by some of my more precious darlings... Yesterday, my students today were talking about their teachers. One asked if the other had that "big girl." The other said no, I don't have any fat teachers. I have that student 2 times a day :-) apparently I'm not a fat teacher anymore!!! :-D Then I stopped the conversation because we don't talk about other people that way. In my head, I was dancing and celebrating tho!

Woohoo! Those NSV are great, aren't they? How did you keep up your old jeans, going from 26 to 18?? I know that was a great feeling. Congrats. Karen

Does Nsv stand for...new size victory? I've seen nsv every where, but just not certain what it stands for. :-)

YAY! Love these types of NSVs!

Slowly but surely this band is actually doing its thing!!! I am still totally amazed at how full I get in just a few bites...I have learned over the last couple days that when I start to feel uncomfortable when I eat and feel like something is trying to get stuck to take a huge deep breath and hold it as long as possible and it really does help me...I have been doing my 30 minute workouts everyday except for today when I only got 20 cuz my son had a major life threatening problem with his playstation 2 that I just had to address right then, but thats ok!! It makes me so happy to step on that scale each morning now and see a little difference...I have been adding it up and if I keep going at this rate I should have around a 10 lbs loss for this month (I can certainly deal with that)...The only bad thing is that my uniform pants from work are just about to that stage where they are going to fall off me...Everytime I stand up I am yanking on the legs or the waist to make sure they stay up...Good thing is that we put in orders for new uniforms about 3 weeks ago and are just waiting on them to get to us...So from my 4x shirt I ordered a 3x (i still like big comfy shirts) then I went from a mens 50x34 to a 46x34...Of course we didnt have anyone measure us out for our sizes so I just had to guess...I hope that I did the right thing on the sizes or I am just out of luck for a while...Maybe in several more month and several more sizes down I will even be willing to tuck in my uniform shirt...I guess that would be a great NSV for me!!!