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@@Elode - that is an awesome NSV! I don't think I will ever like mirrors -

Today was the first day I got back in the gym since having my surgery in November. I got on the dreaded treadmill expecting to be holding on to the side rials for dear life like before and to my astonishment I was able to do 45 mins on incline and NOT one time did I have to hold on to those stinking rails!! It's a modern day miracle! Losing 91 lbs has made a humongous diffence! And Here I thought one of my legs was longer than the other and therfore causing me go sideways all this time! It's amazing how much you begin to not hate the mirrors so much in the gym. Feeling blessed.

Like natalie080, I tried to NOT limit my calories. I didn't want my body and metabolism to get used to a low intake. However, I did not count or measure anything, either. I never let calories dictate what or how much I ate. I just concentrated on eating healthy....a balance of Protein, veggies, fruit and eventually grains. But I do know in the early days, some of my protein smoothie concoctions had 300-400 calories each (and I was drinking 1-2/ day in addition to eating other stuff). I'd say I never got less than 500 calories, and was up to 800 calories within the first month and 1000 calories by 3-4 months. And as for your rate of weight loss, don't worry so much about the numbers. They don't mean shit at this point. I weighed exactly the same on day 11 as I did on surgery day. I didn't weigh again until 7 weeks. The scale didn't help me lose 100 pounds. I did that! so stay off the scale for a month and discover the thrill of NSV's!

Love this nsv! I totally relate to your story, I've been told to get off a roller coaster before as I didn't fit, totally mortifying! I live in the uk and go to Florida every year on holiday, I love all the park rides and this year really wanted to go to busche gardens to ride falcons fury. However, I read online that the harnesses are small so I told my family I just didn't fancy going this year. It made me really sad. When we go next year, I'm going on falcons fury, at least 8 times like you

weighed 980 pounds- lost 650 lbs wonderful, wonderful for this guy i'm going to play devils advocate (someone has to ) "probably" gaining, gaining, gaining all his life very sad, unhealthy etc. reaching almost 1,000 lbs i think it might/will be hard to change his eating ways we all know crazy/stupid/unknowing people say that having surgery is ...... The Easy Way Out" yeah right i hope Paul can change his ways/lifestyle maintenance is/can be very hard he needs to continue to follow plan forever small portions Protein 64 oz of water+ etc he is starting to experience wonderful NSV's ie showering standing, no more wheelchair, sensation in feet, able to walk, getting in and of bed easier many more NSV's to come i hope he can continue being successful best wishes being sent his way Kathy

I LOVE reading stuff like this! and yes, I think it's a huge NSV. Really, isn't it the real goal, to be able to eat like "normal" people? All my life, even before I got fat, I have not understood how others could look at a plate of chocolate chip Cookies and just have 1 or 2 and then walk away. Even as a child I wanted it all! I am really looking forward to this - hope I feel the same way!

it's a NSV in my opinion

Woo Hoo to all of your NSV! Mine this week was, for me, a biggie! The weight on the scale matches the weight on my drivers license!

Yesterday I saw one of my sisters-in-law who I haven't seen for a couple months. She was going on and on about how awesome I look and how jealous she was. She asked me what I weigh now and when I told her she said that I was 10 lbs less than her. I could not believe it because I have always considered her to be slim. Sure she has some more padded areas, but that's not unusual for a 50 year old mother of two. To know that I weigh less than her is incredible to me. We are very close in height so that doesn't make a big difference. At 6 months out and feeling like the scale isn't moving fast enough this was a great NSV.

Great nsv's ! No chubrub !!? Denist compliment (, strange compliment ) but take It ! Good for you ! Funny, we both had an nsv while wearing a long dress the other day. Mine was my half slip ( that used to be tight ) literally fell off me ! Thankfully I was at home and not out in public, but all of a sudden I looked down and it was on the floor ! And by the way, you are definitely NOT a fake !! You're as real as one can get , and we are all happy you're on this forum !!!

I had a NSV today. Wore a long dress with no pantyhose. No chubrub. Wahoo!! Next NSV...went for a cleaning at the dentist and the hygienist was surprised I had all my teeth considering my size. Not sure what one has to do with the other but she just assumed I was small, and always that way. I like that..but it does make me feel like a fake. Gotta mention that to my therapist.

It is an NSV! Celebrate!! Went out to eat last night to a BBQ joint. I ordered the sliders appetizer, no buns. When the plate arrived with three "dollops" of meat I thought maybe I should have ordered a side too. Nope, half of it was left on my plate and I was full. Funny thing was when my friend apologized for eating her bun in front of me. It's the second time that has happened. Oddly enough I don't feel deprived like I have in the past so I hadn't even thought about it. Weird how these surgeries work on your brain just a little.

Oh sweetie...my heart breaks for you. How brave of you to post this. My children might have been embarrassed but I'm not sure. What I do know is that they were worried. I'm the only parent they have left since their father passed away and I've since found out that they were very worried that I would die from my obesity. They no longer worry about this and the best best best NSV I probably got was when my youngest asked me to be guardian for my new grandson. That would nave never happened 150 lbs. ago.

Two things happened today: I reached another scale goal, 50 pounds down, and I reached a NSV, I can fit into my jeans!!! I kept a couple of pairs of jeans from "before" but I had to quit wearing them 3 or more years ago. I guess I just hadn't realized just how much weight I had gained until about a month ago when I went to try one of them on and there was NO WAY I was getting them on. They barely went over my hips! I have noticed a lot of body changing lately. More than just my face is slimming down. I can definitely see that change (and, apparently, so can everyone else!) but even though I had lost 5 inches in my waistline that was much harder to see. I am now 6 inches down in my waistline and that last inch has made a world of difference. I can actually see the beginnings of a waistline! Not that I ever have much of a waist, but that huuuuge belly I have been toting around is really starting to diminish. I remembered earlier this week that the last time I lost major weight the last thing to go was my stomach. Why is that? Maybe because I carry the bulk of my excess weight around my middle, unfortunately. Still, I am so very excited to see what I will look like 20 pounds from now. That is my next major goal. I will still be over 200 pounds but I know these next 20 will mostly come off my midsection. I bought a fitness band 11 days ago. I set low goals for myself at first and was kind of surprised to see that I actually walk more than I thought I did, but I raised my goal a few days ago and I am still managing to go above and beyond that goal! Who knew? I will keep upping my goals and see where it leads. Right now I am still just walking but I am starting to feel like I can do so much more than that for the first time in a very, very long time. What a journey this is. I am loving it.

I remember a time I could eat a whole plate of food, finish my daughter's food, and still have room for desert. But since the surgery I take a few bites and I'm done. I used to get frustrated but now I enjoy it because I feel like a normal person that knows their limits. I know that this isn't a NSV but to me it seems like it. Just wanted to share. Oh, and now my daughter finishes my plate...NICE!!!????

I've met nearly all my NSVs so I'll not bother to post them. I just wanted to comment here that whatever you are looking forward to, know that you can have it all. I've been lucky enough that it's happened to me so I know that it can happen to you all as well. Good luck!

@@roundisashape that is a "moving" NSV!

I'm going on vacation next week, it will be 9 weeks post LB, 1.5 weeks post gall bladder removal. I went to Marshalls to look for a dress or two....usually I haven't found much there, not a huge fan of their "plus size" items. But I tried on a bunch of dresses size 14 and 16, not women's but a regular 14 & 16....every item fit, I didn't like the look of all of them but they all fit!! I walked away with 3 beautiful dresses!! I'm so excited! The styles of them will also be flattering as I continue to loose FYI at 8 weeks I'm down 20 lbs!

@@Stevehud - what a great NSV! I had a similar one yesterday. I work where I can wear shorts and a company shirt. Because I refused to buy bigger shorts I have just worn the same ones. I also recently just moved into my new house. I just found and started wearing clothes I haven't worn since before WLS on May 6th. I couldn't keep the stretchy things up - no drawstrings to adjust either. I was so pumped! Those went straight to the trash!

I suffer from terrible migraines. I usually get several per week and only about half the time do medications relieve them. I have just gotten used to the pain. I had splitting migraines in the hospital (surgery was 6/1/15) that the narcotics didn't even cure. I came home on 6/3/15 with a migraine, took a maxalt, and it went anyway. And I have not had a migraine since! WHAT?! This is so weird. I am knocking on wood. And all of the things that should trigger a migraine, not eating enough, sugar and caffeine withdrawal, etc are happening so I am flummoxed as to what my mystery relief is. Has anyone else experienced resolution of migraines after WLS? If so, is it permanent? Temporary? Would love some insight please.

Try not to worry about the number. I know easier said than done. I was in the same boat in May. I was so close to 100 pounds that I think I actually psyched myself out. Just try to stick to your food plan and listen to your belly, not your mind. Have you done any measurements? Even though my scale didn't move much in May (I actually gained 1 week as well) my inches went down. NSV's can get you through a scale plateau. Just try to keep in mind it's just a number. Good luck!!

I just want to preface this by saying that getting the surgery was probably the best decision of my life. A briefish summary of my story: I was lean as a kid and a teenager. I was highly active and on many days I would play basketball for 3-4 hours after school. Then, I went off to college. As a teenager, I ate a ton of food just to keep the weight on. I could eat ~5,000 kcals a day and my weight wouldn't budge. I had a 6-pack and could dunk a basketball on a good day, which isn't easy when you're 5' 10". When I got to college, I started partying a bit (others certainly partied a lot more, but I'm not going to say it didn't affect me). I also stopped playing basketball every day because I either felt too lazy to go to the gym (none of my usual friends were around to motivate me to get off the computer) or I had to focus on studying/writing a paper/etc. I gained about 20 lbs my freshman year. I still didn't look bad in a shirt, but I think this was the beginning of my battle with obesity. I'm certain that extra 20 lbs was enough to trigger the beginning of my sleep apnea. The next year, I became incredibly lazy, mostly because I was often tired. I went to go see multiple doctors on campus, including a psychiatrist, and they all diagnosed with major depression. When I mentioned my poor sleep, they just attributed it to the depression. I tried various anti-depressants, but they didn't seem to help. My doctors and I thought it was a matter of just finding the right medication. Meanwhile, I kept gaining weight. I gained another 40 lbs my sophomore year and my abdominal bulge could no longer be hidden by wearing a loose shirt. I made it through that year with OK grades, but it was a struggle. Once I finished the semester, I resolved to lose the weight. This was my first diet of many. I spent most of my summer working out / playing basketball and adhering to a strict 1,500 calorie diet. I managed to lose 40 lbs and and I actually looked quite good due to the muscle I put on from weight training, but as soon as school started up again, I slipped. I supposed it was the stress that caused me to fall of the wagon. Between late August and mid-May of the following year, I put on 50 lbs and was heavier than when I started dieting. I also lost a lot of my muscle mass, to the point where my legs buckled a few times just walking around. Worst of all, I failed a couple of my courses each semester. I decided I needed a change of scenery and transferred to a different university, hoping that a new location would help me reinvigorate myself. Long story short: it didn't help me. I ended up dropping out and moving back in with my parents. I spent the next few years in a state of lethargy, hopping from one crushingly monotonous retail job to the next, quitting when my fatigue would become overwhelming. Finally, at 26, I started to turn things around. It started when I saw a report on the news about sleep apnea. None of my doctors ever mentioned it to me, but I was certain that I had it. After a few months, I finally got scheduled for a sleep study. The night at the sleep clinic was rough as I had trouble sleeping with all the wires attached to me, but I did manage to sleep for an hour, enough to be diagnosed with severe sleep apnea. A week later, I finally got my CPAP. It changed my life. I went from having little motivation and energy to wanting to change the world. I signed up for a couple of classes at the local CC and aced both of them. I then transferred to the nearest university while living at home. Over the next year, I took 39 credit hours and made As in all of my classes except for a difficult genetics class, which I got a B in. It was by far my most difficult course load, but I thrived. I would have graduated summa cum laude if it weren't for the fact that I need another 15 hours at the campus to qualify. But I still had one large problem: I was fat. Fatter than I had ever been, tipping the scales at 330 lbs. I had also recently tried dieting, but succumbed to the yo-yo effect. Throughout my time living at home, I dieted several times. Each time, I was initially successful, losing 30 lbs or more, but I always ended up a bit fatter than before. I finally realized that dieting was futile, at least in my case. I was in the 95% that re-gains after weight loss through traditional means. I always changed up my diet some, going from low fat to low carb, but the result was always the same: fatter than before. I had known about bariatric surgery for a while, but I didn't consider it an option until after I graduated -- even then I was reluctant to get operated on. Fast forward to this past March. I had be avoiding doctors, but I finally went to get my bloodwork checked at the behest of my parents. I still felt pretty good thanks to my CPAP but, shockingly, I was diagnosed with diabetes. I also had hypertension, hypertryglceridemia, hypercholestolemia and mildly elevated ALT levels, on top of my diabetes. My A1C was 6.6%, but my doctor said that I could put my diabetes into remission if I lost weight. I had to do something, but I knew dieting again would be a failure. It was time for something different. Fortunately, immediately after my diagnosis, I saw an ad for True Results offering to do VSGs for $3,500. I knew my insurance wouldn't cover my surgery, so I called and set up an appointment. It wasn't long before I had a surgery date. I had my VSG on April 6th. My pre-op weight was 331 lbs. Today, I weigh 270 lbs. My appetite is nil. I feel fantastic and walk 8-10 miles a day. I lift weights 3 times a week. I've gone from wearing XXXL shirts to fitting comfortably in XL shirts. I was wearing size 52 pants, now I can squeeze into size 42s. I wake up feeling refreshed every morning. I still use my CPAP, but I my pressure has come down from 12 to 6 cm H20. My blood pressure has gone from being uncontrolled even with 2 meds to being normal without any medications. I haven't had my post-op bloodwork yet, but I have no doubt that it has greatly improved.

@@bbrown527 my answer is "i wish I had thought to do" i wish i had kept better records of my journey starting with Pre-op (situations, what was going on, problems etc) took measurements periodically :( took pictures during my weight loss used My Fitness Plan as a way of keeping track of my food kept track of my NSV's other things too write EVERYTHING down for posterity since i didn't write them down I don't remember what they all were write EVERYTHING down for posterity "wrapping" things up - i wish i had kept a diary/blog you are just starting your wonderful journey "its" never too late for anyone to start doing any of the above especially YOU have fun jumping through the many hoops with insurance good luck kathy

Isn't that great? It is the NSVs that mean the most.

Hopefully you will be done with those meds for good. I've been 100% off diabetes meds since I came home from the hospital. It sure is a good feeling, and it's been the best NSV so far!!