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Just wanted to share some of my NSV's I've discovered within my 5 weeks post op 1. I am not out of breath when I walk from parking garage to my office. I used to have to do that "fake" cough to try to get my breathing normal so everyone didn't think "Damn, she's out of shape!" 2. I had sleep apnea but now my hubby says I'm not snoring any longer! And my sleep is real sleep now! I feel like a full 6 hrs is more than I ever got sleeping longer before! this is a big deal to me! My sleep apnea doctor is on my FB page and is thrilled as well. 3. I actually park at the end of the parking lot when shopping or going to grocery store. NEVER before did I ever think to do this. In 2010-2012 I had a handicap parking pass because of my back surgeries. I'm very proud of this one! 4. My grown children said this weekend "Mom! You have a waist" I almost cried!!!!!! I LOVE MY SLEEVE and want to thank Dr. Illan and his wonderful team for helping me with these victories!!!!!! God Bless you all on this journey! {{hugs}} Sherry HW 326, SW301, CW 273 woot-woot!

So yesterday marked two months since my surgery. I'm down 43 pounds (I'll take 21.5 pound loss a month), and I'm feeling great. As far as NSVs go, I can wear my wedding ring; I don't have to use an extender on airplanes; I'm actually running again; I've bought some clothes at regular stores rather than Big & Tall; I've entered "twonderland" for the first time in 4 years. This has been a great journey thus far, as I'm really looking at food differently now. Congrats and thanks to all of you! You all have been a big part of my journey!

So yesterday marked two months since my surgery. I'm down 43 pounds (I'll take 21.5 pound loss a month), and I'm feeling great. As far as NSVs go, I can wear my wedding ring; I don't have to use an extender on airplanes; I'm actually running again; I've bought some clothes at regular stores rather than Big & Tall; I've entered "twonderland" for the first time in 4 years. This has been a great journey thus far, as I'm really looking at food differently now. Congrats and thanks to all of you! You all have been a big part of my journey!

Just wanted to share an awesome NSV I experienced last Friday (9/27) at Disneyland. To start, the basics: At my heaviest I was over 300 lbs. I was 302 lbs as of July 26th of this year, lost about 20 lbs on the pre-op diet, and was sleeved on 8/19. My current weight is 249. I decided to attend Mickey's Halloween Party at Disneyland on opening night, September 27th. It's a fun family event where there is special entertainment, fireworks, trick-or-treating for kids, etc. Also, it's the only time of the year that adult guests are permitted to enter the park in costume! The thought of being in costume made me pretty apprehensive, because I hadn't dressed up for Halloween since 2005. Dressing up for Halloween, for me, always meant the possibility of more fat shaming. I didn't want people to look at me and think that I was the "fat version" of whatever I as trying to be. So I never dressed up. This year, with my new attitude and weight loss, I plunged into the lost art of creating the perfect costume. It had to be Disney (natch)...it had to be relatively easy...it had to be completely fabulous. There was only one obvious answer: Mary Poppins. On the evening of the party, I put the whole outfit on for the first time, and was really pleased with how it turned out. After meeting up with a friend inside the park, I noticed a Disneyland employee standing (quite literally) right next to us, watching us. Just standing there. No talking. It was very awkward. When I turned to the cast member and asked if I could help her with something, she hit me with the following: "Um, yeah, I was just wondering, you have a great costume, and I was wondering if you'd like to be in our Halloween parade tonight. I've been on the lookout for some of the best costumes of the night, and yours is really fantastic." Wait. WHAT?!?! I was shocked. Of course, I agreed, and was scheduled to be in the parade at 10:30pm that night. The best part, though, was the realization that here I had been scared to dress up for Halloween for the past 7 years. Afraid of how I would look. Ashamed of my body and the thought of being a laughing stock. And once I finally faced that fear, and embraced a costume, not only did I feel great, but I was chosen out of hundreds of people to be one of nine people in a parade cavalcade in my most favorite place on Earth. Now that's pretty cool. Needless to say, being a part of the parade was an absolute blast. I felt like a celebrity. We got to see the backstage area and watch the dancers prepare and the floats get ready. We were driven along the parade route in an antique fire truck, with a place of honor right before the grand finale float. The cast member in charge of wrangling all of us told us that Disneyland hadn't asked guests to be part of a parade in over 10 years. Even cooler. Just a reminder that breaking out of your comfort zone can have some pretty amazing results...and I couldn't be happier with the change in my attitude, confidence, and of course, with my sleeve in general.

Just wanted to share an awesome NSV I experienced last Friday (9/27) at Disneyland. To start, the basics: At my heaviest I was over 300 lbs. I was 302 lbs as of July 26th of this year, lost about 20 lbs on the pre-op diet, and was sleeved on 8/19. My current weight is 249. I decided to attend Mickey's Halloween Party at Disneyland on opening night, September 27th. It's a fun family event where there is special entertainment, fireworks, trick-or-treating for kids, etc. Also, it's the only time of the year that adult guests are permitted to enter the park in costume! The thought of being in costume made me pretty apprehensive, because I hadn't dressed up for Halloween since 2005. Dressing up for Halloween, for me, always meant the possibility of more fat shaming. I didn't want people to look at me and think that I was the "fat version" of whatever I as trying to be. So I never dressed up. This year, with my new attitude and weight loss, I plunged into the lost art of creating the perfect costume. It had to be Disney (natch)...it had to be relatively easy...it had to be completely fabulous. There was only one obvious answer: Mary Poppins. On the evening of the party, I put the whole outfit on for the first time, and was really pleased with how it turned out. After meeting up with a friend inside the park, I noticed a Disneyland employee standing (quite literally) right next to us, watching us. Just standing there. No talking. It was very awkward. When I turned to the cast member and asked if I could help her with something, she hit me with the following: "Um, yeah, I was just wondering, you have a great costume, and I was wondering if you'd like to be in our Halloween parade tonight. I've been on the lookout for some of the best costumes of the night, and yours is really fantastic." Wait. WHAT?!?! I was shocked. Of course, I agreed, and was scheduled to be in the parade at 10:30pm that night. The best part, though, was the realization that here I had been scared to dress up for Halloween for the past 7 years. Afraid of how I would look. Ashamed of my body and the thought of being a laughing stock. And once I finally faced that fear, and embraced a costume, not only did I feel great, but I was chosen out of hundreds of people to be one of nine people in a parade cavalcade in my most favorite place on Earth. Now that's pretty cool. Needless to say, being a part of the parade was an absolute blast. I felt like a celebrity. We got to see the backstage area and watch the dancers prepare and the floats get ready. We were driven along the parade route in an antique fire truck, with a place of honor right before the grand finale float. The cast member in charge of wrangling all of us told us that Disneyland hadn't asked guests to be part of a parade in over 10 years. Even cooler. Just a reminder that breaking out of your comfort zone can have some pretty amazing results...and I couldn't be happier with the change in my attitude, confidence, and of course, with my sleeve in general.

Today I rode on public transportation for the first time since surgery... I realized half way through that someone was sitting next to me , and I was relaxed and enjoying myself. Previously I would be tense the whole way trying to make myself as small as possible... Felt liberating.

I bought myself a little something to celebrate losing 100 pounds today! I figure each time I look down at my wrist, I will be reminded of my accomplishment. I am so proud of me!

I had my first really awesome NSV today. I had ordered some new school clothes for fall (I'm a teacher) when the catalog was having a great sale, and ordered all my tops in a 3X (my usual size). They arrived today and were huge...not just a little too roomy, but HUGE. I don't think I've ever been so happy to pay return shipping costs in my life. Can't wait until I can shop in cheaper regular stores and not be stuck with ordering online.

I had my first really awesome NSV today. I had ordered some new school clothes for fall (I'm a teacher) when the catalog was having a great sale, and ordered all my tops in a 3X (my usual size). They arrived today and were huge...not just a little too roomy, but HUGE. I don't think I've ever been so happy to pay return shipping costs in my life. Can't wait until I can shop in cheaper regular stores and not be stuck with ordering online.

rgrana05 i have been a "controlled" epileptic since i was 16 (thats 43 years, but please don't tell anyone, ok? ) after i had lost 60 lbs - i had a "situation" it wasn't a normal seizure didn't lose consciousness but - "it" wasn't good after blood work "they" realized i had too much meds (keppra) in my system for my new lesser weight my dosage was lowered, and then lowered again when i reached my final goal of 105 lbs down too bad i had to find out the hard way about too much meds but...................having my epilepsy dosage reduced, was something we hadn't thought would happen this is truly my favorite/best NSV kathy

Today I completed the 8week program! Not quite to a 5k yet, but I ran the times the program required. Ran for 30mins straight today never thought I would see the day. Huge NSV for this girl. On to the 10k program next. To be continued...

Im only half way but this morning someone said to me' "who is that hot tall chick?" And it was me!! Omg!!! I can honestly say right now I'm literally on cloud nine! So, YAY!! And I really needed that today too!

1. I had to buy new shirts for work already. I went to a consignment shop for cheaper ones as this will not be the last time. Amazingly, I am smaller around sooner after the sleeve than when I worked out and dieted before. My clothig didn't change for about 25-30 more pounds. 2. I fit into a McDonald's booth! Now before anyone judges me on being in a McD's, I ate a grilled chicken club with NO BUN and extra bacon (this is 50g of protein). I needed the protein intake and neither of us wanted to cook. I also spread about a teaspoon of habanero sauce instead of mayo. 3. I did a WHOLE Insanity cardio workout. Of course I modified some things because I am too big still to jump and do deep lunges (poor knees of mine) but I still did it!!! Now some unexpected hurdles from losing weight: 1. I can't eat away stress and frustration so I fight more. My bf calls me the big B at least once a day. I just cannot hold my anger in and It comes out. 2. I have realized how much I hate my job and the people I work with. I must have smothered my unhappiness in food for awhile because After 6 weeks off and not eatig that much I despise them. They do nt support my dietary needs nor do they care much about anything but themselves. I have begun the interview process to GET OUT!!! 3. I hate cooking now. I make something awesome and I barely get a 1/2 cup to a cup of food? So not worth my effort. It is easier to eat when y bf cooks.

Phoenix climbing stairs, no huffing or puffing - how cool is that!!!! we love those NSV's!!!! keep up the good job DOS....July 1, 2013??? ticker please raising a glass of Water to your continued success kathy congrats

Can I eat (insert food here) after Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy WLS surgery? The answer is... most likely. It's really going to depend on the person and how you have healed. I have not found any food that I could not eat, once I was back on full foods post-op. Surprisingly, the processed foods/snack foods/fast food was the easiest to digest. It was the healthy foods - boneless skinless chicken breasts, broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, pineapple, apples and grapes that gave me trouble up until about the 6 month mark. At 9 months post-op, I can eat anything I want with only the occasional stomach growl. The best NSV post-op is that I have not wanted all those processed/fast foods that I craved pre-surgery. I can honestly say that I don't even think about going out for pizza or hamburgers any more. So if you're worried about not being able to eat your favorite foods post-op, you may come to realize that post-op you don't WANT to eat them ever again. :-)

I went with my mom and sister to a musical tonight and the parking garage elevator was packed after the show. So I decided to take the stairs 6 flights up instead with my mom. Last year, before surgery, we did the same thing and she left me puffing on the stairs a full flight behind her. THIS time, I was a full flight ahead of her, with her puffing behind me. I tell ya, that felt awesome- even though she's 65 with arthritis cancer and Chrohn's disease and premature senility. Lol. (My mom wanted me to add this. ... She's still really fit for 65 though!

Just finished w6d2, I ran three miles in new balance minimus shoes. I feel great no knee pain..atleast not yet. Also tonight I ran around the block a couple times with my girls while they scootered. My ten year old said "Mom it is nice to not have to stop while you catch up" a great NSV! Thanks for your help butter, I worked on my form and keeping bent knees...

I love hearing from post-op folks. At the pre-op you keep second guessing yourself and wondering if VSG is really necessary. It's different for folks that have never been thin, I mean if I hated being overweight why did i put up with it for us long? I loathe everything about being fat but I do enjoy food. My post-op NSV other than the great things that come with losing weight would be eating to live and not craving food all the time.

I have been doing yoga for about 20 years, and finally started in a studio after surgery. I start working there SUNDAY! if all goes well, and I decide I like it, I will begin Yoga Instructor training in the summer. Cannot sit still. So excited! :D

Silly NSV but I had to go to the hospital for some tests and after I was done I was able to slip the plastic ID bracelet off w/o cutting it off with scissors :-) I have never been able to do that before. DOS:358 CW:270 SD:1/28/13

When you said 'fell into bed for a nap and clearly there was something poking me in the belly/chest.' My first thought was 'crikey, her husband is a bit forward, isn't he?!' Clearly I need to seek therapy... Congrats on your NSV though. It's awesome

NSV = Non-Scale Victory congrats, Teeny!

Okay...may be a stupid question, but what does NSV stand for?

Nice! Beautiful rings that you should be proud to wear. That's an awesome NSV!

I got home from work yesterday absolutely exhausted, fell into bed for a nap and clearly there was something poking me in the belly/chest. i roll over to remove whatever it is and there is nothing there. WTF? clearly something is poking me there! finally figure out it is my rib cage protruding out. how do i fix that? does this go away? fortunately it only happens on the right side as it sticks out slightly more than the left. I suppose i am happy about it. going along with this, sleeping on my side has become increasingly difficult because my legs have become so bony that they don't easily lie on each other without a presure point. I will adjust, but i did not expect this.