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Today I had an awesome NSV even though the scale hasn't moved much in the last 3 months i brought my first size 8 today and they fit whoooo hoooo I'm so excited this is my goal size i have 14 pounds to go until my goal weight I have a fill schedule soon so hopefully I can get the scale moving again this feels awesome!!!!!

My thrilling NSV (which demonstrates how lame I am!) is using the dryer. I hadn't ever used it for fear that my clothes would shrink.

Love the NSVs! New belt for me last night - ran out of notches. Integrity of the pants was in danger!

Ok, fairly new here... and trying to figure out what is NSV? Googled it and came up with No-Scalpel Vasectomy, National Socialist Vanguard, Net Sales Value,... so which is it????

I want to take a second and explain why I listed this in Success Stories, as opposed to other forums that depending on the individual it might seem more relevant. I put it here because it is not just relevant to veterans, or it is just about food, or coping, or 'finding myself'. It is an NSV; in addition to everything else I consider it a vital part of who I am now and wanted to share with my support community. I have come to adopt a way of life now, or honestly I feel more often anymore that it has adopted me, it is something I have come to call my "True North". It is a paradigm shift, it is incredibly simple but seems so deceptively complex, but it is not complex at all. It is the small steps that along the way have helped me cope and become who I needed to be in order to succeed post VSG. Everything I do I ask myself, gently, is this making me happy? Is this helping me heal? Sometimes it is physical as I experienced complications, or mental as I deal with losing my Mom (she died a week after my surgery). Maybe it is the dreaded combination of the two - the head hunger and thirst and heartburn for some noteworthy examples – just constant questions of “does this put me where I need to be”. I just return to the Goal of Me, by asking am I healing by doing this? Is this lining up with my needs and goals and abilities? If I were a compass, by doing this, am I pointing to my True North? At first I shouted it at myself and it was so harmful, looking back, I had this strong person, yet really frail and tired and I almost pushed too much. I was able to catch myself, with the extraordinary love of my Husband - I will never understand how he even stood me sometimes. I don’t question it too much however, and that is a part of the process. I just try to reciprocate and shine back to him what he offered to me. That comes back to the True North. I love to love my Husband. It is the ‘N’ on my compass, so I reciprocate all I can. Food is that way now also. I love the foods that love me back. In the process I try to stay away from any treats or the thought process that would associate a poor choice of food from being a "treat". Each bite for me I try to make it an active choice, an aware process and I tell myself "I am not what I was, I am not what I will be tomorrow, and this gets me there, while celebrating this moment." Food is for me to guide now, not the other way around. I FEEL alive when I eat bright, colorful, foods full of life. I am the energy 10x returned for the energy expended to learn about, choose, and prepare and even grow my meals. Exercise is much the same, and of course there is the less fun moments like work, traffic and bills, bunny poop and mosquitoes and Mondays. I just make an effort to live each moment, and in that instance also gently keep my needle pointing ‘N’. Be awesome to yourself and keep pointing ‘N’! Namaste.

I'm 6 weeks post op and I have lost about 34 lbs. I'm still in my same size clothes. I think I may be down one size but I haven't checked. The way I see it is that, as we get smaller, we should see the sizes come down quicker. I was just telling my best friend how I have lost a little over 30lbs...she is so amazed by this. However, she' seeing this amount in reference to her weight. She is under 200lbs so if she lost over 30lbs it would be a major change in her size. But, for someone like me, who was 264lbs at the time of my surgery, 34lbs is great and quite an accomplishment...but, it is not drastic enough to drop a significant amount in clothes size. It's all relative to how much weight we have to lose. I have no doubt that the weight and inches are coming off. I know I have to be patient before I see a shift in my actual clothing size. I was a size 20 for awhile. I was also able to fit into a size 20 even if I went up a few pounds. Hang in there! The NSV will come for us all!

When I was in the hospital getting sleeved I swore I wouldn't get on the scale until my two week post op appt. ha! I get on every single morning. Well, I skipped one morning and actually felt nervous, like, the pounds were going to magically creep up bc I didn't keep them in check. I like your son's insight. I also like the NSVs that people report bc those are what we should all be the most proud of.

I am now down 70kgs on my weight loss journey, my favorite NSV are my rings falling off as I flick wet hands dry, my necklace sitting a few inches lower on my chest, dropping from size 28 to 16 in jeans something I've not worn since I was 14, and I'm 51 now. My face is so different, people think I've had cheek implants, but it's only my neck and jawline so much smaller, buying clothes in the normal size range,

I have a few NSV's to share. I am 2 months out I lost a lot of weight before surgery. My total now is 110 pds lost. My shoe size went from a 10 to a 9. My scrubs for work were 4x and now is a size Large. I am now starting to shop in the misses dept instead of the Plus size dept. I just can't stop smiling I feel so good and am loving my life!!!!

it pretty much depends, for me it didn't feel like I dropped sizes but my clothes felt baggy until I went shopping and bam I was in a 24 at 3 months and a month later I was able to button a 22. Coming from a size 30 I should have figured it out sooner but I just expected "baggy" clothing. Have you tried putting on some smaller sizes at all??? you might have an NSV! I'm almost 4 months post op and down 85 lbs from surgery and 110 total- you'll get there. I felt discouraged from a lot until I was 3 months post op and it'll hit you. Good luck and from your numbers you're doing amazing!

Honestly, I think EVERDAY I find a NSV

Happy Sleeversary to me I can't believe that it has been 12 months since I had the surgery. For those of you who don't know me here are my stats: Starting weight was 173kg/ 382 Pounds and my current weight is 87kg/ 190 Pounds. Before surgery I hadn't slept lying down in a bed (comfortably) in over 7 years. I had chronic asthma, everything hurt all of the time (although I denied it back then) and it was just a struggle to move around. I had the surgery on September 3 2012. Things went badly. I got a leak. It took several surgeries and many months in ICU/ Surgical Ward before I could get the all clear to leave. That was November 2012. I didn't go back to work full time until the end of January 2013. Since then, well heck, things have just been getting better and better. The weight loss has been amazing. I've lost 86 kg/ 189.5 pounds - so tantalisingly close to half way lol. No fudging though - pesky 0.5kg The NSV's have been even better - the CLOTHES, shoes, movement, I am a "runner" now (on week 3 of the Couch to 5 K and am running in a 5K obstacle course at the end of the year), energy, clarity in thinking, enjoyment in life, exciting opportunities, flying without the embarrassment of asking for an extension seat belt, people looking you in the eye, not being "invisible" anymore, shop assistants are helpful and attentive, men FLIRT (okay, so maybe I do too - just a little), I've had a significant promotion, looking to travel OS next year, am planning for a future THAT I WANT not just settling for what I think I can have. For anyone considering this surgery know that there are real risks involved. For a while, the first few months in fact, I had really thought I had stuffed up and ruined my life by having the surgery. This was due to the complications and difficult recovery that I had during this time. Looking back now, whilst I would never want to be back in that place, I am so grateful for where I am now that I truly believe this to be the most wonderful, life changing – life SAVING – thing I could have done for me, for my family and to secure my future. Where to from here? Well I want to lose about 14kg more which will mean an overall loss of 100kg and my weight will be around 73kg. I am quite tall so I would look quite thin at this weight. Not sure if I will get there or will want to, but at the least, I would like to lose another 10kg hopefully by Christmas. I am loving my new active life, the way that food has become fuel and though still enjoyable, it’s no longer the driving force in my life. I wish you all the same happiness and success in your own journey’s! I have put in some comparison photo's for you guy's to see the transformation Best wishes to you all! Cheers, Liss

Happy Sleeversary to me I can't believe that it has been 12 months since I had the surgery. For those of you who don't know me (for which there would be few on this thread) here are my stats: Starting weight was 173kg and my current weight is 87kg. Before surgery I hadn't slept lying down in a bed (comfortably) in over 7 years. I had chronic asthma, everything hurt all of the time (although I denied it back then) and it was just a struggle to move around. I had the surgery on September 3 2012. Things went badly. I got a leak. It took several surgeries and many months in ICU/ Surgical Ward before I could get the all clear to leave. That was November 2012. I didn't go back to work full time until the end of January 2013. Since then, well heck, things have just been getting better and better. The weight loss has been amazing. I've lost 86 kg - so tantalisingly close to half way lol. No fudging though - pesky 0.5kg The NSV's have been even better - the CLOTHES, shoes, movement, I am a "runner" now (on week 3 of the Couch to 5 K and am running in a 5K obstacle course at the end of the year), energy, clarity in thinking, enjoyment in life, exciting opportunities, flying without the embarrassment of asking for an extension seat belt, people looking you in the eye, not being "invisible" anymore, shop assistants are helpful and attentive, men FLIRT (okay, so maybe I do too - just a little), I've had a significant promotion, looking to travel OS next year, am planning for a future THAT I WANT not just settling for what I think I can have. It has been a truly amazing journey. I love you all - you have become friends to me even though (with the exception of Kelli) I've never met you in person. You've understood my struggles and triumphs in ways that my family and friends here struggle to do. I can't thank you all enough for your kindness, encouragement and support. And I promise that I WILL get around to meeting you **Wow, hope that doesn't sound stalker-ish...Deano, you're the copper - is that a bit creepy lol**. Before I finish my rambling post, here are some comparison shots that I put together. Thank you all for sharing my journey and helping me out so profoundly along the way. Much love to you all! Cheers, Liss

My latest NSV was when I realized that I have gone into the fabulous little bakery that is at my office complex to get my daily non-fat latte and breathed in the great-smelling (and tasting!) pastries and not purchased one over the last 4 months since surgery. Have been some days where I was tempted, but wasn't (too) difficult to tell myself "no". Nice to be making mindful choices that support a healthy lifestyle

I finally have a NSV to share! Granted I'm one week post op today????I however lost 20 pounds on my own since June but few have commented. I went to a barbecue today and upon my arrival saw two of my sisters that have not commented on my weightloss in the past couple of months nor do they no about my surgery. But today they both said "d*** you have lost weight. It looks like you've lost over 15 pounds or so". Now here's the really good part they said they thought I was my daughter from a distance. I had to laugh at that one because I'm 130 larger than her. Just for them to notice anything at all is a vast improvement . I haven't been on the scale to tell you just how much I've lost since surgery but I'll find out tomorrow when I go to the dr.

Ok today's NSV's I went biking BEFORE I went to a BBQ... In the past if I were going to a BBQ that would be the ONLY thing I did for the day! Oh and I played hopscotch with my friends six year old daughter but really, I was the only adult there not worried about looking silly. In the past I would of told the girl no so I wouldn't have to stand up and be noticed!

What is your latest non scale victory? My current nsv is that I can fit in a size 36 men's jeans. Woo Hoo!!

THAT is awesome! I asked my doc if he could take a picture of what he took out, but he wouldn't. so cool to see yours! Happy for you about your NSV...too!!!

ch1_image_001.bmpHey guys! I'm so morbid, I asked the doctor to take a pic of my stomach before he took it out. Here it is! Everything is separated, just before he took out the remainder of my stomach... I like to think of it as a reminder of what I went through so I can make this life change.. Everyday is getting better.. I'm confident in my choices now.. I'd just KILL for some real food! LOL... Keith asked me what I want for my first real meal, and I was crying saying "I don't wanna think about that!!" I had an issue with my psych meds, I wasn't taking them like I should have, so I got a little depressed. They're just too big for my stomach.. So, I'm crushing them and putting them in applesauce. I feel old.. LOL... I haven't weighed myself. I'll do that tomorrow. I did go through my clothes today, and I'm glad I'm able to take a few pairs of pants, and dresses to the consignment shop tomorrow, and give some stuff to goodwill.. I was soo stoked about this one skirt I have. It's from Target, and it's a size 18, I think they're cut a little small. Before my pre-op diet I couldn't even get it over my hips. Today I tried it on, and it goes over my hips, and I can almost zip it!!! So excited about that!! I guess that's my first NSV! Happy Labor day guys!

I love this! One of my favorite NSVs is the energy I now have for my kids.

What a great NSV...it's easy to hear the joy in your post. Thumbs up!

Day 12. I am missing the one pee drug we ran out of. It has been a huge hassle to find out who the urologist is/was and to get more.(still don’t know) My wet behind the ears, fresh out of med school PA will not renew the prescription because “I am on too may diuretics” well I will stop taking the one YOU prescribed, give me the one that WORKS, so I don’t get up 6 time a night and dribble. I like to get a good night’s sleep. I have stated elsewhere that I find it appalling that I had pee issues prior to going to my WLS seminar and the soonest “new patient” appointment I could get is in October. I went from seminar to MAJOR surgery in 32 days but I can’t see a &%$#@* urologist! Scale said 328.6 I can see the difference in my legs, not so much in the belly. I have had a few NSV’s the last two days. My clothes fit a little looser, I can get in and out of the wife’s car easier, and I can get my wallet out of my back pocket while in said car. But the biggest NSV for me so far happened in the middle of the night last night. I can finally do a thorough job of wiping. My body can now twist enough that I don’t have to worry.

i recently just fit back into my engagement and wedding rings! Awesome nsv. I won't lie I cried. I am looking forward to going zip lining and doing outdoor activities with my 3 year old and husband that I was just too embarrassed to try. I also want to be able to run a marathon, but that is months from now...maybe even a year.

Another NSV for me. I sang with my workshop choir again, in concert yesterday for the first time in four years! It felt so good!!! I'm still trying to get use to people not recognizing me, lol!!! I guess that's a good thing.