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Thank God I read this. I.m absolutely terrified. And although I only weigh 200lbs it's still impossible for me to lose it. I was 295lbs and lost 95 with weight watchers but it goes on and off and I'm sick of being the fat friend and not joining in with anything. Thanks for the inspiration xxx well done for all of your nsv xxx Sent from my SM-G935F using the BariatricPal App

This is a wonderful place isn't it! You know we love ya! Keep posting those NSVs! The SVs will come eventually! That's what I keep telling myself! You can PM me anytime!

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!

So today I woke up and took my normal morning tubby. When I went to dry off the strangest thing happened... The towel went all the way around me and I was even able to tuck a bit in to hold it! This is proof that towel gnomes exist and they must have come in the night and magically made all my towels longer and bigger. The husband says it's because I've lost weight but he's a silly man. I know who's a work here. Now if they could just give up the underpants and sock gnomes that infest this house I'd be ever so grateful... Is this one of those NSV thingies? Wow. What a gift this surgery is. Every day I'm amazed and thankful. Jen Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Sunday I became the Mrs. to my best friend! The day was everything I could ever want thanks to my VSG surgery 8 months ago. I was able to hold my head up high, have energy for the days events, and actually feel like a pretty bride instead of an embarrassed-about-my-weight bride. My new husband deserves the best me I can give him and I feel like this surgery is allowing me to offer that. Thank you to all the people on this forum who have shared their experiences, offered support, and cheered for me along the way. Oh Happy Day!!!

WOW that is great results for the 1st month. 36 pounds is a huge loss and you have had a lot of NSV as well. Many of which I also hope to achieve with the sleeve whenever my surgery date is going to be. Thanks so much! I appreciate it!!

I am so happy for you! Great job and great NSV!

What ROUND isn't a shape? I too had the chipmunk cheeks and hated them, I would actually slap myself while looking in the mirror, I hated them that much. This and seeing daylight between my legs when my knees touched were two of the greatest NSV's ever!

I hid my scale. Needed some NSV (non scale victories)

Very very cool! I have to say I had a simlar experience last week. I was in a rush and grabbed a pair of slacks for work that have been tight on me and I had stopped wearing them. Well they were loose and I was needing a belt for them!! It is a great feeling and your right NSV!

I typically do not toot the horn but today I received 2 very nice compliments. 1. A lady that I work with that I dont interact with on a regular basis stopped me in the hall to say that she had to do a double take because of how much weight Ive lost. She almost didnt recognize me. That was pretty cool. 2. The other was the woman that works at a gas station I frequent said "OMG youve lost a TON of weight". I told her it was 62 pounds and still going strong. She high fived me and told me "you go girl". She said it was a dramatic difference in my face. I took everything she said as a compliment but had she said it at the wrong time of the month if you get my drift, I might have gotten offended lol. Ive had other minor VSGs but 2 on a payday Friday? Woot woot!! Ill post pictures soon but part of me is still afraid of the camera Have a great weekend everyone.

The bed, not the girl! We are just back from a four-day getaway and our beautifully-appointed hotel room had a Queen. Before weight loss? No way! For years it's had to be a King but no more. But now it was just fine. Oh, and I just hopped off the scale and did not gain a thing despite the fact that I ate deliciously-rich restaurant food (mostly French) -- those small portions really work. And I love it that now I can (and do) just stop. Now for some serious exercise (another NSV -- wanting to do it!).

.....The weather is a-changing. The cool weather has brought out the jeans. This morning, I took out some size 20 pants that were previously too small, put them on for the first time since being banded, and now they are too big.:clap2: Damn, missed the opportunity to wear those. :heh: Size 18's are still too small, so will wear whatever fits until then. Thank you band, Thankyouverymuch!

You go BandSister ! That is G R E A T ! Got to be One of The BEST NSV'S I have heard yet...

That's GREAT!!!! The NSVs are what keeps me going. I LOVE wearing "normal" sizes!! I'm so happy for you!

I think that's the best post I have ever read in here! Congratulations to you. What a huge NSV!

Nope, I still have a phobia about the weigh in. In fact the only times I do get a weigh in is when I go to TLBC for a fill and that is because I am fascinated by their hi-tech scale. The thing gives you a full read-out including BMI and your ideal weight given your height, age, sex, yadda, yadda.... I've been functioning pretty much entirely on NSVs: compliments, how my clothes are fitting and what sizes I can now buy. I prefer to work this way because pounds don't have any visual reality for me and yet knowing that I am carrying a lot of them is going to upset me. This is why I gave up on weighing myself when I was 25. If I weighed 200 lbs, but could fit into a size 8 and have the blood pressure of a baby, I wouldn't care. It is the NSVs which count for me. And, by the way, here is one change which will really lift your spirits while you are suffering through your tedious pre-op diet, now that I am banded I find that I do eat much, much less than I did before I was banded and I find that I don't miss the nosh. The appetite is no longer there. This has really freed me up and it is this which has helped me lose weight. Of course you must work on reassessing your eating patterns during your recovery period and this can be quite interesting. I have never been fond of soft drinks and I do like water so I kinda lucked out there. I've also never been too fond of using prepared foods but since being banded I have become fussy about looking at those Nutrition Facts labels with which our Canadian prepared foodstuffs come supplied. I learned that those great tasting Gardenay soups, the ones I lived on during the full liquid phase of my recovery, are fairly empty of the vita Cs. Eggs are loaded with the Bs. I've learned to avoid the frozen lo-cal dinners, a staple when I first graduated out of the mushie stage; they are low on calories and they are low on nutrients, too. Of course this new found hobby of mine has often put me between a rock and a hard place. This is because I really don't enjoy cooking - just eating. In the pre-band days I ate a lot of roughage-rich carbs, cholesterol rich protein (i.e. cheese), and fresh vegetables. Healthy but very fattening, especially when eaten in big quantities! Now I eat a lot of those little tins of tuna that Cloverleaf produces, the seasoned ones with the pop tops, yogurt, tzatziki, baked flatbreads, poached eggs with old cheese and salsa, avocados with fresh vegetables and a home made vinaigette, and stir-fries. I also occasionally make pasta with fresh vegetable but now this meal will last me two to three meals instead of just one. It is also easier for me than for most lap banders to tinker with my eating habits. My husband works second shift, I am retired, and we have become comfortable with fending for ourselves. This has turned out to be a long post, hasn't it?

I never, ever thought I would reach this NSV before I was even 2 months post-op, but I'll definitely take it! Today I was taken completely off of my blood pressure medicine. The day of my first fill, my blood pressure was 95/53. Well, that sure explained my light headedness! I saw my primary physican the next day and still had a very low reading, so he decided to cut my dose in half. He instructed me to record my blood pressure 2 times a day for several days and I still never got a reading above 103/68. Today, my physician told me that there is no smaller dose and to stop taking it completely. I am supposed to keep monitoring it twice a day and report my readings on Thursday. I pray that it stays normal and needless to say, I am definitely doing the happy dance. ( / ) ( l ) ( \ ) ( l ) ( / ) ( l ) ( \ )

Just saw a stupid autocorrect in my post above: NSV = Non-Surgical Victories. Sorry about that! Dang! Some call them NSW = "Non-Surgical Wins" Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using the BariatricPal App

The only time I have struggled with emotions was for the two weeks immediately post-op. I was uncharcteristically emotional ( crying over little things that would not normally phase me). I was losing weight rapidly in those two weeks, plus my body was recuperating from surgery and anesthesia. One of the PA's told me something about hormones in fat cells and that when you are losing weight rapidly these hormones get released. Dont' remember the exact details of how it was explained to me. But no emotional issue since that time. I think having a realistic perspective about post-band weight loss helps not to get bogged down or too obsessive about slower weight loss and/or plateaus. I try to focus on NSV(s) and the fact that this is going to be a long-term process when things aren't moving as quickly as I would like. Best of luck to you!

MsJoy wanted me to post this for her. We recently went to the Dallas area for some family, friends and fireworks. After spending the night at the local motel, we went next door to the Waffle House. Do you have them in your town? They are rather small, condensed little restaurants. The staff rarely comes out from behind the counter. They stand back there and shout out orders to the cook in a language only they understand. They are fairly cheap and they make some of the BEST waffles. But one of the problems with the Waffle House is that, being condensed, there isn't a lot of room. And if you have to sit at one of the booths, it's a tight fit. Which explains why we don't go in there much. But being our Anniversary (#31), MsJoy let me entertain my love of waffles. OF COURSE, the only seats left open were in a booth. I was trying to flag down one of the waitresses to get one of the tables reserved, when Joy steps over and slips into the booth. I was about to tell her that we could get a table in a few minutes, when she looks up at me and says, "No, that's ok. I fit..." ***INSERT BIG, HUGE SMILE*** The Anniversary trip was good....hehehe

I just got back from a couple of weeks of beach camping. I had a cool NSV that I wanted to share. The beach we were on was 3k long. So perfect for a 6km jog in the mornings. I find it easier to run on soft sand in my trainers, rather than bare feet. One morning I got caught by a wave coming in, I tried to dodge it, but got some water in my shoe. This caused some wet sand to gather up in my sock. I could feel it rubbing against my foot, but I didn't think it was a big deal so kept running. I took my shoe off back at camp and I had a massive blister, under the arch of my foot. It got a little infected so I went to the local Dr to get some antibiotics. Pre surgery I had no co morbidities, but my blood pressure had started to creep up. It wasn't at a level that I needed medication, but that was only around the corner. The doctor, who I'd never met before took my blood pressure, while I told him about my blister. My blood pressure was 105/60. The Dr said "Your blood pressure is nice and low, but I'd expect that from someone fit and who exercises regularly". I sat there while the nurse bandaged my foot feeling like I was going to explode with pride. I've had heaps of compliments from people that I know, including staff at my Dr's and my surgeon's office. This was different though. I didn't tell the Dr about my weight loss or surgery. It wasn't even a compliment really. It was just a comment from a Dr I didn't know. It made my day, so I thought I'd share. I hope you're all well, Deano

Reading your NSV has left a huge grin in my face! Thanks for sharing!

Nice NSV! You rock!

What a beautiful post! Sometimes we get lost in the big stuff with the "lap" band and forget about the basics and the NSVs. I actually had someone tell me today that I'm "happier" than I used to be. OK! Thanks again for all your posts, Janet. God's peace.......