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So, after having a lovely afternoon with a fabulous friend, who had managed to rationalise and put into perspective a work problem I've been enduring since 2008. To Celebrate, as I finally felt free of this burden, I decided to drag my man out for an evenings entertainment. We went and had a few drinkies and then decided to go dancing at the local 80's nightclub. I love 80's music, me. So, the club was jumping and I, was having a wonderful time bopping around. My man doesn't like to dance, so he stood on the sidelines - effectively on guard! Apart from the fact two drunk males who had decided to use the dance floor as a race track and knocked me flying, which resulted in a considerably bruised hip bone today and a fiance who wanted to literally kill these two youths; something very nice happened. We'd been standing near a group of more mature Polish males, who were a jolly nice bunch. Who, too, were bopping around and having a good time. One of them asked of my man 'is that your wife?' to which he replied 'yes, sir'. The Polish blokes all said 'You are a very very lucky man'. He replied 'I know'. <raises an eyebrow at how men can be sometimes!> A bit later, a, well, how would you refer to him as? A bit of a geeky looking/studious male, approached me whilst dancing. Nervously he said 'I am really sorry to disturb you. I am with a group of blokes who think you are gorgeous. We've been talking about it and they reckon that I would never be able to approach someone like you. (Someone like you?!!!) Would you mind if I just stood here for a bit, because I want to prove them wrong.' Feeling taken aback, I replied 'Aww, thank you! But of course! In fact I can go one better than that. Would you like to dance with me?' His young bespectacled face lit up as I grabbed his hand and dragged him onto the dance floor. (My man didn't mind as he clearly didn't feel threatened by it). This young lad's mates were left open-mouthed at the bar and I got such an effusive 'thank you!' when our dance was concluded. Towards the end of the night, as the Polish men were leaving, one of them approached me to say goodbye. With his thick accent and courteous demeanor, he leant forward and said 'I just want to say, your husband is one very very lucky man. You are a beautiful woman. Have a good evening.' At which point he kissed me on the cheek and left. Now, I have been excited about inches disappearing, I have been shocked by the scale dropping, I have been bemused by all my new found bones - I have also been devastated at the hair loss, but nothing. Nothing, compared to how last night made me feel. I am normal again. I am a 'someone like you'. I am humbled, slightly embarrassed - but elated. And you know what's even better? I logged my three hours of dancing on MyFitnessPal and I'd burnt up 1,293 calories! (Which more than offset the 5 pints of Guinness and the couple of vodka and red bulls I'd consumed!) Yay, me!

The first week/week & a half, I had 2 meltdowns and wondered WTF I did to myself. I'm about 9 weeks out now and I'm down 48 pounds. I've never lost 48 of anything before. I wish I had done it sooner. That's my only regret. Once you see yourself shrinking and losing weight, once you see yourself having amazing NSVs that are personal to you... it makes adapting to what life is going to be like much easier. It makes it all worthwhile & justifies itself I guess you can say. In the beginning I think it's hard to digest (haha) what we've done because we haven't seen any dramatic changes in weight/body yet plus we're coping with a lot of losses (foods, cokes, etc) and we see this very long road ahead of us that just seems.. super long. The diet plans in the beginning seem crazy but they eventually become second nature. Life starts to feel normal again after awhile. You'll see Sometimes I feel like it sucks that I can't have more than a bite of this or that in a social setting but when I look at my friends (who are all heavy people) scarfing it down for me... and I catch my husband checking out my newly shrunken badonkadonk... it makes it easier. It's insane how much mental control we have over what we ingest now. Before... poweless to foods siren call. Now? I can do this. Good luck!

I made it 10.5 Miles today & ran 2 of my fastest miles. I have never ran that far in my entire life. I signed up for my first half marathon on Labor Day. If any one has any tips I'd love it. My foam roller is my new BFF ~LA

Congrats! That's an awesome nsv. I hate flying for those reasons. Can't wait till i can get on a plane and not need an extender and be able to properly use the tray table. Funny the things some people take for granted. It sounds silly but god is it sooooooo incredibly validating. Sent from my SM-G925T using the BariatricPal App

I can't believe I've lost a total of 39 inches in 4 months and I started measuring after I lost 20lbs!

Unfortunately, yes. Its as if I am not invisible anymore. More people look and smile more. Whereas before I felt as if I was kind of ignored. Now part of that probably has to do with the fact that I have a different attitude but still. One thing that irritates me is that a man almost always holds a door open for me now. I know its a nice gesture and it is not his fault men didn't do that before but its a reminder of where I came from and there sooo is a world of beautiful overweight people that out there that deserve that kindness too. The clothes part has had a strange twist I didn't see coming. I gravitate back to the plus size section every time. I am (or was) comfortable there. But its not where I belong anymore. Yet when I go to the regular sizes I feel like I don't belong there either. Its a work in progress. Funny NSV (non scale victory): that I had to adjust the seat in the car because since my bum shrunk, I was sitting lower in the seat. Losts of little things you never thought could be affected that are. Its very fun. Size wise I am a comfortable 14 with a few 12s. My personal goal is to be comfortable in a size 10. I think its doable.

I was wearing a pair of hand-me-down jeans, yesterday. they were very loose, and I was tired of pulling them up. We were at Sears, Christmas shopping. I said how about if I pick up a pair of jeans? he said, "You know, I was happy to have to buy you new clothes, but you are getting clothes crazy,now" What a great thing to do, because I am now wearing size 8 Lee jeans! I am down from 22w since Oct.30,2009. I am now. officially smaller than when I had my son 36 years ago.Congratulations to us all, with our NSV!!!

I know this is a thread for NSV's but I just had to share with someone my great news. I began my weight loss journed the middle of February last year. I didn't begin pursuit of the lap band until the summer. I dieted on my own from February until the end of May. I joined an Optifast program at a local hospital on June 1 and ate nothing for 14 weeks, just drank their shakes. Then I spent 7 weeks reintroducing food, losing along the way. I finished that program in the middle of October and didn't have surgery until December 6 so I continued to diet on my own. Prior to surgery I had lost 68 pounds. Today when I stepped on the scale I had reached 100 pounds. I could scream it from the rooftops. I would never have believed it a year ago. I finally have less to lose than I have lost already. I am halfway there.

So I was wrong on the not having any NSV to report. I had to go buy a big skirt for my Middle Eastnern Folk dance class... Yeah, they don't want us to call it "belly dancing" here, they feel it has "negative connotations." Yeah, what ever, it's belly dancing. I went to several stores trying to find a skirt that would match the requirements, let alone worry about the size thing... So at the 4th and final store I found one, a cocoa dip-dyed skirt. The biggest one was a LARGE, so I wasn't too hopeful. But I was brave and went to try it on. IT FIT! I just bought a size LARGE skirt. Not 2X, not XL, but just LARGE!!! Mind you, when I bought my Large jacket, I really suspected that the label was wrong, that it had been marked Large in error at the factory, an that it was some sort of cosmic joke on me. Sort of like that pair of size 18 pants that I was able to fit into (didn't buy but that's a different story). I felt that was in error as well. Maybe it wasn't an aberation, maybe it's the truth. I feel like I have no restriction at all. I still haven't lost any more weight, but I'll take my size shrinking.

Stayed the same this week. One huge NSV though, I went to old navy and grabbed a pair of jeans off the womens side of the store and they fit no problem!! I broke out in tears right there in the fitting room.. at the same time running out to find my husband. Those around me must of thought I was crazy!

Firstly I want to let each and every one of you know you are an inspiration, I can relate to the comments of you look good, did you cut your hair and a slip up or pig out not being what it used to be (thankfully). Looking at the progress of others I seem to be creeping along on my weight loss and I need to keep looking at my NSV's. I consider it a blessing every time I feel full and have to stop eating. I don't remember feeling full in the last 10 years. I was usually hungry and sometimes sick from eating too much. A big one for me (NSV) is when I fit into a pair of 24 pants and they were not even tight (they were very tight when I bought them). Since I was up to a 28/30 pant before beginning this journey i consider that a big victory. Yay!

I survived my first dinner in a restaurant. Only ate the grilled chicken out of the taco. Did not eat the flour tortilla or the cilantro & cabbage that were also inside. I cut it up into the tiniest pieces ever. ( I think the waitress thought I was nuts). The only thing that bothered me was that I never got to even take a sip of my water ( damn half hour rule!) The "old me" would have been bothered by the massive amounts of wings & beer that surrounded me. Or the plate of "loaded tater tots" that the couple next to us had. But instead, this Sleevie Wonder was bothered by not being able to drink water when she wanted to. Should we chalk it up to a first NSV???

Sounds great!! That is one of the things I have been thinking about like will I get full off of 2 ounces of protein and 1 ounce of veggies. It gets scary sometimes because I do not want to fail at this.. failing is not an option at this point for me. Ready for my new life March 5th here I come.. CONGRATS ON UR NSV....YYYAAAYYYY

Today, my housemate very sheepishly asked me for a favor. She asked if it would freak me out or upset me if I made a batch of Mac n' cheese. I am famous across several states for my baked Mac n' cheese. No soupy sauces, just a cheese-laden bowl of goodness so dense that you could cut it into squares to serve it and each square would hold its shape until attacked with a fork. Oh, how I love the stuff. My first reaction was to think that I couldn't do it, because I couldn't face the temptation of having such a yummy, calorie laden treat around the house and me not be able to eat it. Then I stopped and thought. Yes, I have a band now, which means I have to make better choices with food, but I will be making those choices for the rest of my life if I want to be successful. Can I really contemplate an eternity without ever eating Mac n'cheese? Would I even want to? So I came up with a plan, and I have to say, I'm pretty brilliant. I made my housemate my old fashioned Mac n'cheese the way I always do. No weighing, no measuring, just put the stuff in til it looks right, then stick it in the over and let the magic happen. But at the same time, I made a second, much smaller batch just for me. For MY batch, I used whole wheat pasta to eliminate the white flour and raise the fiber content. Then I weighed and measured the exact amount of cheese that would go into the bowl. I measured each additional ingredient carefully and programmed the whole thing into My Fitness Pal so that it would calculate exactly how many calories are in each serving. And you know what? It's not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Not only did it taste just as good as the orginial version, but my 1/4 cup serving had a good amount of protein between the pasta, cheese, egg and milk in the recipe. It also had an amount of calories that easily fit into my daily meal plan alongside a serving of lean meat. I found that 1/4 c just as satisfying as the bowl I would have eaten previously and it felt like a huge NSV to reshape the recipe and eat a healthy amount of a "normal" food. Go me! Now, that isn't to say that the lingering traces of the old me didn't think briefly about eating the entire batch in one sitting, but with my latest fill, I know that I honestly couldn't do it without getting sick. My band would stop me. Finally. But even more than that, I know I'll enjoy each small serving more knowing that I'm still living as a compliant bandster and that I'm still on track to meet my goals. So, I'll say it again: Go me!!!

I got whistled at tody! How weird of NSV is that!- A mom of four size 10 on top and 12/14 on bottom- with four kids got whistled at by someone not my husband!!!! SO WEIRD!!!! OK- it really made up for dh who said my but looks like it has pany lines without the panties (by all the cellulite). I could of killed him if he hadn't just agreed that I could spend some of our money on PS if I want! ****note this is because we have/are discussing the option of plastic surgery for my nine- yes nine and almost ten on the other side bat wings!!!!- His idea- It started whem it became my son's new favorite game- to knock them around and see them jiggle

CONGRATULATIONS! That is an awesome NSV!!!

Wow, it'll be hard to ever beat the sweetness of that NSV!! How thrilling for you and what a great way to start your day off. Congradulations and wishing you more NSV's. Cindy

I hate to sabotage @@betterme38 's "self sabotage" thread. But to answer your question, I was pretty strict. But not perfect. Probably did 95% of what I intended to do every day. Here's a post I made on my first surgiversary, which I posted on another message board: * * * A year ago yesterday I was sleeved at age 68. I knew I had the energy for one last shot at getting healthy. Like so many of us, controlling my weight was the one thing in my life I’d been unable to manage. Failing at that was a tremendous embarrassment and disappointment to me, not to mention the cause of mounting medical comorbidities that had almost sidelined me from life. A year ago I’d already been on this forum for 9 months. I could not WAIT to get my WLS show on the road. I’d already lost almost 20 pounds on a 2-month 1,400 calorie diet of my own and, later, my surgeon’s 14-day pre-op diet. I’d been practicing for months the behaviors I’d learned here—eating slower, chewing more, no more soda, a lot less coffee, no NSAIDs (ouch!), walking more (yea, Fitbit!), and my favorite tool of all—planning meals and tracking my food and drink onwww.myfitnesspal.com. Fast-forward to yesterday morning, my first surgiversary. I weighed in at 143 pounds. I feel great, physically and mentally. I look so much younger (I’ll be 70 years old in December). And I truly feel like I’ve been reborn. The New, Temporary Avatar I’m on the down-low about having had WLS. Basically, only hubby and two friends know about this. But so many online VSG friends want to know what I look like, so enjoy my new avatar while it’s up. It’s coming down soon. Tough titty. BTW, I’ll put up a full-body shot of me later. Again, tough titty. But this morning I didn’t have on “the right outfit” to show off my skinny ass. And hubby’s not here right now to take a good photo of me. How I Lost the Weight I was lucky—had no complications, had a great surgeon and team, healed well and recovered fast, and have had more non-scale victories (NSVs) than you could shake a stick at. I’m full of gratitude and amazement at all of WLS’s benefits for me. Below is a list of things I did (mostly pretty well) that led to my success. As always, your mileage may vary. This was my experience. Yours will be yours. • Ate the minimum amount of protein—at least 60 grams to start with (hit that target on Day Five post-op) • Ate Protein first at every meal • Drank 8 glasses of Water daily (or at the very least 8 glasses of liquids daily) Protip #1: Dehydration slows weight loss and makes you feel like crap. Protip #2: Our kidneys work overtime when we’re losing weight rapidly and need lots of water to function well. Protip #3: You can actually die from dehydration. • As healing happened and restriction eased, added healthy (colored) veggies, then non-starchy fruits, then whole grains • Took my vitamins/minerals and Rxs daily and on schedule • Ate 3 meals a day • Chewed my food well and ate more slowly • Didn’t drink 15 minutes before or 30 minutes after a meal • When I got hungry (not bored), I added one or two Snacks of healthy food • Didn’t graze between meals (note that “a snack” and “grazing” are different things) • Avoided / minimized highly processed, high-carb foods and slider foods like potatoes, white rice, white breads, crackers, Cookies, chips, ice cream Protip: These foods slow weight loss and, for some people, trigger binge eating. • Moved more than I used to move and gradually kept moving even more • Followed the Number One Exercise Rule for Old People: Don’t injure yourself! • Got some sunshine daily, which kept me full of happy thoughts and Vitamin D • Tried to sleep 8 hours a night • Minimized stress—for me, this meant I stopped sweating the small stuff and learned that most stuff really is small stuff • Am seeing a shrink, even though I’m not crazy, to understand better why I couldn’t or didn’t care for my health better prior to WLS and to learn how to do better in the future (as the saying goes, they operate on your stomach, not your head). Unsolicited Advice: I’ve been at or below goal for 4 months now. Here are some things I learned while losing weight and during maintenance (at which I’m still a newbie). Some of these things have surprised me. And as always, your mileage may vary. • Don’t feel pressured into telling the world you’re having WLS. Do what is best for you. Just know that “telling a few people” may not be the best way to keep your WLS private. There are a lot of mouthy people out there. • Don’t overeat, but don’t starve yourself either. As your healing continues, eat more healthy food and raise your calories gradually. Otherwise, you may wind up reaching your weight goal but only able to maintain it eating 1,000 calories/day. Ugh! At 143 pounds, my daily maintenance calorie budget is 1,700 calories/day. I am over the moon about that. I think it’s because I didn’t starve myself while I was losing weight. I ate 800 calories during Months 1-4, 1,000 calories during Months 5-6, and 1,200 calories during Months 7-8. As my calories went up, so did my protein grams. I still aim for 100 grams of protein daily. • Post-op, don’t just eat to lose weight—also eat to become healthier. Learn more about nutrition—macronutrients, trace elements, vitamin and mineral supplements. Read articles and good research. As smart as I thought I was, turns out I didn’t know nearly as much as I needed to know to care well for myself. • If you’re craving sugar, you’re probably already eating sugar. The only way I know to kill those cravings is to cold-turkey the sugar. • Don’t let anyone pressure you into having WLS. This is a life-changing deal. A year down the road you’ll probably be able to eat pretty much anything you want, although not in massive quantities at one time. And you’ll need to always be vigilant about your nutrition, meal-planning, eating behaviors, etc. • WLS won’t prevent binge-eating or emotional eating. It will discourage it, but it won’t prevent it. There are plenty of WLS patients who’ve learned to eat and drink around their tools. I personally know folks who’ve wasted their sleeve, bypass or band with (sigh) sweet tea, Mountain Dew, beer, Wheat Thins, ice cream, chips and dips. What those drinks and foods all have in common, other than being high-calorie and lacking in nutrition, is that the sleeve cannot challenge them. They move rapidly through the sleeve and into the small intestine. You can eat that crap all day long and never start to feel full. Remember, it’s a shame to waste a sleeve. Very, very best wishes to everyone out there considering a VSG or other form of WLS. You can change your life with WLS if you use your tool well. But you must understand it’s only one tool in a bigger healthcare arsenal that you must acquire and use daily. Thang ya. Thang ya verra mudge.

Wow where to start, Laura welcome to our thread , and Julie what an awesome nsv! All those of you who have lost weight this last week yay!!! Well I had a long night last night, one of my pills got stuck and I was miserable for 2 hours! I was so tired I wanted to cry, but I couldn't pb and it wouldn't go through . Meanwhile my scale is hateful right now so I am frustrated. It jumped up 3lbs overnight and is staying there! I don't know what the deal is, maybe I am eating too much sodium or maybe it's constipation, or maybe af is gearing up, not really sure :phanvan

You know, I had problems logging in yesterday and now I have to play catch up! LOL!! Molly....great NSV!!! Losingjusme! You'll make it to 100 this week! I know you will. Ridin...have a great time! I had a fill last Friday and it feels like NOTHING! He filled me and then said "oops, a little too much" then took some out. I still don't feel restriction!!! I was hoping for more of a kick but with that whole "fat around the stomach" bit, I'm thinking maybe this is the best it's gonna get from now on. I'm going to have to start relying on some willpower.

Hi everyone, Just checking in, everyones doing sooo well, i'm so proud of you all!! I don't think i'm going to make my challenge this time , but today I have acheived a personal challenge. I'm in the Uk and we go by stones and pounds to measure our weight and i REALLY wanted to be able to say I am 18 stone something by valentines, well today I am 18 stone 13.5lbs!! woohoo (14lbs in a stone) so although I havent managed to reach my target here, I do feel as if I've acheived something!! oh, I have a NSV!! i bought some new jeans in size 22 from my mams catalogue and as they fit I asked her to order a size 20 for me as well, they arrived last week and they FIT!!! making me realise that the size 22 is too big.....i only had them 2 weeks!! Elizabeth - I was told not to drink with my meals as it pushes food through the band and you get hungrier quicker, I have tested this and it is true! However, if I am really hungry i drink a glass of water before my meal to stop me overeating, I also wait half hour after meals before drinking. I think everyone is told something different time wise but drinking with a meal is a definite NO NO. I never drink fizzy drinks, but i had stopped that before I was banded as I noticed my tummy swelling and feeling bloated each time I drink it. oh no, I'm telling lies .....I sometimes have diet coke with Vodka!! but I put plenty ice in it to get rid of the fizz before i drink it... Good luck everyone, and I dont mind what challenge we do next...it's my 40th birthday in may so i need to set a goal for that (well secretly i'd love to be in a size 18 by then, not too bothered about weight but thats between us!! lol) Lets go for it....I love these challenges as they keep me focussed... Name....................Current Weight......Valentine's Goal......To Go Juliegeraci................237.................... .10................Done! 5lbs Bonus Lapbandit.................231..................... 20..........................4 Libra....................... 251......................20....................... ...6 Indianlight................ 266......................20....................... ...7 JulieNYC.................. 215.....................215...................... ....0 Elisabethsew............ 282 (-12)..............282..........................0

Nicole, so sorry you didnt get the job ... (and i know this is very cliche, but i believe it is true). you arent meant to do this exact job at this time. keep your chin up and keep looking if you are unhappy with your current job. it took me 16 LONG months to get my current job (or get out of my old horrible job depending on how you look at it...) great NSV on not wanting to gorge (even if you could) Christine

Thanks Elisabeth!!! I had the best NSV on Mother's Day!!! My husband and son gave me a giftcard for The Avenue for Mother's Day and let me spend the afternoon shopping with my mom. I needed clothes desperately as everything is falling off of me and my husband said he had no idea what size to buy. When I got to the store I guessed that I would be a size 18 because I just bought a cocktail dress in that size two weeks ago. I tried on a pair of 18 capris....and they were too big!!! Yup, I'm a size 16!!!! A 16!!!!! Have I mentioned that I started this process as a size 30? I was so excited that I actually started shouting "woo hoo!" in the middle of the fitting room!! I haven't been a size 16 since high school! As a matter of fact, my senior prom dress was an 18! I'm so excited that I think when I wear my new clothes, I'm gonna announce to everyone and anyone..."Oh, by the way, I'm wearing a size 16!!!" LMAO!!

My pajama pants fell down this morning, does that count as an NSV? LOL!! I made it to my half way mark in weight loss. 77 pounds down, 77 to go!!! Tax Day Challenge Weekly Check In Week 1/8 Name.............................Starting……..Curre nt……..Goal……..To Go Juliegeraci.......................238............. ...... 238.................228.............10 Lapbandit.......................231............... .....229………….199.............30 Waterlily.........................300............. .......292.................264.............28 Roiansmom.....................299................. ...299.................270.............29 Libra...............................248........... .........242.................228.............14 JulieNYC........................212............... .....209.................185.............24 Elisabethsew....................282............... .....279.................264.............15 PeaCeJ............................338............. .......338.................318............20 RidinMyHDDream...........297.....................2 93.................281............12 Babygirl1234................... 260................ ...259.................240.............19 Leecelove70.....................228............... .....228.................200............28

Waterlily!!! I forgot to tell you how proud I am of your great NSV!! You go girl!! Keep up the good work and the 18's will be slidin' off that tiny behind!! Katie