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This is not a small nsv; it is huge. Congratulations!

Awesome NSV :-). How are those EAS shakes?

I am having to drop my daughter off at school this week. Normally, my husband does it because I have a 30 mile drive to work and he works in the town we live, therefore if I take her, we leave extra early! My daughter doesn't mind because usually I will get drive-thru Breakfast which is a rare treat for her. Anyway..she loves to eat a sausage patty sans the biscuit and a 1/2 of a hashbrown and a small sweet tea. (hence why it's considered a treat). Granted ..it smelled really, REALLY glorious, and deliciously breakfasty! She finishes her normal amounts, hops out the car, we say our goodbyes, have a good day, etc, & I drive away...my thoughts start to focus on that biscuit and 1/2 a hashbrown. Maybe a bite? My conscience screams loudly "NO NO NO..you haven't come this far to stop ..NO!". And you know what..I listened. So I drive the 30 miles smelling the food the whole way..never touching or thinking about it again until I get out of my car at work to throw the bag and all of its contents away. My sleeve is the tool that allowed me to learn self-control, something I was unable to learn until now. So ..what did I have for breakfast? Something pretty satisfying..see the below picture..and a self indulgent pat on the back!

Congratulations on your weightloss so far!~ You have some great NSV's now don't let "To be a cougar" be one!!! LOL... Enjoy and you are doing good so far

This weekend is going to be mind blowing for me. I asked my husband to take the motorized chair out of the house... I have found if I see it, I want to give in and use it. I don't need it. So bye bye chair!!! Another NSV : I pulled weeds for the first time in 15 - 20 years... I took my walker for stability walking on rocked driveway... So, put brakes on walker - stood up - walked to flower bed - pulled weeds - stood up - walked back to walker - sat down on walker - rested - drank some water I brought with me - moved walker - *** repeated for 3.5 hours *** Man that felt great! (I left the weeds on driveway and my husband picked them up and carted them away..)

Hello! My name is Jennifer. I am 39 years old and I'm a happily married mom to 5 children. I am 5 ft tall and weight 270. My BMI is 53. I have tried to lose weight for years but I keep gaining. I have thought about wls for years but have always been afraid. My sister in law got a sleeve about a year ago and has lost over 100 lbs. she looks awesome and says its the best thing she ever did. So, I've been researching and have decided to do it. I have an appointment with her surgeon on September 11. I have the same insurance as she has b/c our husbands work at the same place. So I know they cover the surgery but there are requirements I have to meet. I have BCBS of WV. I guess I probably won't be able to have surgery for 6 months or so because of the required diet. So I'm kind of bummed. At the same time, I'm scared! I've been reading a LOT of posts on here and have been brought to tears at some of your progress and NSVs. I'm so happy for you and sad for the person I have become. I cannot wait until I am less than 200 lbs... And to think I might wear a size 8 again is almost unbelievable! I'm scared of surgery still but I think NOT having the surgery is probably scarier! I know myself though and I'm worried I will freak out at the last minute and chicken out. I know I have a few months to prepare but just wanted to introduce myself and become a part of the community. :-)

You are off to an amazing start! I like what you said about remembering what got us here.... POWERFUL and you are an inspiration...Can't wait to hear your next set of NSV's!

Why not brag? Don't you deserve it? This is THE place to come and brag. Here we understand (for the most part) what it feels like to hit an NSV and want to shout it from the rooftops. Not many people in our everyday lives understand that. I say brag away my friend!!

Today I am 5w 1d post-op. I'm feeling great and am back to full activity. There are no more aches and pains and I've finally managed to regularly get in over 90g of protein without reliance on protein shakes. At three weeks, I hit the dreaded stall but continued to lose inches. It was a little disconcerting for me to be in that position. Of course, inches are great but when I go to the doctor, they don't measure my waist, they weigh me to see if I'm on track. Nonetheless, I was prepared for it and had already made up my mind what I would do when it came. The stall broke today so for 15 days, I was at the same weight. In those 15 days: I increased my protein to between 90-115g per day. I increased my water to at least 84oz. per day. I increased the length and intensity of my workouts. My total calories increased to around 850. I increased my intake of carbohydrates. As I said, I'm doing a good job of weaning myself off of protein shakes. Some would say that it's too soon but I'd rather get my protein through food than a shake. I've found myself in a predicament where I have to eat something every three hours anyway so I just get the protein in at each small meal (about 5 per day). My go-to sources are chicken, fish, shrimp, very lean ground beef, ground turkey, and low-fat cheeses. Increasing my water was the hardest part because water temporarily fills me up so it takes longer than I'd like to get all my water in (and I'm past the sipping stage). However, if we jump into the Way Back Machine and go back to high school physiology class, we remember that we need water to metabolize stored fat. On top of my workouts, dehydration wasn't going to do anything for weight loss so I had to get in more. Some surgeons tell their patients that protein shakes count towards their water totals and since water is in the shake, it makes sense but I believe (and have always believed) that regular water is the best to meet water needs. My workouts started off slow because my surgeon has a sort of vesting schedule for workouts. At two weeks, she only allows walking. At three, speed walking, and it progresses from there. At three weeks, I felt fine. I had no more aches and pains so I went ahead full speed. Pre-op, I was a runner and frequently used HIIT training. I transitioned back into those forms of exercise. I gave myself about 4 days to adapt and then increased the running by about 15-20 extra minutes (about another 1.5 miles). I also reintegrated strength training. The increase in my workouts warranted the increase in my total calories. I was never given a calorie level to maintain by the NUT. In fact, she said not to count calories but to just eat according to the sleeve. The 450-500 calories I had been getting just is not conducive to long-term functionality and it was causing me to retain water. Over the course of a week or so, I increased my calories in a number of ways. For example, for breakfast, I would have a serving of turkey sausage crumbles. I started to add one serving of shredded mozzarella to it for an additional 80 calories and 6g of protein. Lastly, I increased carbs. On my plan, I cannot have raw fruit or vegetables until 6 weeks out. I can, have canned veggies and fruit though. I found some "No Sugar Added" canned fruit that has 30 calories and 6 grams of carbs per serving (1/2 can). I started eating a few slices of the fruit (because I can't manage a 1/2 can) with my protein at lunch. I'm not 100% certain about the science behind this but since our bodies need glycogen and the need to glycogen is one reason that stalls happen, I figured introducing some carbohydrates through food would help my body get what it needs without prolonging the stall. I just started doing this over the last week and apparently it worked because I lost 1.2 pounds between yesterday morning and this morning. As a final note, my surgeon's nurse practitioner explained that with the sleeve, they usually see stair step weight loss. She noted that most people will lose a large amount of weight and then level off for a week or two and then lose another lump of weight throughout the process. Although I'd like to see a weekly decrease in weight consistently, I'll take the alternative as long as my total body composition is changing. My NSV (inspite of the stall), is that I'm back at The GAP! Here's to a fashionable fall.

Oh yes....this one is the best yet. I had to go to my daughter's middle school for a meet and greet thing with the school..meet the teachers...follow her class schedule..ect. In the past, I would have stood along the wall because I couldn't fit into the desk. Well not anymore! I plopped right down ...take that middle school desk..you're my middle school desk b**** now! (thanks Dooter..now everything I do..I exclaim it's my blah blah blah b***** lol)

Thanks That is all

Fit in the bumper cars!

Wow!!! Great NSV!!

Moob reduction is a NSV I can't wait to Celebrate Sent from my mobile productivity killer.

I was lounging on my living room floor when my husband noticed how flat my stomach is and that my pelvic bones and rib cage now stick up! I am 2.4 pounds from my personal goal and have already met my surgeons Ideal weight goal. Just thought I would share my nsv from yesterday! Here is one taken the morning of my surgery for comparison too... 234 to 137, size 20 to size 4/6. Woohooo!!!!

So I was sad on Wed because the scale wasn't moving, but then my future mother in law measured me over the weekend for a refitting of my dress and she discovered I lost 2 inches in the belly and 2 inches in the hips! Yay for NSVs!

"the weight is really falling off of you!" compliment from a coworker!

Congrats to all of you, NSV's are the best! Karen

Hello everyone I have been on this forum for a couple of months now and decided tonight would be the night for me to share my story. My Name is Blannie and I will be starting my pre-op diet on tomorrow. My surgery is September 10th, 2012 with Dr. Marema. I have not always being fat and it wasn't until I was in my 20's when I started this love affair with food. I have had so many disappointments when it has come to men in my life that it is ridiculous. I have tired every diet known to man and had some success but would always gain the weight back and most times double! I am tired of hearing people say when they find out about me having WLS..YOU ARE NOT THAT BIG or why are you taking the easy way out!!!! I have learned from being on this forum that WLS is NOT THE EASY way out!!! I a lifestyle change it is a daily commitment to change your life with the help of the sleeve. We still have to do the work in conjunction with the sleeve and I am so grateful for it. I am doing this FOR ME and I don't care what anybody has to say or think.... So here it is my story: My journey started back in 2010 with me pursing the lap band. After going threw the 6 month pre requirement, nutritionist and pysch evaluation we submitted to my insurance. After a week I was informed that my claim was denied. I was very upset and frustrated because after all why would my insurance deny me? It was during this time that I found out about a requirement that was not told to me while going threw the process. Apparently my insurance (CIGNA) has a requirement that states in order for them to pay the surgeon has to be working at a Cigna Certified Center of Excellence facility. I tried three different ways to have the decision changed. I contacted the State of Florida department of insurance and issued a complaint. I went threw my human resource department and filed a complaint and I wrote a letter of appeal directly to the insurance company. After several weeks of working with my HR advocate I was advised to find a physician that already met the insurance requirements! Thus I found Dr. Marema with US Bariatrics. He was such a nice guy and his staff so accomodating with all the problems I had experienced in the past. He talked about the sleeve and I decided to switch to the sleeve. After meeting Dr.Marema Cigna approved me for the surgery at any facility in FL but I choose to go with Dr. Marema. I am finally excited about something in my life. Other than being a mother to my boys this opportunity to have the sleeve is one of the best things that I had done for myself. Actually it is one of the only things I have done for me..usually I am the last one in my life that I do something FOR! I am so looking forward to being healthy and have NSV's like everyone else... I just would like to be able to wipe my butt and not feel like I am having to lean over and take deep breathes... (I know TMI). Thanks for the support on this page and the information has been priceless. I know what to expect and I am praying the best for everyone on the forum! Blannie

Sorry I'm new to this...what is nsv? Congrats

Great pics and congrats on the NSV's!

Hi everyone! I can't believe one month has already passed. It has been quite a challenging month, but it has been well-worth every minute! I had my VSG on July 30th 2012. I have lost a grand total of 17.4 pounds on one month, and 24.2 pounds from my highest weight in August 2011... Amazingly, I have lost a total of 17 1/2 inches! (I still can't quite believe this)... I have removed more than half the clothing in my closet because it was just too big (again, that is a rare occurrence for me!)... Most importantly, I have been OFF my diabetic medications (I was on Metformin 1000 mg twice a day) and my BP medications (I was on Atacand 16 mg once a day) since the surgery - I am so very thankful for this... ) Here are some photos (the images on the left of each photo are from one day pre-op, and the images on the right of each photos are from today): I hope I am posting these correctly... food in the portions that I used to enjoy), but it has also been one of the MOST important, valuable, and healthy things I have ever done for myself so far - it has changed my life in a matter of weeks and I have been thankful ever since I did it that I made the decision to move forward... Thanks to everyone here for having the courage to share their stories, their humor, and their encouragement! -Sarah

I really, really, really don't want to buy a scale. I don't want one in my home... I have never been someone who obsessed over their weight, I don't want to become one. I can completely and honestly say that my weight (the number) doesn't bother me. Whatever it is, it's just a number. I really just want to get weight for the purpose of having the "starting" number, something to document my dang medical file with. :\ I understand how the number makes people feel better, they like to see the loss - but I'd rather see it in the mirror. The actual number is meaningless to me, I want to be buying smaller clothes and seeing my figure come back and FEELING lighter - that's my goal. I have enough with all the copays and stuff going on financially, I shouldn't have to put an unwanted scale in my home, at my expense, simply because no medical professional I've worked with has a scale that goes high enough for me. And the thing that really stings for me is that I'm heavy, yes, but not so heavy that I'm immobile or can't fit in most chairs and stuff. What about the people who are bigger than me?? Especially men, who are taller and just as hefty... I just don't think it's fair! I'll call the waaaaaaahmbulance and stop complaining about this... what I do know, my first NSV goal is to be "skinny" enough to get on that 350lbs max scale!

I dunno why, but I thought that today was going to be the day. I have been trying so hard to be positive and keep my head up. I feel so discouraged. I know that I've made progress in other places. And yes, I have been staying away from the scale as much as I can, but 17 days? Really? I expected a week, two weeks, but three weeks or more? Aughhhhhhh. I feel like I'm doing something wrong and just not seeing what it is. I walk every day, I have upped my calories a little, I have decreased them a little, I have added more protein, heck I have tried getting over 100g of protein to see if that helps, I am like drowning myself in water, I have decreased my carbs, am keeping my fat down. And the scale won't budge, not a bit. I feel like I should throw the stupid scale in the trash can. I have taken measurements, lost no inches. I am eating healthy things, I am following all their recommendations. Ok I'm gonna end my rant there. I just needed to vent. I know it will end someday. Maybe when I can finally add some good exercise in. Now that I've gotten all that negativity out, I'm gonna list some positives for myself so maybe I can focus on something else today. My NSVs: - I never huff and puff going up the stairs anymore - I can fit into a few of my 26s - I can walk for almost an hour - I have been able to stay on program for an entire month now - I have been getting in over my protein goal every day - I have been a happier, more productive person I go back to work tonight. I am not really looking forward to the shift (I hate working Sunday nights), but it will be nice to be back and get to see everyone. i have no clue what their reactions will be. I'm not sure if word made it around, but I bet it did. Yesterday I bought cardio ballet by one of the girls who was on DWTS. I never watched the show, but I came across the dvd on Amazon and it seemed like it'd be something fun to do when I am cleared to work out, which will probably be just around the time that it arrives.