Search the Community

Thanks Guys sometimes it's hard to remember the NSV. I feel like I am not accomplishing much these days. You are all such an inspiration. Thanks so much. Keep truckin on your journey as I will too! Love to you all

Same here, I used to HATE smaller theaters that had the old fashioned fixed seats, I really needed to lift that arm up to get breathing room, now I rattle around in the seat with the arm down. The cheapo vinyl lawn chairs used to cling to by big butt when I got up too, how humiliating having to pry it off my hips when I got up, and more than one chair broke under my ponderous weight. Keep at it, more NSV's are on your way!

NSV = non-sleeve victory. Whatever that means. dogmom- where did you get cheese filled meatballs? I started out walking 1 block, and I'm up to 5 blocks (haven't calculated distance). Usually once a day. Sheila - I've lost 23 pounds total with preop, and my surgeon thought it was great.

That is so wonderfull. You go girl NSVS are the best part of this journey. If you dont mind I would like to ride on yours? I just purchased a pair of size 12 JEANS today I am over the top!!! I am going to a little get together on Sunday and I have not seen a few of the people for 3 years THEY are going FREAK.YEA for me!

I'll admit to being less than brilliant. A lot of posts in other places on the forum refer to NSV. What is NSV? I've lost more than half of what my doctor said was a realistic goal. I guess I should establish a better goal and surprise my doctor!

Hello everyone. I hit my 3 month surgiversary (5-14-12) this Monday. I was down 75# (including Pre-op) and as of this morning it is 76#. I am down from 335# to 259#. I am really excited that I have met several short term goals over the last few weeks. 1. I have made it to Twooterville 2. To weigh less than I did when I got married (275#) and as of this morning 3. To weigh less than my husband (260) Hoot! Hoot! My next short term is: 4. To weigh less than when I graduated high school (250#) I am also enjoying some NSVs. I am still off of all my pre-op meds (21), the fibromyalgia is doing great (small 2 day flare this week, 1st one since surgery) and I don't use the cane anymore and we walk a lot. I have bones sticking out every where; collar, wrist, ankle, shoulder, ribs, pelvis. It's great! My husband can wrap his arms all the way around my body and I can him too. Loving my new clothes (18/20) including a KNEE length skirt, form fitting shirts and tops and some heels. I can also CROSS MY LEGS! I haven't wore heels or crossed my legs in years. My hubby likes, but hey, he's liking a lot of things lately. I am really happy with the results I am seeing. I do still struggle on a daily basis though. Eating anything is still very difficult for me. I can hold about an ounce. I still get sick with every meal. My pre-op digestive issues did not improve as my doc had hoped. It can get very discouraging being so weak all of the time. I just keep holding out that my restriction will relax a little and let me get in some calories. Right now the weight loss is very exciting, but I do wonder if long term my body will ever be able to make it on such a tiny amount of sustenance. Anyhoo... Have a wonderful day everyone and HAPPY LOSING!! Check back in with y'all next month This photo is of me yeasterday at my kids school field day. I promised my friend's a pic of me at the blow up bounce house..hehe.

It's those little NSVs that help us stay on track sometimes. The little twinge of success makes it all worthwhile.

So tonight I played my Xbox kinect (haven't played since before surgery)....it takes pics of u during play and (unlike before surgery) the pics were not disgusting!! This may sound silly but before when I played I hated seeing them and deleted them ASAP but tonight I was liking looking at them and seeing such a difference!! 45 lbs since 3-1-12 woohoo!!!!

My hubby and I are bikers, Bikers for Christ members to be exact. I had surgery 3/19/12 I've list 27 lbs so far, I have no restriction yet, just cut out carbs. Anywho, my man told me today that he could tell I'm losing weight because my stomach used to be against his back and now he doesn't feel it. WooHoo, thats even more awesome being as its summertime and it feels so good to have some air between us. C:

Something that's been nagging at me since surgery.... I miss being able to chug water. Badly. I'm almost 5 weeks out from surgery, and still can barely hit 40oz of fluid intake a day. That being said - that amount is double my intake from the week before, when I discovered how wonderful straws truly are. I thought all liquids gave me the burps; instead, I can drink pretty much everything now burp-free, provided it's through a straw. I had pre-employment paperwork today for a new job, and while I was filling out the mountain of legal stuff, the woman casually asks for me to give a urine sample for drug tox testing....and I secretly panicked! I had been sip sip sipping along on my water all morning, but I was no where near prepared to give 50ml of urine on the spot! Heck, I'm lucky to pass 200ml total on any given day! Yes, I'm chronically dehydrated since surgery, and it sucks. In the past, this would not have been an issue. I was notorious for being able to chug a full liter of water in under 30 seconds as a pre-op. Now it takes me the better part of 6 hours to get down one of those 16.9oz bottles. WTF. After 3 hours of drinking as much as I possibly could, I was only able to produce 20ml of urine...they sent the test bottle off anyways, but I have that sneaking suspicion that I'll be required to retest. See, little things like this nag at me as a post-op. I was prepared to possibly not be able to eat red meat/steak again, so I spent quality pre-op time eating a TON of beef, and I was ok with that going away. I had no idea I'd end up lactose intollerant...to the point where I wake up at night, covered in sweat and dreaming of cheese, to the point where I can taste it in my mouth!! The social aspects of food are hitting me hardest. I suppose that this is normal for everyone. I've been lucky in that I have been somewhat isolated from other people for the last month, but food advertising is everywhere, and it makes me want to strangle people. If I have to see one of those Pizza Hut ads for that damn CHEESY BITE PIZZA one more time, I swear I'll go postal!!!! Bread and cheese! I'd rather have it than sex! ....at least, I think I would. Truth be told, I'm not even sure if I would really enjoy it anymore. And that's what it comes down to....food hold absolutely no enjoyment for me any more. I can't think of anything in my food choices that tastes GOOD right now. Some things are more tolerable than others, but there is nothing that I truly savor, and it makes me sad. I'm sure the fact that I'm "stalled" does not help matters. I chose to consume a small amount of something I shouldn't, and gained 4 lbs of fluid overnight...which has stubbornly clung on for the last 3 days. And now I am terrified to eat pretty much anything. Worried that I went in debt and nearly died from complications...all for 42lbs of weight loss, which may or may not stay off. Ugh, frustrated. I'm at that point where I'm not far enough to see positives (no, I haven't lost any clothing sizes or had any NSVs yet), but buried in negatives, and it's hard to see when things will improve.

So amazing. Our kids are the one's that can make us feel the greatest (and sometimes worst lol) we think they don't notice things but they do and they are the.best at giving us NSVs and not even knowing it!! Congrats!!

My surg was 4/24 and I am down 18 lbs! I feel good and had someone at work tell me that my face looks thinner so I guess that's my first nsv? Lol i have been struggling getting my protein drinks in, but I'm workin on it. I had my first incident with stuck food.. Started mushies late last week and obviously wasn't ready.. I was in agony for about 6 hours, so I learned from that to take it slower.

In my time since starting with the doctor, I've lost 24 lbs. I could tell in the mirror this morning. This is my first NSV and probably only the second time in my adult life losing weight that I could tell!!!!

This is a wonderful NSV!! Congrats to you!!!

Some of you know that I have a DVT (blood clot) and two pulmonary embolisms before surgery because of pneumonia. You might remember that I've been on coumadin since last June because of those clots. I had an appt with my pulmonary doctor yesterday and he told me that I could refuse to continue taking the coumadin. He couldn't NOT prescribe it because my test results still say I'm high on clot factor, but with my weight loss and activity level, he wouldn't argue with me if I refused the medicine, so I refused it. As a precautionary measure, he ordered an ultrasound of my legs, the site of the blood clot before. I had that ultrasound today and my legs are not only clot free, the tech couldn't even tell where the clot had been!! She also complimented me on the amount of muscle in my thighs, although that muscle made it harder for her to do the ultrasound. I'm a happy and HEALTHY girl today!! I think I can predict that I will outlive the death sentence the doctors handed me last year! THAT is worth a happy dance all on it's own!!!

My first stall started at 2 weeks and lasted about a month. Then I stalled again at about 8 weeks for another 2 weeks. I have really decided to not let it bother me too much and focus on my overall loss and NSV. I just about only have 1 chin now and can feel my cheek bones again! I can make it up 2 flights of stairs without being out of breath. I started looking more closely at my fat intake and that seemed to break my last stall. I am eating more cream of wheat for breakfast and doing small lean cuisines at lunch. It is so hard to not get frustrated, but maybe you can find something else to measure by also to get excited. I had a pair of pants that I would make sure to put on and I could feel the changes more with that than what the scale said. Those pants don't even stay up now!

Trying to stay positive and focused but feeling discouraged I started the living healthy process in October (298 lbs) and had my Sleeve surgery on 3/21/12 (248 lbs). From October to March I lost 50 lbs (pre surgery) on 1300 calories a day – high Protein, low carb eating and enjoying bariaatricchoice.com foods. After my surgery, I lost 13 lbs in the first two weeks. However, I have only lost 12 lbs in the last 6 weeks. (I realize this is a 2 lb a week average, but it feels slow.) I am only eating 700 calories a day and this is primarily from Protein shakes and lean meats (80 grams protein), all my liquids and Vitamins. I walk about 2-3 miles a day and just purchased the Fitbit (it is charging for the first time as I type). I don’t have regrets, but I am feeling discouraged as I thought I would lose significantly faster than I did when I was on 1300 calories a day. I know I should be feeling great about my progress and feel a bit guilty that I am even posting these rambling thoughts, but I am at my ½ way point and wonder, “What if this is it? What if I don’t lose another pound? “ I am healthy – I have always been healthy – I used to say I was the healthiest morbidly obese person around. I do feel better and I have subtle yet significant NSVs. I just want to figure out how to turbo charge my weightloss. Thanks for being there for me!

my first NSV was just 4 days after surgery and I put on my (only) size 18 jeans I have and went to a birthday party for my finance's uncle.... well I guess there's more than one NSV here but first of all everyone was sitting around eating chips and drinking pop. I have to admit I would have normally had about half a bag of chips and probably 2 to 3 cans of regular pop. but I sat there the whole time just sipping my power aid. next, they cut the dairy queen ice cream cake and passed out huge pieces. once again, just sat there and watched everyone eat while sipping. it was kinda sad but after I realized that I would have consumed over 2000 calories in just 2 hours at there house but instead I didnt have a single one, I was so happy now for the NSV I was thinking about in the first place was when I got home I was talking to my mom and turned around and noticed that my jeans were loose in the back! I could pinch a good couple inches of jean off of my thighs! I was freaking out an made my mom measure and had lost 2.5 inches in each thigh since surgery! wow I have hope I'll finally get rid of my thunder thighs!

Great NSV! Funny story. I had a professor in college grew up in the 1960's south (father was a minister). Now this was a very thin woman. She finally told her mother she was no longer going to where a girdle when it FELL OFF while she was walking. She had bought the smallest one she could buy. It was socially expected that women wore girdles whether they had any fat to suck in or not.

Yay!!! What a relief to see those scale #s going down again. We try to be reasonable, celebrating the NSVs as they come, but we honestly do love it when that scale shows a lower #. It's sooo energizing! Congrats!

Ok guys and gals.......... I am sooooo happy to report for those who are pre-op and very newly post-op that my sex drive has returned. I used to blame my lack of sexual excitement on the fact that: 1. You don't have as much sex once your married( however this was one sided as my husband thought buying the cow meant more milk!) 2. The kids....always around, sleep in the bed with you blah blah blah 3. There is so much more I could productively be spending my time on such as laundry, cooking, cleaning...excuse excuse excuse and then it hit me while watching BBC the show that comes on and takes all the food people are eating and lay it out on the table is gross. And the host told the couple that was on there that when they drew thier blood how food was ruining everything and this married couple was only being intimate three to four times a year. Anniversary, each birthday and maybe Valentine's day or Christmas. And I realized it was my weight. Sooooooooooooo 5 1/2 weeks post op and 30 lbs lighter and I am frisky! I noticed more energy during intimacy. I enjoy it again, it's not another chore on my list, I have even tried on some of my old sexy night gowns. My husband even requested a particular one! This has been a major NSV for me as I am sure all of you ladies can relate. So am I close to goal.......nope, has my life already changed.....yep the second I woke up from surgery! If you are pre-op and needing reassurance just know it will be difficult but sooo worth it. Take back the years that have been given over to obesity, bad health and being unhappy with who you see in the mirror. And welcome that healthier you that has been locked away! GO GET YOU!

hi fellow sleevers Awful awful awful I had surgery recently (NSV)taking my important medicine daily, the dosage should have been adjusted due to weight loss of 65 lbs. Spoke w/dr. prior to surgery, he said all would be fine. He was aware of WLS, apparently not aware of how much i had lost. Day after surgery, i started having delusions. They lasted about 4 days, subsiding each day. My medicine levels were WAY too high for my new weight, causing the problem. (had nothing to do with anesthesia). It was really terrible. Due to the fact that my dr. did not take into effect the amount of weight loss i had, it conflicted with my other med., causing these terrible side effects. Probably one for the books - at least my book. kathy

Yay!! I think ankles were my first NSV as well!! Lots more to come!! Lissa