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Hi, I'm new here. My name is Melanie. I had surgery Feb 2, 2010.last night I was at a PRE wedding party and after reviewing the pictures I was actually happy with the way I looked.this was a total victory for me.

What great NSV's! You must feel great! Way to go! Those last pounds will be gone in no time!

I've noticed the same thing with some foods. Unfortunately, I'm occasionally not as smart as you and I have to take a few bites trying to convince myself that I still "love" the food. I guess my NSV would be that I've recently learned to let it go after a bite and not liking it. It doesn't always happen, but I'm working on it. Congrats on your successes! Amanda

An awesome NSV for you! And before surgery even!!!

Congratulations on a terrific week! Enjoy everyone of those NSVs and look forward to more in the weeks and months ahead! Keep up the good work! Brian

Congratulations on your NSV!!!! You look amazing in those jeans! One question, how did you chose your goal size?

NSV = Naked Sexy Vikings!!! )

I always thought NSV was "New Sleeve Victory" LOL

I am feeling really good about myself this morning. I have had more energy in the past two weeks than anytime I can remember. I have been able to do yard work, clean my house and go to the gym. Also, I went clothes shopping for the first time since my banding. My shirts were getting way too big. I am in a XL shirt and size 16 pants and they are a little loose. I went to a discount store --no sense in buying high price clothes. Really feeling good....what a nice treat!!!

Hey FindingMe - thanks!! I kept a lot of old clothes from way back 20 years ago. Levi's are my absolute favorite jeans - no doubt about it. I have some super cute Levi's that I outgrew those 20 years ago and I always wanted to get back into them. Some are size 13's and some are 14's. I'm just now starting to fit into them, and those are such an achievement... I seriously started to think I'd never be able to again. Now these are back in the day before random and vanity sizing - so it's quite the accomplishment!!! Hi Knee, welcome to the BEST support website you will find for the VSG! An NSV = Non scale Victory - for all the wonderful things that accompany weight loss, that is not defined by the scale. HTH

I have been reading a lot of the stories here, I am just getting started in this process and I have a question. What is a NSV? Thanks!

defo an NSV Tiff... we had a rare moment of sun in the Easter hols and I sat in it without looking like I'd just got out of the shower....NICE!! x

WOOHOO!!! What an AWESOME NSV week!!!

I'm fairly sure most of y'all can relate so I thought I'd share this weird NSV. Today, we were running around the house, getting ready for my husband's orthodontic consult, we're also buying a house, and our home that we rent is on the market so the listing agent showed up unexpectedly without notice, just pissing me, and making my crazy, pregnant hormonal self all in a rage. Anyway, so in the craziness, I threw on some clothes, and forgot deodorant. You're thinking big deal, right? Well, the issue is we live in hot/muggy Florida. The thermometer in my truck said 90 degrees. I got in, started backing out of the driveway, and realized "Crap, no deodorant". My husband was like "great, stinky winky at the dentist". Best advantage to not being fat is I didn't sweat or get sweaty/icky in the underarm department ! ! ! Pre-op weight would have had me sweating profusely, and stinking to high heaven within 10 minutes. We were outside all afternoon, walking around, picking up pine cones in our yard, and not once did I sweat or get stinky ! ! !

awesome NSV's!! What a reward!

That is SO terrific...no wonder you were excited! It also makes up for the darned scale not moving! I had a funny NSV late last week in that I put on a skirt, blouse and sweater jacket that was always a little snug and like your story...it was clearly too big. But I was dressed and didn't want to change so I even commented to my husband as I left the house that this was the last time I would wear it and would put in the Goodwill bag when I got home. Later at work I was standing in my administrative assistant's cubical and she reached out and tugged on my skirt and said, "you are definitely losing weight...that dress is too big." My skirt dropped to my ankles with her slight tug! Fortunately I had a slip on and we both burst out laughing. Her cubicle is private so only the two of us watched me lose my skirt! That wouldn't have happened a few weeks ago!

That is so fantastic!!!!! Good for you!!!! Sometimes, the NSVs are better than seeing the scale go down. Keep up the great job!

Whooottt!! You're successes and NSV's are so much to be proud of!!! Congrats and here's to the next 37!!

OK, so I am having a stall again, the scale has not moved since before easter, BUT the last 3 days have been amazing for NSVs, so I'll bask in those a little instead! Monday - (sorry this is reapeated form another thread) - I put on my work trousers only to find they don't touch ANYWHERE, not the waist, not the bum, not the thighs, I let go and they hit the floor, and they are not old trousers. My 7 year old thinks this is hillarious, so much so that she tells everyone who will listen about it (I'm flattered, but gosh i hope she doesn't tell people every time I try something on and its too small!!) Then I go to do the pick up from the childminders, and she greets me with "hello skinny" Tuesday - I see my mum for the first time in 2 weeks, and she says "Claire you look amazing, you look really well, and you are getting so skinny!" (that strange word again!) I then go to work, and am also told by my boss that I'm getting "Skinny" (thats 3 times in 2 days!) Today - I try on old trousers that were painfully small a couple of weeks ago - hey presto perfect fit, I team them with a top which I normally only wear with tummy control underwear, and the top just kind of floats around me without the use of any hidden support! I get to work and a colleague stops me in the corridoor and just starts pointing at me (I thought she was having some sort of breakdown), I asked what was wrong and she says "My god Claire, where has your stomach gone??? Its dissappeared!" I did resist the temptation to say it was in my surgeone's rubbish bin. Finally I get home and change into my pyjamas, and realise that the only way they are staying up is with a belt - so here I sit in my comfy pj's and a fetching flourescent belt!!! So with another 37lb to goal and a long long way from what I consider to be a normal weight, things are still pretty damn good!

I said to myself the other day, I want to go rollerblading again. Now, I have not done this is probably 10+ years. So today it was nice out, not to hot, not to cold. So I said what the hell. I put on my rollerblades, stood up, a bit shaky. And went out, went around the parking lot a bunch of times, just to get back into it. Then decided to go down the street. And I kept going, before I knew it I was about 3 miles away from my apartment! At this point my ankles were starting to hurt a bit, so I turned around. So in total I went 6 miles!! I am quite happy with that. When I got home my ankles were killing me, but after having them off for a few minutes they felt fine again. If I continue doing this, I may buy a new pair, maybe they make them a bit more comfortable now, after all I've had this pair for like 15 years or so. But I think today was a good day!

I went on a cruise this month and with food readily available 24/7, I gained weight. That's okay because I planned for it and mentally prepared myself, mostly. Anyway, on the 22nd of each month, I look at what I have lost for the month, and realized I only lost 1 measly pound this month. So I tell myself that it's still a pound, and with all I ate on vacation it could have been worse, but I was still a bit bummed and disappointed. Then Monday, I was getting dressed for work, and although I can fit an18/20, I was holding onto some 22 pants for work. I put them on and realized they were too baggy to wear. Hurray! So then I stopped by Wally-world and tried on some 16's and they fit. I bought a 16 top, cuz i didnt really like the pants. But they fit. I really needed this. Even though I didn't lose pounds, I lost inches. I try to be a positive person about all this. I try to maintain perspective, but some days it's really tuff. I know this seems a teeny victory, but it's huge for me. I last wore a 16 when I was 17 years old.

Yay for you! I love those types of NSV's. Even the small things can make us so happy. I think we appreciate those small accomplishments so much more than before. Congrats to you!

Hi everyone!! I'm up 7 pounds!!! Yikes! Of course it's that TOM and my face and hands are so swollen. Still, I never noticed a drop after fill #2 even though portion size is down overall. BUT, I have been snacking and must stop. Lots of stress...my orientation ended at work and although I love what I do it's scary. My husband was laid off and isn;t qualifying for unemployment. My mom is in crisis. Ayway I'm afraid it's led to a lot of stress eating/snacking and I have to get it under control. I did just call for another fill appt, but am waiting till next week to let this swelling pass and I really want to get my mental eating in check before I go in, just as a personal goal of sorts. I'm starting to enjoy being a bit more active. Spring has sprung here in the Pacific Northwest and I'm starting to do some planting. I got some free trelisses (sp?) and want to plant some grapes, and am planning to use some old tires we have to do some raised beds for yellow squash & zucchini gardens! I've discovered how yummy produce is. I'm beginning to really enjoy flavors of healthy, whole foods. A NSV of sorts I'd say? Oh and I'm trying to talk my hubby into building a chicken coop so we can have some fresh eggs. Check in if you all can...I hope you're all doing well.

I could probably post in this in success stories but I like post-op better At one year out I'm down 116lbs. This time last year I was sitting in the recovery room with my mom with a lady from some other floor puking up her guts in the next bed over. Let me say the beginning of my journey was NOT pleasant. From being written the wrong prescription for my medicine (somehow they wrote my script with the wrong name) to the nurse telling me I can't use Gas-X strips because they contain sugar (post-op instructions for someone who had gastic bypass) the first day was pretty much hell. We got to the hospital at 5:00AM and didn't get home until midnight. It SUCKED! My surgeon had to call in a prescription at a 24 hour pharmacy at 11AM at night. But, I will say that has been the only horrible part of my journey. Otherwise, it has been flawless and so smooth-sailing. I didn't get stuck until about 6 months in -- thank you dry turkey meat! I've found that I have gotten stuck a bit more often than I did in the beginning, but that's probably due to the fact that I like to experiment with food, and I have yet to master eating slowly. Maybe one day. My first goal weight was 120lbs but I've since upped it to 125lbs; last I weighed I was 130.6lbs, so not exactly at goal, but so close I can feel it! I never imagined losing 100lbs in a year, let alone 50lbs honestly. Pre-op I was lazy as no other. I went to work, came home, sat on my laptop, and ate. Nowadays my schedule is pretty much the same, except I workout for a good hour and a half+ now. I am well aware of what I put into my mouth, I hold myself accountable, and rarely do make excuses to not exercise. This is my journey, and not everyone will take the path I took, that's the beauty of it all. I chose no fills and to workout/track my food. Some may go this route, some won't. It's all about what works for you. Hopefully this is helpful to people who are pre-op and post-op. I find that I am coming here less and less so hopefully some of you soon-to-be band-vets stick around to keep everyone in check These forums have been so helpful to me since day one and the wealth of knowledge here is great. 15 things I've learned along the way: 1. The scale isn't everything. Yes we all want to see the scale move but there is so much more to weight loss than the scale. Inches lost are important as are the beloved NSVs (non-scale victories.) Focus on how different you feel as well, both mentally and physically. When you do hop on the scale, limit it to once or twice a week, not every day. (Unless you're in maintenance mode, then every day may be most helpful.) 2. Exercise is a must do. Start off slow and intensify as you lose. Once I got out of surgery and was cleared to walk, I walked. I probably went around the hospital floor 50 times, in the same boring circle. I'm sure the nurses thought I was nuts. From that day on I've exercised my butt off, literally. I started with walking to doing indoor exercises including the Beachbody programs (Slim-in-6, Insanity, P90, P90M, and P90X.) I will also be doing RushFIT at some point in time. 3. It's okay to cheat; in fact, it's part of "dieting." I allow myself cheat Snacks every now and then to keep myself sane. It's been proven that ignoring a small craving usually only leads to a larger much more unhealthy binge. I have been a long-time Reese's lover so I'll treat myself to one when I want. I even eat ice cream everyday almost. Note: I've only started this as I get closer to my goal, I didn't do this all along. 4. Weight loss isn't always steady. Though I lost 1-2lbs pretty steadily for months, I hit many plateaus. There was 2 weeks where I lost nothing. There were weeks when I lost 5lbs+ in a week. In fact there were times when I gained, not much, but a gain on the scale nearly sent me up the wall, and it still does. 5. Water is tasteless but so useful. I really haven't drunk anything but water since surgery, with the exception of a few sips of things here and there. Water keeps me full when I'm not eating and it keeps you hydrated! I use Crystal Light to spice things up a bit. 6. Protein is a lovely thing. Protein protein protein, mmm, protein. I've learned that protein is a must have if you're losing weight. This doesn't mean you have to go all out on your protein levels a day, but aim for 60g minimum. I personally eat my weight in protein, but this is my preference and has to do a lot with my exercise and weightlifting. I've always been a chicken eater/lover so I stick to eating just that most of the time: chicken, turkey, and sometimes fish. 7. Food tracking keeps you well, on track. Tracking what you eat helps keep you mentally sound, or at least it did for me. Track everything you eat each day and each meal. This way you're able to see your intake levels for calories, carbs, protein, etc. and adjust accordingly. 8. Carbs are NOT the enemy. When I first started to lose I stayed away from carbs. This was simply due to the fact that my trouble foods seemed to be carb filled: Pasta, rice, corn, and bread. I was eating about 30-40g of carbs a day post-op. I will say that it worked flawlessly and I lost plenty because of my carb-cut, but I do want to say that carbs are not the enemy here. Nowadays I eat carbs like they're nothing. Why? I workout; carbs are the fuel I need. However I will admit to making low-carb recipes all the time and of course still carb count. It is, and always has/will be about calories in vs calories out. In the end carb reduction = calorie reduction. 9. Everyone loses differently; don't compare yourself. I remember looking at forums and seeing how some people lost slowly and how some seemed to drop very quickly. The point is that we will all lose at different rates. Don't compare your weight loss to another's as in the end we're all just looking to lose; who cares about the pace. 10. "Junk food" can be made healthy. Yep, that's right, healthy junk food. I still eat pumpkin pie, Cookies, ice cream, and plenty of other things deemed to be "junk." There is a lovely thing known as healthy foods and ingredients, and with them you can make junk food quite healthy. Pumpkin pie? Got it. Ice cream? I'll take a few scoops. I still like to think no food is taboo. 11. Being banded is about portion control not for ridding your diet of certain foods. I am one who truly believes that having the band doesn't mean you have to say goodbye to any food. Though I cut out some food when I first started, for my own good, I have added in pretty much everything again, including rice and breads. This time however they're portioned properly. I can't and don't eat bowls of rice/pasta anymore. 12. Set mini-goals. Of course the main goal is to lose weight and reach our goal weight, but set mini-goals along the way to keep you positive. I often set goals that went along with holidays. (ie. a had a goal weight for Christmas, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, etc.) 13. Hold yourself accountable, but don't beat yourself up. Know when you cheat or go-off track and take it from there. Don't beat yourself to death mentally. One bad day won't kill your weight loss efforts. 14. Keep your eyes on the main goal, though it may seem like it's taking forever to get there, you'll get there, sometimes faster than you ever imagined. 15. Be happy for every pound you lose no matter how small it is. If you're 165.2 one week and one 165.0 the next, be happy, be proud, and realize that even though it's a small loss, it is still a loss. As long as the scale is going down, don't complain.

I too love mini-goals! Here is my blog link on OH and if you scroll down and look on the left side you can view my goals. Right now they are mostly based on weight but I think that will eventually change. I have a lot of mini-goals I guess in my list of NSV's on my blog. Good luck! http://www.obesityhelp.com/member/finallyformyself/