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OK, so I am a low BMI lap-band revision sleever. My biggest body image problem is my stomach. I was HUGE when I was pregnant. My stomach was ridiculously large. So, I have the dreaded stomach skin hanging down. I have never been able to see my C section scar wthout lifting up my stomach - even at my lowest lap-band weight of 176. So, yesterday I was getting dressed and I looked in the mirror and there was one part of my stomach that had pulled up enough that I could see the scar!!!!!! Not the whole stomach, but a bit of it had pulled up. UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!!! I had to look at it again this morning to make sure it wasn't a fluke. This is better for me than any scale number. My stomach is the one thing that really makes me insecure. Now I feel like there is a light at the end of the tunnel. And, honestly, I can't believe it - it's only been 2 weeks. Thanks for letting me share--- Lara

That is so AWESOME!!! You and sprout are in my prayers from this minute on!!! Congrats Tiffy, that is the best NSV for anyone!!!

Best. NSV. EVER. Congratulations!!! Best wishes for a great pregnancy, and here's to the healthy little sprout!!

Now THAT is an awesome NSV!!! I'm so happy for you, Tiff .

That is by far the BEST NSV I have heard in my time on VST. Love it!!! You and Sprout are in my prayers. It sounds like you're off to a great start!

There were many reasons for me choosing WLS in the first place, and the biggest drive force was for me to be able to conceive, have a healthy pregnancy, and deliver a healthy baby without the complications of obesity during pregnancy. I've been waiting 3 long weeks to share this news with all of you, and am happy to report I AM PREGNANT ! ! ! After 14 long, exhausting, and emotionally draining months, I'm finally pregnant. I am considered high risk for several reasons, and VSG does throw me into that category along with other medical issues I have which are NOT related to VSG at all. I have an idiopathic clotting disorder and the cause, reason is still unknown. We do know that I am missing certain Protein factors in my platelets, but other than that, they can not pinpoint the cause or even give it a name hence the "idiopathic". We know the treatment is similar to that of Von Willebrand's disease, but all of my work ups have been negative for VW factor. It's kind of crazy, and I have a feeling I will be having more lab work due to the disorder and pregnancy. I have that "mother's intuition" that we are pulling for Team Blue, and if all goes well, I will have a repeat c-section and tubal ligation since I will be 35 yrs old a month after the baby is delivered. My husband is elated, overjoyed, and of course stressed. He's become the food police all over again, and worries that I am not eating enough. BUT, per the recommendations, I am getting enough calories/protein/carbs currently. They expect me to gain 25-30lbs during the pregnancy, and I kind of snickered at that thought process, but I am not saying it won't happen. I've never read any WLS patient gaining that much post-WLS except band patients. So, we'll see how the weight gain goes. Thus far, I am experiencing sore boobs, crazy food cravings for anything spicy, and fatigue. I have experienced zero morning sickness and for that I am very grateful. I've been cleared to continue my Celebrate multi, b12, and Calcium. The formulation of these Vitamins actually exceed the values of any prenatal on the market, and my labs looked stellar except for my platelets were low normal (which is normal for me). Today was my first ultrasound appointment. I knew the day we conceived "Little Sprout", and had the due date spot on. Everything was perfect, strong, steady heartbeat at 150bpm, everything looked good internally. I'm being referred to a civilian high-risk ob/gyn team and my pregnancy will be co-managed between them and the base provider. All this means is that I'll have double appointments that most pregnant women have to go through. Sorry for the quality. The base equipment is a bit dated, but we were able to hear the heartbeat, and of course I cried. My husband was able to attend, and he just stood there staring at the screen kind of in awe. It was truly the most joyous event I've experienced. Thank you for all of your continued support and encouragement. I would ask that you keep our family in your thoughts and prayers. This is going to be a long process, and Sprout is due November 5th. This place is kind of like my 2nd home so I'm sure I'll be posting more updates as the months progress. . Oh and I don't have much of a belly bump at all yet. I'm bloating, but my clothes are fitting the same, and I have not gained any weight to date. I'm not any hungrier than I was before pregnancy, just insane cravings for random foods I would not have eaten. It'll be interesting to see how I look this pregnancy. I was around 200lbs when I was pregnant with my son 13 yrs ago, and gained 37lbs so I was just huge and round. This time I'm interested to see how my body changes, and hopefully I'll get the cute baby bump that I see on everyone else.

Hi all, I had my 1 week post op visit today and my Doctor said, "let's go ahead and start you on mushies!" I am SHOCKED! I don't feel ready. I told him that when I drink my chest gets tight. He said that is perfectly normal and will go away, maybe in 6 weeks or less. He said our stomach is actually much higher up than most people think and it is still feeling the trauma. This is the thing, it seems like mushies after only 1 week post op is sooner than I would have thought. Is this normal for everyone else? All these surgeons all have such different guidelines. I think I am just going to give myself a few more days of full liquids and then start mushies. THe good news is, I lost 10 lbs. since the surgery and I am down 22 lbs. TOTAL!!! ALso, for a NSV my wedding ring fell right off my finger! Crazy! Does anyone else have or had tight chest issues for awhile? Good luck to all! Tracy

Good for you. That is a great NSV! I can't wait until i can run. How exciting! Kelly

That my hair would get thinner. That somedays I would be starving and other days not want to eat at all. That I wood still have to drink Protein shakes daily to get my needed amount. That I would be cold when others are sweating. That I would feel SO much better after only minimal loss. That I would wish I had done this years ago. That nsv's can be better than the scale moving down. That my family would be so supportive. That my friends and co workers would be so supportive. That I would inspire others to have this procedure too. There are positives and negativesto everything I. Life, so for now I am trying to focus on the positives.

Had to shopping this weekend to buy a dress for a friends wedding. The last time I had to buy a dress I was crying, because I couldn't find anything in my size. Anyway, I found not only 1 dress but 3 dresses that fit and looked great and they were Size 12 I was 18's. (Since Oct). I also bought 2 medium shirts (from Charlotte Russe). I would have never tried these sizes because I still don't see what everybody else sees, and my weight has stayed pretty much the same for the last month, (my friend made me). I was so excited. It upped my motivation again.

I can understand your annoyance. I think in my case, however, I get a bit frustrated about the question only because I thought I would've lost more by now that I have. I've never really been a numbers person when it comes to my weight until now (more concerned about size) as I've always weighed more than people my same size. I've become more focused on my NSV's, like being able to sit comfortably in a seat on the plane and not be squished or being able to keep up with my thin sister who speed walks everywhere without needing to whip out my inhalor (lol). I think most people mean well when they ask, but yes, there are always those few who are just there to try to steal your sunshine. I think as long as we remember this is a journey we are doing for ourselves and not others we will be just fine. Good luck to you all!

Woohoo! Those NSV are great, aren't they? How did you keep up your old jeans, going from 26 to 18?? I know that was a great feeling. Congrats. Karen

Today at church people kept coming up to me and saying how well I was slimming down. Some wanted to know what I was doing. I was smiling all day.

My weight has been so slow recently (cry) but I have had a few NSVs I'd like to share. When I went to work out the other day and did the stationary bike I could see between my thighs where as I couldnt' before. I ran on the treadmill for like 3 minutes while still holding a convo Walking out of the Chiro's office I gave my husband a scare because he thought someone else was taking our son. "I saw some thin woman with our son by the hand then realized it was you." Getting my Saturday massage by hubby he said, "Its amazing how everywhere I touch now has bones sticking out." AND I'm shoping totally in the regular section now. I PAID OFF AND CUT UP MY LANE BRYANT CARD! FU LANE BRYANT (excpet your bras )

My apologies as I seem to have understood it incorrectly. It was explained to me that the scales may not always show a loss, but your body is still changing, especially for example, when you exercise more, and exchange fat for muscle. And I certainly found it useful when I had the occasional unexplained 'stall' over a few weeks with very little weight lost. The NSVs (ie nothing to do with the scales!) are very heartening and kept my motivation high when it may well have dropped away.

Congratulations! I love reading everyones NSV's!

What does NSV mean? I thought I knew, but when I saw how it was used in the sentence, I know I don't. Thanks! Congrats on the jeans! I am just excited my ring fell off yesterday after 5 days post op! lol I love hearing people say they love their sleeve. I am in the "what have I done to myself" stage!

Wow! Great NSV! We want to see pics of the $168.00 jeans!

How many calories are you eating? If you don't track it, try doing it for a couple of days. It is possible that you aren't eating enough. I had a stall at about the same point and was only eating about 800-900 calories. When I bumped it up to 1,000 I started losing again. If that's not it, try shaking it up some other way...lower your carbs, kick up your exercise, etc. Sometimes you just need to change things up to get the scale moving again. Also, find other things to motivate yourself other than the scale - are you down a size, are your clothes looser, can you walk longer, do your knees not hurt anymor, etc. Those sort of NSVs keep me going when I don't see movement on the scale. Good Luck!

Soooo what is a NSV ?

Hey Irene... fantastic NSV... don't thank the sleeve.... thank YOURSELF... you are controlling your sleeve with precision ladyeeee x

You really are rockin your sleeve!! NSV feel great and I know you wil continue to have them!!!!

I have 2 wonderful NSV this week and I wanted to share - I need a couple of pairs of jeans - my old ones are WAY to big so I took them to the consignment shop and was down to 2 pair that fit - OK. I decided to go ahead and shop for a couple of pairs of jeans to fit me on my way to goal. Right now I am wearing mostly 12s and I thought I would try to find a pair of jeans - a fun trendy pair so I tried on these brands: Miss Me, Big Star, MKE, Buckle, Silver etc. I was trying on anything from 33 waist down to 31. I am taller an need 34 length - not always easy to find. I was SUPER happy that I decided to run into JC Penny and spotted a few A.N.A> brand jeans that were cute so off I go to the dressing room with 5 pairs of size 12 to try.........none fit. To ....baggy!??? I ended up buying one pair of size 10's and the best part was they were only $27 - whoot. I really wanted 2 pair so I headed to the Buckle store and must have tried on 20 pair of jeans..... ended up spending WAY WAY to much on a pair of Rock Revival jeans ($168-eek!). But decided this was my gift to myself for losing 52 pounds to date. And they just really made me feel so good when I looked at them. I am going to ask my honey to take a few pictures for my progress file later today and I will post. They are 31 x 34 and I love them....!! Shopping is getting way to fun. I must slow down on that until I make goal! I love my sleeve!

Love NSVs!!!!

NSV is Non scale Victory. Congratulations! I love clothes stories!