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I welcome all opinions. Am I not allowed to disagree or write from my perspective? I will continue to "evangelize" because this surgery saved my life and i so love not being obsessed with food. I savour my little bit and forget it until I remember to eat. Do you know what I used to do before? In the morning I was already planning indetail what I was going to eat for lunch and dinner. Oh, I forgot to mention that I was an on and off again bullemic. That's gone too. I guess those of us who are finding sucess are trying to make it so you feel like we do. I want everyone to know what its like to not be scared of being too big too fit in booths and not being able to walk through a turnstile. I had two NSV when I slid into a booth and walked straight through a turnstil without having to turn sidways and hitch in.

Yep. I count that moment of Horror as an NSV (Non-Scale-Victory for you Newbies). Who would have thought a moment of horror could be a good thing?!?

Let's share the warm fuzzies and see if we can't get everyone feelin' pretty good! I want to know, what's the most positive experience you've had since getting sleeved? It could be a compliment you've received or an NSV you've never expected... What's one positive experience you've had that has really made you cheese from ear to ear? Here's mine: Friday night I went into the gas station where I used to stop every morning for my coffee and cigarettes. I haven't been in there since New Years when I quit smoking. When Bobby, the gas station owner who I've known for about 5 years, saw me his jaw dropped! He knew me pre-pregnancy when I was a size 14, and has watched me balloon to a size 24 since I got pregnant in 2010. The look of appreciation on his face and his kind words made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside

I used to be 5'6" but after I gained weight I was 5'5.5" due to the fact that the padding on my backside made me lean back a bit, thus appearing shorter. I am back at 5'6" when I got measured today! Woohoo! :smile2:

Another darn stall but also a ton of NSV's DEE http://deekajungumbo.blogspot.com/2014/04/friday-weigh-in-and-atlantic-city.html

Trails in late.... C 225.5 (-81.5lbs total, -5 this week) Move me up on the honors! And here's an NSV to go with it: The last time I weighed this much, I was 16 years old. Oh and Paul - how do I do this bandless? Simple, I'm not. If I didn't have the wife's band to keep me in check, I doubt I would have made it this far. I think I'm now getting closer to being strong in my own right but I am so aware that one tiny slip and I could be right back where I was. Now if I could just follow the exercise fiends example and haul my butt to the gym I could even call myself.... fit. Laugh.

WOOHOO!!! Congrats on Onederland and those AWESOME NSVs!!!!

Hello Everyone, I haven't posted here in a while, work has just been crazy lately. Anyhow.... I recently came back from a business trip/vacation and I have several NSVs that I would like to share just as an encouragement to anyone still thinking about getting sleeved. Last year, I shared on here I had a couple terrible experience flying to Milwaukee and Jamaica. Just being a big guy, I was never comfortable riding a plane, asking for a seat belt extender, not being able to place the tray table down, etc. Well...that certainly has changed. A few NSVs... I was able to fit comfortably into my airplane seat. (And I noticed a difference in the people I sat by. No one gave me that...."Oh my... don't sit by me" look that you get as a big person walking down the aisle. I not only didn't need to ask for a seat belt extender, but I was able to place the tray table all the way down, and had a lot of slack left over from the seat belt. (I didn't show it on the outside, but on the inside.... I know I shed some tears. I spent the whole flight reflecting on the terrible experiences I've had in the past and how blessed I was to have this opportunity.) At my conference, there were festivities during the night with live music and dancing....I couldn't believe the amount of offers I had to dance. It was unbelieveable... I had great time.... and I didn't feel like the fat guy on the outside of the "in crowd." After my business conference in Orlando last week, I stayed for few days and visited the Disney and Universal theme parks. A huge NSV for me is that I fit on every single ride that I went on. Even the ones I would never think I could fit onto.... I FIT. Finally, I saw several co-workers that I haven't seen in a while at the conference... and I received so many compliments. It was awesome! Well.... I'm sure I could think of some more... but these are what comes to mind right away. I still have a ways to go...but the sleeve has definitely given me a fighting chance at being happy and healthy for the remainder of my life. A couple pics below. *Downtown Miami - 2/21/2013 - Down 80 LBS - 5 Months Post Op *Pre-Op in July of 2012 *NSV Picture - Airplane Flight - Tray Table Down, Magazine & juice, and Seat Belt Room Still Left

Paul....what wonderful NSVs - playing with your daughter and more acting parts! woo hoo! Heather wow girl - you look wonderful and your daughter is a beauty too! Yep Telly -good to have you 'kickin ass' again lol P'Nut - is that really YOU? seriously -- omg you are one hot chick!

Day 2 of my new NSV -- I was able to jog for 1 minute after every 5 minutes of walking on my treadmill for 30 minutes - 5 minutes of jogging - woo hoo! Now only if my arthritis didn't hate me so much for running lol - it's heck to get old....... and - I was able to buy a regular x-large at Target of all places for some workout pants! I was pleasantly surprised (well more like shocked lol) that they fit so well....thank goodness the inches come off even when the scale doesn't move.....

WOW! Just stumbled on this thread and read the whole thing. FluffyChix: Totally get what you were saying about the article, it sounded a little more like "throwing in the towel" than "moderation". There is a difference. To tell yourself that you do not exercise for weight loss is just dumb, it has to be PART of the reason. I do agree that the scale does not determine my self worth, I will be ok with a reasonable range of weights. REASONABLE, not bc I gave up. The way you talk about weight loss is like a warrior going into battle, and that is exactly what it is. It is the exact words many people use to describe thier weight loss journey. We have all heard people say things like: "I have been battling with my weight." We have to be geared up for a fight with our own bodies/fat cells. I hear You, take no prisoners this is war against my fat body. Surgery is just one weapon we have in this war, the rest is our choices and determination. KEEP FIGHTING! We all have different goals and that's ok. I just had surgery 4 days ago and do not intend to waste this opportunity either. This is my best shot at a healthy new me. But at the same time I have not set a specific weight goal for myself and at 5'4" I expect to still be considered overweight. That's ok, I am focused on NSV. Don't let anyone discourage you. Keep working towards your goal. Fight like hell.

I wanted to share two NSVs; both happened today. First one is about smoking. I used to smoke (keywords used to).. up until about 2 months ago. I knew I had to give up smoking and quitting hasn't been my problem in the past. But instead of setting a date one day after my dental cleaning was nicely done I decided I'd have just about enough of this. Wasn't bad.. wasn't as hard as I thought it would be.. it just happened. Wouldn't have happened if I had set a date and tried to prepare for it... it just did.. anyway, my NSV was that today I took a drag from hubby's smoke and felt nauseous. Now, that might not sound like much but you know how the saying goes.. you don't quit smoking, smoking quits you! I think it just might have left me for the last time. My second NSV was about water. As one of my first steps toward preparing myself I decided to get my water intake regulated. I've always been big on water, grew up drinking delicious tap water and have never had a problem with it like some people do. However... once I started actually measuring how much I drink I realized that 64 ounces was a loooooong ways off from what I was drinking. Listen up people! You may not be drinking as much water as you think you are. I was very much surprised by this especially since I thought I had 64 oz down pat! But today I actually did have it down, all 64 oz of it. God knows I haven't had to pee this often since I was pregnant

thats a wonderful NSV!!! congrats

okay guys, not the most flattering pic because I was concentrating, but this is a very basic Acro Yoga pose. The bottom is a "base" and the top is a "flyer". I had based many time, and sorta flew, but that day, evan if it doesn't show it, I took my hands away and completed the posture. I held it for about a minute, supported by her feet on my pelvic bones. This is a NSV all its own. I can’t buy this. I can’t “afford” surgery for this. I didn’t get this because of anything other than my persistence. The classes are at Blue Tree Yoga in Houston, and they are donation. So you can’t not “afford” it…I did it…it just keeps going in my mind like that. “I did it”. For the first time, I think, I feel very deep down like there is no going back. :’)

mikesmom - I, too, have been ashamed that I haven't lost hardly anything since the surgery...most of my loss was the pre-op diet and to top it off, I GAINED weight after the surgery. I have to remember that there are a lot of NSV (non-scale victories) to look at....ALL of my jeans now come on and off without unbuttoning...they are usually dragging on the floor! I also have more energy and I don't beat myself up as much as I used to when I have a "bad eating moment". I suck at drinking Water and continue to eat sometimes when I know I'm satisfied. Hang in there...it does get better! I have fewer bad days now and I "suddenly" lost 5 pounds after not weighing myself for 10 days...try that and see what happens!

I have an NSV.. At the height of my weight I wore a size 10 ring. When I became engaged last summer the ring he picked out was a size 7 (the only size it came in) I thought no biggie I will just go get it sized. HAHA It's a platinum set so the jeweler told me it would be 200 for each of my rings because of the amount of platinum it would take to extend it out that far. I decided to wait and see what size I was right before the wedding. I took my rings in last week to have them sized and my ring size is a 7.5 and it cost 75 bucks to size both!!! YAY me!

I was going out yesterday and wanted to take my bag I wear across my chest in case I found stuff to buy at garage sales . . . when I adjust the strap to wear it that way, I always do it ALL the way . . . and when I put the bag on - it was way to long! I had to slide the adjuster back a good FOOT! Now that may sound wierd - but to me is a GREAT sign that I'm smaller! Yea! Chris

Today was my first day back at work after being banded on June 4th (had a lot of sick leave accumulated). I went in to do my morning assessment on one of our frequent flyer patients and she said, "My Lord honey you sure have lost weight." All of my co-workers had already told me how great I looked, but it was nice to hear it from someone who had no idea that I had this surgery done. Made my day and made me feel so confident the rest of the day. Sandy

GREAT NSV! and great milestone! Stuff like that feels sooo good!

I have only lost 40 so far but I can really feel a difference in crossing my legs and my arms!My best NSV is that this is the longest I have ever gone without dieting or gaining weight back!!

I love the hard moments thread where we have been sharing the painful experiences of being fat. It isnice to grieve, share, and laugh together. It helps us to be stronger in this journey. I would like to hear some of the cool moments. I knowthey arenot asplentiful asthebad moments, but they are there. They can be a collection of NSV's, things your friends, family, or complete strangers have said or done, of accomplishments we have had over skinny little twits... I might have shared this before, I do not remember. But when I went to talk to the woman we are getting our house from I mention the surgery and that I was excited about it. Her mouth just dropped and she stared at me speechless. I laughed and asked her what was wrong. She said she didn't think I was fat enough for a surgery like that. That she thought I was a little larger, but not fat. She said that she was from MN and that she was the thinnest person in her town. I'd say she weighs approx 150 or 160. I laughed, thanked her, and told her I was going to tell everyone that I was not fat cause Holly told me so. I smiled all day. I also was out with some friends about a year ago. We were playing pool at a bar that dh and I used to frequent. DH wason the other side of the bar playing his game, andI was just hanging out with the girls, singing in karaoke and "getting my drink on". LOL There was a table of really cute guys sitting near us, andthey kept looking over and talking about us. No laughing, just making eyes and cheering a lot when one of us would go up to sing. I had been up about 3 times, and it was a few hours since we first saw them. All the girls were cute, skinny and done up that night. They were picking out the ones they liked, and basically fighting over this one REALLY hunky guy. As I was sitting down after my last song two of the guys came up to our table. One of them was the hunk. They walked up, and all the girls went quite. Amanda, one of the girls, said hi and asked for his name. He looked right at me and said "My nameis mark. You are an amazing singer and a gorgeous woman. Can I buy you a drink?" I started laughing cause I thought they were trying to play a prank on me. He lost his smile and said appologized, turned and started to leave. I got up and asked if he was serious, he said yeah, and i accepted the drink. But I explained before he bought it that I was married and pointed out DH. He smiled, said he was a lucky man, and at the end of the evening approached DH and said as much. I smiled for a week!! :clap2: :clap2: :clap2:

Well done! Kepp them coming! Once you get into the habit of thinking of them, they come flooding through! It will help me alot now that I have a place to post mine. Thanks Vines! Nice NSV's Kim! I like the leg-crossing thing, too

Excellent work Kim! Please do keep editing your list, you will be amazed at how many you have had once you start to think about it. Beside, we have to have a paper trail, right? We have to have a list to take with us when we get inveted to be on Oprah, right? Right! Barkeep! NSVs for the house!

Happy Bandiversary darlin! That's an amazing list of NSV's - and certainly not the list of someone who has given up. Congrats! All hail the queen! :hail: :hail: :hail:

Hello fellow MGBG-ers! I've been out on travel for work so haven't had time to post any updates. Big NSV this week - had to fly to Tennessee - I not only fit into the seat comfortably (not "hanging" over and impinging on my neighbor and feeling uncomfortable the whole time trying to lean away from him/her) - but the seatbelt FIT! It not only FIT - but i had to TIGHTEN IT!!! OH IT FELT SO GOOD! This morning I weighed in at 220 pounds - which according to my Baritastic tracking ap lowers my BMI to 38! (Although my ticker here still says 39, so I'm assuming it's like 38.9 - but it's still 38 and heading down!) This was the first trip I have made since January - where I was at my high weight - so people definitely noticed and commented. We did a lot of tours with a lot of walking with a lot of uphills/stairs/in and out of small spaces - and I never got winded nor had to rest nor fell behind. My energy level was great! We also did a construction tour where we had to wear reflective vests for protection. The last time we were there - I remember distinctly - we posed for a picture and the vest they gave me wouldn't zip so I left it hanging open. This time it zipped up and I had room to spare! Also we did a tour of a lab and they said we had to wear lab coats - one of the guys was handing them out and said "here you go - you look like a medium" - I was VERY nervous because I'm used to being at least a 1X or 2X - but I put it on and it snapped up! It was snug - but not tight - and didn't pull at the snaps - so I wore it proudly Lots of eating out for business meals - but I made excellent choices the entire time. Luckily a lot of restaurants now offer small plates, so it's easy to order something right sized for me where it's not apparent I'm only eating about 1/6 of what a normal person would. I also steered clear of wine - which is also a bit part of the social aspect of business meals - and just ordered water. A great trip - today's a great day - and I am going to remain committed to the plan until I reach my goal! I hope everyone is doing well - Roxine