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Two years ago I could barely get on my bicycle let alone ride for more than a couple of kilometres. Now I am riding so far and so often that I decided it was time to be responsible and capable the next time I get a puncture. So today I spent almost 90 minutes on my knees in the workroom of my local bike shop learning how to change a tyre. I have blisters on my thumbs from pushing the tyre in but my knees DON"T hurt! And I know that when I set out for a 90+km ride on Friday, it won't matter if I puncture because I can just drop to my knees on the roadside, change my tyre and be on my way.

Hi all, Just wanted to share an NSV with you all... My cousins spent the summer vacation at my home and last weekend we all went to an amusement park. Now, I used to go on all the rides even before surgery. I have never felt embarassed or anything. But those 'single' seats always felt cramped and was a tight fit for me. It used to be a bit of a struggle to put the latch on the safety bar - my belly always resisted the attempts LOL! But yesterday I did not have the problem at all!! There was a solid inch or two between my belly and the safety bar. I cant describe in words what I felt at that moment! Sure I see inch loss in my dress and everything, but when I look in the mirror, the only areas that I see the difference is in my face, neck and collarbone. This weekend proved to be my best yet this summer! Anyway, I was so happy and just wanted to share my happiness with my VSG family!! Take care!!

I'm only 1.5 weeks out and down 20 lbs total (Lost half during pre-op) but noticed that my lovely, soft, Egyptian cotton bath towel wraps around me! I am completely covered! So cool!

Wow!! Congrats on the NSV AND on your awesome losses... that was FAST! =)

Those are Great NSV's!!!! Loved them Congrats!!!!

Congrats, I love NSVs! they give texture to our journey!

I have been shrinking back through stored clothing, and have recently discovered some pretty camisoles I don't even remember having. I like them enough I ordered a couple of more. I like them because: They are pretty Some are shape-wear, and help hold in the jiggly middle Even if they are not shape wear, the cami keeps me from having to look at the jiggly middle The extra layer is nice to wear, since I am ALWAYS COLD. Thought someone else might like to give camisoles a try. And, since this post is about undergarments (yes, I know all camis aren't always "under" garments - but bear with me here) - I am celebrating an NSV about underwear - I dropped another size in briefs! Finally back in 7's. YEA!

Awesome! Great NSV! Congrats!! No more knee bending!!

Had another NSV yesterday. Worked out with my SO for the first time in about 6 months. He couldn't keep up with me! I had to stop my lap on the track and wait for him to catch up. He used to lap me.

Have a marvelous time! New clothes are always fun but even better when they're smaller! I tend to wear my clothes looser than a lot of people so I'm not yet needing to shop for new ones, but I can't wait! And I am noticing smaller things, like my feet are skinnier and my watch is looser. So we have to enjoy those NSVs to the max! Shop till you drop, and ha ve fnu! Emily

I read a post below asking what nsv stands for and I thought it would be great to hear about everyone's non scale victories (nsv) for the week. How did your sleeve make you smile? This week I successfully completed a whole hour of p90x without dying! It was hell, but I never could have done it 6 weeks ago. Also, since my last measuring june 8th, I have lost 33 1/2 inches from my body. Yay!

18 mos ago I weighed over 260 lbs and could not walk half a block without huffing, puffing, sweating and stopping. Yesterday 1/17/09 I walked a half marathon (13.1 miles) in: 3 hrs 14 min and 7 Sec I wore a sweat band that said The miracle is not that I finished but that I had the courage to start in the first place. The sleeve surgery and MY major life changes allowed this to happen.

Hi all! I am 7 weeks post op and had an appointment with my metabolic physician today. I have lost a total of 37 pounds , I'm down one size in shirts, and 2 sizes in pants, I've actually been able to wear regular shoes (not wide-widths) that are comfy and stylish, and I'm also wearing rings and bracelets that I haven't been able to wear in years. I've had a lot of NSVs and I think they feel better than seeing the numbers going down on the scale (I'm also not weighing myself except for when I go to the doctor every 4 weeks or so). I hired a personal trainer to work out with and help me develop a good exercise regimen. I still have some discomfort every now and then with my incisions and what I guess is internal healing but its not often. My bloodwork came back good, too. The only thing that was a problem was that I apparently have an under-active thyroid, my sugar levels were still a little high (but lower than pre-surg) and my Vitamin D levels were low. So I'll start a Vitamin D supplement and was prescribed something for my thyroid. I'll continue taking my acid reflux medication as well as my Multivitamin and Calcium supplement, but other than that, no other meds!!! As far as my sugars, that will continue to go down with diet and exercise. They expect within 3 months that all my levels will be perfect since I'm already doing so well. I'm really excited about this journey so far. I've been so pleased with my recovery and have had very few complications. I'm on a regular diet, have had pretty much no issues with food, and overall just feeling great. Fingers crossed it continues!

I cannot wait for that day!!! Great NSV thank you for sharing.

My one year anniversary was on 2/22. The year has just flown by. I have lost 106 pounds and have decided to change my goal weight to be 140 - only 7 more pounds from where I am now. (My original goal weight was 135). I talked to my surgeon and my primary care doctor this week about my goal weight. I have pretty much been stalled at this weight (+/- 2 pounds) since around December 1st. I am still gradually losing inches, even though my weight hasn't been dropping. I am happy with my size - except for my waist, belly and upper arms. I am hoping that exercise and losing those last few pounds will help me there. If at the end of 2012, when I am at goal and have been stable for quite a while, I will seriously consider a tummy tuck to fininsh off the process. Here's some stats: I started out in size 26W jeans, size 3X tops and size 24W dress clothes. I am now in size 10 petite jeans am wearing medium tops and either size 10 or 12 dress clothes. I have lost 11 inches from my bust, 15 inches from my waist, 13.5 inches from my belly, 12 inches from my hips and 7.5 inches from each thigh. I started out controlling my blood pressure only with the help of two medications. I have been totally off of blood pressure meds for months, and my blood pressure is rock solid steady at 120/65. I had sleep apnea and had one of those damn CPAP machines. I no longer have apnea and got rid of the machine. My cholesterol and tryiglycerides were out of control, even with being on two meds for them pre-surgery. I had dropped them into the normal range with no meds by 6 months. At 9 months post-surgery the cholesterol went back up to 233 - which is high. (It wasn't what I was eating - this is heredity.) And the ratio of HDL/Total cholesterol was also high. I decided to try everything I could to lower my cholesterol without going back on a statin drug. I switched to high Protein oatmeal (from Bariatric Advantage) with flax seeds and flax oil added for Breakfast, and garlique, red rice yeast and cinnamon supplements daily. I have also upped my exercise to 3-4 times a week for Zumba and 3-4 times a week on the elliptical. Well - SOMETHING WORKED! I lowered by "bad" cholesterol by 41 points in 3 months. It is now 192! My HDL level stayed the same, so the HDL ratio lowered from 4.1 to 3.6. And, my triglycerides dropped from 147 to 102. That means all of them are in the normal range! And my Iron levels are finally in the normal range - so all of the iron supplements are working, too. I really haven't had trouble with much of anything since surgery. I was only in the hospital one night, and was off work for about 3 weeks. It took me awhile to get my energy back to normal, but that was probably related to low iron and B12 levels. My estrogen levels went nuts for a couple of months due to the stored estrogen being dumped into my bloodstream from the fat cells, but that went away (Thank goodness). I have had continuing tenderness on my left side where the largest incision was. I had a abdominal sonogram to rule out a hernia or something bad. None of that showed up, so it is just some random nerve effect left over from the surgery. A minor intermittent annoyance at most. The hardest thing for me since surgery is controlling the urge to abuse food when I am nervous or bored. I am working on controlling that every day. One thing I did to help was to take a six week class called "The Success HAbits of Weight-Loss Surgery Patients". It was offered by the head of the WLS Support Group at one of the Baylor Hospitals here in the Dallas area. It was a wonderful class to prepare me for living as a person of normal weight. I have a sub forum started here (not much there yet) to put information from the class there. The class is bassed on a book of the same name by Colleen M. Cook. Here are some photos: The first two are current onex from this week. The one of the two pairs of jeans are my before and current jeans. The headshot of me in the green T shirt is about 10 days after surgery. The headshot of me in the black suit is from 9 years ago - I am back into that suit (in fact it is a little loose!) The next picture is my husband and I Christmas 2010 (shortly before surgery) and the last picture is the two of us Christmas 2011 SKC Headshot.BMP

LOL!! Congrats!! You're going to love all the NSV's along the way!!

am on a plane now. for the first time in 10+ yrs, no extension is needed!!!!!!

hi sleevorama et al - i think we should all have a box of kleenex handy for this roller coaster ride of weight going down. i also get so excited as i can tell in different ways that i am dropping weight. 30 lbs loss for you (or anyone) is absolutely terrific weight loss. Enjoy these loss victories. Any weight loss is wonderful - and a great NSV is putting on a shirt, and realizing it is a little big on you. keep up the great work - kathy

Went to breakfast with my daughter this morning and the place with packed, so we had to give our name and wait. I usually (had) to ask for a table as opposed to a booth....could not fit!!! Anyway, my daughter says, "oh, we need a table"...and I then said bravely, "oh, it doesn't matter, a booth is fine." Well, we got a booth....AND I FIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YEAH!!!!!!

Ok, so here in the Uk we have a charity called sport relief, and one of their national events is a mile long fun run (tiny, I know). Mid week I decided I had to do it, so my 8 yo and I signed up thursday, yesterday my DH and 4yo son decided to walk it, and make it a family event, and today we did it!! I know its a tiny step, but puffing and panting across that finish line hand in hand with my daughter was the greatest feeling!! 11 mins 50 sec is hardly athletic, but we did it, and in sporting terms it is [ATTACH]2700[/ATTACH] the only thing I've completed in all of my 32 years! My daughter and I are going to put our names down for a 5k in june, I've been invited by a friend to do another in August, and our local half marathon is September - dare I dream that big??

I agree about the airline seats and the tray never being able to lay flat!!!! We fly alot and I will be glad to see how it feels in Dec when I fly next. Hoping there will be a great difference! I will also be ready to use a regular sized towel to wrap around me. I have been using a beach towel that barely did the trick but I can honestly say that it is already fitting better since my surgery 10 days ago! NSV!

Yeah for NSV's because they really are what keeps me going. I had one yesterday too, I can zip my not wide calf boots all the way to the top...haven't been able to that since I was like 11!

Yahhh awesome NSV! goes to show while you are still losing it might be best to buy cheaper clothes until you hit your stable weight. Must feel great to get into a size 10. Lily

As of this week's weigh-in (Wednesday) I hit one of my major goals of 200 lbs lost since my highest weight. Here are my stats: HW: 491 (2.5 months prior to surgery) SW: 422 CW: 290.5 Total loss: 200.5!! I'm really exited to have hit this milestone. This month (and last month) has been my slowest rate of loss since surgery and it's been very frustrating for me (even though I'm thankfully not in a stall!), so it was good to make this goal this week! I'm still about 135 from my ultimate goal and my surgeon's ultimate goal for me. It's just crazy to think that I ORIGINALLY had about 335 lbs to lose and now I "only" (haha) have 135 to lose! It's been almost 11 months since my highest weight and I've come so far. It's mind-boggling to me. So, I don't know if anyone else has done this, but I totally threw a party this weekend to Celebrate my accomplishment and invited all my friends/loved ones. I also happen to be moving (about an hour away) this week so I guess technically it was a farewell to my fat party and just a general farewell party! Haha. Definitely something worth celebrating. This is the first proper party I've thrown since surgery, and it went really well. Just as an NSV I feel like parties have historically been very food-centric for me. Snacking the entire time, always going back for more. But this was different. I thought it would be tempting to keep snacking on small amounts and that I would over-eat, but I absolutely did not. This really is a new me! Oh! And I made a really yummy cheesy riced cauliflower dish (made the recipe up myself) that everybody loved! So that's always a plus!

My husband and I took our kids to the carnival in town, they had rides there. The last time I had been on an amusement ride was over 3 years ago, it was an extremely tight fit, and so embarrassing I stopped riding all together. I thought I'd give it a shot since I'm almost 50 lbs down. I fit in fine and there was a little room to spare!!!!! This smile hasn't left my face all day