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I hate how those out there in the world think that just because we are big girls that we are automatically stronger than other's in shape. I get this all the time. When I go to Costcoe and buy big items that are too heavy for me to lift I get the sarcastic attitudes that say, " You are a big girl so of course you can maneuver this 60 pound bad of dog food all by yourself. I have never understood why folks think we big woman are also very strong woman because of our size!! To hell with those people. It is hard moving around this store hauling really heavy items. The attitude we are treated with is, "She is a big girl so she can lift that 85 pound bag of dog food all by herself" Fat doesn't mean strong. We walk around all day with various amounts of weight on us. Walking is harder, Carrying heavy items is harder. So to hell with others preconceived ideas that we big girls are also strong as an ox. I find the opposite true. Sure I am staring to exercise by walking but I need to do weight lifting at the gym. We overweight people have more difficulty moving around and carrying heavy items. But the population doesn't see it that way!!! Fat people are often treated as invisible. Like we don't exist. But all that will change as our program goes along and the weight starts coming off. People are going to treat us differently once we are thin. That will be a real good NSV. Being noticed and having doors opened for you will be more NSV's. This is a life changing endeavor. I am going to make it. How about you others out there? What do you think?

Can any Marcher play, or are you looking for specifically March '06? NSV stands for Non-scale Victory. They are the wonderful things that add depth and shading to our journey.

O.K.....what's a NSV? I had another little fill of 0.6cc this week and finally feel restriction again. I stalled out for almost 6 weeks (I did lose 2 pounds but jeeze!). I'm allergic to sweating (a.k.a. excercise) unless it involves loud music and a dance floor. I do like to garden and nap. Does that count? People have noticed the weight loss and since I am living a lie and only telling close family members (and all of you here on this group), I just tell them I'm on a low-carb diet and that I'm working very hard. Thank you for noticing! As for issues, I sometimes miss goey buttered rolls. And PB & J sandwiches, toasted. Salads have been iffy. THe lettuce blocks the opening I guess. THe last few times I've eaten a salad, I've pucked it up. Yuck! I was mad too because it wasn't a cheap salad! I figured out how to eat at my favorite buffet restaurants; get the to-go box usually sold by the pound. Fill it up, or not, and then sit down and eat with the family. Take the rest home for tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day......

Yeah for NSVs!!! Thanks for checking in and enjoy yourself.

LSasha told me to come here......I have on a top today that my sister gave me last year and I could not fit it then. This morning I wanted to wear something diffrent then my usual blouses that have gotten a little bigger. So I tore I up my place looking for this white, wrap blouse which I found and had only wore once. I put it on and it is not the same becuase the boobs have gone south. I then found a pj set that is much looser then before, oh yeah I found a velvet night gown and yeah I was trying on all these things this morning at 5:15am when I should have been getting ready for work. LOL Anyhow my top is black with fringes on the bottom that swing and it is not a long top like a usually wear. So this is a daring NSV for me. YEAHHHHH ME:banana :banana :banana

Yeah for a "not so nsv", at least you got in thm.

Thank you, @@Ebony Rose This was an unexpected NSV ...... Need velcro strapped shoes .... LOL Great fashion statement ....

We went to eat at a really nice restaurant yesterday. I ordered an appetizer as my meal, 3 bacon wrapped grilled shrimp, and I was only able to eat 2 of them! I have noticed when we go out to eat that the bill is literally less than half the price we normally spend... I have become a cheap date, lol! We used to split an appetizer, order 2 meals, and have a glass of wine. This "half-price bill" is a nice little bonus of my new way of eating! Also surprised when I logged my shrimp in, and found that it was only 85 calories and 6g Protein. I was worried about the bacon calories/fat, but really didn't even have to adjust my dinner to keep my goals good.

Congrats Swan! I love getting those comments, although I don't quite know how to respond, but blush and run away! LOL. This morning one of the girls at work said I looked really cute today! "Thanks," as I run for the door! I don't have much social skills, LOL...might need a few lessons. With all the years I lack confindence b/c of my weight! Lets keep the NSV's coming!

Non scale Victory! Meaning besides watching the scale go down....other thngs that we overcome or feel victorious!!! (if that is even how you spell it)! LOL. Since I have lost 45 lbs I can now paint my own toe nails (and neatly)...LOL. (a NSV)!!!

Parvathi, For an explanation of all the freaking abbreviations they use on this site, check out the thread at: http://www.lapbandtalk.com/showpost.php?p=86346&postcount=1 It took me over a week to find this and prior to that my imagination ran away with itself trying to figure out what NSV was. DH was another one that I thought stood for D*** Head (which my wife occasionally refers to me with). And for the life of me I thought this Aunt Flo everybody was talking about was some pain-in-the-ass lady who lurked on this web site and then went visiting Lap-Banders uninvited and hung out there for a few days before moving on to somebody else. I vowed to not give out my address on this site for fear she'd be knocking on my door next!!

WOW what a great NSV!!! Great Job!!!

Crystal, What a FANTASTIC NSV!!! Congratulation! Why don't you post a picture in your skinny little @ss in those new threads? LOL Lucky Girl!

Hooray for you Brina!!! Hopefully the next time I fly I can share in your NSV!!! That is awesome!

Well first of all, Brina, congrats on the NSV! I bet that felt awesome to not have to ask for that extender. I've been fortunate to have never needed one, but I can imagine how that must feel to ask. Good for you! As for the fill, I am glad that you got to where you needed. I know chicken is one food that can give me a little trouble, so maybe that had something to do with it, too. I'm glad it all worked out!

OK!! I guess I'm just "dumb as they come", but what does NSV stand for??? I have had to ask for seat belt extenders many times and the steward's have always been fast and discrete about bring them to me, but it's still embarrassing. The first time I flew without one was a joy that most just can not understand. CONGRATULATIONS!! I'm looking forward to attending the support group meeting on the 9th. Is anyone who lives (or will be driving thru) the Perry area want to carpool? I'd be happy to drive and would love the company!!!! RosieJo

all victories, ladies! way to go! (Leslie, I especially liked yours...what fun!) I tried to post this earlier, so if it doubles up on me, please forgive, but - I had a NSV today, too. I was forced to eat fast food for lunch - which I never do - and I was good and ordered the grilled chicken sandwich and a fruit parfait at McD's, only to have them give me FRIES in my bag in addition to my order! McDonald's fries are crack to me - I normally cannot resist them. Well, I didn't totally resist them today. I ate two, then drove around the block of my office twice trying to find a familiar face to give them to. There are usually tons of guys around, but none today! So, I had to drive around the block again to find the trash can, but I THREW THEM OUT! Then I went to my office and took the bread off the sandwich and ate the chicken and yogurt for lunch! Whoo Hoo, Me! not perfect, but I say it counts.

Hello Everyone: I have good news and bad new. Good news My job sent me t North Caroline for training this week. Normally, I drive everywhere, becasue I hate flying. The main reason i hate flying is because 1. running around the airport only to find out that your gate has been moved to Saigon and 2. I never fit comfortably in the seats 3. I have been too big to fasten the seatbelts. This weekend I had to fly to NC. I have jsut been on the road so much due to my new assignment that I had no desire to drive anywhere. I get on teh placen this time and I am actually able to fasten teh seatbelts around me. Now mind, I had to let the seatbelt as far out as i could, but It fit. It was a snug fit, but it fit. I was shocked. For once i did not have ask for a seatbelt extender. This will defitniely go down as a NSV. Kinda bad news but with a good news ending: I had to have more Fluid taken out of the band. Matter of fact, I went directly from the airport to the OTC. I was in NC for 4 days. In that time, it was horrible. I try to stay away from fast food, but when I travel I that is what I end up eating. Even though I try to eat helthier fast food (you know what i mean lol). i was definitley too tight. I remember buying a 10 piece chicken McNugget for lunch and I was only able to eat about 2.5 of them. Those 2.5 were forced down. People were inviting me to eat for dinner, but I still had lunch left. Truth be told, i should have had some fluid removed last week now that I think about it. But I had convinced myself that i was still adjusting to my new fill. After every fill, I have to learn how to chew even more and drink even slower. I thought that I was jsut not chewing enough or chewing too fast or something. It felt like no "real food" would go down. I serously was wondering if this was what I was supposed to be able to eat and my head was having ahard time accepting that. i remember reading somehwere that all I would be able to eat would be 2-3 bites of Protein, 2-3 bites of veggies and carbs and be done. Then I also read that our new stomachs would only be able to hold 1/4 cup of food. I kept telling myself that it was in my head. Well, after some PBing (twice I had to pull over on the side of the road after drinking) and feeling that my food was always stuck..i had to get my 0.5 cc taken out. Leslie stated that she is now going to fill me in 0.1 or 0.2 increments. So the bad news is that i was extremely retarded for not listening to myself and i ended up having my last fill of 0.5 cc removed. But the good news is that I feel so much better and I will now listen to myself. How is everyone else doing?

Congratulations! That was one of the first NSV I had...and like you it happened without me even thinking about it....and now I do it all the time! Keep up the good work!

Whew. This has probably been the busiest month I've had in years. But I wanted to take some time to reflect on my year since my band repair and Celebrate a small joy. It's been one crazy year - almost to the day - since my 2005 surgery. This time last year, I had my band access port replaced to a lower profile port, the access area moved to a different part of my body - and my tubing repaired due to a leak. (And I just found out from reading my medical records, I had some never-before-mentioned-to-me minor surgical things tweaked during the '05 procedure.) In other words I was practically rebanded a year ago.(I was banded 5 years ago originally, but after major league complications, I struggled mightily to achieve and maintain any real loss with my band. But almost one year ago to the day, I began a sort of "second chance" with the band.) Since my doctor insisted I treat this as a new band as if I was "brand new," that's what I did. I tried life almost as a "new" Banded patient again. One year later, the experiment didn't quite work as we thought. But I am grateful for some of this past year's progress. No, I'm not considered much of a success after only losing 51# -52# of my 70# goal in all these years but although I may have to now consider other non-band & surgical options to get the weight off, I am trying to reflect on some of the positive things that have happened at least in this past year. One difference - with the newer band I once again felt, at least for a time, some real restriction which was really good. It's helped me to have some renewed success and to help deal with the Monster of "Head Hunger" vs "Real Hunger". That's a good thing as a popular domestic diva might say. But now I'm overdue for a fill. Once I get some things settled and situate myself with a new fill doctor I'll be on my way again. Stay tuned. The positive stuff? Well after a busy 2-week period including an out-of-state trip and then some parties and events, I had a small Non scale Victory (or "NSV"). Well, non-scale victories are the only ones I have since I haven't had a "SV" since I got my weight into OneDerLand. But hey, a girl has to take her joys where she can find them. Here's what happened: I had to go shopping to find things to wear (most of my clothes seem curiously big, and although the scale isn't moving much I think my tummy tuck is finally starting to 'kick in'). As a shopped I saw a Clearance Rack for regular (non plus sizes). I rarely can find anything good on the sales rack in larger sizes (A silent curse for the tiny size 4's who can always find something good on sale or clearance :phanvan ) Well, as I browsed, I saw a great dress and grabbed my normal size 16 and put it over my arm. When I peered at it later, I realized that size 16 might be too big after all. This is a major relevation. Some of the thinner among you can't possibly fathom this - but eyeballing a size 16 and having it possibly be too big? Omigawd, that's a big deal for someone like me. I had to make myself hold the dress up and keep looking, because in my head, I didn't believe it, although my eyes were clearly telling me the dress was just too large. On a good day I'm a 16 in jeans, especially with slimmer-fitting brands. [ Background: Now keep in mind I'm a Professional Fat Person - I sometimes feel like being fat, or fighting fat is what I seem to concentrate so much of my energy on. I mean, I'm the girl who can't get her BMI under 30 after having had WLS 5 years ago :rolleyes so my weight is a constant struggle. So after dieting, exercise, LapBand surgery and then a "Well, Dang, I had LapBand 4.5 years ago, why am I waiting? Tummy Tuck" operation- I am usually a size 14 / 14W or so. Sad but true - after all this money, time and effort - honestly I'm grateful just to be able to get to the "regular bigger sizes." Habit still makes me head for the Plus Sizes & Womens Sizes clothes rack. My larger frame means they usually fit a bit better. And really, I'm a Size Tall so there are no regular sizes in Jeans/pants for me, but hey, that's life, eh? But being taller makes my rather uneviable heavier weight a bit more tolerable as I have a larger frame to space my fat out on.] So I'm in the store, right? After arguing with myself for the longest, I drag myself back to the dress rack so I can pick up the same dress in a size 14. I avoided dresses for the longest due to the hanging pouch of skin at my belly. Now that's been minimized quite a bit. So this is the first dress I've bought since my Band Repair and my Tummy Tuck. And although I didn't lose a pound (actually like most TT patients, I initially gained weight due to swelling & Fluid retention) I think my abdomen is finally starting to look trimmer. I have to convince myself to pick up the size 14 but since it's the only one left in that size, I do get it. I really had to quiet my self doubt just to grab the Size 14. Later in the dressing room, I go to pull it over my head and wiggle into it, only to realize it's too tight. I'm crushed - literally. Then I realize two important things: #1. It has a hidden inner zipper which I never bothered to undo - once I unzip it, the dress slides down and fits. #2. Although it was on the Size 14 section of the rack, the dress is tagged as Size 12. Yep, me, NewSho - Professional Fat Person managed to get into a Size 12 slinky silk spaghetti strap dress. I couldn't believe my eyes. I had it on, and it wasn't ripping or splitting. When I saw myself in it, I almost cried. The lady in the next fitting room probably thought I was having a Nervous Breakdown but I was so full of emotion. I never thought I'd see a size 12 again - and although this wasn't my real size, it felt great. I just twirled and twirled and twirled around in the fitting room - I couldn't believe it! Now reality is - I'm not delusional - I can't wear size 12 jeans or shorts. But this dress actually got on my body. Honestly, I need a Boob Lift but until then I have to solve any breast-related issues with well-engineered bras. So this dress does call for a bulletproof strapless bra. Plus my butt really is a size 14 - that should have been the size I should have bought but since the Size 12 actually got on, looked OK and since it was on clearance - that baby came right home with me. A beautiful little silk slip dress in size 12 - and I actually got in it. It was worth its weight in gold. Me? In a 12? Even for just one night, it was so exciting.:confused: I wore the dress to the party that night. There was lots of media & TV coverage of the event, but I felt confident. It did the job, but after losing some weight (and after treating "The Twins" to a much-needed Boob Lift) I would look GREAT in it. But for right now, just getting in it was the victory. I'm still fighting the war but it's nice to win a battle now and then. Thanks for letting me share this. It ain't all gloom and doom over here, all the time. And though I'm always fighting the Battle of The Bulge, at least I got one good shot in this war. :clap2: Happy Band Journeys To All, New Sho (a.k.a. "I ain't a size 12 but I got to play one on TV, just for one night :kiss2: ")

Ok..tried to figure it out..but couldn't...what is NSV?

Hey guys I just had to post a little entry about all of my little (or not so little) NSV of the week! (Sorry in advance for all the colors..lol Made me think of being in middle school again. hahaha) So the first thing I noticed this last week was that my rings are getting loose. I have this one ring my sister got for me, and I just love it. It used to fit on my ring finger but I have had to move it to my pointer finger because it was about to fall off the other day... (It used to be tight) Second... I went down a full pant Size!!! Ya know how jeans can vary in size? Well I was in a size 22 when I started and about a week ago I was able to fit into my big 20's... But today I got into my small 20's Oh ya.. And they fit and look good So excited! That is one step closer to being back in the teen digest Third... I can tie my shoes so much easier! I used to have to sit down try to reach for my feet across my huge tummy. Now its no problem Forth... I have noticed that my libido has just launched to a whole new level..lol It seems like every other thought is about sex... ha ha ha... AND!!! to top it off... I have lost 19 inches over my whole body !!!! Yay for me I hope all of you out there are having as much success as I am. I hope your finding the little things that encourage you and push you through each day. Keep your eyes out for the little details that make you smile. Cloths that fit different, The fact that moving is easier, You feel different, You sleep better, your off some meds... etc... What are your none scale victories of the week? Please share!!!!

SO I got my fill yesterday, getting to that point where I am taking fills slowly and being careful...and fearful of if I get overfilled. So I decided I'd take it easy and went to do some xmas shopping (I have a fair bit more to do DOH!!) but whilst there I tried on some clothes for myself. It is hard because my mind is still in 'fatter mode' where I think that certain sizes will def NOT fit. but I thought what the hey I'll give it a go. So I tried on two tops and they fit!! I haven't been able to buy a size 16 in years!!! So I had to buy them...I realised I need some tops to get me through the summer :tt1:~ I also have a pair of pants I bought too small for me for $5.00 (that were on sale having been $100) I didn't try them on thinking I had a lot more to go before they'd fit but I tried them on a few weeks ago and they were really loose and now I think they are too big!! ARRGHH!! Then I got a hair cut and colour...Amazing how a day can make you feel better about yourself :tt1:

LOL on the NSV. My size 14 petite jeans I boughtr 3 weeks ago are getting big on the legs. So.....hoping by New Year I can get some 12's or 11's. I won't go shopping till I hit 170 then see what fits. Hope to be that by New Years. I am still wearing tops and they are big. So glad that's the style still. I have lots of those baby doll empire tops and now they fit so much better. I can wear them for a few more months. I want to get through the winter before I buy anything more than new jeans. Although there is a sweater at Coldwater Creek I have my eye on....hope it goes on sale after the holidays. It's a bit pricy. LOL

Congrats on the NSVs. You are right, having clothes that fit make you feel so good.