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@@TamaraRae - it varies so DON'T compare and get frustrated. I lost 21lbs about a month out. Measure yourself NOW @1cutiejulie mentioned inches will not necessarily show up on the scale. Those are NSVs!

Leticia, NSV is non scale victory. Examples are crossing your legs (something a lot of us could not do for a long time), walking without getting short of breath, no longer needing a seat belt extender to fly on a plane; things like that. Kathy

Boy, do I understand this! Getting down on the floor has been one of my best NSVs from WLS. And not only getting down there, but getting back up again. Sometimes, I swear, I just sit or lie on the floor to enjoy how easy it is to get up again. It's magnificent! Absolutely cannot agree more!!!! I used to hate having to try and get myself up off the floor....even just at home playing with my son. Now it's not a problem. Heck now the only floor problem is how sore it makes my butt now that I've lost all my cushion! lol.

All men on the planet owe the inventor of this a beer. @@treblecutie23 - Congrats. That is an amazing NSV. It is startling when you don't recognize yourself for the first time. I remember getting to class late, and all my favorite hide outs were gone. I almost considered bagging the class. It was a great confidence builder not to wimp out. Please feel free to share pictures of your downward dog. (I mean just for pointers and encouragement). Haha. Now that's the real way to a mans heart.... And what shocks me that more men don't come to yoga. lol

Boy, do I understand this! Getting down on the floor has been one of my best NSVs from WLS. And not only getting down there, but getting back up again. Sometimes, I swear, I just sit or lie on the floor to enjoy how easy it is to get up again. It's magnificent!

All men on the planet owe the inventor of this a beer. @@treblecutie23 - Congrats. That is an amazing NSV. It is startling when you don't recognize yourself for the first time. I remember getting to class late, and all my favorite hide outs were gone. I almost considered bagging the class. It was a great confidence builder not to wimp out. Please feel free to share pictures of your downward dog. (I mean just for pointers and encouragement).

. Looked in the mirror today, & realized I'm starting to see my shape again! I'm so excited to lose more weight and look/feel better!

@@miss_smiles i am 4+ years PO i am racking my brains which is my best feeling i've had post op can't remember alllll my NSV's right now tooooo many its hard for me to say this is better than that its like asking mom which of her 5 kids is her favorite (we know the answer of course ) some NSV's i'll never forget!! wrapping a towel around my body sitting in the middle seat of an airplane walking to the phone (or anywhere) without huffing and puffing saying good riddens to plus size clothes walking past a mirror in Kohls, doing a double take!! not being scared to get out of the house doing Volunteer work at local hospital sitting in one of those low plastic chairs for beach, not being afraid i'll fall and break the chair most important thing i will always remember i'm the happiest person in the world!! (present sleevers et al people excluded!!) kathy

@@Griggs2alr - the small goals are the BIGGEST ones sometimes. Keep trying on clothes you haven't worn for NSVs. Don't forget to measure yourself NOW for the stalls that will mess with your head. Inches "lost" are SO much fun to lose

That's crazy. I'm just at the chopped/small food stage now and couldn't think of eating a real taco. I did splurge and go to Chipotle to celebrate a little Cinco de Mayo but had meat, beans and guac. No rice, no lettuce, no sour cream or any of that. And I still have 3/4 of the bowl left. It was a NSV to me. But I made sure to be mindful. I couldn't imagine chowing down on a taco, especially right after surgery.

You have lost a LOT of weight so fast! Your body is just trying to catch up. You will have a lot of stalls during this process. They are totally normal. Take a deep breath and stay off the scale for a week. Take your measurements and/or try on some old clothes to notice the changes. Celebrate the NSVs (Non scale victories) such as the wonderful distance you are able to walk. You are doing great! Sent from my HTC One M9 using the BariatricPal App

I don't believe you were ever a "2". Everyone has an opinion and a (bleep)hole, sometimes the opinions come out of the latter one. There are a lot of emotions during weight loss, some are hormonal, some are due to years of being in lament over one's obesity and lower self-esteem, among other emotional issues. Maybe you can seek some counseling to deal with these emotions? Perhaps you can turn those tears into tears of joy on how you overcame obesity, your improved health and all of the NSVs you are experiencing. I am a married heterosexual, so I am not hitting on you, but you do look good and earned it through your hard work to lose your excess body weight.

Below is the gist of what I posted on my first year surgiversary. I'm now 20.5 months post-op, have lost 100 pounds and am now maintaining happily and easily at 135 pounds. Very best to you! Ann A year ago yesterday I was sleeved at age 68. I knew I had the energy for one last shot at getting healthy. Like so many of us, controlling my weight was the one thing in my life I’d been unable to manage. Failing at that was a tremendous embarrassment and disappointment to me, not to mention the cause of mounting medical comorbidities that had almost sidelined me from life. A year ago I’d already been on WLS forums for 9 months. I could not WAIT to get my WLS show on the road. I’d already lost almost 20 pounds on a 2-month 1,400 calorie diet of my own and, later, my surgeon’s 14-day pre-op diet. I’d been practicing for months the behaviors I’d learned here—eating slower, chewing more, no more soda, a lot less coffee, no NSAIDs (ouch!), walking more (yea, Fitbit!), and my favorite tool of all—planning meals and tracking my food and drink on www.myfitnesspal.com. Fast-forward to yesterday morning, my first surgiversary. I weighed in at 143 pounds. I feel great, physically and mentally. I look so much younger (I’ll be 70 years old in December). And I truly feel like I’ve been reborn. How I Lost the Weight I was lucky—had no complications, had a great surgeon and team, healed well and recovered fast, and have had more non-scale victories (NSVs) than you could shake a stick at. I’m full of gratitude and amazement at all of WLS’s benefits for me. Below is a list of things I did (mostly pretty well) that led to my success. As always, your mileage may vary. This was my experience. Yours will be yours. • Ate the minimum amount of protein—at least 60 grams to start with (hit that target on Day Five post-op) • Ate Protein first at every meal • Drank 8 glasses of Water daily (or at the very least 8 glasses of liquids daily) Protip #1: Dehydration slows weight loss and makes you feel like crap. Protip #2: Our kidneys work overtime when we’re losing weight rapidly and need lots of water to function well. Protip #3: You can actually die from dehydration. • As healing happened and restriction eased, added healthy (colored) veggies, then non-starchy fruits, then whole grains • Took my vitamins/minerals and Rxs daily and on schedule • Ate 3 meals a day • Chewed my food well and ate more slowly • Didn’t drink 15 minutes before or 30 minutes after a meal • When I got hungry (not bored), I added one or two Snacks of healthy food • Didn’t graze between meals (note that “a snack” and “grazing” are different things) • Avoided / minimized highly processed, high-carb foods and slider foods like potatoes, white rice, white breads, crackers, Cookies, chips, ice cream Protip: These foods slow weight loss and, for some people, trigger binge eating. • Moved more than I used to move and gradually kept moving even more • Followed the Number One Exercise Rule for Old People: Don’t injure yourself! • Got some sunshine daily, which kept me full of happy thoughts and Vitamin D • Tried to sleep 8 hours a night • Minimized stress—for me, this meant I stopped sweating the small stuff and learned that most stuff really is small stuff • Am seeing a shrink to understand better why I couldn’t or didn’t care for my health better prior to WLS and to learn how to do better in the future (as the saying goes, they operate on your stomach, not your head). Unsolicited Advice: I’ve been at or below goal for 4 months now. Here are some things I learned while losing weight and during maintenance (at which I’m still a newbie). Some of these things have surprised me. And as always, your mileage may vary. • Don’t feel pressured into telling the world you’re having WLS. Do what is best for you. Just know that “telling a few people” may not be the best way to keep your WLS private. There are a lot of mouthy people out there. I'm on the down-low about WLS; other than my medical team, only my hubby and two good friends (who don't live anywhere near me) know about my WLS. • Don’t overeat, but don’t starve yourself either. As your healing continues, eat more healthy food and raise your calories gradually. Otherwise, you may wind up reaching your weight goal but only able to maintain it eating 1,000 calories/day. Ugh! At 143 pounds, my daily maintenance calorie budget is 1,700 calories/day. I am over the moon about that. I think it’s because I didn’t starve myself while I was losing weight. I ate 800 calories during Months 1-4, 1,000 calories during Months 5-6, and 1,200 calories during Months 7-8. As my calories went up, so did my protein grams. I still aim for 100 grams of protein daily. • Post-op, don’t just eat to lose weight—also eat to become healthier. Learn more about nutrition—macronutrients, trace elements, vitamin and mineral supplements. Read articles and good research. As smart as I thought I was, turns out I didn’t know nearly as much as I needed to know to care well for myself. • If you’re craving sugar, you’re probably already eating sugar. The only way I know to kill those cravings is to cold-turkey the sugar. • Don’t let anyone pressure you into having WLS. This is a life-changing deal. A year down the road you’ll probably be able to eat pretty much anything you want, although not in massive quantities at one time. And you’ll need to always be vigilant about your nutrition, meal-planning, eating behaviors, etc. • WLS won’t prevent binge-eating or emotional eating. It will discourage it, but it won’t prevent it. There are plenty of WLS patients who’ve learned to eat and drink around their tools. I personally know folks who’ve wasted their sleeve, bypass or band with (sigh) sweet tea, Mountain Dew, beer, Wheat Thins, ice cream, chips and dips. What those drinks and foods all have in common, other than being high-calorie and lacking in nutrition, is that the sleeve cannot challenge them. They move rapidly through the sleeve and into the small intestine. You can eat that crap all day long and never start to feel full. Remember, it’s a shame to waste a sleeve. Very, very best wishes to everyone out there considering a VSG or other form of WLS. You can change your life with WLS if you use your tool well. But you must understand it’s only one tool in a bigger healthcare arsenal that you must acquire and use daily.

I am 6 weeks out today and I feel fantastic. So much so that I just registered for my first ever half marathon in November. WTF? I don't run. A killer could be chasing me and I'd just lay down. To think just a few short weeks ago I was an emotional wreck and kicking myself for going through with the surgery, and now here I am feeling better than ever and registered for a freaking half marathon. Never in a million years did I think this could be my life. THANK YOU VSG!!!

@@Margie122 - I do the same thing. I purge and look for things that are marked down in the newer size and about three to four months later I purge them. That's the best NSVs as the inches go bye bye.

Awesome NSV! Congrats!

Congratulations! That's amazing. We went to a pool party last weekend and I had a massive amount of panic the morning of - my 2XL swim trunks looked massive and wouldn't even stay up with the ties. For sh**s and giggles I grabbed a pair of my partner's L swim trunks...and they fit - like REALLY well. And no belly hangover! One of my favorite NSVs so far.

So I have recently gotten under 250 and tonight I had a NSV that I've just got to share. I'm a high school teacher and volunteered to work at prom this Saturday. I decided that I wanted something new to wear. My sis and I went dress shopping and the dress I ended up with is a size 16W. I know it's a women's size 16 but a 16 none the less. I haven't worn a 16 in years. So happy! . Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

Weird NSV? Sure is!!!! But an NSV nonetheless... Well done to you...

It turns out that I look forward to giving myself the blood-thinner shot each day. I feel like such a bad-a$$ when I face my fear of sticking myself with the needle each day and am able to overcome it and plunge it in It's such a confidence booster knowing I can do it!

It is crazy to me how it feels like the body isn't doing anything and then it suddenly changes dramatically. These dramatic changes should be visible on their own, but it usually takes having my attention brought to it. Early nsv's included fitting into a diner booth, and under growing my clothes. My newest non-scale victory he is a pain in my ass! Literally. I sit down too hard because my body memory this program to throw down over 300 pounds which takes momentum. Today I went to a doctors appointment what to sit in the chair, and I could feel the bones in my butt-they actually hurt against the seat. Stuff like this really helps me realize throughout this journey that the hard work pays off!

So I went for my 8 month post op check up. Doctor hasn't seen me since January. He came in and looked at me and then my picture in my file from my first appointment with him. He said he didn't recognize me, I looked so different. He said that he likes to see 50% excess weight loss at the 12 month post op mark, I am at 8 months and I am already at 71% excess weight loss. He said he couldn't be more pleased with my progress! I am down, according to him, by 95 lbs (ok my NSV does involve the scale too!) I told him that I am now comfortably wearing a size 12, which I haven't worn since I was in 10th grade! (30 years ago!) I am so excited!!!