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I had a very emotional non scale victory this weekend. It was a year ago this week that I took my 3 little ones to the Wisconsin dells for spring break, I remember being so embarrassed that I couldn't fit into the tube on the lazy river. I had to hold onto Tue outside of the tube. This past weekend and almost 4 months out from my surgery, I took my children to an indoor waterpark, I was astonished to see how easily the tube slid right over me, I literally started tearing up. Not only that but I went down the waterslides with my children multiple times. It definently paid off because I lost another 2 pounds just over the weekend for a total loss of 72 pounds. I thank god every day for this opportunity to start a new life. hw--295<br />sw--278<br />dos-- 12/12/12<br />cw-- 225

Bath reminds me of Calgon moments, "Calgon, take me away"!!Get some candles and relax, enjoy your new NSV as often as possible! Karen

OK hold on, i know that you may find the topic title weird/odd, but i promise you am not a *****/freak. but it is true, i kissed myself today, and i find this to be a NSV that is worth sharing. First, before i go into the subject, let me tell you a little about myself. I HATE MYSELF! I HATE MYSELF! I HATE MYSELF! I HAVE ALWAYS HATED MYSELF! DID I SAY, I HATE MYSELF? IN CASE I FORGOT, I HATE MYSELF. This has all changed today as i was washing the dishes. This past valentine, my husband has gave me a mirror as a gift, this mirror is heart shaped and my husband decided to glue it on the wall that i face when i am at the sink, when he glued it, he said and i quote: " this is for you to always remember how beautiful you have became and have always been". well, it was a sweet thing from him to gift and say BUT i have always ignored mirrors, because i have always seen a reflection of someone who i never thought i was, i acted different than what i see in the mirror, i act as if i am small but the mirror has always showed a big reflection which i hated! Well to make this long story short. Today, as i was washing the dishes, i take take a look at the mirror and look back down BUT i looked back at myself right away because what i saw has pleased me!! I saw a beautiful 20 year old woman who is the exact reflection of my soul, i thought i looked beautiful, and i questioned myself: is this really me? I teared up and all of the sudden without paying attention to what i am doing, I kissed the mirror and stood up and smiled (but whats wrong with complimenting myself) UGH, i confess it felt weird but for the first time i love myself. This made my day, and i sure could not leave it at that. I walked swiftly to my husband in the living room and told him that he is a very lucky man to have me. HAHAHAHA he was weak. BUT i was very happy, and in a very good mood all of the sudden. I am sure this has happened to someone else, kissing the mirror/liking what you see... it happens right? I find it okay to compliment myself, because what i went through was not easy, what i gave away to be at this state of body was not easy, it is okay to like what i see even for a moment right? Sorry for this long post, i thought i had to share, please give yourself credit, you deserve it.

When you go to pull on your Spanx and realize you've out skinny-ed them!!! I think going down a size in compression garments is 10x more exciting for me than going down a dress size. NSVs are really the greatest motivation in this journey.

I think that 60% average is expected if a person eats moderately well, is moderately active and really leans heavily on the sleeve to define weight loss. There is nothing wrong with this and many will be satisfied with this level of success. However, a person can also achieve 100% if they work on making good / excellent food choices and implements a consistent and active physical lifestyle. Everyone has access to different levels of success depending on their goals, motivation and desire. Visualize your success, find heroes / mentors and be like them, keep your eyes on the prize, don't give up, put your focus on the small NSVs and accentuate the positive. You will develop and grow attributes of success. Good luck in your own sleeve journey!

Well, today my kids came back from their visitation with their dad. Heres some background info, i was 21 and stupid (sounds like a taylor swift song) and fell in love with my self centered narcissistic ex husband. He verbally and physically abused me about my weight (i was 145 lbs during my marriage, my weight at surgery was 212, gained from depression after divorce, plus binge eating disorder) Anyway, today he gets outta his car, looks me up and down and says, wow you look amazing. i said, hey arent you married. He said yeah so what, i can have you if i want you. Lesson number 1: tigers never change their stripes. Lesson number 2: I am still 13 lbs above the weight i was when i was married, so he never appreciated me for who i was. My response: "Well you cant have me, I am not a homewrecker like your wife is" Best.NSV.Ever

I had a NSV the other day. I walked up in Acadamy Sports and bought me 3 under armour shirts and 3 pairs of shorts. All size medium. I didnt even try it on or anything. I get home and guess what that medium shirt is to big. Thats a big NSV to me especially the last time I was in a medium was when I was in the 4th grade. I tried on My sons youth large shorts. They fit. A little snug like some come and get mes but they fit right in the waist. Thats sad smh...

ISleevedIt Ahhhhhh its the "little" things congrats on your "big" achievement keep those NSV's coming - "we" love to hear them great weight loss keep up the good work congrats

Friday evening, I visited a friend with a broken ankle. We're sitting there chatting and watching tv. I looked down at my lap and realized that I had my legs crossed and my hands weren't holding my legs or pants to keep my legs crossed. Nice feeling!

Congratulations!! I know the feeling about the airplane seats. I always feel self conscious that the person next to me will think I should have been ordered to get two seats. I have to squeeze in, and though the belt still fits me (well, last I flew it did lol and that was 20 pounds ago), it has to be fully extended and it's not comfortable. So I really feel your excitement on the plane!! And I think shopping in the regular sections will be my favorite NSV once I get there. I'm a 29 year old mother... It seems like all the plus size clothes come in two styles: young party/clubbing clothes and old lady clothes! Lol I will be so glad to have more options!!! Congratulations!!! What awesome victories!!

That is a huge NSV! Go you! I am in the beginning stages of getting my surgery and contemplating never eating certain things again is kinda crazy. I just keep reminding myself that my life shouldn't revolve around food and I will find other things I enjoy even more than eating 5 bread sticks with my heaping bowl of pasta.

"erp" hey bud wow - you noticed!!! i thought i could kind of "slide" that in when no one was looking!!! posting picture - big NSV for me!!! (always ran away from camera) not exactly camera hog yet, but don't run away either!! next week i'll try and post my AFTER picture can't do it today - too much excitement at once can't handle it!! Tex i would wait on the veggies for awhile i agree, slowly try and eat something carefully, if you can tell it doesn't go down well, stop !!!! or give a holler, and hopefully someone will answer OP - remember - does someone have that LINK to pamphlet with lots of info re:what to eat, do's and don't??? please post for tex???

Jazzy NSV with clothes is always great Kudos!!!! i thought "only" size of clothing was Plus Size!!!! there is a regular womens size too?? good for you!! congrats on your plane NSV had to tighten the seat belt!!!! Way to Go!!!!! i also used to "hide" the fact that seat belt wouldn't close busted - flight attendant saw me, and discreetly handed me extender!!! my NSV - flew a couple of weeks ago - i sat in the middle seat - no problem room to spare on each side of my butt Wow - best flight i ever had!!!!

Today, my housemate very sheepishly asked me for a favor. She asked if it would freak me out or upset me if I made a batch of Mac n' cheese. I am famous across several states for my baked Mac n' cheese. No soupy sauces, just a cheese-laden bowl of goodness so dense that you could cut it into squares to serve it and each square would hold its shape until attacked with a fork. Oh, how I love the stuff. My first reaction was to think that I couldn't do it, because I couldn't face the temptation of having such a yummy, calorie laden treat around the house and me not be able to eat it. Then I stopped and thought. Yes, I have a band now, which means I have to make better choices with food, but I will be making those choices for the rest of my life if I want to be successful. Can I really contemplate an eternity without ever eating Mac n'cheese? Would I even want to? So I came up with a plan, and I have to say, I'm pretty brilliant. I made my housemate my old fashioned Mac n'cheese the way I always do. No weighing, no measuring, just put the stuff in til it looks right, then stick it in the over and let the magic happen. But at the same time, I made a second, much smaller batch just for me. For MY batch, I used whole wheat pasta to eliminate the white flour and raise the fiber content. Then I weighed and measured the exact amount of cheese that would go into the bowl. I measured each additional ingredient carefully and programmed the whole thing into My Fitness Pal so that it would calculate exactly how many calories are in each serving. And you know what? It's not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. Not only did it taste just as good as the orginial version, but my 1/4 cup serving had a good amount of protein between the pasta, cheese, egg and milk in the recipe. It also had an amount of calories that easily fit into my daily meal plan alongside a serving of lean meat. I found that 1/4 c just as satisfying as the bowl I would have eaten previously and it felt like a huge NSV to reshape the recipe and eat a healthy amount of a "normal" food. Go me! Now, that isn't to say that the lingering traces of the old me didn't think briefly about eating the entire batch in one sitting, but with my latest fill, I know that I honestly couldn't do it without getting sick. My band would stop me. Finally. But even more than that, I know I'll enjoy each small serving more knowing that I'm still living as a compliant bandster and that I'm still on track to meet my goals. So, I'll say it again: Go me!!!

I haven't blogged for awhile because well...I've been more active and living my life more than I have in the past couple of years. First off I will start with my nsv's. My clothes are way too big now. I had to buy some newer clothes because they were starting to fall off. I also haven't taken a nap in the middle of the day for weeks now. I used to take a nap daily because I was so tired and worn out from just daily life. My weight loss has given me more energy where I can actually make it the full day without taking a nap. I went to the zoo today with my daughter and hubby and I made it around the entire zoo without having to sit down or leave. Before I had surgery, I would make it most of the way through the zoo, but I would be dead tired and my feet would be aching and I would literally have to lie down and take a nap. I have some personal triumphs to share. I have finally succeeded in mastering the no drinking/eating rule half hour before and after. I started setting a timer after my last bite. Only when the timer goes off do I start to drink again. This is huge for me because I was struggling. I also noticed (I've mentioned this before) that I eat less when I am not eating and drinking together. For some reason, the past week I have been even less hungry than I ever was. To give you a rundown, I started eating around 300 calories a day and then when I started exercising it jumped to 800-1000 calories a day. I was more hungry and eating more during this time. Lately, I can barely finish my protein shakes in the morning and I don't feel my hunger at all. My calories have dropped back down to about 500 calories. Does anyone have any ideas about why this is happening? My portions have been unusually small lately, and the only reason my calories have jumped is because I had a few "naughty" things in the past couple of days. I am almost 8 weeks post op...this coming wednesday I will be 8 weeks post op. I have hit quite a few stalls as some will call it...well on the scale anyways. I have taken measurements and I have lost inches. I have also went from a size 28 to 24w. I started at 298 (day of surgery) and today I am 270lbs. I have been working out at least 4 days a week, getting my water, and protein in. I have only had things I'm not supposed to twice since surgery. I am hoping that I actually gained muscle during my workouts because I have been lifting a lot. So I am not complaining just yet...I will wait until I see my fitness trainer and get my fat % measured. On another note...about the naughty foods I had. I had maybe about a tablespoon of frosting off of my daughter's frosting today (I feel really gross and wish I didn't eat it...actually regretting it now and I had some a few weeks back and said I would never eat it again...I thought it would be okay because everything else I eat doesn't make me feel yucky) and I immediately felt sick. I had homemade frosting about 4 weeks ago and I also felt really yucky afterwards. Do you think it is the high sugar or high fat that is making me feel crappy afterwards??? I don't eat naughty things often. I think I have had sugar 3 times since surgery. When I say 3 times...it was literally a spoonful of something sweet. Besides those three days my carbs are usually below 50grams. I like them lower, but my NUT does not agree and wants me to get less than 100g a day and wants me to add more fiber etc. I haven't had any fried food yet. Does anyone have recommendations for recipes if I do get a sweet tooth? I get them every so often and usually have the motivation to stay away. I am literally surrounded by it because I have to take care of my 3 year old. Any suggestions would be great!

Great NSV !!!!

I had two this weekend-I flew on Friday night and not only could I buckle the seatbelt, I had to significantly tighten it. And there was room in the seat. I used to be squeezed in and had to hide that the seatbelt wouldn't fasten because I did not want to ask for an extension... I went shopping today and bought myself some new workout clothes-in the "ladies" section, not the plus size. I was sleeved on October 9 and have lost 58 pounds. I am happy with my loss today, but am in a stall so it was great to have some other signs that I am making progress!

Wonderful NSV! I vote for more baths! With bubbles!

I normally don't take baths because my hips touch both sides and the water from my hips to head gets cold unless I pull my body out of the water now & then. Anyway, I poured a bath for my little one not knowing she was already clean, so I got in instead. Guess what? There was a good 3-4 inches between each hip and the sides. I could see over half a foot of space with my body against one side. Needless to say, I stayed in the bath until we ran out of hot water. Holla!

I am just an "average" loser so far, I think, and feeling like I'm slower lately. I'm in the midst of trying to break a stall, too. My ticker is a little misleading. I am including the weight I lost pre-op as well as post-op. I promise, I have "only" lost 49 lbs in 3 months. When the scale says something other than what I would like it to, I try to think more about how I feel as compared to a year ago. I can move so much better. I am comfortable STANDING for long periods of time. I look in the mirror, and I actually look "normal". Chubby, of course, but "normal". I am essentially the weight I was when I got married 10 1/2 years ago. I have endurance at the gym that I could only dream about a year ago. I don't avoid mirrors anymore, or pictures. No more sleep apnea. I can cross my legs comfortably. This list is all NSVs- it just makes me feel better when the scale is being uncooperative. You have done a fantabulous job! It may slow down, and probably will, but wow, look at what you have accomplished other than the number on the scale! Good luck!!!! -Kendra

Good Job! NSV's Rock!!!

I swear...gotta love them NSVs !!! congrats !

My most recent NSV is discovering that I can walk down a flight of stairs with more agility!

when we traveled in Jan & march, i also found that the seats were way more comfortable now too!! another NSV!!

Your initial post really made me smile! What a great feeling of anticipation. Fun to see the follow-up post with your befores/afters--great suit...you are looking very dapper! Congrats on an awesome NSV.