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It's official!....I no longer need to shop at Lane Bryant! I was in Nordstrom Rack today with a friend and where do I head as soon as I walk in the door - PLUS SIZES! And then I picked out about 10 tops in a 1x...my friend kept telling me - you are NOT a plus size anymore! But in my mind I still am (was) and I took the clothes to the dressing room. YEP - they were all too big! And shockingly not just by a little! I was shocked and very surprised! Do you mean to tell me that I can go back to looking and shopping in "regular" stores! Talk about a great day and incredible NSV!!!!! Wwwoooooooo-hooooooooo!

Congrats on the NSV today GG!

Bandista what wonderful NSVs!!!! Great job on enjoying your vacation and coming home with no extra baggage:-) That my friend is a huge feat!!!!

What is an NSV? It sounds good so I wish I had one. But no. I have some bad news.... We went back to my home town for the 4th and I wanted to do all my favorite things, some of which included food stops. We have a great lakeside corn dog stand and I ordered one...and ate it all. Then we went to the old ice cream stop. I was able to eat an entire chocolate kids cone. And for my son's birthday, I had steak (filet mignon) for the first time. Zero dumping. I am happy I could eat a bit of steak and actually eat a small amount of ice cream, but I am upset that I still craved the breaded corn dog and ice cream and that I actually ORDERED them. I haven't weighed myself yet (I'll do so in the morning), but I'm seriously in danger of sliding into old eating habits. At almost 5 months out, are any of feeling the food cravings come back and eating things that would have made you ill (dump) a month or two ago? I HUGELY enjoyed the cheats, but they are haunting me! Not to mention snacking on potato chips on the 13-hour drive.....

This is why I come on here and read posts. You all are so inspiring!! I don't feel so alone on this roller coaster ride. I don't think I have ever been so emotionally and physically up and down in my entire life! Thank you so much for "being there"...even though I don't post that much...I read...and it HELPS!!!! some of my NSV's...being able to take off my old jeans without unbuttoning them, positive comments from friends and family, being able to put socks on without almost having a coronary, but most of all...my back not hurting as much! woohoooooo!

Welcome back! So sorry to hear that you were sick and possibly have a hernia. I will keep you in my prayers and hope all goes well tomorrow night. I LOVE the idea of NSV's and really need to throw the scale away myself. I too let the scale dictate my mood for the day and that is just crazy, there is just no point to it. My first NSV would be getting a winter coat on last night that I couldn't wear on Christmas Eve AND it was over a sweater! I was really happy and made me realize that it did not matter what the scale said. I will post more NSV's as they happen. I think I am on the brink of switching to a smaller pair of jeans (yay me!).

Whew, I made it through my first week back to work...now that's an NSV as far as I'm concerned. By 1pm on Wednesday I wasn't sure I'd make it and was trying to decide if anyone would notice if I curled up the bench in my cubicle and tapped out for a bit, lol....but I persevered with the help of a friend texting me and reminding me to sip, walk, and sip some more-even when she got the flu and could barely eat or drink herself. I love the friends we make here! Encouragement is such a great thing. I also did well with my protein and food intake by being well prepared and following some other suggestions from fellow "losers". Didn't see a big loss but I'll take my -1/2lb and be happy with it cause my attitude was much improved as well as how I felt in general. Thanks everyone for helping me make it through this week with a smile and a grateful heart. (My boss and co-workers thank you too, lol!) Have a wonderful, active, and healthy weekend!

I am glad you commented, I have a friend who feels the same way you do. She is enjoying the new me and loves and laughs that I now have a voice. She also sees this as a NSV. She understands this is such an adjustment for me and change from not speaking up to always having something to say.. She does say it is very different to have me make comments on topics or to people who I would never of called out before. To her this new voice is fun and enjoyable to get to know a different side of me. She doesn't think I am being rude or too harsh and others should deal with it. She believes others are taking it harsh or more shocking because I have never spoken up before, not how I am saying things just that I am addressing issues at all. Instead of beating myself up over this change, I think I will learn to adjust to it. It will mellow out as you said and I will find a groove.

I think, and I could be wrong, that NSV stands for non-surgical victory.

That’s a “NSV” for sure!!

Hi everyone, Haven't been on here in a while and thought I'd check in to say hi. I've been having a wonderful summer, and although my weight is pretty stalled right now (finally getting my fill tomorrow) I have experienced a lot of wicked Non-Scale-Victories in the past few weeks and thought I'd share! The first round happened at my cousins wedding which was on June 21st. It was a huge wedding - over 400 guests and I was a bridesmaid. I saw a lot of extended family and friends who hadn't seen me at this low a weight in at least 5 or so years... it was a great feeling and I got tons of really sweet supportive feedback, as well as some of the annoying - "good work, but don't stop now," or "I'm so glad you're finally doing it!" UGH. But the sweetest feedback I got that night was from my friend Danger Dave (this is VT -all the boys have funny nicknames.) Towards the end of the night, we were sitting outside, taking a dance break, and he said something about "you look great Ange." I said thanks - mentioned the professional hair and makeup. He said no, it was more than that... I can tell you lost weight. This was definitely a bold move on his part - asking a girl about that, even mentioning that elephant in the room. It was super sweet though, because he just acknowledged how hard that must have been, and how impressed and proud he was. Definite warm fuzzies. It's kind of awkward to mention, haha, but Dave's not the only boy who's noticed a difference in me. A lot of them seem to be noticing me, period. It's funny - I'm still hanging out at around 230lbs, I've still got a long way to go weight wise, so what I think what these boys are responding to is the change in confidence I'm going through. I feel prettier, sure, but more so, I feel empowered, accomplished. It's wicked. My third, and my most favourite kind, was my shopping NSV. I was in California last week and got to pop in to one of my favourite stores, J Crew. I love this store. Once I can fit into all their clothes, I'll probably be completely broke with a completely beautiful preppy wardrobe. I saw this cute high-waisted skirt, and thought I'm not 100% a 14 these days, but eh, might as well try. I looked, but alas, they didn't have a 14 in the colour I wanted. I asked a sales associate for help, and she told me they didn't have any. I decided to just grab the 12 to take in with me while I was trying on some tees. And guess what... The 12 fit great. GREAT. And although it is a pretty flattering and forgiving cut, I still can't believe it's only a 12. And as I was coming out to show my friends, the sales associate said "I knew it would fit... You don't look much like a 14 anyways!" I couldn't believe it. So of course I bought it even though I totally can't afford it. I pretty much wanna sleep with it on I love it so much! Here's a pic of me wearing it for my nephew's first bday party - Well that turned into a long long entry. Hope everyone's doing well and enjoying the sunshine! xox

Holy cow! You guys blow me away with your success! Not to mention all of the inspiration I get when I read through here, especially with Jane, Drew, and Laurrs little stories of NSV success. (I apologize- those are the only names I can remember off the top off my head.) 12/30/08: I tried to hide the fact that my 22s were far too tight. :thumbup: 07/20/09: I cleaned out my closet and threw out the 22s and the 20s. I picked up a pair of 18s that haven't fit in two years, the "skinny jeans" style in particular (oh, the irony of a fat girl in skinny jeans cracks me up every time I wear them), and those suckers fit!!! Not just "like a glove", but loose! :ohmy: ...and they made my posterior look cute once more! :thumbup: I'm still waiting on my old size 16 Gap corduroys from 8th grade to fit. Along with a number of vintage tees and retro dresses to fit that Mom bought me years prior, that never fit properly.

Great NSV!

All of these NSV are inspiring! Its all things I keep wishing and hoping for. Congrats to all of you! After lots of conflicting feelings, I know I am doing the right thing by deciding to get banded. Almost one month pre-op down. Two more to go!

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!

It's funny, and like Kathy, I'm just amused at the sudden drop in weight. I dropped another 2 pounds in the last 24 hours. At this point, all I can do is laugh. That and track my symptoms. My DH was worried when he found out that I'm weighing myself everyday again. He was worried that I'd returned to my obsessing about every thing that had to do with eating or drinking. That there had to be a physical reason that I couldn' lose weight on 700 calories, that I was gaining weight on 1000 calories. But I'm at a place where I know that I have absolutely no control overy my weight. None whatsoever. I wonder if I've already counted that as an NSV, being out of control. Because, you are right. In a weird way, that is an NSV for me. I know that right now my tumor has shut off. Very dramatically, I know that it's shut off. So, I just have to keep things in perspective when it turns back on, and I gain 25 pounds in a month. Again.

So proud of you Gaby! Can you believe how far this group has come? I remember reading post of groups that were six months out and thinking, I hope I will be like that. Now here we are ... not quite six months but really successful. I did have a NSV...I went to see my hair stylist and she did not recognize me at first. c-r-a-z-y. The last time that happened to me, it was because I had gained so much weight. This time when it happened I was happy as opposed to beating myself up for letting myself get that size. So proud of us!

I have two NSV's to post! 1. Got my hair cut...no chopped off...SHORT! Like above my shoulders! This is a big deal for me because I've always had super long hair that I wore down...like a shield or security blanket covering my body or something. The biggest amazing thing is that I'm comfortable not having my hair to hide behind and *gasp!* might actually even like my new hair style! lol 2. People have been noticing the weightloss! I've seriously had like 10 different people comment on how good/how much thinner I'm looking over the past week or so. Feels so good! Especially since my scale hasn't been moving much lately and I've been feeling so frustrated lately. Two great NSV's! Looking forward to more throughout this process!

SecretStolen and Kaninag those are great! I need to change my Facebook pic. My latest NSV is that I rode every Roller Coaster at Dorney Park last Saturday. I was so happy because I have never been able to ride everything there EVER! I used to be to fat for all but 2 coasters. On Saturday I rode with no worries, every buckle clicked and needed tightening. One coaster video tapes your ride, the Talon. My video tape was amazing. I looked so happy, just like I felt. It was pure joy. For the first time in a long time I am truly happy. I love my band. The Best NSV ever!

I had a NSV a couple days ago! My mom, who is super skinny, has never been a "complimenter", lol. Never has really told me I was having a good hair day, or she's ever noticed when I've lost weight before, yada yada. But she's awesome anyway. So, I went out of town for 2wks. She came over when I got back, and when she walked in she said "Well hey there SLIM!". And I just said hey and walked into the kitchen, she followed me and said again "how's it going slim?". I guess she wanted to make sure I heard her. She said she could really tell I had lost. I was fighting back the tears cuz my mommy called me slim! haha. I loved it!

I guess a NSV that we really dont think about is self confidence. I was on the phone with one of my best girls the other day and she was like you know I have really seen an improvement in your self confidence and at first I was like is that bad and she was like no its awesome the old Kanina is coming back to us!!! Even though I'm not back to what I was just pulling old clothes out of the closet and being able to wear it again is an awesome feeling! I was posting before about my bathing suit...well I couldnt find any suits ANYWHERE its like everyone stopped selling them period. So we went out in the boat a few weekends ago Ive been trying to learn how to kneeboard...I couldnt do it bc everytime we'd start to go my bottoms would come off...no one could see me but it was so embarrassing but deep inside I was like heck yeah no more lanebryant bathingsuits for me!! I ended up having to tie my bathing suit with hair ties...lol :biggrin:

Alright well I don't get banded until July 20 but here are some of the NSV that I look forward to... Being able to fit in knee-high boots Being able to fit in all those clothes that I saved that were just a tad bit too small Seeing my collarbone Getting out of the plus size section

I havent been banded yet but i have a few in mind, 2 are NSV and the last is an SV. 1- To be able to go back to normal stores, as opposed to big and tall stores. And during my bi-annual shopping for clothes not having to move up another pant size every year. 2- I like to keep my "boys" trimmed, very difficult and dangerous when you can barley see them. I cant wait to see those motherfuckers again!!! 3- Be eligible for surgery to remove a Pylonidal Cyst (sp). The surgeon that healed the cyst said they wouldnt do surgery at my current weight, too risky and healing would be a major problems. If i lose 100lb i can get the surgery and rid myself of that god awful thing.

awesome snaps-- i'm jealous! i still havent made the transition from gap to banana, but i have stopped shopping at gap mostly now. soon! ok-- heres a good one for me. sorry to the boys here who don't understand this NSV. alright, so for the last few days.. ive just been feeling.. well, FAT. not confident at all, just super fat, even though ive already lost all this weight and im in smaller size clothes. then all of a sudden today, it hit me (literally) when i found out i had just started my period. all this time, i was feeling BLOATED!! you know, like a normal size woman feels during their period. all my adult life i have never felt "bloated" during this time of the month because... well, i was bloated ALL the time, and i just didnt know the difference! ive never been happier to feel fat. hahaha

I've got a couple of NSV's... the main one I have to say was going to 5 parks in Orlando, FL I fitting comfortably in every single ride! And this past weekend at church I actually had someone ask me if I had plastic surgery!?!?!?! I couldn't be happier with my band and I thank God for giving me the strength and courage I needed to go on with surgery when I was terrified! LOVE MY BAND!!!