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Your post was spot on! Its calories in vs calories out...we all know that. As I was looking through my VFW magazine the other day, and then looked at other Veterans mailers/flyers I get, I discussed with a co-worker this exact thing. SO many of us have been "fit" before in our lives....maybe we were in some organization that "made" us stay in shape, then when we are no longer "required" to do the exercise/PT, we don't change our eating habits. Take a look at the size of most of the folks in those magazines....it'll be evident. I could diet on my own like most everyone...for the short term. Done it many times. Then get lazy, relaxed, whatever. Right back to the poor eating habits (several large plates of food) and lack of exercise....and gain back more than I lost. Thats why I needed WLS...for the long term. And a little NSV for me today...I put on my Class A jacket....AND IT FIT! First time in 20 years!

I'm starting to get use to my new weight, but I've been having a difficult time finding clothes that I like at the prices I'm willing to pay. So when all else fails...what do we do? Hit the thrift shop! I went to the Goodwill Select store in my area and found a few very nice - nearly new pieces. One that I'm especially proud of is a Talbot's sage green short cardigan sweater, the tags were still on it - Retail $59.99, I paid $4.99 but I think the best part is that it was a size Large - which we know for a store like Talbots is a size Medium everywhere else. I also bought a sweater from somewhere in the U.K. that was labeled size 16. I looked up the size conversion and found it to be a U.S. size 14! So, here's the NSV: I have gone from a size 20 or XXL top to a 14 or M/L top! I am so happy...and I'm finally ready to shop.

Congrats! Awesome NSV! I must say I've never been "caving?" before, but SWIMMING through a cave?! That sounds fantastic. (I <3 swimming) Your victory gave me a new goal Congrats again.

Awesome NSV. Congratulations. I can relate to the wheelchair part. I broke my ankle 2 1/2 years ago and I was in a wheelchair for 3 months. Although I'm not glad I broke my ankle, I can say the being in a wheelchair gave me an appreciation for so many things. As part of my wheelchair experience, I flew to Las Vegas with some friends (we had booked the trip about a month before I broke my ankle). I know it will sound really strange, but I'm glad that I had the chance to experience being in a wheelchair. And unlike you, I did not have any lingering complications after I healed and had physical therapy. I'm glad to hear about your cave experience. I guess that it didn't have any really tight spots. I've been in "Mark Twain's Cave" in Missouri, which is big, but I don't think I would like going into a small cave.

I hiked in a cave today. For an hour. And then I swam in it. And then I walked 2 miles wearing a wetsuit and the heaviest life jacket ever. And then I walked another mile. YESSSS!!! This was not any old flat cave. This was a very uneven cave floor in a very dark cave, with some of it under Water and the rest above and I hiked through it for an hour. I haven't shared this before but two years ago, I ended up in a wheelchair due to a very incompetent doctor. I was in it and bed-ridden for three months and it took me 3 months to learn how to walk again, by which time I had significant damage to the cartilage in my knees. For all of last year, I wasn't able to do stairs at all, and was reduced to using handicapped elevators if there were a ton of stairs. I couldn't sit on the floor comfortably and couldn't fold my legs in half and it took me months before I could climb in and out of a bath tub. But today, I did all that. I hiked up and down some very rough terrain, I fell, I scraped my knee, I used a big stick to balance myself. I stepped sideways, forward, back, up, and down big ledges. I had to fold myself in half as I walked, and I had to fold my knees in half. And I enjoyed every freaking minute of it. I was probably the least well-balanced person of our group. As I said, I had to learn how to walk again, and I don't think I'm as well-balanced as I used to be. I can no longer stand on one foot for any length of time. My husband made me take a walking stick and took me to keep me company (because on my own I'm too damn macho to admit I need help). I was so worried about today. I was sure I would peter out before everyone. I was worried I wasn't a strong enough swimmer. i was concerned I"d hold everyone up. Well, everyone else there was much younger than us, but I'm happy to see we did not bring up the rear. Yes I struggled, but I finished it. I love my sleeve, and I love the October Challenge on this forum that got me to the point I could do this today. And btw, my husband is freaking stud muffin. The very-fit instructor dropped his flashlight under water. He tried to dive for it, couldn't get it. The younger guys are standing around half-heartedly offering to go get it. My 60-year old man says, here, I'll do it. Off comes his helmet and his life jacket, he dives down and gets it with no fuss. I almost jumped his bones right there I also now know beyond a shadow of a doubt what I want in my life. If it's a choice between being skinny and lying by the pool looking gorgeous vs. hiking in a dark, dusty cave, I'm choosing hiking. VERY LONG post! Thank you for reading. I'm just very excited about all of it

I do try to not get on the scale multiple times during the day (its hard but I try) because I know that it fluctuates several times during the day. I usually weight first thing in the morning. After I have used the restroom and before I climb into the shower. I want to be at my lightest for the day. I have had NSV I'm wearing my wedding band for the first time in years (got too small). My feet no longer fit in my dress shoes. I'm wearing 2 pant sizes smaller and nothing is tight on me. I managed to chaperone a lockin with the music department with of my daughters school. At a pizza place and only ate the cheese off the top of a piece of pizza around midnight to keep my energy up. While I walked the arcade for 8 hours helping keep 300 kids in line last weekend. Never could have done that 58lbs ago. I am grateful to have be on this journey. Am I perfect no but I'm better. I just love that I can be not perfect for a change and still see the scale more. The most frustrating thing for me and diets is when I'm perfectly eating exactly what I'm supposed to and busting my butt working out and not seeing the scale move. So, yeah so watching it move is entertaining to me :-D

Have to share a NSV, even though I'm not sleeved. LOL The other day I dug out my tape measure because I thought I should get a baseline before surgery. I have in the past measured myself, and would put it away in disgust. So, I drag it out and start with my waist. I couldn't believe it. I am 7" smaller in the waist. WTH? I thought that was unbelievable, but then I was weighed today at the doctor's office. I have lost 13 lbs. in the last 3 weeks. I started my pre-op diet Friday, but still... I am dropping weight like a weightlifter. As of today I have lost 63 lbs. from my highest weight. I can't even imagine how much more I'll lose as I still have 10 days to go on the pre-op. And then surgery ... Wow!

Today's NSV is not only having to put a belt on to hold up these size 42 jeans but the belt being so long it wraps 1.5 times around my body LOL

YAY a bike!!! Love it! And yeah that is a bummer about having to "pad" it because you don't have any fat down there anymore...wait that should be a NSV! Haha! At least you can leave the pillow behind when you are done and not have be a permanent part of your body! I just heard something on the news today about fitbits (maybe from the Today show?) anyway they were "testing" devices and that one rated pretty high as far as "accurately" counting calories burned etc. Great job, and good luck on your upcoming surgery!

I fit into an XL (fits like a large) jacket a friend gave to me that I wasn't able to fit in to before. Definitely a NSV! [ATTACH]5308[/ATTACH]

Another NSV went through a 4mile corn maze with the kids ran through a pumpkin patch and still had a host of energy what a awesome day I'm enjoying life more and more

Lipstick, pmsl, could just imagine this! I love that it is all still so exciting for you and that you aren't laid back about your NSVs. I wake up every day with a smile on my face - and some days I just dance round the house cos I love my sleeve and cos I can now dance without a bit of me seizing up

I've always wanted to wear Life is Good shirts but the ones that had the hobbies I wanted were in the Women's section- gardening! No way at a 26/28 was I going to fit in even an XXL with the way the shirt is cut. When I knew I was going to have the sleeve I bought a Life Is Good shirt and thought of it as a goal shirt. I kept trying it on over the months and it finally fit last week- just in time for my monthly garden club meeting! Hooray! I also a Muse shirt from a concert of theirs I attended earlier this year and a t-shirt of Mickey I bought at Disneyworld in 2006 that both never fit and now they do!

Well they released me from the hospital and the doctor is still standing by his decision that where the port was stitched on the muscle, that muscle is having spasms. I am going to my surgeons office tomorrow to see if he can provide anymore information. One good NSV occurred I was removed off of my high blood pressure medication. I will keep you posted.

What a lovely NSV for a lovely woman!

Hello my November family!!! Had a great NSV to share. I went shopping yesterday for a new wardrobe as a celebration gift to myself. I had never been to this store before and was looking for my size 12 jeans, well come to find out they go by your waist size.... I have went from a 45 inch waist to a 30 inch waist!!!! So happy and proud of myself!!!! Loving my sleeve and what it has allowed me to do for myself. Sent from my iPhone using VST

Another NSV today is I have a outline of my elbow! Y'all are the only ones I can tell that to and have someone be excited for me lol. No one else really understands all these little things I'm seeing haha...they just are happy for me if I said pigs fly lol! Today I was putting on my makeup and for some reason I looked at my arm and could see my elbow instead of just it being round.

My friend came to visit me early on in my 5 month stay at the hospital....She brought with her a bag of 3 shirts that she thought I would like to wear in the near future....2 things went through my muffled brain....first...that is not even nice...At my lowest I will never be that small....second...Wow she thinks I will get that small that I will be able to wear these tiny clothes someday....Remember I just got out of a coma so I was not thinking to straight... My friend is small..She is a size 2...she brought me her clothes to wear in the future...I had been a tight size 6x up to this point.... Yesterday she asked me if I had ever tried on the clothes she brought to the hospital that day...I laughed and replied are you kidding it is going to take me a long time before I can wear those little shirts....She told me to go home and try them on.... This morning as a lark I took them out of the bag and had NO faith that they would even fit one arm let alone my size....Holy macaroni.. they fit...Even have a little room in them... Could this person really be me.....Have I gotten to the size that I can wear some of my friends clothes....I am gob smacked!!!!!!!!!!

Holy smokes ... LMAO!!! Laughing so hard, coffee came out of my nose. And congratulations because these are all NSVs in my opinion. LOL..... thanks for the great laugh I needed that!

I love these posts!!! I can't wait to ride on a carnival ride with my kids. My NSV's so far are: Being able to wear an XL shirt that my son gave me 2 yrs ago (He kept asking why I hadn't worn it and thought I didn't like it. I didn't have the heart to admit that I couldn't wear it!), having a coworker tell me I needed new jeans because I'm almost mooning her in the old ones every time I bend over, having to sell brand new winter clothes that I bought last year because they are way too big and being able to complete the HipHop Abs workout DVD with my 8 year old daughter without passing out!

Not sure if this is really an NSV, but I'm calling it one anyway! Walking into the grocery store I saw a reflection in the glass door...a 'normal', healthy looking person. It honestly took me a second to realize it was ME I was seeing.

So, I'm in reasonably nice food hall, which belongs to a major brand in the UK; picking up a couple of nice bits to munch on for the weekend. Noticing that my food bill has been slashed dramatically in the process and since this thang.. Anyway, I decide to exit through the clothing bit and spot a dress on sale. I think 'hmm, that's nice. Do I really 'do' lace though? Besides, is it be big enough?'. I ummed and ahhed over it for about 5 minutes - purely because I didn't want the embarrassment of getting it stuck over my shoulders cause it was too small. Anyway, after lots of mental debating, i decided to try it on. It fit. I didn't get it as it happened, because the lace aspect did my head in.. But as I left and trotted on down the high street, I couldn't help but walk into another lovely dress shop. Found a jacket I really liked. Lady approached me and said 'May I help you?'. I replied with 'Umm, yeah.. Do you have this jacket in a size 20-22 please?' She looked me up and down as if I'd come from Mars and replied 'Erm, you don't need that size my dear. You need a 16-18.' I have been neither of those sizes for nearly 15 years... I can see that THIS might be a problem in the future. I could be a size 14, but will still see a size 22-24 in the mirror.... I may have to work on that. In the meantime... size 16-18?! I'll bloody take it! Yipppppppppppppppeeeeeeeeeeee!

These replies are making me smile I have to apply 1. Wearing a size 8 2. I'm a runner omg never in my life did I think I would be able to run for 25 min or 2 miles big deal to me 3. Having in engery at a all time high 4. Oh wearing a sexy matching bra and panties set one of my favorite nsv 5. Looking in the mirror for the first time in years and liking what I see Here just a few of,my greatest victories

YAAAAY!!! CONGRATS! Awesome NSV

I bought a size 12 in jeans yesterday!!! Woohooo! Down 40lbs and feeling amazing.