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hahaha....thats too funny but a great NSV moment! Thanks for sharing!

But oh so funny. I was walking down the main street of town yesterday lunchtime on my way back to the office and suddenly started to feel awkward. I thought my skirt had twisted but as I reached down I grabbed it just before it fell past my knees. One second more it would have been around my ankles! A ducked into a shop where the salesperson helped me out with a safety pin and a lot of laughter! Sent from my iPad using VST

I flew to Alaska-7 hours-and back last week. No problems w my band at all. Actually had a nice NSV- 51 pounds gone and no seat belt extender during the flight

Grats on some great NSV's

Flew to Haiti on a mission trip, buckled the seatbelt easily and was comfortable in my seat (as comfy as you can be in coach). Spent a week outdoors doing work with orphans and had 3 on my lap at one time! WooHoo, 40 pounds down and still going!

Well I would take it as a NSV but the guy was obviously a major tard. I've known a few people from Canada though and in their defense we've had many conversations about the size of things here compared to there- particularly fast food sizes so I guess that much is factual. But still he was a jerk. Well if he wants to see a fat person on his tour of US obesity send him my way and I'll happily sit on him...

Wow gang - how great we're all doing! I'm sorry I've been MIA lately... I'm not getting my email updates of posts and can't seem to access our group on my iPad. It tells me I have messages and I'm subscribed, but when I try to look at the posts it tells me I don't have access. GRRRR! Anyway - I've been plugging along and finally hit 50 pounds AND onederland! YAY! It's been probably 10 years since I left onederland and it's great to be back! We were on vacation two weeks ago and I was worried I would blow it, but I just kept sensible eating in mind. I think I'm in the green zone, though because I certainly feel restriction and I have to work hard to avoid the stucks! I had an issue Saturday at the mall with some pizza - should have known better but my choices were protein heavy cheese pizza or super fried meat nuggets in a sweet sauce. I'm also having issues with understanding my portions!!! The Publix by my office has a great salad bar with deli meat available and I always take too much!!! I think, "That doesn't really look like much, I'd better put a little more on there," then I end up throwing 1/4 - 1/3 away! Yay for not eating it, but boo for wasting the money! I also had a BIG NSV this weekend. While I was stuck at the mall (car work at Sears) I decided for the heck of it to look at some of their Misses Lands End clothes. I bought a large (14-16) skirt and tops!!! Holy moley!!! The skirt was full so I could get away with it; my hips and thighs are keeping me in 16/18 pants depending on the cut. If it were up to my waist I'd be in a 12! HA! I haven't made the bathing suit plunge yet because I'm hoping I'll need an even smaller size by September which is usually when we go to the beach. I have a doctor's appointment next Monday, but I don't think I'll get a fill. I probably should though, because I think this appointment is the end of my "free fills for 6 months"! I had post-op blood work done on their request, so it will be interesting to see where my cholesterol and other levels are now. I know my blood pressure is down. I promise to be on more often. Have a great day everyone!!!

Hello everyone!! Here is a quick update. So i had my 4th fill 2 wks ago I thought I had found my sweet spot. But once on solids there was no restriction. Maybe next time. I can pretty much eat anything still and I know I shouldn't but I have been in a slump and I have been eatting pretty bad. I feel guilt for a little while then tell myself tomorrow is a new day but then I eat bad stuff again! I am really craving chocolate, but then I got my period (haven't had in 10ths due to IUD) so maybe that explains the sudden cravings and bad eatting. Maybe I should try liquids to get the sugar out of my system again? Maybe I'm having sugar withdrawal & that is what is making it hard to not eat that cookie or order the greasy fried stuff. Any ideas?? Well there is a NSV out of this. Normally I would feel so guilt for eating something bad that I would get upset & depressed & then binge then start it all over again. This time I really don't feel any guilt & don't feel like bingeing. I just find myself eating something sweet every day. But yeah I'm not depressed about it. And I am still working out 3-4 days a week and drinking most of my water. Ttyl!!

Before I had surgery, I used to have scaly, dry, cracked elbows. Sometimes they bled slightly after I loofa-ed them in the shower. No matter how much cream I rubbed into them they remained the same. I noticed the other day that, to my surprise, my elbows are soft and smooth! I have done nothing to them--I haven't even thought about them for months. I also noticed that I used to have those little red pimple-like bumps on my upper arms and thighs and they are gone as well. I think that taking a complete multi-Vitamin every day may have something to do with it. When I was fat, I used to tell myself that I needed to eat lots of food so that I had a "balanced diet" and was "well-hourished" but basically I ate a lot of crap food--sugar and starch in large quantities. I suspect that I was probably low in some vitamin and now I'm not and it shows in my skin. It might also be the increase in fat in my diet. I used to be all about the low-fat, "diet" food but now I eat olive oil, full-fat cheese, and prime steak. Could it be I was missing some good fatty acids before as well? Anyone else notice a change in their skin?

Ali, this is a fabulous NSV! CONGRATS up Sexy woman! It gets even better from here on out.

Well, I had an interesting experience at work tonight. I work in a movie theatre and tonight I was in concessions. I've recently reached onederland, and have been told by multiple people that I don't look like I weigh that much (I think it's because my top half is so much smaller than my thunder thighs). This is a male customer, I'd say mid-20s. Anyways, here's the conversation... I'll warn ya, it's a long one lol. Me: Hello, how can I help you today? Customer: Yes, what does your medium drink look like? Me: *I show him the medium* Customer: Sheesh, that's massive. Okay, how about the small? Me: *I show him the small* Customer: Yeah, that'll do. Though that small is anyone else's large. It's probably why America is so fat. Me: Yeah, the sizes are a bit ridiculous. Before we were bought out, the old medium was the size of the new small. Customer: It's still way too big. I'm from Canada and I've never seen so many massive people. (Now, I typically don't spout off my weight loss to random people, only to friends and family who ask. I just felt the need to call this guy out...) Me: Yeah, I've lost about 90 pounds so I kind of get what you're saying. Customer: Oh, good for you! You're helping to solve America's weight problem. I'm from Canada, so I'm not used to seeing so many fat people. That was pretty much it. Now, I did my research and it seems that, yes, one in three American adults are obese. BUT, one in four Canadian adults are, too. I'm not sure where he was living, but it seems like the country as a whole isn't too far behind. I was pretty speechless after the backwards compliment. Is it an NSV that someone felt comfortable enough to talk to me about "the horrors of obesity" as if I was, dare I say, normal-sized? I'm inclined to believe that if I was still at my previous weight, this customer would either A) not have come to my register, since there were two other cashiers at the time, or B ) not have mentioned this at all. He seemed very high and mighty, so maybe there's a third option of C) still would have talked about it, but it probably would have turned into an impromptu lecture about my "evil, gluttonous ways." He didn't even look sheepish after I told him I was a former fatty. Apparently, this guy was all about Canada. I went up to the box office to fill some paperwork out, and I mentioned this guy. The person up there was like, "Did he have long, blonde hair? Did he mention he was from Canada?" Apparently, when she asked him for his ID to see an R-rated movie, he said, "Seriously? I'm from Canada. Where's YOUR ID?" Good times were had. P.S. No disrespect to you Canadian sleevers. I know not all are like this.

What an exciting week for you! I love reading about the NSV, because I believe they are the real victories. Congratulations and keep up the good work.

Hi all, Last week was a GREAT week for me! I had a huge list of NSVs that I wanted to share with you all.... 1. My office has a gym/recreation center. But the space is a bit cramped. They have many indoor games - the most popular ones are carroms and chess, and I'm pretty good at carroms. I always only play carroms and have never tried any other 'physical' games. But last week, a friend offered to teach me table tennis. I never thought that the game was so physically demanding! BUT I was able to play for 45 mins straight!!!!!! I was soooo happy and was beaming (and sweating) the whole time! Now I'm addicted to the game. I'm not very good at it - my hand-eye coordination can be better - but I'm learning the game and hope to be better at it. That is a huge NSV for me!! 2. We have a annual sports meet at our office headquarters every year and the carroms competition happened yesterday (saturday). A systems technician who used to work in my branch was transferred to the head office at the end of last year and he had not seen me for more than 6 months. He was there for the competition and he did a double take when he saw me. He came to me and asked "So where is the other half, mam?" I just laughed and said I got rid of the other half coz she was high maintenance. I was so proud of myself at that point - it is insane.... 3. Similar thing happened when my cousin, who is away for college, visited my house in the summer hols. He has not seen my since right after my surgery. He was amazed that I had lost so much weight. He mentioned that I looked just like when I had just graduated out of college (that was in 2004). Of course I treated him to a great lunch for saying such a sweet thing! LOL! 4. My clothes are falling off! LOL! I cant believe that I'm happy to have ill fitting clothes... I have lost a total of 24.5 inches so far. The biggest inch loss is in my chest and waist (my belly is melting off LOL). I have gone from a 47 to 43 inch in my chest, from 46.5 to 40 in my waist, 54.5 to 49 in my lower abdomen. I have had very little inch loss in my arms and calves (only 1 inch in arms and 2.5 inches in calves). But I'm quite happy with the overall results. Sorry for a long post but I couldnt contain my excitement. Had to share it with my VST family! Keep up the good job guys! I'm so motivated I'm going to hit that gym frequently. My trainer will not know what hit him today LOL

But they were a litle loose 16s will be coming up soon. Excited since day of surgery I was in 24s and couldn't shop in old navy.

Very simple, yet very empowering as well. Congratulations to you. Can't wait until I get sleeved to experience those types of NSV's.

That is hilarious!!! That guy had to be so embarassed, but I think it's so sweet that he was "sticking up" for you when he thought your husband with with a younger woman. This is one of the best NSVs I've read in ages! Thanks for sharing!

Yeah for NSV!!!! Keep up the good work!@

Thanks for posting these NSVs -- they are encouraging and so fun to read. I had my first NSV last week. I was about 2 weeks out from my surgery and realized that I needed to tighten my CPAP straps because they were too big!! Hooray! I hope that no longer needing the CPAP will be on of my NSVs down the road.

Going back to work this morning so I start getting dressed and damned pants fell off! Holy cow! Guess its time to go buy new work pants. Thank god for a good belt. I look like MC Hammer but oh well. Lol

Thanks for sharing, such a great NSV.

For WLS AGB = adjustable gastric band (like the lap-band, but not brand name) RNY = Roux en Y BMI = Body mass index BMR = Basal metabolic rate PPI = proton pump inhibitor PB = productive burp (I know it's a band thing, and a horribly misleading name, but it has come up in the revisions forum) NSAID = Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory Not an abbreviation (lots of these aren't) but sliming - excessive saliva production Like above, foaming/foamies - saliva that has been "churned" in the esophagus and comes in looking like soap foam or shampoo lather NSV - non-scale victory, a general well being victory that does not involve your weight (clothing fitting looser, a nice compliment, walking X stairs without getting winded, etc.) I'll think of more later, I know there's a bunch. More just conversational... The family ones - DD, DA, DH, MIL, FIL, SIL... where does it end? Second cousin twice removed? SCTR? Bah. HTH = hope this helps IIRC = if I remember correctly AFAIK = as far as I know IMO/IME = in my opinion/in my experience IMHO/IMHE = in my humble opinion/in my humble experience

That is an absolutely GREAT NSV!!!!

That's a wonderful NSV! Keep it up, pretty soon you will be at normal weight! Yayyy!

YES! You are a success right now, today, in this moment! I absolutely could not agree with you more. Sure, I have that ticker to show my progress with my "goal" weight at the right end. But I'm with you, when it's just me and my skin and being comfortable within it -- I'm a success, too. I get more jollies out of daily NSV's than I do with numbers on a scale. BMI charts are overrated and something for doctor's to cling to when they want to encourage more healthy behaviors in their patients. To this day, I remember sitting in my doctor's office when I was about 26 years old and he told me I was "overweight" and needed to lose about 10lbs. This was at a time in my life when I was riding my bike 20-30 miles per day, 4-5 days per week. Running, kaying, hiking every weekend and wearing a size 4/6. I was 138lbs and he told me I was "overweight." I felt the best I'd ever felt in my life and this man was telling me I could "do better." Love the new profile pic!