Search the Community

I went through 20 years of starving to lose 40 lbs only to gain back 60, god knows how many times. I'm not one who craves large amounts of junk food and it's now impossible for me to sit down and eat a side of ribs or 2 dozen tamales. By the way I had a major "for me anyway" NSV, well it did involve a scale so anyway? We had our annual YMCA meltdown weigh in today I GOT TO WEIGH IN ON THE REGULAR SCALE WITH EVERYONE ELSE!!! Now I'm psyched. For the last 5 years I've had to use the packing scale in the warehouse with the other fat people. Down side is I'm entering a weight loss competition having just lost 43 lbs in 5 weeks but what the heck it's better than the alternative.

I want that NSV! Me! oooh pick me!

Thanks everyone I think this is the NSV I'm most happy with - well, right behind more self confidence anywayz.

Per request (LOL)... I've attached pictures from last night's event (I don't know how to make them small.. SORRY)... I had sooo much fun!!! These are my NSVs from last night... My dress is 3 sizes smaller that what I would have purchased in November!! I did not struggle to put on "cheap" pantyhose for the first time in my life!!! I bought them from Walgreens.. 3 bucks!!! Not 20!!! I wore my heels for over 6 hours... (They are too big... they 2" peep toe slings... in the last hole!!) I wasn't dropped off at the door, we parked towards the back of this huge lot and I walked to the place and then to the car afterwards I was complimented all night about my dress and personality... I didn't try to diminish it or find something wrong with myself... Is said Thank You and kept is moving (this is HUGE for me!!) The photographer there told my BFF, "This girl is something else I was okay w/ not choosing to eat what was placed before me.. The conversation and interaction was so engaging, that I literally forgot to eat... (I did have fish and broccoli) I saw my WL doctor, my surgeon and nurse practitioner... They all talked about how good I looked and that I look happy... This encouraged me a lot.. I've been struggling w/ submitting to the journey and not trying to win a race!! It was nice to see a lot of people from my support group.. And to just enjoy the evening... I'm looking forward to next year's Dinner/Dance so I can take plenty of comparison shots!!!! Thanks guys for all of your support and encouragement.. I truly appreciate it!!

A new year and a new body! My goal for 2013 is to drop 100lbs! But I'm also really looking forward to some of those non-scale victories, even if they take a little longer. Here's some items from my wishlist: - No more squeezing into tiny bathroom stalls! Though I swear some of them have the TP dispenser at the worst place possible to really CRAM your legs in there! - Going to a clothing store and not having to search for the "plus" side. - Not having my knees grinding under my weight when I go up and down stairs. - Wearing a swimsuit that doesn't have a freaking skirt attached - Wearing dresses and not having my thighs rub together til they're raw - Boots! I want a pair of freaking BOOTS! - I want guys to try and pick me up. Not that they'll get me (I'm married), but it'll make me feel sexy. What are some goals everyone else has -- crazy or non??

Boo, that was a fantastic NSV.:clap2: :clap2: :clap2: :clap2: 3.5 miles in 36 mins? You must have wings on your feet girl! :biggrin1: Keep up the good work. Roberta

I lost 22 pounds on my two week preop diet. Then it took 3 months to lose another 17 pounds after surgery. But Unlike so many others that whine about being "slow losers", I was thrilled. I'd lost 39 pounds for sh it's sake! How was that not awesome?! You really need to embrace this as an entire new lifetime of weight loss/maintenance. You shouldn't have any time-related deadlines. Just keep on plan, listen to your body, make adjustments to your nutrition as needed, and enjoy the NSVs. If you need numbers to concentrate on, make those numbers your Protein and Fluid goals. take your Vitamins. Use the next few months to learn new eating habits and coping mechanisms that will carry you through a lifetime of hardships to come. Don't worry what the scale says or especially what other people's scales say.

aren't those NSV's great! I love every one of them. . even the ones from our kids. . . I went to visit my 21 year old and when she opened her apartment door, the first thing out of her mouth wasn't "Hi MOM" . . . it was "God mom, you look like a starved orphan" . . .that made my day. . . .we laughed about that all day! NSV's are great!

CONGRATULATIONS! Thanks for sharing such a wonderful NSV! Your pics clearly show your progress! Keep up the great work and have an awesome semester!

WTG! I always wear shorts under my skirts & dresses just because of the chafing. I cannot wait for the day I can post this NSV myself! Awesome!

I am SO happy! I just got home from my 6 month check up. I am down 88 POUNDS!!!! I am Thrilled! I absolutely LOVE my sleeve! Twelve pounds away from loosing 100 lbs.!! I have never been able to loose that much weight. Ever. I am so thankful fort he sleeve. This surgery is a life saver! I had a HUGE NSV last month. I have not been able to go to the grocery store with out using the electric scooter for over 2 years. Since last month I have been able to use a regular grocery cart and shop on my own sans kids for the help. I can't believe the change I have made. I can walk and shop again!!!!In August I had to go on an airplane. I DID NOT need a seat belt extender! Life is getting so much better! I feel so blessed! I only wish I could have done the surgery a decade (or more!) ago!

lisalani what a great NSV - must be so happy that you can be more independent - walking, shopping. Betcha can walk, rub your tummy, and chew gum at the same time keep up the great work

NSV's are NEVER silly.

This is a wonderful NSV! Keep Rockin that Sleeve!

~hugs~ so happy for you and your daughter.... them NSV make it all so sweet....

OK So It is just a few days shy of 5 months since I had my surgery. I haven't posted on here in a while. After going back to work, I didn't have too much energy left to post and had got through the stage where I had a lot of questions. Today, I am at 210 pounds. I have actually been here for about 2 weeks, but that was to be expected. I had been doing mainly cardio when I worked out so I was losing weight pretty quickly. I did enough strength training to not lose muscle, but not really enough to build any. My gym has 2 parts. One for the everyday gym goer, who wants to use the treadmill and maybe take a class or 2 and another for the totally insane people that want to be in pain after an hour of working out. I have been using the first part for a little under a year and was doing quite well. I am one of the people that other people come to ask about the equipment. My friend, and spin instructor, has been encouraging me to go back to the other part of the gym (costs an extra $60/month) for a while now. It finally worked in my schedule that I could go do a trial session. I couldn't tell you the last time that I sweat that much. It was a 55 minute circuit class. I was biking, rowing, and using equipment that I have never touched, but been very afraid of for quite some time. I started on the spin bike. This was easy. A nice warm up. (I spin 3x/week). Then we moved on to the more scary stuff. I don't remember everything that we did, but there were stairs, kettle bells, the TRX, and lots of sweat. One station was the rower. The instructor came over to make sure I knew how to use it since i was new. (He actually did this for every station and still does now when there is something new to me.) I told him that I had used a rower before, but not successfully. You see, my stomach has always been in the way. I couldn't do it, because I couldn't reach around my stomach. (I am one of those people that carry most of my weight in my tummy.) So...I tried it. And guess what..I could do it. I could do it well. He wanted me to shoot for a pace of 700 and I was coming in over 800. I was stoked. The rest of the class was a blur, but I made it through without having to stop for more than a few seconds at a time. Then he called me out. He wanted me to stay after class. I bid farewell to my spin friends who had joined me, and waited for Matt (the instructor). He complemented me on my athleticism. I never saw that one coming. I joined that part of the gym a few minutes later. He stressed how important it is for me to get to class 3x/week. I work 50+ hours a week, so that is a challenge. I finished out the night with spin class. Then I went back the next day, and the day after that. With my work schedule and the hours for the gym, I can't make it on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, unless they are my days off for the week. I went 3 times last week. I have gone 3 more times this week already and will go tomorrow as well. I ran a 5k only a few days after joining. I have a 5k with the gym this Sunday, a 10k next Sunday, and then a freakin' half marathon the Sunday after that. Yesterday, I worked out for 2 hours before I took my class. Matt happened to see me. He told me I was a beast (totally meant in a good way). He told me that he could see a huge difference already. He did warn me that classes wouldn't get easier, but I would get better and be able to challenge myself in new ways. He told me he was proud of me. Even better though, is I am proud of myself. Due to some schedule issues, I hadn't seen my spin instructor but twice since I went back for that first class. We were in the same class today, and she couldn't believe the difference already. She said she could see that I was smaller in the tummy and more muscular in the arms. My biggest NSV this week though was being able to get out of the pool without using the steps/ladder. When I first started, I had to use the steps, because I didn't have the strength to hoist myself up with the ladder. Today, I could get out of the pool from the side and not use either. I also did 10 elevated pushups (not on my knees) in a row today. 2 weeks ago, I could barely do 5 on my knees. Last week, I couldn't hold a plank for 30 seconds. Today, I was able to hold it for 2 minutes. I feel better than I ever have and while I am desperately waiting to get under 200 pounds, I am thrilled with my new body and what I can do. I started by walking in the pool for 15 minutes and can now work out for 3 hours straight at a high intensity level. I also went to the doctor 2 weeks ago and got the results from my first full set of blood work. I am good on all of my Vitamins and my sugar and cholesterol are both in normal limits. My blood pressure and pulse were so low, they took them again to make sure they were right. They were all impressed with the weight that I had lost and the muscle that I retained. They even told me that I was probably the healthiest person they had at that point. I will update in 2 weeks when Matt takes my measurements again and lets me know how far I have come. (That is assuming I don't die during the half marathon.) I just want to end with probably the most important sentence in the whole post. ONCE YOU OVERCOME YOUR FEAR, YOU CAN DO ANYTHING. I was afraid to put myself out there and try these classes. I was afraid to put away the chips and Pepsi. I was afraid to go to the doctor. I was essentially so afraid to live that I was dying and so afraid to die, that I couldn't live. Its ok to start small, but start. It is so worth it. You are worth it.

I come back here mostly because of the friends I have made.... Also it is a safe pleace where others know what I mean when I tell a small NSV .....they can enjoy it to....I love reading about others victorys.... Knowing i can come here when Im struggeling with wanting to pig out on something...or if I have pigged out and am now having a stuck issue...lol SO many things to love about this site.....

NSVs are the best!!

Love your positive post and it's great you achieved some wonderful nsv while on holidays. aaah Ireland!

Looks like you're having a ball! I'm so pleased Ireland is giving you lots of NSVs. I'm a wee bit biased but I do think it's a magical country! Sent from my SM-G930F using BariatricPal mobile app

NSV...I managed to go all Easter weekend and didn't even eat one piece of candy!! Whoot-Whoot and I got the Scale Victory this morning...Had my first official weight check at Kaiser and I am officially down 10 of the 25# I have to lose before I can schedule my sleeve surgery!! Happy Monday!!

So I’m on an absolutely amazing trip to Ireland this week and it’s been fantastic both because, well, it’s IRELAND, and because it’s been chock full of NSVs. I am five months out from my RNY and as of the day I left home I am just about 70 lbs down (67.4 including two week pre-op). Some of my vacation NSVs: - my reaction to just about every picture that is taken of me is “OMG I LOOK SO GOOD!!”...total opposite of before weight loss - castles with a million stairs and huge hills to/from cool places like Giant’s Causeway don’t even cause me to get out of breath. I kept getting nervous and anticipated having a hard time with things that ended up being a breeze! - Lastly, one that is highly specific and special for me: I kissed the Blarney Stone! It involves 120+ very narrow winding stairs up and then someone holds you while you lie backwards and reach out to kiss it while you hold the bars and the person holding you helps. Even at my new weight I was self-conscious and nervous about whether I’d be able to do it or whether they’d look at me and tell me I was too big for it, but it went great! Here’s a not very flattering pic of it so you get the idea! I never ever would have had the confidence to try it before this weight loss. What a great feeling! What vacation specific NSVs have you had or do you look forward to??

All kinds of NSVs over here! Loose glasses, loose rings, my work badge hangs lower, my shoes are looser. So many!

My husband and I went to a show last night, and I was so nervous about the seat. I've avoided all shows for the last two years after I went to a Prince concert and had to ask for handicapped seating because the regular seats were too small or, really, my backside was too big to fit in them. Guess what! After 81 pounds, I fit just like everyone else! I acted cool, of course, but I was thrilled inside. until... A woman who weighed perhaps a bit more than I did four months ago tried to sit down two rows ahead of me. She had to be miserable all night. She sat forward and tried to act like she just needed to stretch her back, but the true story was all too apparent to someone who had lived the same experience such a short time ago. How I wanted to give her a hug and tell her that there is a way out of that misery! My journey is far from complete, but the band has totally turned my life around. I wanted to share the answer I've found. I guess I just wanted to reach out a hand and pull her out of the pain I saw on her face and felt in my heart. and yet.. I realized it would be in poor taste for me to approach her. If we had bumped into each other in the ladies' room and had started talking, that might have given me a window. It didn't happen. Please share, do you approach others in situations such as this?

Yes, sometimes I can't see the forest for the trees. So, for now the realization I'm close to these milestones IS my NSV and when I reach them it will be a SV. Thanks everybody. Love this group.