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Oh, this is funny! I hope you didn't hurt anything but your pride. It's funny, but just this afternoon I sat on the floor and got up several times -- for no other reason but because I can! Thanks for making me realize these things are, in actuality, NSV's!

Hi today is snowy and slippery. While walking the dog and exercising , I slipped and fell backwards, like my feet slipped out from under me!!! My NSV , I was able to get up without a problem!! Sleeved 11/7/16 down 26lbs! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App

OK, so here is a NSV I had a few days ago. I am going to admit it is kind of immature and vain. None the less, it felt really good (evil grin). Warning: long post! My husband's sister - I will call her Shelby here- lives 4 states away and has pretty much hated me since we met. She was super close to my husband's ex-wife, the two of them are two peas in a pod. So for that reason, no matter how nice and cordial I have been to Shelby, she is outright cold and often blatantly rude to me. It goes so far as her telling my step kids off-color remarks and things she thinks about me, including one lovely piece of advice: "Just don't eat whatever Kelly eats. You don't want to end up like her, do you?" When I met her 5 years ago, I was understandably nervous and self conscious: I had 235 lbs on my 5'3" frame. In contrast, Shelby is taller and weighed maybe 140 lbs. She is also totally into appearances and looks. After we met, she called my husband and asked how he could have "down-graded" from his ex to me. I was so hurt. (But my husband promptly stood up for me and then hung up). I saw her three times over the past 5 years. Each time I felt so awkward and self conscious, knowing how judged I was in her eyes. It never should have mattered to me, but it did. Last Monday, Shelby came into town for my step-daughter's dance performance and to visit my husband's ex. I am three months post op. We did not tell Shelby or anyone on his side of the family about my surgery. I have gone from a size 20/22 to a comfortable 12 and have lost 60 lbs, down to 179 and my confidence has really began to flourish. At the dance, we spotted Shelby and her two kids. She was disheveled and looked uncomfortable. Her usually perfectly made up face was smeared and she looked like she was having a hot flash. Also, she is remarkably heavier than lat time I saw her. Now I will say I do not ever judge anyone on their weight and I never will. I have had all too much judgment and so I truly have all the empathy on those like me dealing with body image issues. But I bring it up because of the irony and scathing hell I had been on the receiving end of from her. We approached her to say hello and offer her a seat next to us. She refused, and, didn't even acknowledge me. Her face was flush and she was angry and visibly stressed. After the show my husband asked if she and the kids wanted to join us for dinner. She declined and said she was going out with my husband's ex. Again, not looking me in the eye, zero acknowledgement. I have to insert here that I was dressed nice, donned some heals, had a fresh haircut and did my makeup. (pretty fancy for a simple gal like me). I was wearing a flattering trench style long jacket that really made my waist look small. Right before we left the dance hall I was leaving the ladles room and my husband said he saw Shelby eyeing me from behind, surveying my new shape with her eyes. I went to dinner that night feeling a huge victory. A vain one- yes. But ooooh sometimes these things just feel so good. To come down to earth, I do have a muffin top from hell that if Shelby saw she would laugh in pure delight. I hide it well- but would LOVE to figure out how to lose! With rapid weight loss I am getting that skin, so I am trying to find ways to reduce it.

@@White Sale Your topic seems to be common for many of us. My invisibility was also a comfort zone What people seem to be attracted to may be your positive happy vibe and your healthy/attractive appearance. When you go from invisible to people going out of their way to help you, holding doors open for you and getting attention from the opposite sex. It is seriously an uncomfortable and a strange phenomenon to experience. After weight loss, I truly realized how society places value on appearance. Family & Friends You will find out who is supportive and positive in life. They will except this is you and life become's normal. No more shock and awe over your changing body. I have had people be unnerved by my weight loss. Unfortunately, things became awkward. The relationships faded I cut off negative unsupportive people. People that wouldn't give me the time of day, Now want to be friends....LOL they don't get to do that. Dating: I'm married. Can't wait to see posts on that Attention from the opposite sex: It's flattering but uncomfortable when your not used to it. It take's time to figure how to respond and interact in that arena again. I had to give myself a compliment scale... Appropriate - I give a quick thank you and move on. Makes a great NSV. (please post them if you have one) Hilarious - Also makes a great NSV. (again, Please post them I would love to hear it) Creepy - need we say more Here is what science has to say: Physical appearance Our society places particular value on physical characteristics. Curvy body shapes, long legs and luxurious hair are characteristics that are often seen as desirable in women. For men it might include characteristics such as muscularity, tallness and a firm jawline. For both sexes there is youthfulness, white even teeth, and facial symmetry. There is a vast amount of media coverage implicitly favoring, and in the case of the advertising industry explicitly promoting, these models of attractiveness. Films, magazines and television all contribute to what might be termed the tyranny of body shape images. There is a whole industry that aims to mould consumer preferences, and so sell products, by distorting the reality of normal into the unreality of ideals such as the so-called ideal of women being size zero. Because the ideal of attractiveness based on physical characteristics rather than personality traits (such as kindness, intelligence, thoughtfulness, sense of humour) is continually being promoted in western societies, you might assume that relationships in the west would be based on physical characteristics. This assumption has been found to be true, but only up to a point. Whether or not it is true might be to do with the reason for the relationship, short-term fun or longer-term commitment. Some psychologists suggest that in order to understand why particular physical attributes are deemed attractive we need to consider human evolution. Darwin's theory of evolution and natural selection states that characteristics that give an animal or human the best chance of survival and of reproducing themselves will be prized. These psychologists would suggest that attraction based on physical characteristics is related to features which indicate healthiness and especially fertility. Viren Swami and Adrian Furnham (2006) have undertaken an overview of recent research which examined this suggested influence on attraction based on physical characteristics. Their research focused on the heterosexual male perspective. They pose the question of whether there are physical characteristics that are found to be attractive across cultures. If so, do these characteristics signal procreative potential as predicted by psychologists taking an evolutionary approach to explaining behaviour? Swami and Furnham conclude that there is research evidence to suggest that there are characteristics that have been shown to be attractive across cultures. The physical characteristics for females focus on body shape, especially the waist to hip measurement ratio (WHR). A WHR measure of 0.8 means that a person's waist measurement is 80 per cent of their hip measurement. The full article if your interested: http://www.open.edu/openlearn/health-sports-psychology/psychology/starting-psychology/content-section-4.5

One year. 110 pounds. As I sit here munching my egg beaters Breakfast, the first thought that pops in my head is thank goodness I love eggs and they agreed with me after my surgery! When I started this journey, I intended to blog about it. That never really materialized. I guess I expected to need to write down everything that happened. But it turned out just to be life. And normal life. That was totally unexpected. Anyway, I know this is going to be a long post and if you indulge me by reading it, thanks. If not, I'm ok with that too. I started at 275 pounds. I couldn't walk for more than 10 minutes without my back hurting. I was on medication for high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes. I was honestly afraid that I would not live to see my grandkids. (I was 55 years old at the time of my surgery). Today, I am off of all medications. Today, I weigh 165 pounds. I want to lose another 5 to 10 pounds but my doctors are happy where I am. Everyone I know tells me that I'm thin enough. We'll see.At the beginning, I was wearing size 24/26. Today, I wear size 12. I haven't been a size 12 since I was in junior high. I know how blessed I am. I had zero complications of any kind. This honestly seems like a miracle to me. The biggest blessing has been my family. Not only did they completely support me, but my husband went high Protein, low carb and started working out with me. (He has lost 60 pounds!) My biggest NSV was in November in Las Vegas. My husband and I were walking through a shopping center on the strip. I spotted these gorgeous party dresses in a store and decided to walk in. A sales girl told me that i should try one of them on. The largest size was a large and I thought "no way this will fit me". But, I decided to try. I went into the dressing room and slipped into the dress. I was stunned that it seemed too loose. So the girl brought me a Medium. It fit beautifully. So, I bought it. (It is the sequinny dress I wore at the Christmas party in the attached photo). After my hubby and I walked out of the store, I broke down in tears. Never in my wildest dreams would I have been able to wear a size Medium designer dress. Just a couple more things. The weirdest thing for me has been that I don't recognize myself in photos. The attached photo of me looking at my phone in the snow was taken last week by a friend of mine. I didn't realize it was me when I looked at her photos! My biggest challenge -- finding jeans that fit. I've settled into skinny jeans because they are the only ones that don't sag on my butt and thighs. How are things different? Well, I can't eat much and I know better than to overeat. I get drunk easily. I love going to the gym. I ride a mountain bike. I don't worry about dying. I can walk for hours. I could run if I didn't hate running so much. For anyone who is considering this journey....it is not easy but it is completely worth it. Be patient with yourself. The only way to be successful at this is to have your mind in the right place and commit fully.

VSG 10/4/16, down 55 pounds. We are going on a cruise to celebrate our 20th anniversary. It leaves out of San Juan, PR. Southern Caribbean itenerary. I cannot wait. We are going with another couple that we cruise with every year...just no kids this time! Yayyy! Last night we booked Our excursions: Zip lining Parasailing And horseback riding on the beach. All things I couldn't have done before because my weight was over the limit. Comeee on February!!! Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App Jesus loves you!!!

So I love these little things. I went to get in my car this morning for work, after my fiance drove last night. The seat a mile away it seemed. Used to it was all the way back regardless who drove. My surgery left an incision in my belly button, I could not even see. It now sits above my belly button. That's just funny. You don't realize under garments get bigger as clothes do til you raise your arms and opps...you ladies know what I'm talking about. You find your pants aren't the only thing sliding down. My knee high boots the stretchy back kind, no longer stretch but slide down too. Shoes I've lost a size and a half. My coat could easily fit me and a twin. I have ribs and a collar bone. I can run on the treadmill, not long, but hey I'm running. I no longer crave, soda, even diet. I bought one, yes but almost 2 weeks ago, never even opened it. Bought 14 skinny jeans yesterday. We are talking middle school people. That's how long it's been since this always fat girl has seen a 14 that fit more than one leg. Skinny, don't even get me started on skinny, never had anything labeled skinny in my size that fit. Sent from my 5054N using the BariatricPal App

Sounds like you are doing fantastically well and are living your best life, which is all any of us really want when we have WLS. Huge congrats to you! By FAR my biggest NSV was completing a full marathon in September. Me! An obese person who never even ran a mile straight in her whole life until into her 30's! I ran 26.2 miles! You guys, can you even wrap your brains around that?

NSV! I'm going on 4 weeks out and I have a NSV to share! My rings are loose! I didn't think my fingers would shrink so fast, but so be it. What are some NSV's you guys are having?

Fabulous....loving the progress. When the scale fails to move, those NSV always help us maintain that focus!! Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using the BariatricPal App

Yes ma'am I'm going to look for a before right now and NSV stands for non scale victory. Meaning there are other ways to feel victorious in this journey besides what the scale reads.

Feels amazing, right @@Dknal2? Could you post a before pic, too? I saw a flash of my clavicles today - I wasn't sure if I even had them! Forgive my ignorance, but what the neck does NSV stand for?

My body is changing . I am currently down total 21.8 pounds from surgery date of dec 5( 44 lbs from pre op weight of 242 lbs). I feel my body changing daily. Scale isn't moving as fast as I would like but I am losing inches everywhere. New years I noticed my face looked different , even since surgery it has gotten a little more defined and smaller. I was like yayyyy, NSV. I have another great NSV. I bought an outfit from The Gap n baby I haven't been able to wear anything from there in like 16 years. I bought a large sweatshirt and size 14 pants ( I used to be a death grip 16 ????????) and the 14 had room and were baggy in waist as well as sweatshirt was very roomy... omg that was a victory for me.

Great NSVs! I love that my feet don't hurt as soon as I'm out of bed in the mornings. Digging being comfortable crossing my legs again (and not needing the assistance of my arm lifting my leg to cross them). And as you said....loving that food doesn't have the same irrational pull it had on me before surgery. Happy too that the way I look on the outside is starting to match how strong and happy I feel on the inside. Sent from my SM-G928V using the BariatricPal App

Whoah.. I just felt a vein in my arm under the skin. Weird.. Amazing what just 38 lbs can do to you... I took the shower chair out of the shower as I can stand now without my back being in excruciating pain. I was able to do dishes without having to stop because of the pain in my back. I don't have to turn sideways to get thru the bathroom door anymore. I was able to move the head of the car seat forward one notch. I have been taking the stairs without running out of breath. I have actually been getting up and walking around the office. I went shopping for 2 hours with very little back or foot pain. I don't have near as much trash these days. My wedding ring is already too big for me. I am more often cold than hot! I don't sweat much anymore! I use to laugh at the teeny portions of TV dinners like Weight Watchers and Atkins... now it takes me two meals to eat it all. Career choices that I had been thinking I could never do because of my back pain... are now a possibility. I have saved lots of money from not eating out as much. My hubby has lost 10 lbs already! And most of all... after being controlled by my addiction to food for 35 years... it no longer has that control over me. My life no longer feels dictated by food... I dictate to my food. What are yours? 11/11/16: HW 380 11/28/16: Duodenal Switch Surgery 11/28/16: SW 374 lbs 12/24/16: CW 342 lbs

You know how people who were one thing, and then reformed themselves all of a sudden become fanatical about that thing they used to be? Ex smokers are one of the best examples, policing the ranks of those who continue to smoke, evangelizing them to save them from that particular sin. They are especially known for their zeal. I sort of felt that way today. After my post op check up (which went very well), I drove up to visit my parents and help my Dad with a few chores around the house. While we were working, my Mom declared that we needed to go to the store to get some things she had been wanting for a while. Now "we" translates and "Dad and I". As for the store, she did not care, as long as it had everything she wanted on her list. It was that discussion that led to the circumstances where I found myself a short while later. We wound up in the mecca for fat people. There were more fat people there than at the Golden Corral on 10% off day. Yes. I am talking about Walmart. I hate going to Walmart. I don't like having to walk for what seems like miles just to discover they really don't have what I want. What's even worse sometimes IS finding what I want. Then I have to stand in line to check out - a line that stretches into the hazy distance like people lined up waiting for Judgment Day. And today was even worse. We were at a Walmart in a popular vacation spot for people from a very large city whose initials are N.Y.C. So it was fat people with an attitude. I also made the mistake of texting Mrs. LittleBill to tell her I was at Walmart, thinking she would at least sympathize. I received an LOL and a list of stuff to look for. So now I had two missions. We had to park so far away from the building that all we could see was the top, peeking over the horizon. I am pretty sure we were in a different zip code. The parking lot was solid with vehicles. In the distance I could see people dodging back and forth between the city drivers zooming around looking for the best spot. I said to Dad, "Maybe today isn't such a good day to try and go in there." He turned to me and said, "It's not worth my life to come home empty handed! We're going in!" We eventually made it to the door. I grabbed a cart, and waded into the mêlée, calling out to Dad that we could split up and cover more territory more quickly. It was like a cross between bumper cars and the demolition derby. People were smacking into one another left and right, coming out of the ends of the aisles like they had been fired out of a cannon. Baleful glares and insincere apologies were exchanged with abandon. And in all of this, there was a huge number of human juggernauts, cruising through slowly, yet unstoppable. They drew my attention with fascination. Like the ex smoker described above, I looked from person to person, thinking: "You need bariatric surgery. You need bariatric surgery. You REALLY need bariatric surgery! I can't believe I used to look like that! Did I really look like that!?! This place is a GOLD MINE for my surgeon!" It was actually kind of weird. On one hand, I felt something of a kinship with these people while on the other hand I was repulsed. I think a lot of the latter had to do with attitude though. I really get impatient with rude people. In one sense it was something of an NSV for me. I am still fat, but I am not the land yacht I used to be, and to a degree, I felt a whole lot slimmer as I negotiated the killing fields of the retail environment. It was also something of a wake up call, to learn that I do not perceive myself in the same way that I used to. I am going to have to work on that one for a while. It kind of snuck up on me and grabbed me by the throat. But at least I made it out of there alive.

I am in fear that I have PTSD from being fat. (I'm still fat, just not as fat as I was). I started this process on July 6. Had surgery 10/31. from July 6 to now, I have lost 77 pounds. I cannot see much of a difference when I look in the mirror. I can tell in clothes and sometimes pictures, and my double chin has reduced significantly from what I can tell, but when I look at myself from the side I feel like I am still over 400 lbs!! Also, even though I never go over 3 ounces and measure out my food and meal prep I feel like I am eating way too much. The feeling I have after I eat is that same guilty feeling I used to get when I would binge.I also catch myself still in the mindset of where I used to be. Say, driving home from work and having that urge to go to fast food. It's like second nature. I realize I have a food addiction. Has anyone else ever felt this way? I cannot get past the feeling that I am making no progrees, or too slow progress, even though I have had a few NSVs and the evidence shows I am progressing.

Banded 10/12/16

I haven't seen my ex fiance in about 10 years. She used to always wear a size 7 to 8 pants and a medium top. She was actually pretty darn attractive. I ran into her sister at Walmart. I stopped and said hi to her sister and asked how she was doing. It turns out she was standing right next to her sister and was probably close to 300 pounds. Needless to say my ex yelled at me and called me lots of colorful names. She then stormed off into Walmart and her sister turned to me and said you look damn good. Boy am I glad I got rid of her! I could care less about her physical appearance but her lovely attitude certainly isn't missed!

We all have those NSV moments. Sometimes they are mixed. I don't really WANT my hands to get smaller, although if I could let the air out of them a little bit once in a while so they would fit places better, that might work. On the plus side (or should that be the minus side?), I have lost enough weight that it is much easier to drape myself over the side of my truck so I can better see where I can't fit my hands to work on things that need worked on. Today was "change the headlight day". I've been changing headlights since the days of "sealed beams", where you had to re-aim the light every time you changed it. I was thrilled when plug in halogen bulbs came into being. But now, They (with a capital T) have decided to cram even more stuff in and around them to make it virtually impossible to do with any sort of efficiency. I do not care for the engineers who design machinery which has to be worked on by normal human beings. I think they are still angry for the way they were treated in school by their fellows, and this is one way of getting revenge. To get to the offending bulb, I had to remove this thing called the air box. For reasons unbeknownst to me, the wise men who designed this thing decided it would be a good idea to use two different types of fasteners to hold the bottom of the air box onto the frame in the truck. One type is molded into the box itself, while the other (of which there is only one) is a soft rubber protrusion, which is designed to compress and not pop back into place when one attempts to reinstall the air box. That was eventually solved by the judicious (and forceful) application of some pliers, gripping that pliable part and pulling it out about two inches before it snapped back. I managed to get the box off the truck and expose the base of the lamp. These same worthies designed a bayonet mount. That's a good idea. They designed it though, to twist TOWARDS the wall of the truck instead of the other way! Who thought that was a good idea!?! I could hear snickering coming over a cubicle wall from somewhere in Detroit. And of course, there was some metal frame welded around the whole thing designed to make anyone with an XXXL sized hand cringe with frustration while trying to insert it into the available space and actually TURN the bulb in its mount. I finally got the bulb in, and decided it would be a good idea to make sure it was working properly before I buttoned everything back up. I did not want to go through all that only to discover I had to take it all apart again because something didn't seat properly. It was then that I discovered that the air box is important for the engine running, not for the air in the cabin. At first I thought I had done something hideously wrong. It made horrendous gasping noises, like a fat person who had just run up several flights of stairs. I could see the dollars flying out of my wallet to make it right again. But I just clenched my teeth, and resolved not to panic until I got it all back together for another test. I got it all together except for the last bolt. That was the one I dropped earlier, and which Mrs. LittleBill retrieved for me. She is a big help for me when I do this stuff, because her hands will fit into places I could never get mine. And this was one of those cases. Of course, there is a huge downside to this. It never fails. Mrs. LittleBill will step in to help me complete a task that is a physical impossibility for me. This is usually reaching in someplace just like this. Of course, this is ALSO when one of the neighbors will drive by, and see her leaning into the engine compartment with me standing there handing her tools, or worse, just watching. How embarrassing is that!?! Finally, I tested the whole thing out one more time to make sure the lights worked, AND the engine was back to purring the way it is supposed to. It was then I noticed the notice on the dash computer. If you can't make it out in the picture, it is warning me that the hood is open. I am glad for that, because you know, I might never have noticed. I was just about ready to drive away.

Yay, My NSV's - one month surgeryversary 1. My plantar fasciitis (heels pain) is gone, so instead of bulky orthopaedics boots I bought pretty sandals (it is summer in Australia) 2. My week ago bought top is loose and I need a new one 3. I've been in a shop for NORMAL-NOT-FAT-PEOPLE and things fit! (the best thing ever)

9 months post op, and I have been the same weight for the past 2 months. Today I finally lost 2.2 Ib (1 kg) ..... I am so close to goal ..... and it is so, so very slow for me now. I am eating still same size portions, 1/2 cup, but I really concentrate on Proteins and more Water. I even eat very little fruit, especially rock melon that I love. I thought this happened to me because I was lower BMI to start with ...... However, my March buddies also noticed that the weight loss has really slowed down, for most of us. At least, I lost the 2.2 Ib, took me 2 months ... but it is still happening at a snail's pace. I have better NSVs, so I am still shrinking, even though the scales are not budging much ..... Good luck with those last few pounds! You have done so well! Congratulations! Great topic, thank you @@JupiterinVirgo

It's a NSV that is really freeing. I hated going to plus sized shops that only seemed to carry hideous clothes. The main reason I am so happy donating my too big clothes now is because they are so ugly! I still don't know why fashion retailers haven't figured out that plus sized women want to look good, too. Not be relegated to wearing the ugly stuff that is on the racks.