Today I had an unexpected and surprisingly satisfying NSV. I noticed that my belly button shrank. It's about 50% shallower than it used to be! Who knew I would be so pleased about less depth to my belly button? ?

Not weird, but an NSV for sure. I have always loved kayaking. However, pre op I could hardly squeeze my fat *as in to one anymore. Now I can, comfortably and paddle all day long ❤️ This was today on the Charles River in Boston.

I JUST DID MY FIRST PULL-UP OF MY ENTIRE LIFE!!!

Wow that brought back bad memories of the presidential physical fitness tests in gym glass. Do they still make kids do that?

Yes they do. My 10 year old son had to do it.
I'm scarred for life from that stupid test!
Congratulations on your pull - up! That's an impressive feat!

Thanks for the NSV shares folks - I love stopping in on this thread for a little inspiration. below are some more recent NSV I've had:

1. yesterday I was on my feet in the kitchen for 3 hours cleaning and doing food prep. I still had enough energy to go for a walk afterward. Previously, I would have been exhausted and in too much pain after that much time on my feet to even contemplate more activity.
2. I've seen some of you mention this...revved up libido and increased "romantic joy". It's really really really REALLY true. Everything about sex is just way more fun. DH and I celebrated our 25th anniversary this week like it was our honeymoon! [emoji23]
3. I reactivated an old back injury recently and was able to do the rehab exercises much easier than when I was 60 pounds heavier and I started feeling better in less than half the time than I would have prior to WLS.
4. I'm fitting in size 16 bottoms and large tops and was able to buy clothing for myself at Costco for the first time ever. I got a couple of cute shirts for 6 bucks, an unheard of price for the plus-size clothes that Costco doesn't even carry.
5. My husband can pick me up and has decided that his new workout is called "wife lifting". I'm perfectly fine with this, you know...gotta support his fitness goals! [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]

These are all such wonderful NSV's!
I also got to buy clothes for the first time ever at Costco this summer! I got shorts in a XL! I still can't believe it!

13 hours ago, kristieshannon said:

Not weird, but an NSV for sure. I have always loved kayaking. However, pre op I could hardly squeeze my fat *as in to one anymore. Now I can, comfortably and paddle all day long ❤️ This was today on the Charles River in Boston.

Well, aren’t you beautiful ?

Just to be a downer on this yucky, cold, rainy day, I’ve got a weird non-scale FAIL:

We thought we would go and do some do-gooding yesterday and donate some blood, but was informed that I do not meet the minimum weight requirement for my height to donate…and was unceremoniously turned away ☹️

I didn’t know that was even a thing.

14 hours ago, ms.sss said:

We thought we would go and do some do-gooding yesterday and donate some blood, but was informed that I do not meet the minimum weight requirement for my height to donate…and was unceremoniously turned away ☹️

Wow? Too thin to give blood? I didn’t know that was a thing either. My uncle is sometimes told no if his BP is too low - guess they don’t want him collapsing on them!

Well there you go there’s a 50kg minimum in Aust. Must be the same in Canada.

To donate blood, the minimum weight is 50 kg.

We need you to be above a minimum weight because the amount of blood your body contains is related to your weight and height. If our standard donation represents too high a volume, it's not safe for you to donate.

Makes sense.

OK, here's a funny one. I need to start off by saying that my husband is supportive, thinks I'm beautiful at 240 pounds when we first met 18 years ago, all the way up to when I weighed almost 400. I've lost 165 so far and naturally have a ton of loose skin. You can also feel a lot of my bones now underneath it all. Anyway, my husband and I were lying in bed and talking about my progress and I was talking about the loose skin, and he said yeah, I have a sack-o-Tricia now! Now I know this may sound like an insult, but he was just saying it was crazy how much I've lost, and I died laughing at "Sack-o-Tricia".
And what I love about it is that he knows that Tricia is the person I am, not the shell I am inside. And I love him for that. He's always loved me for me. So it's sort of a NSV, but also I'm super lucky to have such a supportive husband.
I'm pretty darned proud to be a Sack-o-Tricia now! [emoji1787]

OK, this is not weird, but it's the BEST NSV I could ever have and the BIGGEST reason I did my surgery. I got my labs back today and my liver enzymes are NORMAL. And not just high normal, either, but solidly in the mid-range. They were very high before! I have been in happy tears all day because of it! My liver disease was the thing that finally made me decided I needed surgery and it was SO worth it!

What an awesome thread. Mine is easy. I’m in a wheelchair and before my lap was occupied by my stomach. Now I have lots of free space and more every day. I can put a shopping basket on my lap without holding onto it and my little doggo can ride on my lap instead of carrying him.

It’s an amazing feeling to see these non scale victories. To an outside viewer they might not seem huge but to us who both have them and get to read each others is a sense of pride and accomplishment that we get to feel for ourselves and each other. We’re all in this together like a family

Edited July 21, 20215 yr by Chip L

I am packing to go to a business meeting and for the first time in a loooooooong time I'm excited and not panicking about what I am going to wear! It's an amazing feeling!

On 7/20/2021 at 2:10 PM, STLoser said:

OK, this is not weird, but it's the BEST NSV I could ever have and the BIGGEST reason I did my surgery. I got my labs back today and my liver enzymes are NORMAL. And not just high normal, either, but solidly in the mid-range. They were very high before! I have been in happy tears all day because of it! My liver disease was the thing that finally made me decided I needed surgery and it was SO worth it!

This is so beautifully amazing - I have happy tears for you!

On 7/21/2021 at 4:29 AM, kellym1220 said:

I am packing to go to a business meeting and for the first time in a loooooooong time I'm excited and not panicking about what I am going to wear! It's an amazing feeling!

so awesome!

I remember the dread of packing for business trips, along with the dread of having to ask for a seatbelt extender when I got on the plane. One year I flew so many times I broke down and stole a seatbelt extender so I wouldn't have to ask for it anymore and get "that look". Not a proud moment, but yup I did it. ?

On 7/20/2021 at 7:46 PM, Chip L said:

What an awesome thread. Mine is easy. I’m in a wheelchair and before my lap was occupied by my stomach. Now I have lots of free space and more every day. I can put a shopping basket on my lap without holding onto it and my little doggo can ride on my lap instead of carrying him.

It’s an amazing feeling to see these non scale victories. To an outside viewer they might not seem huge but to us who both have them and get to read each others is a sense of pride and accomplishment that we get to feel for ourselves and each other. We’re all in this together like a family

These "small" victories are such big deals. Congrats on this NSV - it's a good one!

On 7/18/2021 at 10:13 PM, STLoser said:

OK, here's a funny one. I need to start off by saying that my husband is supportive, thinks I'm beautiful at 240 pounds when we first met 18 years ago, all the way up to when I weighed almost 400. I've lost 165 so far and naturally have a ton of loose skin. You can also feel a lot of my bones now underneath it all. Anyway, my husband and I were lying in bed and talking about my progress and I was talking about the loose skin, and he said yeah, I have a sack-o-Tricia now! Now I know this may sound like an insult, but he was just saying it was crazy how much I've lost, and I died laughing at "Sack-o-Tricia".
And what I love about it is that he knows that Tricia is the person I am, not the shell I am inside. And I love him for that. He's always loved me for me. So it's sort of a NSV, but also I'm super lucky to have such a supportive husband.
I'm pretty darned proud to be a Sack-o-Tricia now!

This made me laugh so hard and I totally get it. I've given my DH permission to "flab" me aka: feel the loose skin. I am totally not offended by referring to my getting-looser-by-the-day skin this way and understand wanting to touch it because I want to touch it too - -it feels so weird/cool/different!

2 hours ago, chiquitatummy said:

so awesome!

I remember the dread of packing for business trips, along with the dread of having to ask for a seatbelt extender when I got on the plane. One year I flew so many times I broke down and stole a seatbelt extender so I wouldn't have to ask for it anymore and get "that look". Not a proud moment, but yup I did it. ?

I bought a seatbelt extender from Amazon so I wouldn't have to ask for one. I haven't been on an airplane since my surgery, but when I do, I'm looking forward to not having to bring my extender!