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? ?

Even almost 5 years out, there are still things that surprise me. Walking around cars in a car park & realised my short cut progress was halted by a post & a dirty car. I thought no way will I squeeze through that tiny gap of maybe 10 inches & thought I’d have to walk back around. Took a breath & decided to edge sideways a little to test it. Slipped through that gap like butter. Didn’t touch the post or the dirty car. I was wearing white too & not a mark. Couldn’t believe it.

Being able to fit in the rollercoaster seats…they have that bar that clicks down….yea…not having to worry about the person sitting next to me flying out because it has to stick out so far to accommodate me ?

Victory? I don't know if this technically qualifies as a victory but, my butt and tailbone hurts from lack of fat padding to sit on!

Ahhh and horror of horrors I had an xray..and could see the outline shadow of all my loose skin.. Not a pretty victory..but one the less. Add to those two..sitting lower in the car...I feel like a kid driving my parents car! ?

I just spent the past six days on business half way across the country. Flying didn't require a seat belt extension - and on the return flight, I was in a middle seat without issue.

The best though, was a couple of days ago when I got into an Uber and asked the driver if he could move the front seat forward. He apologized and said, "I'm sorry. I had a heavy person and he had to put the seat all the way back." He could never have known that 6 months and 85lbs ago it's very likely that I would have been that guy in the front seat.

Here's a good one; for the life of me, I can't recall the last time I was able to wear a pair of jeans which have a waist size that started with a '3'. I won't forget that today was the next time.

First image; size 50 jeans I was wearing a year ago (surgery was mid-Sept. These were my regular every day jeans). The second is the size 38 I bought today, -95 lbs 7 months post-op.

Still a long way to go, but this was a pretty big deal.

Edited April 27, 20242 yr by ShooterInTheSix
Fixed typo

The little things are sometimes the best NSV. Just going into regular shops will never get old to me. Congratulations on your weight loss and the NSV.

On 3/19/2024 at 2:22 AM, ShooterInTheSix said:

I just spent the past six days on business half way across the country. Flying didn't require a seat belt extension - and on the return flight, I was in a middle seat without issue.

The best though, was a couple of days ago when I got into an Uber and asked the driver if he could move the front seat forward. He apologized and said, "I'm sorry. I had a heavy person and he had to put the seat all the way back." He could never have known that 6 months and 85lbs ago it's very likely that I would have been that guy in the front seat.

Oh it's fab to se your loss OP! Joyous actually. Enjoy those size 38 jeans and look forward to the 36s and the 34s. Welcome to the rest of your life.

I attended a concert last week that was basically standing room only. In the past, I would have been DYING standing for 4 hours, but now apparently I can do it! My feet were a little grumpy with me, and I was a little sore the next day (over 40 here, lol!) but this is leaps and bounds better than it was in the past. Looking forward to seeing how I handle a 3-day music festival coming up this summer!

Being kind to myself. All the physical things like fitting in seats, standing, clothes... All FANTASTIC! It is such a wonderful feeling to be able to do all the things that were challenging before. But being kind to myself. Remembering all my body has been through when I was at my heaviest, how I got there, my decision to change my like, and the journey to where I am now. What a story!

I look in the mirror now and see a woman who got her life back and I owe it to her be kind. Does she like the saggy skin and no boobs? No, but they tell a story of overcoming and personal redemption. I'm kind to her on bad days when all she wants is chips and brownies. I'm kind to her when she gains a couple pounds. And I celebrate with her when she loses those couple pounds and gets back on track. My weirdest non scale victory is to love the woman staring back at me despite everything else.

7 hours ago, LindsayT said:

Being kind to myself. All the physical things like fitting in seats, standing, clothes... All FANTASTIC! It is such a wonderful feeling to be able to do all the things that were challenging before. But being kind to myself. Remembering all my body has been through when I was at my heaviest, how I got there, my decision to change my like, and the journey to where I am now. What a story!

I look in the mirror now and see a woman who got her life back and I owe it to her be kind. Does she like the saggy skin and no boobs? No, but they tell a story of overcoming and personal redemption. I'm kind to her on bad days when all she wants is chips and brownies. I'm kind to her when she gains a couple pounds. And I Celebrate with her when she loses those couple pounds and gets back on track. My weirdest non scale victory is to love the woman staring back at me despite everything else.

It doesn't get any better than this. Being in love with yourself is the best feeling ever. I think we all can relate and understand what you mean.

On 4/28/2024 at 4:12 PM, Spinoza said:

Oh it's fab to se your loss OP! Joyous actually. Enjoy those size 38 jeans and look forward to the 36s and the 34s. Welcome to the rest of your life.

When I first read this at the end of April, I laughed thinking there's NO WAY I'll ever fit into a 36" waist, never mind a 34". I recently bought a pair of shorts at a thrift store (I don't want to spend a fortune on new clothes while I'm still losing and it's tough to beat $6 for a pair of shorts that only need to get me through this summer) that are indeed a 36" waist.

Stepping on the scale for a second, I broke the century mark a couple of days ago; I'm down 102 lbs since my September RNY, so maybe you're right, though while my head says not a chance, my clothes are telling me otherwise.

this is not the first time, but it happened again...and i think it's happened often enough now for me to consider it a "normal" thing: I. Lost. Weight. On. Vacation.

it still fascinates me when this happens because the norm prior to wls was to GAIN weight during vacay. Every. Single Time. (even when i was not overweight)

Went on vacay 20 days ago, and came back this afternoon. I did not count calories, track food, weigh myself, nor perform a lick of exercise (besides walking) all that time. And lo and behold, i lost 3.1 lbs. which is very unexpected, because me and Mr. basically ate and drank ourselves across a good part of europe, and i fully expected the scale to show a good sized weight gain when i got home (he says HE gained almost 4 lbs). honestly i felt like i ate (and drank) more in the past 3-ish weeks than i ever have since WLS 5+ years ago...but maybe i am mistaken? maybe i should have tracked my food intake after all...

anyway, yay! i may just have to fully accept that i got this maintenance thing down pat. i didn't think about calories or portion sizes or whatever...just ate (and drank) what i felt like, in amounts i knew i could handle.

yay!

2 hours ago, ms.sss said:

this is not the first time, but it happened again...and i think it's happened often enough now for me to consider it a "normal" thing: I. Lost. Weight. On. Vacation.

it still fascinates me when this happens because the norm prior to wls was to GAIN weight during vacay. Every. Single Time. (even when i was not overweight)

Went on vacay 20 days ago, and came back this afternoon. I did not count calories, track food, weigh myself, nor perform a lick of exercise (besides walking) all that time. And lo and behold, i lost 3.1 lbs. which is very unexpected, because me and Mr. basically ate and drank ourselves across a good part of europe, and i fully expected the scale to show a good sized weight gain when i got home (he says HE gained almost 4 lbs). honestly i felt like i ate (and drank) more in the past 3-ish weeks than i ever have since WLS 5+ years ago...but maybe i am mistaken? maybe i should have tracked my food intake after all...

anyway, yay! i may just have to fully accept that i got this maintenance thing down pat. i didn't think about calories or portion sizes or whatever...just ate (and drank) what i felt like, in amounts i knew i could handle.

yay!

It doesn't get any better than this. You are not alone. I was about to write a post about the exact same thing. I was on a 2-week holiday in Thailand and the same thing happened to me. I was 70 kg on the day we started our trip and now I'm 66.5 kg three weeks after. I lost like 3.5 kg or so which is amazing. Not sure if that is a water loss or what but I'm happy haha. I can't say the same about my wife though. She is blaming me for gaining 3 kg on the same trip.

We ate like "tourists" and tried the many wonderful Thai dishes and made sure to keep hydrated. We did a lot of walking, a bit of swimming and ate a lot of fruits so that might have helped burn the calories from all the coconut milk rich dishes we tried there. I was burning more calories during the trip and more active according to my Apple Watch.

The same thing happened to me on a similar previous trip so I can totally relate.

Edited July 17, 20242 yr by omrhsn

On 6/4/2024 at 12:17 PM, ShooterInTheSix said:

while my head says not a chance, my clothes are telling me otherwise.

Had this happen to me quite often. A year ago I picked up a brand new pair of Jennifer Lopez jeans size 16 at a rummage sale, thinking I'll put away for a future time. Got home and curiously tried them on and they fit!! Buttoned.. zipped up and comfortable to wear.

Fast forward to now, I bought a new pair of Old Navy shorts size 8 in Goodwill, In my mind I doubted they would fit but did. Amazing feeling and it's been many many years since I wore a size 8.

Oh and today I put on a XX boho style shirt and wore it as a dress. ?

On 7/16/2024 at 6:46 PM, ms.sss said:

I. Lost. Weight. On. Vacation.

it still fascinates me when this happens because the norm prior to wls was to GAIN weight during vacay.

I remember thinking this same thing but it was usually weight loss after any food centered holiday. That's never happened to me ..eva.

Glamping at the lake every weekend doesn't seem to have much effect on my weight loss either. I'm very thankful.

11 months post-op and 122 lbs lost; Sept 2023 on the left and today on the right.

Same shirt, same pants. My mind is constantly blown when I take these monthly progress comparison pix.