I had never thought of this as an NSV until I posted this on my wall. One of my friends (Love ya Meat!) said that this was a huge NSV, so I thought I would share.

This past weekend - we went on a weekend trip to a lake to go boating with two other couples. I should mention that both of the other females are STICK thin, even after having kids. I was more than a little nervous to get into a bathing suit in front of them. On a last minute whim, I bought a two piece swimsuit. I am still a long way off from my goal weight, but in a strange way, I felt more comfortable in the two piece than in my grandma's hide everything ya got suit. Our first full day out on the water, we stopped at one of the docks on the lake. They had an icecream stand, which I wanted, but passed up. Then I overheard two women talking about me... "Would YOU wear that out in public?!?" "Oh HELL NO." I watched them stare at me, then pretend to look away when they realized I was watching them.

For the first time in my life, I spoke up. I turned around and said "Do you feel better about yourself, for tearing me down? Yes, I am still a little overweight. But in the last year I have lost 70 pounds - and I have EARNED the right to wear what I want. Thank you for making me feel bad about myself, after all the hard work I have put in." Then I went and got my ice cream.

Two things happened in that moment. First... Did I need the icecream, no. But ONE scoop in a year isn't going to kill me. So I treated my fat ass to a single scoop while wearing the first bikini I have put on in YEARS. Two... I used to let things like this destroy me. I would decide that if one person looked at me that way, then everyone was looking at me that way. Not anymore. These chicks don't know me, or know where I have been or what I have accomplished.

NOW they motivate me to work that much harder. And next year, those *****es will be wondering what I do to make my body look THAT good. And I never forget a face. Maybe I will be a bigger person than you were and keep my mouth shut. OR, maybe I will call YOU fat and try to ruin YOUR weekend. Karma is a *****, and so are you. :)

I have been asked to do this for a long time now... and for me, it seems like now is the time. Here is a picture of me that was taken the same day in the swimsuit that I was made fun of for wearing. Again, I still have a long way to go, but I am not *too* ashamed of this picture. I am sitting down, relaxed, and didn't know anyone was taking a picture of me. This is me - just the way I am. Please... Be nice.

OMG I AM SO PROUD OF YOU!!!!!!!!

I BOUGHT A TWO PIECE.....HAVEN'T HAD GUTS TO WEAR IT...NOT EVEN IN MY OWN YARD!!!

GET IT GIRL!!!

You look lovely! I wish I could look like you!

I wish I had the confidence to wear a 2 piece in public. You have beautiful skin though. Lookin good lady!

I think that is AWESOME what you said to those biatches ...people like that suck and your comeback was bang on!
I also LOVE your bikini and think you are beautiful .
I am so inspired by your attitude I am requesting you as a friend
Good for you for working hard and having the self confidence all of us women should be lucky enough to have!the older I get the more confident I am,regardless of my weight,age is a great thing in that way

I am SO PROUD OF YOU!!!! You look great! And kudos to you for not being ashamed to wear it around your skinny friends! I'm still not comfortable enough to wear it around people that I know, other than my immediate family, but I'll get there!

A co-worker of mine has recently judged me because I said I bought a bikini, and didn't mind wearing it. Like you, I feel that I have some work to do yet, but I know where I came from and I feel like I deserve to be proud of what I've got. She disagreed and said she thinks you need to be super thin and have washboard abs to wear a bikini. And what about your stretch marks?????? My response - I EARNED every one of those stripes! I'm not ashamed of them at all! I asked her if she saw me in public and didn't know me, would she think that I should not be wearing a bikini, and she honestly answered with a yes. All I can say - she has 2 daughters, and I hope that if they end up being big girls that are not ashamed of their bodies that she would not discourage them from being comfortable the way that they are.

you look fantastic. thanks for posting.

I think you look awesome. People are so rude, they don't stop and think that what they say might come back to bite them in the ass. You worked hard to get where you are, be proud, and wear that suit with pride. You earned it!

Girl... good for you. Did they even say anything back? People are disgusting with the way they try to deflect their insecurities onto other people. You look fantastic, congrats on your weight loss!

Hahahaha! Thank you for posting this and thank you for standing up for yourself & everyone else who has had to hear comments like that.

And congrats on your weights loss to date. You look great in your suit!

Congrats to you on both counts! Getting into your bikini and letting those two "Rudies" in on your VICTORY! Too bad for them that you can lose weight, but their judgemental way of thinking is unlikely to change! You ROCK!

You look FANTASTIC!

This is inspirational. If more people were in this state of mind, we'd have a lot less heartache and bully problems. You took all of their power away!

I am going to work on this frame of mind for myself. Thanks for sharing this with us!

What a sad society we live in....superficial b's! WTG girl!

Great way to respond to people lo like that, can you give details of the return trip next year to watch you rip them apart

Awesome NSV

Andy

You're my hero!!! If there were more people like you then we would banish all of the self esteem issues us grown women have and are forwarding on to our young girls. What the heck is wrong with this world? I was so excited when Kelly Clarkson won A.I., thought it was wonderful because she wasn't a toothpick....baby had a little back (although looked great in a bikini). I thought we as a society could use her as a positive example but do we, no of course not. Instead the media attacked her as she got older and gained. Guys! It's up to us to change things! I have two young daughters and when my oldest was learning to read, she would not say the word "fat" when learning the _at word family. How sad is that???

All I can say to you is thank you thank you thank you! You're only one person but you're trying to change the world! My opinion isn't much, but I think you're great and I'm soooo proud of you! I'm very glad my friend commented above me so I could read this. What an inspiration you are :-)

BTW, I gained 90 lbs pregnant and just finally lost the last 40. My youngest is 5! I know I'm almost 40 and I'm never going to be the same. I have stretch marks and loose skin but I wanna be comfortable in that skin! You're story has helped me get closer!

This is the first time I actually felt tears from a nsv post. You look great!! Hugs

Looks like you're out with friends having a great time! Glad you let those people have it. Karma will always come back around.

I think you look great in that photo!! And happy and relaxed. Like others have said, your skin is amazing xx

I think you look great! A 70 lb loss is awesome. I have a bikini, but I have worn it only once with a long tee over it at my mom's pool. But one day, man, one day. :)

GOOD FOR YOU!!

You look awesome honey and I know how you feel. I wore a two piece but it was a tankini and I felt great. Again you look awesome

YOU GO GIRL ~ I'm so happy for you! Good for you for standing up for yourself. Congrats!

Umm..make sure you cover all those newly exposed areas with plenty of sun screen! Great job!

You have the right attitude.

And you look damn good in that two piece.

Way to go for standing up for yourself! They don't know you and shouldn't have started that. You earned that two piece and you rocked it regardless of what they said!