NSV - Non Scale Victory
 

Sometimes I can let those darn numbers on the scale ruin my day because they either didn't go in the right direction or if they did go down, the number wasn't low enough. Does anyone else get affected by the scale like this?

I would like to start a thread of Non Scale Victories :agree: ??

For example: today, I was able to dig into my box of smaller sizes. (Come on, I know you all have closets full of various sizes) :lol: :D And, I was able to wear a shirt that was a size smaller than what I started with (XL versus XXL) AND, not that any of you men would understand this, but, I have been hooking by bras in the second and third set of hooks instead of the first ones. :)

Share your NSV!!

Oh yes!!

I try not to let the numbers bug me. I always read on here, the best way to tell is to try on clothes! The scale isn't always a deciding factor, though it does help.

Two months ago I bought some sized 16 jeans and now when I put them on, they are not skin tight anymore--they are a little baggy!! I need a belt to hold them up now because they are cut low on the hip, and my hips are smaller, but my belly apron is not so much.... but still, it is a non-scale victory for me!!

The scale can be maddeningly slow to change at times. I thought I had plateaued again for what seemed like 2 months, couldn't get down from 187, and then BAM! Dropped down to 182-3 now for days! :-D YAY!

So never give up--keep going and you will all have non-scale victories too!

Best part is the new clothes shopping, which is now something I look forward to! It's almost like a relief. AND it's great to finally NOT have to shop in the PLUS sized section now. I can actually shop in the 'normal' section of the ladies department!!!!!

I know EXACTLY what you mean, and it's really important to celebrate the Non Scale Victories!!! I read somewhere that as you progress, you'll sometimes see scale losses, other times the scales are maddeningly stuck yet you might be losing inches. Recently I saw that for myself. I had been stuck at one point for ages, but I somehow felt smaller, so I got out a bunch of old clothes that I haven't been able to wear for eons, and dang, most of them fit just fine for the first time in years and years, so that is a happy thing. I've also seen my weight go up over 2 lbs overnight so I now understand that I'm a person who bloats up very very easily from certain foods. You've just got to keep everything in perspective. As for bras when you lose weight....for me, I've been SOOOO happy to get smaller.

I have a small bedroom and there's not much space between the bed and the wall. When we first moved in three years ago I REALLY had to suck in to get in between when making the bed--I once got a very painful bruise because my gut got hung up on the headboard. I got a new bed about three months ago and the furniture guys set it up in the same place as the old bed. I was making the bed when I realized that I could now easily get in between the bed and the wall. Somehow it was as gratifying as fitting into smaller sizes. :D

1. I do 10-12 obstacle long distance mountain races every year with obstacles like scaling 10 foot walls. I often place a foot on a teammate's shoulder to get up and over, and they always say "c'mon don't be afraid- put all your weight on me." um, that IS all my weight?

2. Also when i am scared of very high walls, they just ignore my balking, and catapult me over, like i weight nothing.....

3. being told consistently, i don't know how hard it is to "diet" because i am "thin." Um, how do you suppose i stay that way?

great thread btw!!!

Robin, that is too funny how they throw you over the wall.

Mandalay yea, think of the self abuse, not intended, that you talked about from trying to squeezing between those tight spaces.

Carole, I think part of this woe, is figuring out what works for ourselves and not having to mimic what someone else is doing.

Molly, as I unpack my "smaller" clothes, it will be like shopping for new clothes since they have been packed away for a couple of years.

I forgot to mention that yesterday a co-worker comment on how much weight I had lost. Yahoo for the compliments. Someone else is noticing.

I have gotten a couple of more compliments since Sunday about the wt loss too.

That is huge for me. Back in '99 I was losing at an average of 10lbs/month and it took about forty pounds before anyone said anything. I knew lots of people were just taught not to make personal comments, but that was tough on my motivation. Hubby tried to make up for everyone else's lack but it sure felt good when more people spoke up.

Earlier this week I was able to shop at a "normal" people store. Specifically vanity (which I am wondering if that may mean vanity sizing but I do not care). I was able to find all the cute stuff in my size and even picked up 2 pairs of pants :)

green, isn't that a great feeling to shop in a "normal" store. Or even in the Misses section instead of Woman's.

A NSV for me is the impact my new WOE has had on my family's diet. Two of us are obese and the other 3 are just a little heavier than they want to be. I will admit that they have had to hear about everything I've learned as I found success with this WOE. I don't shut up about it. But I did not try and force my WOE on them. This summer, my heavy daughter joined me in eating totally LC and has lost nearly 30 pounds. The others have altered their diets, too. Although they have not been 100% committed, they have all lost some weight have been eating a much lower ratio of carbs in what they have chosen to eat. We have not had milk or bread in the house for months. Nobody eats proccessed cereal for breakfast. One of my daughters still eats out from time to time, but now she buys a kids meal and a side salad. I know one summer is not a lifetime, but I think everybody has learned something with what has happened the past few months. I think my daughters are better prepared for the rest of their lives. They saw the light about the benefits of this WOE and I think they understand why the standard american diet is making many people fat. How they eat in the future is up to them, but I think that they now know how they should eat. As a parent, I feel like it's a "mission accomplished".

OMG! YES!!! A "good" number makes me SO HAPPY and an "UP" number makes me miserable; I mean, I really, really, really have to fight not to be depressed the whole day. ESPECIALLY because I am eating COMPLETELY ON PLAN and the scale variations have no rhyme or reason.

I am just getting started (and it's a slow start for whatever reasons) but, one great NSV just from this morning is: I am feeling like the watch I was given for my birthday back in February (a beautiful art piece, one of a kind) is fitting my wrist a LOT better already. I think I lost some puffiness/bloating back at the beginning of July and it really has made a difference. I just feel less "inflated".

It's weird how much weight looks like though. I mean...I keep looking around the house and mentally trying to imagine those objects attached to me... free weights (easy one), Coctco-sized bag of baking soda (10 lbs)... I even weighed my DH's guitar in case.. 18 pounds (it's huge!).... I am obsessed with what things weigh and imagining LOSING those objects off of my frame. Of course, density plays a huge roll... but it's so funny... I sometimes can't picture it... :)

khruss, how cool that your family is making changes; progress not perfection.

Jama, I love the visuals you are talking about too. Having your watch fit better is a great NSV

I tried on some jeans today at Christopher Banks and grabbed a 20A but they were too big :) I would have tried on a 18A if they had a pair on the sale rack. Oh well, I didn't get any jeans, but the fact that they were a size smaller was OK.

^^^ Awesome.

I can comfortably fit into size 40's now...down from a size 66..YAY!

I still remember feeling slim and getting new pants, grabbing the size I'd always thought of as my "slim size" and finding out I needed a size down.

Yessss. I am only 24 so not being able to shop in the Misses section has always been heartbreaking for me. Not being able to shop with friends because they are just that much smaller than me. It is amazing to finally be able to shop and not worry that I will not be able to fit into anything at all. And I am only a small portion of the way through my weightloss...another 100 pounds or more before I am finished.

I am happy for you that you are doing this while you are young. I found lc when I was 39 and have been off and on so many times. Do this, enjoy your smaller body and all the health and happiness it will bring and live your life without the hassles of being overweight. You'll thank yourself when you're older and not having to fight backache and joint pains.

Funny you mention that actually. Back pain is what spurnned me back to LC. At my highest I was nearly unable to walk at time due to pain. I knew it was vaused by my weight and as soon as I dipped under 300 it went away and hopefully will never return ;) So there is another NSV, freedom from pain.

I WENT SHOPPING TODAY . . . in my spare closet You know, the boxes that have smaller clothes. :lol: I got rid of the 2X and 22W and am now in XL and 18 W. :clap: I feel like I have a whole new wardrobe.

Out with the old, in with the... OLDER? Me too. Right now, I'm becoming Mr. baggy-pants. I found few pairs of new pants that fit, but they need hemmed. I'm sure that are actually more than 5 years old. When I get closer to 300 lbs, anything I find that fits will be from the 1990's.

I can usually wear my wedding rings now, depending on fluid retention. Also, I don't require a prescription-equivalent dose of Advil if I lift anything the least bit heavy like I did. I posted this selfie the other day and got lots of positive feedback, especially from my sweet, usually skinny (now 9mos. preggo) niece.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd....357126423_n.jpg

I was writing a check for something today and had to show my ID - the lady did a double take and said, whoa! You've lost some weight, huh? And went on t ask how I'd done it. It was pretty nice.

Ken, I felt like I wore clown pants today with a set of scrubs. I haven't been able to get to the uniform shop to replace yet.

i keep trying to hit the "like" button on this thread!
Congrats to you all!!!

NSV: knowing you look better than 5, 10, however many years ago.....few people peak AFTER college :thup:
I was trim then, but i am super FIT now.

Exciting pants report from yesterday: I have a pair of white (yes, white) Lee jeans that are a misses size 16, that look really great on. I know most women who are the slightest bit overweight wouldn't be caught dead in white dress pants and white jeans are taboo even if you're past dead and shambling around looking for brains to eat. But these jeans actually fit really nicely.
I had hung them in the extra closet so I wouldn't keep trying them because they were just about two inches too tight. I was looking to see if there were items I could expand my wardrobe to include and decided to move them into my regular closet because surely they were getting close to fitting. I put them on and YIPPEEE... they FIT. I 'm so happy. I meant to get my sister to take a pic of me in them but I forgot. I'm washing them now so I can wear them again soon and you can be sure I'll remember then.

CallMeAnn, that is great!! I too happen to have my first white pair of denim also, but mine are shorts! Isn't it wonderful? I have never in my life worn white shorts or pants--NEVER! Now I'm 45, and wow, they look great! I swear, I think they make women look thinner. Or maybe I have just always associated white pants/shorts with women who were thin anyways? But what a great feeling it is. I look forward to buying a pair of white jeans now for myself. I'm so new to this white thing though--how in the world do you keep them clean? LOL! Down here in FL it is so hot and humid, everything feels so dirty......sweaty and dirty! We live on a dirt road in fact, and even though our house is tighter than a tick because it's new, I am still dusting all of the time, and I blame it on the road. A lack of rain makes that dust fly as these idiots drive 100mph like it's the Indy 500!

I guess to keep white shorts and jeans white, bleach is the answer? I'd be afraid to even sit on our wooden deck--everything is constantly dusty. I'd have a gray bottom then, haha!

Ann, you are too funny. Rambling around looking for brains to eat Ha Ha.

I need to go bra shopping, my girls are floating around in my old cups LOL. I hate shopping for bras though.

I guess Lee still still makes these jeans. I'll link you to the pics when I get them posted. I don't bleach them, but then, we don't have that much dust, as we live on a paved road. Houston is very humid, though. I think our areas deal with nearly equal heat and humidity. We're near the Gulf, too. I don't wear them like I do regular jeans. They are my fancy casual jeans. I'm 53 but I think I've had them a couple of years.

I have this bra from Soma: http://www.soma.com/store/browse/al...7272&imgCount=2
in a plain white fabric and it is my smallest one. I have been wearing it quite comfortably for almost a week. It's a real victory for me, but if I get the slightest bit of swelling, the wires poke me. I can wear it today, but suffered in it yesterday. My rings were tight too, but the scale was down. Mysterious.