Lets be brutally honest here about weight...
When we don't see a loss on the scale we freak out. We've all done it...so don't even pretend. It happens...we get into our heads. The added insult to injury is when we know we've been eating better and/or we've been working out a lot more than we ever have. Yet that number doesn't budge.
That stagnant number has sent me into a tailspin more times than not. I've cried, raged and just flat given up when my weight just won't budge. But a lot of times we are so blinded by the lack of weight loss that we don't notice that our jeans are fitting better...that a climb up the stairs feels like less of a hike...you can work out longer and harder...
Yet that number finds a way to hold us back. Sometimes there's just one number... I like to call it "the hurdle number", because it's just that one number you need to get past. Mine is 180 lbs. I can work my butt off and get to 180 lbs and then I can go for weeks not seeing a budge in my weight. It's my hurdle.
So what do we do when we're stuck? Look elsewhere. Sometimes we need to look at the simple things to see a change. Something that has nothing to do with the scale. I call those things Non Scale Victories (NSV). Now I can't take credit for that name or idea, as my husband told me about it. He saw it on a weight loss forum, but you better believe that I am going to be using it!
Pretty much NSVs are all of the good things that happen beyond actual weight loss. Things like fitting into an old pair of jeans, noticing you look thinner, being able to run faster/longer, not craving a food that was a staple...and so on.
As I was putting together my NSVs goals I tried to incorporate both looks, feeling and strength. But that's just what I wanted and everyone's NSVs will look different.
Here are my NSVs:
Non Scale Victories:
~ Fit into a pair of Gap jeans (they say that they are a 12...they are lying)
~ Be able to wear high heels for more than a half hour (this sucks for a shoe lover)
~ Be able to do 3 "girlie" pushups in a row (I can't even do one)
~ Look in the mirror and actually see change
~ Be able to run a full mile without walking
~ Be able to do one pull up
I will definitely be adding to my NSVs as I think of more, but this is a good start for me. And to go along with my NSVs I'm adding incentives to them. Just small things, like buy a shirt to go with the jeans I just fit into. Or get a pedicure to were with the open toed shoes you can wear for more than an hour. By no means do incentives have to be added, but for me it's an added little push.
Have you ever done something like NSVs before? If you have, did they help? If you haven't do you think you will give them a try? What would some of your NSVs look like?
