In the last post, I talked about scale anxiety and why I weigh myself every day. Now, I’m going to tell you why the scale sucks and why you need to be mindful of your body. If you missed the last one and the reasons why your weight might not be reflected accurately on the scale, you should probably read that one first.
Knowing that the scale doesn’t always reveal the truth unfortunately does not make us immune to the emotions that are involved. I am continually learning that the emotions tied to my body and my weightloss journey are intense and usually unreliable. Through this, I have learned the importance of non-scale victories. It brightens my day and encourages me throughout this process.
A few weeks ago I was particularly down about my progress and, obviously, my husband was painfully aware of that fact. He went downstairs and put a bunch of weights in a backpack; it weighed less than the amount that I had lost. He put it on my back and encouraged me to walk around a little. It was crazy heavy!
About a month before that, my friend let me know that I’d lost the same amount of weight as her kids full body weight.
Near the beginning of my journey, another friend encouraged me to go to the baking aisle and pick up a ten-pound bag of sugar and imagine that weight back on me.
These are all easy things that maybe don’t seem revolutionary but for me, they were the reason I didn’t quit. Having an encouraging community around me has been a game-changer. If you don’t have that, please let me be that for you. That being said, sometimes I have to be that for myself so I have to be mindful of how I’m doing.
Here’s a few intentional non-scale victories that I like to set to measure my progress:
- Owning clothing that doesn’t fit and trying it on every now and again
- Crossing my legs and sitting on the ground (do my legs fall asleep or how long it’s comfortable for)
- How long I can exercise without stopping or lifting heavier than I’ve been able to in the past
- Telling myself how much I will eat and sticking to that, in other words, not binging
- Keep streak records or how many days in a row I can do something without stopping (reaching step counts, closing my Apple Watch rings, drinking 3L of water, tracking my calories and so on)
There are more but these have been important to me. A good note to add to any of these is to make these goals attainable. Sure, having a pair of pants six sizes smaller than you are is good in the long run but I’d argue that one or two sizes smaller is better because you already have a long term goal, reaching your goal weight, and you’re going to need something to keep you going in the meantime.
Aside from the intentional victories, I think it’s crucial to keep track of the non-scale victories that are surprising. Here’s some that I don’t want to forget.
- Finding a pair of jeans in the back of my closet that I bought years ago that didn’t fit and them fitting. FREE CLOTHES!!!
- Cutting down my weekly walk from 35 minutes to 22 minutes with the same distance
- An unbelievable amount of energy and a desire to do physical activities like hikes and walks
- My 2019 winter jacket being way too big in 2020
- Tightening my bra straps because they’re too big
- I update my TikTok almost everyday so going back and watching them and seeing the huge differences in my body, my habits and my mindset is so fun!
I’m at the stage where I’m constantly looking for new victories because they pop up all over the place and that really is sustenance for me. I’d love to hear your non-scale victories. Maybe we can learn from each other.
Starting Weight: 352
Current Weight: 302
Goal Weight: 150
Bye for now!
Love you, love this, you’re amazing and so inspiring. Proud to call you my sister!
I’m so proud of you, Shelby! Your journey will encourage so many others. The positive mindset you have now will help push you through when you struggle to continue on with your journey. Gavin is such a wonderful partner & I’m sure he will always be there for you. And remember, I am part of your “cheer” team as well.
Wow Shelby! You continue to inspire me! I’m so proud of you. You are just glowing and I’d say that’s already a huge victory! You’ve got this!!!!
Non scale victories are very important. I feel like without them it would be easy to give up. I myself have been “stuck” at a certain weight. But I feel good my clothes feel loser. These are my motivations to keep going. I will be on your cheer squad as well because I feel like you would do the same for me.
I tried an XL dress on the other day at Old Navy expecting it not to fit but I could fit into it, not perfectly yet but I could actually wear it. Huge victory, don’t remember the last time I wore that size. Another one, If I only get up 1 time at night instead of 2-5. When I see progress in exercise like lifting heavier weights or increasing reps, or doing a full burpee. I was able to bike from Blumenort to Steinbach in 25 mins and I’ve never been able to do that in that time before. Sitting in chairs and thighs aren’t rubbing the sides.