Celebrate Those NSVs!

One of the things my weight loss on-line community taught me was to celebrate all of the NSVs (Non Scale Victories) while I was on the Take Shape for Life/Medifast 5&1 plan. Those NSVs were important to recognize and celebrate when the scale was moving, and they were critical when the scale would hit a stall.

So often we put all of the weight (pun intended!) on the scale and allow that miserable thing to be the sole determinator of whether or not we're making progress. When the scale's downward movement comes to a screeching halt, or when it even has the audacity to show a gain (yikes!), it's really easy to get discouraged. Even though I stayed on plan and never cheated, the scale would have times of registering no weight loss, and I also saw a "gain" a few times, too. It was frustrating, and even maddening, because I knew there was no way I could possibly gain weight on a plan that had me under 1,000 calories a day. Had I relied on the scale alone to mark my progress, there are times it would have been easy to have decided to forget it, times I would have decided that this plan just wasn't working for me.

But, of course, I didn't dump the plan :-). I learned to watch for and celebrate other things that also told me I was losing weight, other things that reinforced the reality that the plan WAS working.

I measured myself every month and recorded my measurements. [Note: if you aren't in the habit of measuring yourself on a monthly basis, I really encourage you to start today!] In addition to losing 126 pounds on this program, I also lost 16.5 inches from my hips, 13 inches from my waist, and 11.25 inches from each thigh. Those numbers are a real measurement of the progress I made - just as much a measurement as the scale.

I took regular pictures of myself and watched the change in my face and my body. Sometimes I didn't see the change when I looked in the mirror, but I would see it when I looked at the photos.

Since I was diabetic when I started the program, another great NSV for me was (and still is) checking my blood glucose in the morning (I still do this periodically) and seeing the number in a normal range. This is a huge NSV for me, as is not having to take medication for high cholesterol or gastric reflux anymore.

I also looked for and celebrated other things: buying smaller clothes (this is a GREAT NSV!!), walking without my thighs touching, being able to take a flight of stairs without huffing and puffing and, one of my favorite NSVs, being able to easily fasten my seatbelt on an airplane.

My husband and I are flying to Orlando tomorrow morning and I can promise you that I will get a little thrill when I fasten my seatbelt. The last time I flew before starting on Take Shape for Life/Medifast, I could barely get the seatbelt fastened and thought I'd have to ask for an extended. I struggled and managed to get it fastened, and while it was tight, I was so relieved that it finally clicked that I dealt with the discomfort rather than deal with the humiliation of asking for an extender. The next time I flew after that was when I went on the Medifast cruise a year ago. I was within 6 pounds of my goal and, remembering the struggle of a year earlier, I almost cried when I fastened my seatbelt and had several inches of extra belt. Talk about a wonderful NSV! I had my daughter take a picture of the extra belt :-).

Today may be a day where the scale is moving quickly for you and you're excited and motivated, if so, congratulations and enjoy - you deserve it! However, if you are in a stalemate with your scale, I would encourage you today to make a list of all of the NSVs you've enjoyed so far and celebrate each and every one of them. Make a list of the NSVs you're looking forward to and envision yourself celebrating them in a few weeks or months.

The scale will eventually catch up - it has to, but don't let it discourage you from staying on plan today.

Blessings!
Cheryl