Non-Scale Victories (Otherwise known as NSV's)

Part of this journey has lead me to become a bit obsessed with my weight. By obsessed, I mean weighing myself once a day and letting the results set my mood for the day. Big loss, I'm in a great mood. No loss or a small gain, thunderclouds form over my head and I want to cry. Needless to say, even though I'm going to say it, that's not healthy at all.

If the point of this whole journey is to be healthy, then maybe the scale doesn't matter as much as I think it does. It is simply one way to measure my success. The number on the scale does not change who I am as a person or my self-worth or my contributions to society. The number on the scale is simply a calculation of how much gravity is affecting me. Those are the things I try to tell myself as I psych myself up to step on the scale every day.

I decided to TRY to focus on other things for awhile. Does this mean I'm going to stop weighing myself daily? Let's be honest here, probably not. But I can work to change my mindset and the way I handle the numbers that appear.

This weekend, I got comfortably into a pair of jeans I have never worn that are smaller than I was in high school. That was NSV #1!

NSV #2 - I was able to buy a bra without having to order it. Apparently, when you are as big as I was you are expected to have very large breasts, which I do not. I walked into a department store and tried on a 38B. Lo and behold, it fit! Comfortably!!

NSV #3- I bought size 10 shoes! I was wearing an 11. Now, I can comfortably wear some 10s. That's pretty awesome! Plus, the shoes have a bit of a wedge heel and I'm comfortable in them. I wouldn't have even tried to wear them pre-surgery, as anything not flat hurt my feet very badly. Shoe pics below!

NSV #4- I was able to paint my own toenails without thinking I was going to pass out. I can actually reach my own feet comfortably now! Not that I do anywhere near as good a job as the nail salon, but it was free :)

Sometimes, I think it helps to change my focus a bit. To take a step back and look at how far I've come and all the changes that are positive that aren't just my weight. I have so many NSV's when I think about it that it's amazing. I can walk up a flight of stairs easily now, I can fit in most chairs comfortably now, I no longer wonder if a chair will support my weight. It's really a long list and I am finding joy in those small things as well as in the bigger things.