Non-Scale Victories To Celebrate During Weight Loss
Creating a healthier lifestyle is a multifaceted process with many steps; it doesn’t happen overnight. Whether your fitness journey is driven by weight loss goals or your general well-being, it’s one worth taking!
Using a scale to initiate or acknowledge those important victory moments can be too limiting, which can cause us to lose our motivation. Keeping track of weight in a fitness journal is healthy.
However, non-scale victories should also be celebrated during our weight-loss journey. Not sure what non-scale accomplishments are or how to learn to celebrate them? Read on!
What Are Non-Scale Victories?
Non-scale victories, or NSVs, are health improvements resulting from small life changes. When we solely focus on the scale as a measure of success, these little wins go unnoticed.
Our journey to a healthier life shouldn’t be and can’t be reduced to a set of numbers and a single frame so quickly. Why not paint a more accurate and realistic picture of our progress?
We can do so by recognizing the numerous improvements we experience each day. Let’s look at some examples of non-scale victories during weight loss.
- Clothes fit better and more comfortably.
- Being able to do more things we love.
- Increased energy levels.
- Improved sleep.
- Reaching fitness milestones, large and small.
- Sharper mind and mental skills.
- Skin looks better and feels incredible.
- Losing a few inches around the waist, or anywhere for that matter!
- Noticing healthier coping mechanisms.
- Fewer aches and pains.
- Experiencing mood improvements.
- Medical markers or goals are improving.
- New friends, team members, or social support.
- Practicing healthier eating habits regularly.
- You’re over the drive-thru convenience.
Losing weight is a goal many people are trying to reach. Please understand that there’s nothing wrong with measuring our weight on a scale sometimes. Instead, we’re saying that the number we see on our scale isn’t the only way we should measure our success.
Noticeable physical changes take a well to present themselves, then comes the time when it seems like nothing is happening at all. We have to remember that our body is a complex system; we should be patient and look outside the scale to stay motivated!
Celebrating non-scale victories helps us remain motivated throughout the long-term journey toward a healthier lifestyle.
Mental Victories To Celebrate During Weight Loss
Whether we realize it or not, our mind and body are connected with one another. Mental stress can cause physical strain and vice versa; physical stress can lead to mental stress and vice versa.
That being said, don’t forget to train your mind and pay attention to any positive mental changes you experience, and celebrate them. Things like:
- Less stress
- Not feeling as anxious
- Mental clarity
- Improved memory
- Improved hand-eye coordination
- Improved cognitive skills
Taking steps to improve our physical and mental fitness is a massive deal. Losing weight is only a fraction of the journey, and the more you allow it to, it can be an adventure worth remembering. Even the small stuff!
Even if the scale hasn’t budged in three days, feeling better about ourselves is worth the effort. Remember, muscle weighs more than fat!