November 12, 2014

KnitOrMiss

NSV's - these are the things that keep us going, especially when we aren't on speaking terms with that fair-weather friend, "the scale." How do you go about measuring your NSV's? Some things are obvious, others aren't.

To give an example, yesterday, my doctor's office majorly screwed up a test, well, I guess the lab did, but there was failure of the system abound. Now I'm inconvenienced AGAIN, and waiting AGAIN... It was a test for gluten sensitivity/allergy. Which can be deadly, but I don't believe so in this case.

Regardless, I was sitting there, griping my butt off to a friend online, and I had the urge to go buy a million candy bars (actually the image in my head was to go to a store and buy three of everything that sounded good, sweet or salty, then gorge myself on it all). It totally ticked me off. Then I got mad because I didn't have snacks here at the office. Then I got more mad because I didn't have money to go buy something even if I wanted it. Then I got mad because getting mad was making the urge worse!

So a huge witchy-b!tch session later, I finally said screw this, and went for a walk. I left all of my measly pennies at work so I couldn't stop even if I wanted to stop. I came back and remember I did have a treat, but it wasn't chocolate or cinnamon, so it didn't occur to me in my binge-raid mental freak out. So, instead of the 7000 calories I wanted to eat, I at 70 calories of Pumpkin Spice Hershey's Kisses, which are okay, and way too sweet, but I only did that because my walk had burned more than twice those calories, and I didn't have anything else to nibble on...

So for me, that ended up being an NSV of sorts. I'm still very disconcerted about having my conscious mind watch my subconscious struggle like some sort of bad soap opera, but I guess I won... I don't have wins like this often...

But how do you go about finding the little things? How do we change our perspectives to find those tiny details and celebrate them? Admittedly, this one was not tiny, but still. When you are down, how do you find something, anything, to try to celebrate? Because there is always something there...even if you may not see it, someone else might! And just because you don't place a high value on an achievement, doesn't mean there isn't value to that achievement...

Just food for thought.

Carly in OK

angelic843

I am so early in the game (or I should say back in the game) that I haven't hit a wall yet.

The largest factor in my most recent recommitment was my debilitating knee pain that had me feeling crippled and self conscious all the time. I was scared of what 54 would look like if 34 was this bad. I was saddened by the idea that having children would be out of the question because I was losing my mobility.

Desperation turned me toward something that before seemed impossible. Giving up grains and most sugar. I read about the inflammatory effects of excessive carbohydrates and decided to give it a try. My knee pain was mostly gone in 3 days...JUST 3 FLIPPIN' Days!

Now every time I walk a flight of stairs. I have a NSV
Every time I go to bed at night still able to walk, it's a NSV.

The 13 pounds I have lost over the past two weeks are great. But the hope I have regained for my future is worth so much more!

carostad

Angie, I started where you are about a year ago. My mobility was diminishing rapidly. I was in excruciating pain all the time, and it was considerably worse if I attempted to walk more than the little bit I did in everyday life at the time. I was blaming myself for my weight, for not remaining active from the time I was young, for giving in to the pain, for a million things. And, I was too scared to go to the doctor for fear I would hear that it really was all my fault because of my weight, plus I hate spending money on doctors while managing my monthly budget. I can afford it, but it means giving up something much more pleasant than waiting in a doctor's office for bad news.

I'm on the other side of it now, which I consider an NSV every single day. For me, weight loss was not the magical answer that I wanted it to be, and even in my darkest days I really knew that because I'd already lost 50 pounds with no change. Pain and depression from the pain caused me to regain some of that weight, but I've lost it all again and some more now.

For me, the healing happened when I found a doctor that didn't judge me based on my weight, and actually diagnosed me. I had scar tissue in my ankle that another doctor hadn't even looked for because of my weight. This was causing tendon and ligament damage and ultimately led to a small break in one of my ankle bones. I spent 6 months in a boot while the tissue healed, making every effort I could to avoid surgery (which I did not have to have, fortunately). I did my physical therapy exercises and slowly learned to trust my foot again.

It is hard when your mobility is threatened. And, hard when you're way too young to be dealing with this. My 70 year old mother in law can run laps around me, but we both enjoy my progress together and I keep trying. It WILL get better if you keep trying. Have you seen a doctor recently? Do you need to find a doctor for a second opinion? Pain can set you back in so many ways. It can keep you from moving forward, from feeling strong enough to take control of your life, from achieving your dreams. One of which sounds like having a baby for you. Take care of yourself now so you can take care of someone else soon.

My NSV for today is wearing a pair of ahem, undies )TMI?), that were too small for me a couple of weeks ago. I bought them on sale, they didn't fit, but I knew they would soon. And, now they do. For me, this means an awful lot. I hate seeing my ginormous grannie panties mixed in with my family's laundry. I don't know why, but undies just seem to really highlight just how big I am. Especially when my teen daughter's undies are the size of a mitten compared to my US Flag sized undies. But, mine are a few sizes smaller now and I can retired some baggy ones I've been suffering through. Yay!!!!!

KnitOrMiss

Wow...I totally just got chills reading this. Those are some rockin' NSV's. I might have to more seriously look at giving up more carbs/sugars. I should anyway, but it is a struggle. I have had joint pain for decades. I'm like you... The thought of still being like this in 20 years is terrifying. I've seen what it does to family members further down the timeline than me and it makes me scared/mad/sad... I think I mentioned it in another post, but I'm wearing a knee strap (mini-brace to stabilize the kneecap and such) and it has worked wonders, too!!!

Every day we log on here is an NSV...because some part of us is still fighting. Every day we get up and decide not to eat all the bad things is a win. Etc.

And I agree that regained hope is the best win of all!

NorahCait

I loved reading these!

My NSV for the moment is that I just went out to buy coffee and I thought about getting something sweet or junky, and I came back with just the coffee. It's not much, but I've been making a lot of unhealthy choices lately, and I need to remind myself that it's not that hard to make a better choice.

Every now and then when I'm feeling like I haven't made enough progress, I'll make an effort to walk up more stairs. I don't know why, but that particular thing makes me realize how far I've come. I used to HATE walking up the escalators coming out of the metro station even when it was going, and if it wasn't moving? I'd go to the other side, or take the elevator instead. Now, I can practically run up the escalator if it's moving, and it only takes me a couple seconds to catch my breath after. Nothing like the agony it was 7 months ago.

Angie, I had the same worries about having children! I'm starting to see now that I might be getting to a point where I'm healthy enough that I can manage raising a child, running around with them and playing and all of the extra bending up and down and lifting that comes with parenting. It's such an exciting thought, and it's definitely a goal that keeps me moving.

Regarding doctors... I can't tell you how amazing it was to find a doctor who took my pain seriously and didn't dismiss it as just "overuse" on my joints from being overweight. I had pelvic pain (endometriosis) that was misdiagnosed as arthritis in my hip without even any diagnostics, just, "you can't really tell where your pain is coming from, and you're obese, so it's arthritis -- lose weight and take naproxen." I also was recently diagnosed with joint hypermobility, which can cause early onset osteoarthritis -- another thing that no doctor had thought to check for, even though it affects how I'm able to exercise, especially when it comes to the PT exercises that were recommended.

I hope everyone here is able to find a doctor who takes us seriously. It makes such a difference.

tishtash77

My NSV today was cooking a pack of bacon for DH and son and having a quarter of a piece, so a small bite. I stuck to what I had planned.