What's Your Most Recent NSV

NewLIFEstyle4ME

Hoo BOY do I have some NSV's TODAY!

I went to the DMV to renew my license...I haven't had it renewed in sometime and never EVER look at the weight on it--ever. Today, I looked at it and it was 40 big ole pounds MORE than I weigh today....40lbs more! I've still got a lot more to go (about 35-40lbs), but seeing how far I've come from my highest weight ever is so FUN and COOL!

When I took my vision test, I asked if I should take it with my glasses on, she said first try it without them...she said my vision was excellent! When I asked on a scale of 1-10, how good was my testing score, she told me a 9, a NINE! 187 days ago, my vision was sooo poor, I could hardly see anything without my glasses--everything was so blurry...it was really scary. Now I don't ever need them at all--I'm thrilled!

Lastly, I also passed my "Patience, Love&self control" test today too. The women doing my renewal was sooooo nasty, just as mean as a junkyard dog. I asked her how she was doing and feeling and she looked at me like she could kill me and said rudely..."not good, I'm missing lunch helping you" and then rolled her eyes at me. I was kinda tempted to either respond in kind or ignore it...but I said to myself "LOVE her, be PATIENT, walk in self-control". So I asked her what she was having for lunch, she told me Chinese food. I told her I hoped it would be the best lunch ever and then I asked her if she would recommend anyone applying for a job there. She looked horrified and said "NO WAY" among other things. Then I told her how many people are looking for a job and would kill to have her job--that even though it's a hard and thankless job, that she has a job when soooo many people don't. She looked at me and said "Ya know what, I've got a lot of my friends and family members that have been looking for a job for a long time--you're right. Then she apologized for being rude...then she told me I was one of the nicest customer she's ever had--then she thanked me again for "helping her"and gave me the most beautiful smile I've ever seen--it was absolutely TREMENDOUS her complete turn around in attitude was....WOW! I walked out of that place with sheer joy. WOW--it's FUN and COOL not to return "evil for evil or like for like" and to walk in patience, love and self-control--YAY!!!!!!

ForeverPrimed

Brushing against my hip bones while adjusting my shorts. Also felt some vein action on the ole thighs.

sssgilbe

NewLIFEstyle4ME wrote: »

Hoo BOY do I have some NSV's TODAY!

I went to the DMV to renew my license...I haven't had it renewed in sometime and never EVER look at the weight on it--ever. Today, I looked at it and it was 40 big ole pounds MORE than I weigh today....40lbs more! I've still got a lot more to go (about 35-40lbs), but seeing how far I've come from my highest weight ever is so FUN and COOL!

When I took my vision test, I asked if I should take it with my glasses on, she said first try it without them...she said my vision was excellent! When I asked on a scale of 1-10, how good was my testing score, she told me a 9, a NINE! 187 days ago, my vision was sooo poor, I could hardly see anything without my glasses--everything was so blurry...it was really scary. Now I don't ever need them at all--I'm thrilled!

Lastly, I also passed my "Patience, Love&self control" test today too. The women doing my renewal was sooooo nasty, just as mean as a junkyard dog. I asked her how she was doing and feeling and she looked at me like she could kill me and said rudely..."not good, I'm missing lunch helping you" and then rolled her eyes at me. I was kinda tempted to either respond in kind or ignore it...but I said to myself "LOVE her, be PATIENT, walk in self-control". So I asked her what she was having for lunch, she told me Chinese food. I told her I hoped it would be the best lunch ever and then I asked her if she would recommend anyone applying for a job there. She looked horrified and said "NO WAY" among other things. Then I told her how many people are looking for a job and would kill to have her job--that even though it's a hard and thankless job, that she has a job when soooo many people don't. She looked at me and said "Ya know what, I've got a lot of my friends and family members that have been looking for a job for a long time--you're right. Then she apologized for being rude...then she told me I was one of the nicest customer she's ever had--then she thanked me again for "helping her"and gave me the most beautiful smile I've ever seen--it was absolutely TREMENDOUS her complete turn around in attitude was....WOW! I walked out of that place with sheer joy. WOW--it's FUN and COOL not to return "evil for evil or like for like" and to walk in patience, love and self-control--YAY!!!!!!

You are my inspiration of the day! Thank you for sharing.

callriter

Walked around the world at EPCOT without limping after only half way. Also walked back to the car instead of taking the tram. Big win for me

Hamsibian

KnitterNotAQuitter wrote: »

Hamsibian wrote: »

Awesome! My mom is going to the doctor since her bp was extraordinarily high the other day. She's scared and wants to feel better
Her meds alone aren't working. She wants to lose weight too, which will help a lot, but do you have dietary advice? We'll ask about an Rd referral for help.

Hi @Hamsibian! This is probably waaaaay more than you wanted to know, but here's what's worked for me for the past month:

I'll preface this by saying I've had a really bad, just abysmal diet for a long time-- I was eating fast food once or more a day, skipped breakfast (and lunch sometimes) and when I was making food at home, it was all processed, frozen food (pizza). My weight was 349, and my doctor's office put me on BP medication, Lisinopril 10mg/day, a 1,200-calorie a day diet, and told me to get cardio exercise 3 days a week. I was also diagnosed with T2 diabetes. I really, really don't like the thought of injecting myself, so I decided to make some drastic changes to try to avoid insulin.

Now, a month later, I'm *not* small and I have a loooooooong way to go, but I lost just under 25 pounds, my clothes fit better, I'm breathing a little easier, my BP is down ... all good stuff. But out of pure fear, I did a complete 180 on my life.

First, I cut out fast food and eating out. Except for like three, four times in the last month, I've made all my meals at home. (I was traveling for Thanksgiving, and felt weird bring a full meal on a plane. LOL)

Then, I started making all my meals at home. Which was hard, because I'm not the best cook! (I actually hardly ever cooked before now.) And I started eating vegetables besides French fries. I started eating breakfast. I cut out fat, I cut out salt and except for the ones in fruits and veggies, I cut out carbs and sugars. I usually try to fill half my plate with green veggies (cooked or raw), and the other half with lean protein (mostly chicken and some fish, very occasionally pork or beef) and something a little starchy, like a piece of whole wheat bread, beans or brown rice, rarely potatoes or corn, no pasta yet, but I was going to try whole wheat pasta this weekend.

For the most part, I'm sticking the calorie goals, though there were a few days that I went over during Thanksgiving visiting family, but I told myself that I couldn't go 1,000 calories over. (There were days I probably ate 5,000+ calories on pizza in the past.) I'm also trying to stick to the American Heart Association guidelines of 1,500mg of sodium per day, but it is hard. EVERYTHING has sodium in it! LOL

I'm single and work full time, so to keep it quick and easy, I keep frozen veggies and meats on hand, so I'll always have some option for lunch dinner, won't waste a lot of fresh veggies or have to go shopping a lot to get them, and be less tempted for quick meals at McDonald's or something. I also make several servings of something at once and freeze it!

For recipes, I have light sodium salt at home (I haven't switched over to the no-sodium salt substitute, but thinking about it). When I make recipes, I leave the salt out entirely -- some advice from other MFP pals! -- or add no more than half of what's called for in the recipe, if it's something that would taste really, really weird without it.

When I do use processed/prepared food in my meals, I shop around on store websites and look up the nutrition information to find the best option. If I can buy a salt/sodium free (best), no salt added (better), low sodium (good), I'll buy it. Like frozen chicken breasts (which I buy frozen partially for the longevity, and partially because I don't like to touch raw meat). Did you know the plain ones from Tyson still have like 20% of the daily value of sodium (and that's for a 2,000-calorie diet) -- even the ones that aren't cooked yet? That's crazy! Don't add salt I don't need to my food before I make it! So I found a different brand at Sam's Club, also frozen, uncooked chicken breasts with like 3-5% of your DV, which could be naturally occurring. Usually, if I look at a label, and it has more than 15% DV of sodium, I just put it back.

With sugar, you're only supposed to eat 22g of added sugar a day. (Also crazy hard.) I've been trying to get most of the sugar in my diet from fruits and veggies, and trying to buy sugar-free products and use sugar-free sweetener when I can. I've cut out almost all white things: bread, rice, potatoes, pasta. Nope, just nope.

For those times when I literally am too busy to make anything, I have two frozen dinners that are my go-tos: Healthy Choice Steamers Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo (the one with NO PASTA -- just chicken and broccoli in sauce) and Lean Cuisine Steak Portabella (also no potatoes or pasta or rice). The HC meals has less salt, so I'd rather have that one, but either option, even though they do have a lot of salt, is better than fast food.

I try to plan breakfast (I eat that now!), lunch and dinner, and small snacks mid-morning and mid-afternoon. If I haven't met my calorie goal AND I'm still hungry sometimes I'll have a small snack before bed. But honestly? I'm usually not, especially if I've gone to the gym. I like chips, so one of my favorite go-to snacks is the Skinnypop 100 calorie bags. Yes, it's not low-fat, but it satisfies a craving and the sodium is low. Other "low calorie" popcorn has twice as much salt, and is a little too salty for me now.

Also, I am pretty much only drinking water and tea (sometimes Diet Snapple, which I love and log, but a lot of brewed, unsweetened teas). I had a couple Jack and Diets around Thanksgiving, but otherwise, no soda, booze or juice. Once in a while, skim milk, but cereal is usually kinda disappointing and not filling, so I haven't been eating a lot. But when I do, I drink the milk. This week I've been trying the Plant Nanny app to try to drink more water. It sends push notifications to remind me to drink, and the cute little plant grows when you do.

Finally, I started walking on the treadmill at the gym. I joined up the day I was diagnosed. My neighborhood's kinda dark (not a lot of street lamps), so I prefer the warm fluorescent glow of indoor lighting. I usually walk for 60 minutes (sometimes 45 if I'm going to the grocery store afterwards and walking more), and push myself to walk as fast as I can, which isn't very fast right now. If my joints start to hurt, I trying to turn down the speed for a while. Sometimes I pause it for a minute, but I've been trying to just slow down rather than stop, and when I'm ready, I speed it back up.

I log all my exercise calories, but I don't eat them back, so I'm following a true 1,200-calorie a day diet.

I think that's it. Whew! At first I had to put a lot of time into this -- I missed outings with friends, gave up a lot of TV watching time and haven't been as "active" (ha ha) in my hobbies like knitting. But now that I'm a month in, I have more time back to myself. Eventually new habits form, and the longer you haven't eaten something, the less you crave it. And the better you do, the easier it is to tell yourself no. Do I want a large, stuffed crusted pepperoni and mushroom pizza from Pizza Hut? Um, yeah a little. But I know it will derail in flaming wreckage my lifestyle change train that's off to a pretty good start.

I think your mom can do it if she really tries! Tell her good luck!

Wow! Thank you @KnitterNotAQuitter for taking the time to respond! That's amazing how much of a difference a month makes, I felt the same way when I started and autoimmune diet. Thinking of bringing food on a plane, I brought a few cooked meals when I flew to Chicago. Tsa just had to check what that big bulk in my purse was, but it was no big deal. I had to do it because I react to so many foods, and the Hot Logic makes a huge difference. And thanks for the Sam's club tip on chicken. My dad shops there all the time, so I'll pass that on to him.

Anyway, my mom doesn't have a lot of weight to lose, and She's not prediabetic, so other than getting all of her nutrients/appropriate calorie intake, she doesn't have to worry about sugar as much. The doctor just advised her to use less salt, eat more whole foods, and start slow with exercises (YouTube chair yoga and small dumbbells). Since my parents eat out a few times a week, I think the best first step for her would be to make wise choices at restaurants. Got to start slow, but she deserves a much better quality of life. Your post gives me a lot of hope.

ladychris29

A couple years ago, I received a really cute pj set as a Christmas gift. I tried them on... The pants wouldn't get over my hips and I couldn't begin to even close the top.

I refused to return them, hoping one day they'd fit, but I didn't expect much at the time. Tried them on last night and they fit perfectly. In fact, they're a little loose. I even wore the shirt to bed.

aerochic42

This morning while brushing my teeth, I had the " I look skinny!!" feeling, which is especially awesome when the scale hasn't been moving. I need to remember to take measurements this weekend.

dailyzey

i ran 2 miles on the treadmill at 5.5 which is around 11 min/mile pace. My previous was 1.3 miles. This week, I got to 1.3 and was still feeling strong. I decided to keep going. I got all the way to 1.8 before it became hard and then i just pushed for the last 0.2 miles to get to a nice round 2 mile total. When I first started, I couldn't even run a full mile, i could only do 0.5 miles. That was two months ago. Now my goal is running for 3 miles at that same pace.

DebLaBounty

I move more easily after losing 30 pounds. Yesterday I went to my Zumba class and was thrilled that I could lift my legs higher and no longer hit my stomach with my thighs!

NewLIFEstyle4ME

sssgilbe wrote: »

NewLIFEstyle4ME wrote: »

Hoo BOY do I have some NSV's TODAY!

I went to the DMV to renew my license...I haven't had it renewed in sometime and never EVER look at the weight on it--ever. Today, I looked at it and it was 40 big ole pounds MORE than I weigh today....40lbs more! I've still got a lot more to go (about 35-40lbs), but seeing how far I've come from my highest weight ever is so FUN and COOL!

When I took my vision test, I asked if I should take it with my glasses on, she said first try it without them...she said my vision was excellent! When I asked on a scale of 1-10, how good was my testing score, she told me a 9, a NINE! 187 days ago, my vision was sooo poor, I could hardly see anything without my glasses--everything was so blurry...it was really scary. Now I don't ever need them at all--I'm thrilled!

Lastly, I also passed my "Patience, Love&self control" test today too. The women doing my renewal was sooooo nasty, just as mean as a junkyard dog. I asked her how she was doing and feeling and she looked at me like she could kill me and said rudely..."not good, I'm missing lunch helping you" and then rolled her eyes at me. I was kinda tempted to either respond in kind or ignore it...but I said to myself "LOVE her, be PATIENT, walk in self-control". So I asked her what she was having for lunch, she told me Chinese food. I told her I hoped it would be the best lunch ever and then I asked her if she would recommend anyone applying for a job there. She looked horrified and said "NO WAY" among other things. Then I told her how many people are looking for a job and would kill to have her job--that even though it's a hard and thankless job, that she has a job when soooo many people don't. She looked at me and said "Ya know what, I've got a lot of my friends and family members that have been looking for a job for a long time--you're right. Then she apologized for being rude...then she told me I was one of the nicest customer she's ever had--then she thanked me again for "helping her"and gave me the most beautiful smile I've ever seen--it was absolutely TREMENDOUS her complete turn around in attitude was....WOW! I walked out of that place with sheer joy. WOW--it's FUN and COOL not to return "evil for evil or like for like" and to walk in patience, love and self-control--YAY!!!!!!

You are my inspiration of the day! Thank you for sharing.

YAY! How very kind of you to share this AND how fun and cool it is to inspire you--that's thrilling to hear. Thank you so much for replying {{{{ Hugs }}}}

orangegato

I used to take the elevator up 3 flights at work. Now I take the stairs....2 steps at a time quickly.

kingleahnidas

Well, it's December and I'm still biking and running to work. I'd say that's a victory, considering I live in Vermont.

judywalsh97

Only at the beginning of my journey (Day 10) but my jeans feel roomier and I've noticed I'm not always so bloated anymore

bee_bee8

I went out of town for a work trip this week and was concerned about not being able to control the food I was eating (everything catered for 2 full days, no opportunity to prepare my own stuff) and not having time to work out. Sometimes I have a tendency to backslide when I break from my routine. To my delight, I was able to still make healthy food choices (except for a couple slices of pizza on the last day - no one is perfect ) and get a reasonable amount of activity just from walking around. It was a good reminder that just because I'm not cooking for myself and getting in my usual workouts, I can still stay on track with my goals!

ISweat4This

Wearing size 2 khakis today!! The last time I was this size was 18 years ago.

KnitterNotAQuitter

It's been a great week! I had another NSV today! We got snow -- SNOW -- in San Antonio, Texas, last night, and I was able to button my winter coat for the first time in a while this morning.

MrsPinterest34

So I just posted on Facebook my before and after photo to mark my upcoming one year anniversary of my weight loss on Jan 1. In one of the photos I wore a tank top. That's right people, it's actually now possible for someone like me, ms chubby my entire life, to wear a tank top. It feels like a miracle. No more excessive gut. I just gotta get this body ready to wear ALL my 2 piece swimsuits this summer. Some of them I purchased over a decade ago. I'm still impressed at myself for relentlessly pursing this weight loss goal and not given up for an entire year. It's true what they say, when you are sick and tired of being sick and tired you make some major life changes and never look back. I also included the photo below I created to illustrate the simple steps i used to achieve my goal.

MandyLou517

Today my boyfriend made a casual comment about how much better I am to cuddle these days! When we first started dating(around the same time I started losing weight) when he was the big spoon the arm he'd wrap around me was unable to touch the bed because my stomach was in the way. Now, he can wrap his arm entirely around me, and even tuck his hand between my ribs and the mattress!

It's hard for me to see the loss, but clearly it is there!

chette78

My first NSV as small as it may seem, I went to my favorite Mexican restaurant tonight and didn't devour the chips and salsa. I also ordered fajitas ate only half and was legit full. This was instead of normal order if 2 fried burritos covered in cheese sauce and sour cream. Baby steps

ekelley44

Went to my bootcamp class this morning even though my husband was trying to guilt me and bribe me into staying home with him!!!

thkdiffgirl

I can now row with my legs gliding into my stomach, instead of my legs going sideways because my stomach was too big

ys6108

For the first time, I hit all my daily goals on my new fitbit. Even the stairs!

sofchak

Struggling to feel like I’ve had any NSVs lately. Then this flashed on my app after I finished my weight training today - 12 weeks of not missing a single planned weight training session is pretty cool... even managed to keep the streak going while on vacation.

alteredsteve175

chette78 wrote: »

My first NSV as small as it may seem, I went to my favorite Mexican restaurant tonight and didn't devour the chips and salsa. I also ordered fajitas ate only half and was legit full. This was instead of normal order if 2 fried burritos covered in cheese sauce and sour cream. Baby steps

@chette78 - you made me smile with this NSV. My wife likes to eat at a local Mexican restaurant. Good food, excellent service. I like it, too - but sometimes I skip it. Because before we go in I'm all like "not eating the chips and salsa and bean dip". Ten minutes in, I'm flagging down the waitress for another basket of chips.

anyWendy

So, let me preface this by saying I've been privileged enough to grow up without experiencing true hunger or prolonged food insecurity.

That said, because of my unhealthy relationship with food, I used to feel a significant amount of food insecurity, most notably when traveling for work. I would pack SO many extra snacks, in case I got hungry, or missed a meal. For a 3 day trip, I might have packed a full box of granola bars, some trail mix, and bags of candy. I would also grab extra fruit at breakfast every day to stick in my bag or hotel room. I would order large dinners so I'd have leftovers to bring back to the hotel. Occasionally, I would eat some of this stash I accumulated, but often it would go to waste.

Over the course of the past 4 months, I've lost 26lbs, and one of the most important strategies I've learned is not eating when I'm not hungry. For me this means skipping breakfast most days. As a result, over time, I've come to realize that it's ok to let my body feel mild hunger, and skipping or delaying a meal here or there isn't the end of the world (and gives me more calories to enjoy at other meals).

On my most recent 5 day trip, I didn't pack ANY extra snacks, ate every meal at restaurants or the hotel buffet breakfast, left my leftovers at the restaurants, and maintained my weight loss trend.

This change in my thinking is what tells me I'll really be able to maintain these changes long term!

rheddmobile

chette78 wrote: »

My first NSV as small as it may seem, I went to my favorite Mexican restaurant tonight and didn't devour the chips and salsa. I also ordered fajitas ate only half and was legit full. This was instead of normal order if 2 fried burritos covered in cheese sauce and sour cream. Baby steps

That's a big step, learning appropriate portion sizes! Good for you!

pearso21123

I've been in maintenance for almost two years now (I can't believe it's been that long) and things have been kind of in a rut, lately. It's cold out and I'm freezing and don't want to go outside to run. I haven't been getting my steps in. My main goal has just been to not gain back all of the weight I've lost. I love reading all of your posts, but haven't had anything to post, myself, until today.

Today, I realized that so much has changed over the last three years. Last week, I took the kids to the park and decided to do some slow jogging while they played. While jogging, a gentleman approached me and told me about a cross-country group that will be meeting every other Saturday this winter to run a 5K, for fun. Imagine, someone looking at me and thinking "I should invite her to our cross-country group." LOL! So, we went. It was the first meeting and it was great. My 13-year-old daughter absolutely loved it. There were two coaches and an assistant coach from the local schools present, and they're trying to get her to join the cross-country team. We're the "Winter Warriors." Now, we have a new activity to look forward to this winter.

Then, earlier this week the kids downloaded pedometers onto their phones. Their goal? To beat me. So, today we started a step challenge, and despite my having no athletic ability, I hate to lose, so I should have no trouble reaching my step goals as long as the kids feel like competing. ) What I love the most is that it was their idea.

And today, we splurged on Taco Bell, because I still love fast food. There are six of us in our family; I bought three $5 boxes to split between all of us. In the old days, I probably would have bought five (the two youngest could have shared). So, though I still love fast food, I've learned proper portion size. In fact, the whole family has learned proper portion size. Not one person complained about having to share a box, and there were still tacos left over when everyone was finished.

All of these things seem so small, but they add up to huge life changes, for me and my entire family. We're all healthier because I decided enough was enough, we needed to be healthier before it was too late. I needed to be healthier. The rest was just accidental carry-over to the rest of the family. I sure never saw that coming.

DownsizingSam

I defeated that voice in my head telling me to go back to sleep this morning by telling myself I am now one of those people who get up at 5 to either walk the dog or ride one of the horses before work. This morning was w2d1 of c25k. Glad I got up and did it :-)

acfisher88

It was my work xmas party on Friday night - I didn't go overboard with the booze (which is unusual for me!), but still partied hard and got home at 1am. The following morning I begrudgingly got up for a 9am 5k run AND achieved a new PB!

IILikeToMoveItMoveIt

Hit the gym for 5 days instead of 3 days last week! On the days I don't lift, I train for a 5k! Never thought that would happen!