Huge NSV for me!!!

So, it's sort of a NSV, sort of not! I have been trying (sometimes not too successfully) to ignore the scale lately. It really messes with me mentally and I find that it dictates my mood enough that it affects my eating. What I've been doing instead is trying to base my progress off of how I feel, how my clothes fit and, only once a month, weigh-in and take measurements.

I started measuring at the end of April. I weighed 180 - down from a high of 230 a couple of years ago. In the first month, when I had just gotten back into a committed exercise routine and really cleaned up my diet, I dropped down to 174. Very encouraging!! Since then, in two months, I've only lost one more pound.

So what's the exciting part?! What do I consider a huge victory for myself?! I've lost a total of 14 inches (on the areas that I measure) and I have reduced my body fat percentage by five whole percentage points! I've moved from "At Risk" down to "Acceptable" which is a great mental boost!!

What I hope people get from this (if anything) is that the scale is not the end-all, be-all of "losing weight." If I was going solely on what the scale spat out at me, I would probably be tearing my hair out whilst pigging down on some Ben & Jerry's out of frustration. Instead, I can be proud that I've gone from 114.5 lbs of lean body weight up to 120.25 lbs of lean body weight while reducing my body fat by ten whole pounds!!! And all of those up and down numbers are reflected by only a 1 pound drop on the scale over 2 months!

So don't get discouraged by the dreaded number on the scale! If you are committed to being healthy, please understand that our bodies are changing even if the numbers aren't!!