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Non-scale victories!

bhnguyen82
bhnguyen82 Posts: 49 Member
in Social Groups
Yeah we all want to lose weight but sometimes it's nice to see we're not just tied down to numbers on a scale!

I'll start: being able to hold a 1 minute plank and thinking this now feels easy!

ETA it feels weird to post on a forum that doesn't allow you a plethora of emoticons and dancing bananas

Replies

  • avskk
    avskk Posts: 1,787 Member
    I was unable to do more than 5 curls with a 2lb weight three months ago. Now I do a 30-minute high intensity weight class with 12lb weights 3x/week. I... have... BICEPS! It's the best thing ever.

    Also: I still can't do regular push-ups, but I can plank diagonally with my palms on the edge of my tub and my toes on the ground and do five (1 2 3 4 5) push-ups like that!
  • rosered93
    rosered93 Posts: 69 Member
    I used to be incapable of pretty much keeping my legs up during boat pose, let alone straightening them out; now I can with effort straighten them and fairly easily keep them held up :) (Also has to do with figuring out how the hell to balance on my pelvis.)
  • feelgoodnic
    feelgoodnic Posts: 66 Member
    I'm up to 45 seconds on my side planks and with great form :) I thought I'd never be able to do these correctly, let alone for more than 30 seconds.
  • befit1980
    befit1980 Posts: 17
    I washed my favorite jeans last week because they were starting to get saggy from wearing them too much and when I put them on today, they're still looser than when I first bought them! I'm happy about that. If they do become even looser, I'm definitely buying the same pair in a size smaller because I love them so much.
  • lydiakass
    lydiakass Posts: 5
    I jogged for 16 minutes straight tonight. At the beginning of July I could do 2 minutes and that felt like torture. I'm really excited!
  • befit1980
    befit1980 Posts: 17
    That's so awesome lydiakass! That's great progress!

    I got my body fat tested at my gym back in January and it was 30%. I got it done again last night and it was 25%!
  • lydiakass
    lydiakass Posts: 5
    That's so awesome lydiakass! That's great progress!

    I got my body fat tested at my gym back in January and it was 30%. I got it done again last night and it was 25%!

    Thanks, befit! : )
    And congratulations on the fat loss! That is seriously great!
  • eraweir
    eraweir Posts: 41 Member
    I lifted and replaced an 83 lbs train knuckle (the metal part at the end of the coupler that allows the car to connect to the next car) at work yesterday. So heavy, so awkward!
  • cammyblair23
    cammyblair23 Posts: 2 Member
    I bought size 8 pants yesterday! Im usually a 10, sometimes a 12. They didnt have 10s so I just grabbed 8s and bought them. Took them home and prayed they zipped. they did!! SO happy.
  • GettingMooreInShape
    GettingMooreInShape Posts: 80 Member
    You ladies are all so inspiring!
    Exercising, both cardio and weights, is something I REALLY struggle with. I get so discouraged when I can't run for longer than 2 minutes... but I have to start somewhere, right?!

    You all are doing awesome!
  • bhnguyen82
    bhnguyen82 Posts: 49 Member
    This is a slightly different non-scale victory. I was reading the "Instagram and Disordered Eating" thread on GOMI with interest. I do follow a few fitness instagram accounts, but mostly weight loss / lifting ones. Thankfully I've never battled with ED so I don't get triggered by these accounts, and I consider myself pretty level-headed. I can overlook a lot of things in these accounts (protein powder in everything and pretending it's OMG SO GOOD, bringing meal prep tupperware everywhere so as not to get off track, suddenly all these girls' lifelong ambition becomes to compete in a NPC bikini competition, posing to "fake" a thigh gap and a perkier butt) and take away what makes more sense to me (lots of pics of fruits and veggies, realistic-looking body transformation in a realistic time frame, posts that preach balance and moderation).

    Still, I'm only human. I was getting frustrated at not seeing results as quickly as these girls, at not seeing abs, at seeing a saggy butt. Every morning I'd critically look at my belly, and though it's getting flatter, it just wasn't enough.

    And then, today, after reading the GOMI thread, I looked at myself in the mirror, and I thought...

    I'm beautiful.
    I'm healthy.
    I'm happy.
    Sure there's still some flab on my belly and I've got batwings and cellulite. But this body ran a half marathon while I was overweight. It hiked in some of the most beautiful scenery of New Zealand. It has rocked through many a zumba class.
    This is my body, the only one I have, the one in which I feel amazing. Of course I'll still work out and eat healthy, but if this were to be my final weight ever and I never lost any more weight, I can truly say that I would be perfectly happy with the current state of my body.

    Typing this out seems so annoyingly new age and perky and OMG MOTIVASHUNAL, but I couldn't not share with you catladies. I truly hope that you do one day feel like I do right now, cause it rocks!!!
  • GettingMooreInShape
    GettingMooreInShape Posts: 80 Member
    Thanks for that BH!

    Honestly I've been feeling a bit down on myself after looking at that thread and those instagram accounts. It has encouraged me to stay below my calorie limit, but at the same time I've been harsh on myself because I do not and will not ever look like that.
    But like you said, it's okay! I'd rather have an average body so long as I'm healthy mentally, physically, and emotionally.

    That's where we differ from those thinspiration/fitspiration instagram accounts. Many of those girls are restricting their bodies so they cannot live to their fullest potential (beyond the weight room), and I have to remind myself they actually are not living happy and fulfilling lives. Their lives revolve around healthy food and fitness, and I want more than that.
    I hope this doesn't sound like I'm ripping on them, but I do have a past with disordered eating, and I know how much it controls your mind. It's nearly impossible to focus on anything other than meal planning and exercise schedules.

    I want a healthy body, but I also want peace of mind and emotional strength. I want good relationships with my family and friends, I want to do well in work and in school. I want to see my worth beyond my weight, how many miles I can run, or how many reps I can do in the weight room.
    Thanks for that reminder, BH!
  • branfran2011
    branfran2011 Posts: 63
    Totes inspirational :)

    Seriously though, I think we have to remind ourselves of that sometimes, it's so easy to get caught up in the scale, and every little thing we put in our mouths. I had a conversation similar to this the other day with my husband, about a mirror I pass all the time at work. It's above a table so someone in a wheelchair has access to it, so when I walk by all I can see is from my boobs to my thighs. The first hundred times I passed it I would cringe because I always thought "ugh, so fat" or something negative.

    I passed it one day a couple of weeks ago, and thought to myself the usual "ugh" but started thinking about all kinds of different stuff, mainly that I'm still pretty, my husband thinks I"m beautiful and tells me all the time, that I'm actually lucky to be so healthy and that my story could have been a lot different than it is today. I forget to stop and remember all of that when I'm having a fat day, but I'm getting better. I haven't weighed myself in about a week, but I'm still tracking. I can't say I'd be thrilled if this is the body I'll have for the rest of my life, but it could always be worse. I'm working on it, and that is really all that matters.

    Thanks for the reminder, and hamhugs to you!

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