NSV- My T-Shirt Story! (among other rambles)

NSV: Non-Scale Victory:
noun, a term used to describe a success that is not based on the numbers on the scale


Alright, my story.
I stopped MFP August of 2010, for personal reasons. I'm an exchange student in Germany right now, and the idea of coutning calories and everything here in Germany just... I don't know, it wasn't something I wanted to do. All exchange students gain weight, usually around 20 pounds during the exchange year, and I was completely okay with that. I knew this was MY time, MY year to learn about a new culture and to learn about myself. So about 5 days before I left for Germany, I stopped counting calories.

I left America weighing 181 pounds, 24 down from my start weight of 205. I was in a size x-large (unisex shirts), around a tight 16 pants, soemtimes an 18, depending on the brand.

I have not counted one day of calories since I got here. I simply lived the German lifestyle, started playing lots of sports, and tried to not let myself go TOTALLY crazy with food.

Well, I've noticed over the past 4 or 5 months that my jeans were becoming loose. Really loose. Eventually, I had to go purchase a belt. And it's getting to the point, that even with a belt, they're still falling off. I thought maybe I was just wearing them too often (one suitcase full of clothes does not give you many options for a year), and they were just stretching out.
Then I had to get dressed up for an orchestra concert. My dress pants, which I hadn't worn since I boarded the plane last August, are a size 18.
Needless to say, I had to buy new dress pants.

When I was in Prague a couple weeks ago with my exchange program, I went to a touristy-souvenir shop in search of a t-shirt. I thought I knew what my size was, and I picked out a large, since my size had gone down from x-large. But I knew there was no way I was a medium.
Then the shop buy was trying to convince me to buy the medium. I was like "No way, dude. I was an x-large, I'm lucky if this large fits me." But he insisted, taking a medium shirt out of the package and holding it up to me.
And holy God, it was big enough.
I bought the shirt, figuring it would be a fluke, and that just because I fit into ONE medium shirt didn't mean I fit into all medium shirts.

TODAY'S story tops the cake, though.
So this morning, I looked into my wardrobe and realized that I desperately needed to do laundry. I had no clean shirts, except an x-large t-shirt that was much too big, and a medium t-shirt that I hadn't worn since I tried it on the first day and it didn't fit (it was a gift from my host parents).
Today, in a depserate act of needing something to wear, I reluctantly tried it on.

It fit.

Guy, it fit.

IT FIT IT FIT IT FIT IT FIT IT FIT IT FIT IT FIT IT FIT IT FIT IT FIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am officially a size medium, by my books!

I think the most enjoyable part of all of this, though, is the fact that I did it without counting calories. It's made me realize that I've come along way, and could probably handle maintenance- and I've still got a ways to go!

Start:
Weight, 205 pounds. T-shirt, x-large. Pants, 18-20


Before Germany:
Weight, 181. T-Shirt, tight large. Pants, tight 16


Now (still in Germany, but almost home):
Weight, 170ish (not sure). T-Shirt, MEDIUM, Pants, somewhere around 14-16

(Sorry about the German flag, it was the closest colored thing I had to distinguish my white shirt from the white wall, haha)

It's pouring rain outside (my favorite weather), absolute no schoolwork, no laundry (I've finished it between this morning and writing this post, haha), and I'm wearing a MEDIUM SIZED T-SHIRT.
Today sounds like it's going to be a lovely day.

Hope all my fellow MFPers have as good of a day as me!