What's Your Most Recent NSV

We (BF and I) were on holiday and snowshoeing in France, when we passed a group who led us to take a picture of them.

In return, they asked us if we wanted to have our picture taken. My first thought was 'no' since that's what I've been used to saying for over 15 years.
And then I changed my mind and said 'yes'.
And... I actually like one of the pictures they took of us 🤪

When I was a teen I was taught in the weight room of my high school to basically do a “dirty bulk”. I ate everything I could and yes I got big and strong. The problem was I learned very bad eating habits that have taken almost 30 year to overcome. Over the past 5 plus years I have been using my fitness pal off and on. It’s been amazing. I have totally re-educated myself concerning food and nutrition. Along with some really good coaching videos on YouTube this past year I have lost 70lbs.. Yesterday was the first day in my adult life I could see my abs! At 48 I have the best appearance and health I’ve ever had. I also invested in an ebike, pedal assist and put in over a 1,000 miles each of the past 2 years. Thank you MyFitnessPal!

I wear button-up shirts with collars to work. Nothing fancy, and I get them at the thrift store. I have so many I can go weeks without wearing one twice. I have a rule that if I find one I like at the thrift store, I have to find one to give away. I can't take on any more.

Sizes are all over the place at the thrift store. There's also different cuts/styles. There's "standard," "tailored," "slim," "traditional," "relaxed," and probably a dozen more. I know my neck and sleeve measurement, so sometimes that helps find the right size. Otherwise it's a M or S depending on the cut, and I often never know. Sometimes the shirt that goes back is the one I just bought. That's OK.

I have a system where I hang clean shirts far in the back (left) of the closet and pull from the front (right). If I shirt stays way on the right for too long, it's probably one that will get given away next. There are a couple exceptions; I have a few very nice shirts that I save for special occasions.

I digress. So on to the NSV:

The other day I put on a shirt and went to work. This must have been a slim fit shirt. I probably could tell when I was getting dressed that there wasn't a tent around me like some shirts. Some people like loose clothes. I am OK with them, and I'm also OK with fitted shirts. This one must have been fitted. I really didn't think much of it, and I biked off to work.

At some point I went to the restroom and caught a glimpse of myself in the full length mirror. I looked fit and slim. That's the first time this has happened in maybe 1.5 or two years. I gained back some weight starting about September 2020 and slowly continued through the first half of 2021. I have slowly been trimming back down in fits and starts. Seeing myself as slim again was much needed because I'm having a bit of a fit rather than a start this week with a TEMPORARY uptick in my daily scale readings. It will pass.

I think I smiled. That's a NSV too!

Today, I went grocery shopping and picked up the ingredients for sugar-free applesauce cake instead of splurging on dairy-free ice cream

The tshirt I'm wearing for work tonight was tight when I got it. It's shrunken a little since then but now it's comfortably loose!

I was able to swim for an hour and a half. I wasn't sprinting but I didn't have any real breaks either. Got out of the pool once to get a plank to hold for practicing kicks but that's it.
I'm super tired but oh so happy I was able to do an hour and a half.

I actually turned down chocolate last night! After dinner seems to be the worst time, because my husband eats A LOT of chocolate it if it's in the house, and always offers it to me as well. Of course I want some! But I generally don't need it. And last night I abstained! Yay me!

I made some homemade donuts the other day, ended up only making half of the recipe, and was surprised to find that I'm struggling to finish them. They're tasty, but I keep thinking how much nicer some crackers, sliced veg, and hummus would be for a snack. It's kind of shocking, considering that pastries have always been my kryptonite before now.

Last weekend I packed up my pants that I've worn for the last couple of years since being my heaviest weight in 15 years. I'm one size down and even those are already a tiny bit loose. I have several totes of clothing in the next size down and I'll hopefully be pulling them out of the attic in a few months.

Most recent NSV is that I’m working with a trainer to improve my strength, focusing on bench, squats and deadlift. We have been working on form issues for these first three weeks. This week was a really great week. My trainer had me on a squat machine for the first two weeks after discovering that I had some knee cave going on. After showing me the hip abduction machine and having me work on it outside our sessions, she returned me to traditional back squats this week and the knee cave is beginning to go away! We have also had to ease into deadlift and get my form down, but tonight I progressed from 75 pounds to 95 pounds. I was super excited to hear that the form is getting better and better on deadlift! My trainer told me the progress will really get going when we actually begin the strength focus!

Went out for a jog yesterday morning, didn’t realise it was rainy till I got downstairs, but thought we’ll ive started now. Got absolutely soaked, rain dripping off me and my trainers soggy, but I finished!

NEE (No Evening Eating) since December 31st. I had realized how bad a habit it had become.

i was at a funeral and seen someone I had not seen in 30 years and she said you have not changed a bit! Made me feel good, I was glad to have kept the weight off

I tried on most of my clothes and ended up donating about half of them! I definitely will be going clothes shopping once spring rolls around.

I can fit into my favourite coat again.