Do you step on the scale weekly or daily, only to be disappointed because you don’t see the number that you want? My Year of 50 Countdown for March offers Non-Scale Victories to give you motivation and ideas on how to stay on track to achieve your health and weight loss goals.
Here are my top 50 non-scale victories to celebrate:
- Heart rate – ability to exercise at a higher intensity
- Steps – increasing activity level
- Calories burned
- Overall activity – that’s why I love my Polar device as it combines all my movement, including exercise, into an overall goal that I can reach for daily.
- Weight lifted/pressed
- Class completed – I love the 30-minute Booty HIIT I just started at Give Fitness last month!
- Competing in a race
- More laps in the pool
- More laps around the track
- Making time for exercise – that’s a big one when you are time-pressed. And, who isn’t?
- Able to do a standard push up (only toes and hands on the floor, baby!)
- Able to walk or run at a faster pace
- Hiking a new trail
- Getting the sleep you need
- Sticking with – or starting- a meditation practice
- Taking the stairs with less effort
- Being able to easily lift luggage into the overhead bin
- Handling a stressful situation with grace
- Listening to music rather than eating to distract from stress
- Following through with your workout when you didn’t “feel like it”
- Saying no to an invitation that would impact you negatively (e.g. late night before an early meeting)
- Saying no to dessert when you’re not hungry and it’s not your favorite
- Saying no to seconds when you are satisfied
- Employing your back-up plan when “life happened”‘
- Feeling and/or seeing toned muscles
Photo by rawpixel.com on Unsplash - Muscle soreness that tells you the workout “worked”
- Walking to lunch instead of driving the 2/10 of a mile
- Noticeable increase in afternoon energy
- Staying positive when confronted with someone else’s stuff
- Refraining from an “opportunity” to gossip
- Reading an inspiring book instead of zoning in front of the TV
- Eating veggies for a snack
- Being prepared with a healthy snack in your car and desk, just when you needed it
- Reduced pain
- Better balance
- Greater flexibility
- Having the confidence to go through with an activity you previously avoided
- Greater ease through the day
- More strength for daily activities
- Noticing the seat in an airplane feels a bit more comfortable
- Your belt needs to move in a notch
- Your rings are fitting a bit loose
- Something that was tight now fits better
- Accepting a compliment with a simple “thank you”
- Cooking a new healthy meal
- Choosing a healthier option at your favorite restaurant
- No longer calorie counting
- Asking for help (yes, that is a victory!)
- Enjoying shopping for clothes
- Having confidence in your intimate relationship
If you’re engaging in healthy behaviors and making wise choices, your body is changing at the cellular level. It has to! Learn to celebrate what’s going well and keep consistent, reminding yourself that giving up is unacceptable. Regular check-ins and re-evaluation will be necessary…just keep doing it. Your body will get to its ideal weight as you steadily implement your plan.
Enjoy food. Love life. Be you again.
These are great! What I love most about them is that when you do one of them, it makes it so much easier to repeat. And then it becomes a habit. Can’t do all 50 at once, but I don’t think that’s what you intended. Seems like this is a check list for well-being. (Said as I’m headed to workout, which is hard to get to (20-minute drive) but always so satisfying when I’m done. I know I’ve done something good for this 70-year-old bod.)
I think it becomes easier to keep going when success is not solely determined by the scale. The more successful we feel then yes, the more we will keep repeating positive actions. It’s an upward cycle.