What is an NSV?

Non Scale Victory.

HUGE.

You are going to be hard pressed to make it to your ultimate weight loss goal if you don't acknowledge your non-scale victories. These are the positive changes that are happening due to your hard work that haven't got a thing to do with the number on the scale.

I am the director of a non-profit organization here in the town where I live. Lately I have been feeling quite discouraged and inadequate because things haven't really been going how I had envisioned. Sometimes it seems as if the goal of the organization has been lost and the F-word starts popping up in my mind. Failure.

This week I was blessed to talk with two people who helped me recognize all that God has done with this organization. Stuff I never thought about or even dreamed of. Though the positive outcomes I hope to see aren't always there--others are. Same with weight loss...

My latest NSV was actually doing the workout from running club ALL THE WAY TO THE END. I was jumping up and down, high fiving everyone! The trainer was laughing so hard and I was almost crying because I did it. I DID IT! Was a moment... -Kate

My best NSV was going into the bra store and walking out two cup sizes smaller!! It has been at least 5 years since I have been that cup size!! -Googie

My greatest NSV was running a 5K this weekend and even surpassing my own expectations by getting it finished in 45 min. instead of the 1 hr it took me in training. =) -Deb

A NSV for me - this week I would struggle to say - I would have to be wearing clothes that I've been waiting to wear, that in January I couldn't even get on! -Molly

Favorite NSV for me is being able to go into a store and try on clothes and feel good about it instead of tearing up !!! -Kelly

Having the energy to keep up with my CRAZY ENERGIZER BUNNY of a child :) -Miz

How awesome are these!? You go girls! Thanks to all these friends for sharing their NSV's on my last post. It is so motivational to read about these successes! You can click on the comments to check out some awesome blogs! (If any of the links are wrong please let me know. It took me about 24 hours to create those links and toward the end I got a little hostile...)

When I first began I had no interest in the non-scale victories. That term seemed like an oxymoron to me. If the scale wasn't showing the progress then nothing else mattered. But the longer I hang in here, the more precious those non-scale victories become.

If you are struggling today, sit down with a pen, paper and maybe a pal. Start making a list of all the victories you have experienced along the way. Big or small, you will be see that this really is worth it. True victory comes when we realize it's much more about the journey than the destination.

So here's to the GETTING THERE!

Weigh-In: 2 lb. Loss

177 lbs.

The drought is over? I don't know but I am going with it. I hope to gain mental momentum from this week's loss. I currently have no sense of smell therefor no sense of taste. I will use this to my advantage in ways such as eating salad without dressing and toast with out butter. Coffee without cream and sugar...because it all tastes the same.

This photo is poor quality but it displays my shorts. I have 3 pairs of these shorts; one in khaki, black, and brown. They are from Ann Taylor. I love them and they have been my summer clothing staple. A friend of mine the other day commented, "Wow. You're wearing shorts. I've never seen you in shorts." Yeah. Just another one of the many non-scale victories that I cherish. Also the slight definition that is beginning to appear in my midsection...

One of my FB friends posted about one of her favorite NSVs--being able to share clothes with friends. I thought that was a neat one. How about you? Let's hear some of your best NSVs!

Knock on Wood

I know I have been saying this for several weeks now and it never pans out...but this week, I really feel, is going to be a losing week. (Insert knock on wood, if I were superstitious which I am not). This is usually the point in the week when I start to let the scale heavily influence my attitude. But this week I don't have a scale at home so that is proving to be interesting.

Regardless, after several weeks of wrestling with God, I can now say that even if I don't lose I am content to stay where I am until the Lord sees fit to change me. And He does promise to do so here and here. Oh, and here. But it's always in His timing, and it's always in His perfect way, not mine. Or yours.

Speaking of God, I started a book last night called Women, Food and God, by Geneen Roth. She has written several bestselling books on food, weight loss, etc. My mom saw her promoting this newest book, the one I am reading, on Oprah not too long ago and told me about it. I haven't had much time for reading lately and when I do I try to make it be the Bible or my magazine subscriptions (Better Homes, and Southern Living) but for this one I'm making an exception.

I am into the first couple of chapters. It is quite interesting. There are lots of cuss words which I find annoying. They totally distract from the essence of the book, in my opinion. At any rate, I am predicting that my conclusion after finishing the book will be that Ms. Roth is so very close, yet so very, very far away from the TRUTH. (Not because of the cuss words:) I will let you know though. As I said, I've only just begun...

I'm really interested to to hear thoughts about the book from anyone who has actually read it (not just seen on Oprah). I know someone suggested it to me a while back. Please leave a comment and if you wish, include your own personal beliefs about "God" so I will have a frame of reference from which to better understand your thoughts. I would love to do a post after I finish the book and include insights from other readers.

Thanks in advance!

Photos Never Lie

You know when it is okay to see yourself in a picture like this?



When you don't look that way anymore!

Today my mom was looking through some pictures from last summer. She handed the camera to me and said there were a couple of "interesting" pictures of me on there. I knew what was coming and I was actually excited, believe it or not. I love the comparisons...



I always tried to avoid the camera, as I'm sure most overweight people do. Or we try to strategically place items in front of the belly (throw pillow anyone?) Yeah, well...whatever methods we try, they usually don't work. As I've said before--the camera doesn't lie.



I am thankful for these remiders of where I've been--and where I never want to return.

Weigh In: Maintenance

BO-RING.

:)

Success Story

Every time I joined Weight Watchers or got a new book on weight loss, I would immediately be drawn to the Success Stories. I loved reading about people who had actually done it. Lost weight.

I felt hopeful and happy when I could see the proof in pictures. To see a person overcome the very thing I wanted to overcome encouraged and excited me. It made me BELIEVE I could do it.

For whatever reason, I never really did it. But I always came back to the stories and the pictures because that was what I could cling to. The possibility...



Irony--I am a success story.

I say that not to brag or be prideful. I think anyone who reads this somewhat regularly knows that I consider myself useless in this arena. In the Lord I find my strength and in Him I will boast. If anything, this journey has taught me how very weak I am--on my own.

Even though I am not "there" yet, I am SO much closer than I ever have been. Not making it all the way is NOT an option for me. I don't know when I will reach my goal, but I WILL reach it.

I just want you to know that if you are coming here for the success story factor, I will deliver. I want to be a reason you BELIEVE you can do it.

Because you can.

Get On the Bus

I am so stinking tired. And I've hurt my back. I thought when you started getting into shape, you were less likely to get injured. Hmm...

I am not sure what is the cause of this pain in my lower back. I suspect either moving furniture or trying a new oblique machine at the gym this week. After a heating pad and a liberal dose of ibuprofen last night, I am doing better today. Hope to be able to run tomorrow.

You know, I have been trying to talk myself into getting hyped up about weight loss again. It's just not working. I am out of the really bad place I was a week or so ago, but I am still struggling to get back on top of my game.

This weekend I happened upon a story told by Patsy Clairmont. This is about her son, Jason:

When he was 7, I sent him off to school one day and a little while later there was a knock at the door and I opened the door and it was Jason.

I said 'Jason, what are you doing here?'

He said, 'I've quit school!'

I said, 'Why have you quit school?'

He said, 'Well, it was too long, it was too hard, and it was too boring.'

I said, 'Son, you've just described life. Get back on the bus!'

It's time to pull up my big-girl panties and GET BACK ON THE DANG BUS. Enough already! No more whining. No more pep talks. No more excuses.

Just me and the bus.

My Pyramid

I was excited about the number of you who emailed me wanting to try to implement a more balanced, nutritional diet! I think that is a very wise choice to make for not only losing weight but for becoming as healthy as you possibly can be. You are going to have to keep me updated on your progress if you decide to try this out.

I thought that before I figured it out for each of you I would search for an easy way you can do it yourself and learn everything you need to know about this way of eating. I was successful!

Think what you want about the government, but they really have done a GREAT job with the MyPyramid website. It is excellent. It does all the things that some very popular weight loss programs offer online (and then some!) but the great thing about this is--it's free!

Go check it out:

http://www.mypyramid.gov/

If you click on the Mypyramid Plan link on the left side of the main site, it will take you to the form for determining your food group serving allowances which is what I offered to do for you yesterday. It also offers helpful tips for each food group. There is so much valuable information and interactive stuff that I can't even begin to tell about it all here. I WILL tell you that I am going to be a frequent flier to this website.

By the way--there is nothing groundbreaking about this food plan. It's been around for oh, I'd say since about the beginning of time. It is eating simple foods in proper amounts. God created such a beautiful variety of foods to enjoy. He created them to be just the perfect thing to sustain human life. There are none we should leave out. There are none we should abuse.

If we eat food in a balanced way, our bodies will perhaps slowly, but surely begin to unveil His fearfully and wonderfully made perfection.

Calories vs. Servings

Last week I decided to not only photograph all of my meals but also count the calories. I aimed for 1400 a day as that is the amount FP4H says I should have. They also say I should have:

3 c. of milk (mostly skim, lowfat)
5 oz. lean protein (meat, eggs, nuts, beans)
6 oz. grains (over half should be WHOLE grains)
2 c. fruits
2 c. vegetables
5 tsp. healthy oils (olive oil, avocados, nuts, etc.)
*This is specifically tailored to my weight, age and activity level . I can help you figure out yours if you email me: keeliesue@live.com

That part I did not monitor as closely. I went back through all of my meals for the week and found that while I had stayed within my alotted calories, I was not meeting the serving guidlines for all of the food groups each day. Like I might have had 8 oz. of grains (too many) and only 2 c. of milk (too few), for example.

The big deal is that I did not lose any weight! For the past 6 months all I have done is keep track of my food groups. NO calorie counting. And it has worked so well. The pounds practically fell off of me.

I know that losing in the beginning is going to be easier than shedding the latter pounds, but I really think there is something to the balancing of the different food groups to foster optimum weight loss. I don't know why I decided last week to count calories, but I'm glad I did. It taught me that the little saying "if it ain't broke don't fix it" is really a good rule of thumb.

Duh.

So this week I am back to tracking my food groups rather than the calories (doing all this on Facebook) and we'll see what a difference it makes.

*Sidenote--The theory is that if you stay within the food group requirements without a lot of extras (things that don't fall into a food group) you will automatically stay within the calorie range without even having to count the calories. I have checked it on numerous occasion and it always works.

Feel free to share your insights on this topic...

Weigh In: Maintenance

So I'm not very good at predicting. Still weighing in at 179 lbs. I don't really know what happened here. I ate really well this week and did some significant exercise 5 out of the past 6 days. Hmm.

Oh well, maybe next week will show it.

In the mean time, I am going to enjoy my best buy of the decade. I purchased a name brand running skirt for $4.95 last night!! What an amazing deal. I've been wanting one of these but I never thought it would look even remotely close to okay on me. But I tried it on and you know what they say --

If the skirt fits...

ROCK it!

Last night we went on a date. (That's when I got the skirt) I'm sure we've been on one since March, but March was the last time I took a picture of myself on a date. Check out the difference:

March

Now

The differences are subtle, but they're there! I remember how much I loved those pictures I took in March when I went on a Hot Date and now I feel like I look even better and *brighter.*It is so cool to see positive changes.

Not going to let the scale get me down! No sir. There is too much to celebrate.

O Boobs, Where Art Thou?

Oh, yes. I see you. Way down there.

Sigh.

Remember when you used to be up here? Yeah, those were the days. Although I seem to have taken you for granted. Your perkiness, your symmetry, your equality. I am so sorry I neglected to appreciate you back then.

Through the years I have put you through a lot. First of all, I am sorry for the wires and things that I use on and around you. I know you must feel restricted. Believe me, if I could have it any other way, I would.

I am also sorry for forcing you into the dairy industry a couple times. That had to be traumatic for you. I know it was for me.

Finally I am sorry for eating so much that I made you into something you were never intended to be. I made you get fat, too. You probably resent me for that. I can't blame you.

But now that we are all getting smaller again, I really wish that you would consider rising back up to your original position. I am hoping that gradually you will return to me. You are so very far, far away right now. You are almost unrecognizable. You are deflated.

Even though you must feel very drained, I ask you to set your emotions aside and pull yourself up out of the pits, literally. Return to the bouncy and bubbly girls you once were. Please!! Defy that evil thing we call gravity. Forgive me.

Oh--and if it's not too much to ask, do it together; evenly and at the same time.

Thanks, girls. I know that together we can make amends. I love you. Looking forward to sharing the same hemosphere again.


P.S.--Don't NOBODY tell me this can't happen. I believe in miracles!!! Even the medical kind ;)

Stuff

I'm going to have to continue using my regular camera for my blog photos. I finally found the one thing this iPhone is not really good for. Ha!

This has been an interesting weekend for eating. I had to eat several meals out and even attended a birthday party. I managed to make good choices everywhere I went. I even passed on the super cute and yummy-looking birthday cake at the party. I had one hot dog and it was SO good. I don't even like hot dogs but this one was really burned. YUM-O! I know, I know...that's bad for me. I only had one though!

I made some homemade ice cream today. I recently acquired a brand new Cuisinart ice cream maker (awesome) and I had to try it out. To my credit, I did try a low-fat, low-cal version of vanilla first. As much as I tried to love it, I didn't. So today I made the real stuff. I made up a recipe for banana pudding ice cream. It was good. I probably ate a serving and a half while testing. First poor choice in about a week.

I am looking forward to some downward movement on the scale this week. I predict it will at least be 178 (which is the lowest I've been so far) but it is possible that it could be lower. I need to look it up, but I think 175 may be the magic number when I am no longer obese.

That is crazy to me. Because when I look at the picture I posted above, that does not look like the face of obesity to me. But it is. I think it would be pretty safe to say that people who think they are probably not over weight, probably are overweight. And people who think they are probably not obese, probably are obese. And people who probably think they are just obese, are probably morbidly obese.

Anyway....a lot of randomness here today. Not sure why. Just wanted to check -in. I have some really great post ideas for this week: one abut Jesus being fat, one about boobs, one about a new award I am creating and one hopefully about being smaller than I have been in nearly 10 years. Should be fun.

Enjoy the last few hours of this weekend!

Photos of Food

I just wanted you let you all who haven't made it over to the REAL FAT Facebook page, I am taking pictures of everything I eat and sharing it there. Literally--everything I put in my mouth. I am also calculating the calories in the caption of each photo. It is helping me tremendously!

I am frequently asked what I eat on a daily basis, how many calories, etc. so this is my way of sharing that information in detail. These are a few meals from the past week:





If you want to know what any of this stuff is, you'll have to come to FB to see.

And this is me in a dressing room just a few hours ago. Shopping is so much fun these days :)

Weigh In: 3 lb. Loss

179 lbs.

Whew. Safely back into the 170s. I think (I THINK!) I am here to stay this time. Well, actually I don't want to stay too long. Just a few weeks will be plenty of time.

Yesterday I went on a new route that was 5.5 miles. I did a little more walking than running but it felt so good. I also took my new best friend, my iPhone, to listen to my music. I have to admit, I never got all the hype...but I do now:)

I needed to see some progress so I did this comparison:

About 15 lbs. difference. You can see it going away in the lower abdomen--just where we want it gone, baby!

Feelin' good. Hope you are too.

P.S. Gina, I added some more songs to the playlist since you like to listen :)

Holiday Eating

Sometimes holidays can cause a huge explosion of eating and drinking followed by hours of sitting around shootin' the bull. Not to mention how hard it is to squeeze our regular exercise routines in when all the other festivities are going on.

I have often thought that it is a huge mistake to "take a day off" from eating well just because it's a holiday. If you think about it, there is some holiday to celebrate at least once every month if not multiple times. That doesn't even include birthdays, showers, vacations, etc. And then there are those holidays that we like to stretch into seasons...oh my.

If we abandon our healthy habits every time one of these special occasions comes along, we will be trying to "recover" more than we are just doing what we do. Does that make sense to anyone? That is a very frustrating way to live.

So the idea is to celebrate...

My kiddos at the family frieworks stand.

Natural salesman, he was.

My pyro-maniac (bandana) with his cousin and owner of the stand, Uncle Greg.

Us, on a very hot Fourth!

But remember what the celebration is all about--and it's never about the food...


Okay, if you only weigh 30 pounds, sometimes it can be about the food ;)

Outfit via iPhone

I finally got an iPhone. It is SO cool and I am having fun learning all about it. I was picking out my clothes for church tomorrow and decided to take a picture with my new phone:)

Yes, I do pick my clothes out the night before.

Back to My Roots

This morning I did some catching up on my First Place Bible study. If you attend Weight Watchers meetings this would be the rough equivalent to having homework every night that pertained to the upcoming meeting topic. It is a very helpful tool to stay motivated, learning, and on track.

If you do it, that is.

Hmm.

As I opened my study book this morning I was thinking it had been a while since I was doing this consistently. I have done some days here and there but not every single day. So I flipped back through my book to see when I began to slack off. It was 4 weeks ago. Right when I hit the 50 lb. loss mark. Suspiciously close to when the funk began.

I think it is highly possibly that I felt a little...cocky at that point? Like, "Yeah. I got this. I'm awesome. I just lost 50 lbs. Rock on!" Even perhaps thinking that this is easy. That I don't really even have to try.

Well, that part has been true for me for the first 50 lbs. It actually has been kind-of easy. But it is because I have fully relied on God and let Him do the heavy lifting. When I stepped out of His protection, by failing to rely on His Word and promises, things got hard. Really fast.

This was what the Lord had me read this morning:

I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. John 15:1-8

So...it only took me a month to be reminded of my roots. And basically no pounds gained. Thank you for that, Jesus. And thank you for your patience--You've sure got a lot of it :)

Oh yeah, the random pictures are from me playing dress-up with my BFF's jewelry. So fun!