NSVs… do people still talk about those?
Post #1 for the day… come back later for post #2 when I explain why I’ve been running so freakin’ much (someone asked me, so I’ve been thinking about it).
Years ago, I read a lot of weight loss blogs. I was deep in another failed attempt to shed pounds and I thought reading those might be helpful.
It wasn’t. The hard data (weight loss per week, starting weight, how many calories eaten in a day, specific food) made me compare myself to others, which I am not apt to do*. And geesh, all that talk about food made me feel snacky!
So I quit reading them. I know I have talked about this before, but I feel it’s important to point out from time to time, as a reminder as to why I don’t comment much on your WIAW posts, or how much weight you have lost, etc. It’s too triggering for me. I support you – I just cannot read too much of that stuff. And it’s also why I don’t talk about it here much – to respect that for other people.
Anyways… (geesh, that was a long intro!)
When I was reading those weight loss blogs, I really started to like the term non-scale victory (NSV). NSVs are, well, non-scale related progress you’re making! Fitting in to an old pair of jeans, having more energy, not eating the entire bag of chips, etc. It’s just a way to remind ourselves not to focus on the scale all. the. freaking. time.
What do you think of the idea of NSVs? Hokey? Cool? Whatever?
So. I actually have an NSV to share. I feel like such a dork. But! I am so proud of me and Steven.
We have been doing a kickass job of consuming all of the produce we buy each week. And check out the picture below. We buy a lot!
Note: broccoli is missing – I think they were out.
That’s produce for two people. For one week! We’ve been consistently running out of everything, and even needing to make little trips to the store to stock up.
It doesn’t seem like a big deal. In fact, when I write it out, it actually seems like we are bad at estimating how much we are going to eat. Ha ha. But what it really means is that we are eating a very healthy amount of produce each day.
And I would rather have to make an extra trip to the store because we ran out of something, than have something sit in the fridge for weeks, only not to end up using it! And that used to happen to us!
What type of produce goes the fastest in your house?
*And is SO not appropriate for weight loss.
Themocracy
What a healthy cart you have! We just got the asparagus when we were at Aldi too! We try to use up all our produce but then things come up, we forget or aren’t in the mood, blah blah blah. Gotta get better at it!
Valerie
http://www.the-style-files.com
Yay! So you guys are hitting up the new Aldi?! 🙂 The asparagus has been so good, we keep getting it!
I’ve never heard of NSV’s until today!! I’ve focused on that a lot lately and I didn’t even know it had a name!!!! It’s hard, but I feel your pain, I cannot read too many weight loss blogs either. I’ll find myself doing the same thing as you! That is why I only post my measurements once a month. Mostly it holds me accountable, that’s why I do it.
Fruits go the fastest at my house. My boys aren’t much into veggies, so I stock up on fruits and greek yogurt so they’ll only have healthy choices to make! <—– 'cause I'm sneaky like that!
And I have been liking reading your measurements a lot! Have you tried any new arm workouts yet this week? I thought of you last night when I was teaching class – it was bicep/tricep movement heavy.
Aww, thanks! I appreciate your comments!!
I did try new ones today! I did the kick backs, and everything arms today. I still haven’t been online to look some up, and I need to! I was just creative and did a hard arm workout. I probably won’t be able to pick up a pen at work tomorrow!!!
Ha! Yes! I hope you CANNOT pick up a pen! Let me know! If not, it wasn’t enough… lol 😉
I’m bad about using up all the produce I buy. This is always something I try to improve upon. I hate throwing food away. Last night it was two sad tomatoes that needed to go but I try to make the effort or come up with something to use things up even if it needs to go in the freezer, although I have way too many overripe frozen bananas! 🙂
We totally have a HUGE bag of frozen bananas too!
1) I’ve heard you make comments, mostly in the comments, about being heavier or such, but I just wanted to let you know you are gorgeous and it never occurred to me you might struggle with weight until this post – you look so fantastic in all of your pictures! Weight is such a funny, personal thing…I definitely empathize with how much of an emotional struggle it can be.
2) I love the term NSV. And more importantly than the term I love the concept. I don’t like scale victories. The scale LIES. It’s misleading. It’s heartbreaking. It’s STRESSFUL. On my weightloss journey I ended up on myfitnesspal and while I was successful, I never celebrated the number. (I mean – I did occasionally email my husband or best friend and go, “Whoo, I made ___!” or whatever.) But when I actually posted on the success stories forum, which I did a few times, it was all about fitness things that the weightloss allowed me to accomplish – the first time I ran for 20 minutes straight, the first time I ran a 5k, the first time I ran a 10K (I came in last, because it was a race of 21!!! people, and was THRILLED), my first 10 miler, and then recently, my first half. Focusing on numbers sucked, but focusing on stuff I could control through working hard…those I love. Those make me feel accomplished and dare I say it, bad ass? 🙂
Geez, my brain is gone. I think this is a fantastic victory btw – first, that your diet is so produce filled, and second, that you are that GOOD at estimating what you need. I’d much rather buy a lot but still too little, than buy too much, and waste. 🙂
Thank you 🙂 My weight has been going up and down, by 20-30 pounds each year, for years. I am not one to care about how I look, or before, even how I felt, but I know that I need to care about my health, so I am trying harder to lose weight 😉 So that is what all that is about!
And I love that you are on board with NSVs, because even the little Non-NSVs (lol, so scale-victories) are misleading, like you said! So we gotta look at what else we are doing right, so we don’t get so hung up on that dang scale!
Lol! Where was this small race of 21 people? Hee hee. 🙂 And all those SHOULD make you feel like a bad ass! 🙂
Health is a great reason to examine one’s diet!
Lol! It was the SIA Track Attack (https://www.facebook.com/events/292997504142257/). It was their first year running it, and it was before a big Purdue HM race in Indiana so it was going to be decent sized – but it rained the morning of the race, so they cancelled it. (I am really assuming it’s because they were new to this, it wasn’t even raining by race time!) The day the rescheduled to was the week after the big race and I think that sapped a lot of people who had been planning on going, plus it was flipping freezing – mid 50s when I ran during the original scheduled time, mid 20s on the rescheduled race day (it was a twilight race). So really, only hardcore runners showed up for the most part – I was last by around 10 minutes, but they were aweosme and cheered me on and sent us home with 2 gallons of chocolate milk too haha.
I’ve never really heard of NSVs but I like the concept. Kind of like how I grabbed a pair of dress slacks from my closet I haven’t worn in a while and realized after wearing them half the day that the reason I hadn’t worn them in so long was because they didn’t fit before. They were comfy and I have worn them twice this month.
We’ve been doing much better at planning our meals and eating our produce too. It’s hard to say what goes fastest at our house.
Your Aldi posts always remind me that I should shop there more often.
That is awesome! I love it when older clothes start to fit again. It’s sad to see clothes in your closet that used to fit (and are too small now, lol, not the other way).
I really tend to slack on buying LOTS of veggies in the winter. I hit the farmers market from may to October every week but during the winter the prices of things gets to be too expensive so I tend to only buy tomatoes and peppers once in a while. I also really try to eat what I buy each week and not let anything go to waste.
I totally think NSV’s are awesome! Seriously my scale won’t budge but I feel totally healthier. That has to count—HAS TOO! I am like you, I can totally support someone’s journey but I tend to stay away from posts about Weigh-Ins because they are self-doubting triggers for me.
I’ve never heard the term NSV, but I definitely focus on those a lot! I never really thought I was a “weight loss blogger,” but in reading back through everything I wrote about that, I very rarely talked about my scale. I’d never reveal my actual weight – not because I’m embarrassed, but because I wouldn’t want anyone else to feel bad because of it (since I’ve read stuff like that/heard comments about that and felt momentarily bad). I generally don’t care about my scale anymore. I only weigh myself every few weeks, just to get a sense that I’m still on track with my eating, but I’d love to get to the point where I just don’t weigh myself at all. I get much more out of feeling good, having more energy, fitting into my clothes, etc., than I do from the number on my scale.
And it’s funny that you mention feeling snacky because of it! I used to watch The Biggest Loser, way back when it was first on, and I’d find myself gorging through the entire show! Like they’d have a plate of donuts there to tempt the contestants, and that’d make me eat sweets.
And way to go eating all that produce! We used to have to throw stuff out all the time, but we’ve definitely gotten better at gauging how much to buy and actually remembering to eat it all.
The more you tell me about your weight loss journey and maintenance, the more I aspire to be like you. I still weigh myself every morning to keep on track, but I am excited to get to a comfortable maintenance zone someday… soon?!
Ha ha ha. I bet TBL would make me feel that way too 🙂
You’ll get there! A big step for me in that was just not really caring about the fluctuations I saw on the scale from day to day or week to week, and once I was okay with that, it became easier to weigh myself less. I hope your backpack isn’t scale-obsessed though 🙂
And thanks for the compliment! I hope that I have healthy attitudes and habits that I can pass on! And I want to be more like you as a runner, so it works out 🙂
I usually don’t care about the fluctuations EXCEPT when I know they are due to binge-eating! LOL! Then I am pissed at myself. But I think I finally got past that little February hiccup 🙂 Wow. Writing that reminds me that I wrote this last year. http://www.ilaxstudio.com/blog/2012/02/01/binge-free-february/ FAIL! So happy I am doing better now and the binging does not last forever. And thanks for letting me talk to you about this ALL THE TIME.
Aww, thank you! Sounds like we are good for each other?! 😉
Of course, I’m always happy to listen! Food/eating can be a tough subject, but when I think about all the terrible eating habits I used to have…. there’s hope for anyone 🙂
I wish we ate everything. Ugh we are so bad about leftovers and not wasting food. BUT sometimes I get really mad at Trader Joe’s because their produce goes bad SO QUICKLY. But I still keep buying it…it’s a vicious cycle..
Ooohhh, throwing produce away is my BIGGEST PET PEEVE but something my non-veggie-loving family is terrible at. So GO YOU! That is a huge victory! 🙂
We are decent at eating fruit. And red peppers go quick. The rest? Not so great.
We need to be better about using the produce that we buy. I end up throwing out stuff because I forgot I bought it, or I bought the organic kind and it spoiled faster than I thought it would. We have a compost heap so it does go to use, but I just wish that so much didn’t go to use in the compost heap. I think it is because I get lazy with cooking during the week and I need to be better about planning out our meals for the week. Do you do planning or just buy groceries and wing it?
We totally wing it and just buy the same staples all the time. Which I think kind of made it more likely to have stuff to throw out before, but now that we are trying to eat healthier, we are doing better with it.
I love that you can compost.
That is nice! I feel like we throw away so much stuff that either I or my husband forgot about. I think I’m going to start planning out my meals, in hopes that will work out better!
Chris does all the composting. I just kill everything. Even things that are already dead.
I have never heard the term NSV before but I do participate in them, I like the idea of using NSV’s instead/along with the scale. I do have a goal weight in mind but if the clothes I want to fit fit and I feel good and healthy, then to hell with the number on the scale!
Your shopping cart looks very healthy!!
=^..^=
I really like the concept of NSVs. I remember that a while back I was dealing with food/weight stuff, and one thing that really helped me was to pack a lunch. This wasn’t about losing weight but about eating healthier and feeling good about my food choices.
We’re good about eating a decent amount of veggies, but I hate to admit that we usually have to throw out something – not a lot, but one veggie item, or part of it. Because we live in CA and go to the farmers’ market on a weekly basis, we definitely stock up on fresh stuff. Right now, I’m loving this baby broccoli stuff we’ve been getting. One of my favorite ways to use lots of greens is just as a side to scramble eggs or with the eggs.
Yum, baby broccoli! How does it compare to… adult broccoli?
Packing a lunch is so worth it. Ugh. I go in to the physical office so rarely that whenever I go in I have some lunch plans and end up eating out!
I had no idea what NSV’s were til I read this post! I guess that’s because I don’t read too many weight loss blogs either… And you know that I am on the same page with you on the weight struggle, but as usual – we won’t get into that here, right? LOL! Have a great day, Kim!
LOL, yeah. Sigh. We have been at this for awhile, haven’t we?!
I’ve actually never heard of NSVs but I like the idea of focusing on goals that impact your daily life rather than a number on a scale!
We buy a lot of produce and go through it every week. Sometimes I’m amazed by how much fruit and vegetables two people can eat! We’re pretty bad about pantry stuff though. I’ll buy pasta and then never cook it, forget I bought it the first time, and then buy it again. Ugh! I always tell myself to look in the cabinets before I go grocery shopping and plan meals around what we already have (to save money) but I usually forget!
I thought of you when I was writing this, and your awesome grocery shopping post! 🙂
We do the same thing – stock up on things and then we have a crap-ton of pasta and cereal!
We are pretty good at meal planning and not letting stuff go bad all that often. We have “salad bar” for dinner at least 2 nights/week so those ingredients are reliably gone and we really go through a lot of apples! They are so convenient for taking to work and also for eating “on the go”.
This is the first time I’ve heard the term NSV, but not the first time I used the concept. Sometimes when I feel really good and fit, I get on the scale and I get disappointed because it is not the number I want to see. I let it take away my pride in getting faster/fitting better into pants/eating really well.
I despise throwing away produce so sometimes by the end of the week, I eat some really interesting combinations. The produce that I go thru quickest is bananas! I buy them every time I am at the store.
Wow! I’m surprised that so many people haven’t heard the term non-scale victories! Not sure when the term became part of my lexicon but I definitely have heard of it. I even have a pair of jeans that I consider to be my NSV-jeans. If I can wear them comfortably then I know I’m doing alright 🙂 Although, lately, I’ve found that some shirts don’t fit as well as they used to but I think it’s because of my shoulder muscles!
I’ve gotten a lot better about using up things we have in the fridge. We meal plan so I typically know what I need to buy and when I’m going to use it, but every so often that doesn’t happen. Last week I even made something without a recipe because I had stuff I needed to use up! That’s practically unheard of for me!
I was surprised how many people hadn’t heard it either! That is great that you are building your shoulder muscles!!! Do you have to go shopping now? Darn 😉
What?! You made a non-planned recipe?! I don’t believe you. Tee hee. 🙂
I love NSV’s! I just wish I celebrated more of them for myself. 🙂
Think of some right now and tell them to me!
Oh, this post reminds me of my WW days. I was big on the NSV, mostly as it related to running, but all were good. So exciting that you are eating so many fruits and veg. Good reminder for me to pack them in. I can be quite terrible about using all the produce, as evidenced by this sad looking piece of broccoli in the crisper. We do eat lots of frozen veg and the bananas never go bad. I also got a bag of Aldi oranges this week – one on my desk right now – but missed the strawberries and oats. Almost out 🙁
The Aldi oranges have been SO GOOD here the past three weeks! AHH! They are not always. 😉 Sounds like you need to get over there!
So, is NSV a WW term? I don’t know the origin!
I’ve actually never heard this term but I love it. Really, isn’t it more important that you feel good in your clothes and happy with your body than achieve a certain number on the scale? I’m not so good at it unfortunately. I think the only time in my adult life, I really managed it was when I lived in Italy. I didn’t have a scale, so I couldn’t weigh myself. The life-style there encouraged me to eat real whole foods and really enjoy them, but not gorge myself. I kept working out, but not as obsessively as I do here, because I did so much walking in my every day life.
Oh gosh. The Italian way of living is the way to go. I loved it there (I was super heavy, but if I would have lived their lifestyle, I wouldn’t have been – I just had to have gelato and pizza bianca every day and I don’t regret it one bit).
Weight Watchers meetings talk a lot about NSV so I’m very familiar with them. They often tell such a more positive story than the scale. I realize how easy it is to get down on myself when the scale doesn’t tell the story I want… but then once I start listing all the good things for my health I *AM* doing, it helps to see this is not just about a number on a scale, but overall health and wellness.
Great post!
I love that WW encourages this! It’s so much better to focus on than that dang scale!
Thanks 🙂
That looks like a good shopping trolley of fresh produce. We go through loads of avos, fruit, yogurt and organic milk for the kids… always seem to be at the store buying a few more things or getting some fresh salmon, which I love. I don’t bother with reading weight loss blogs, love fitness blogs a lot more – it is more about being fit and strong and healthy than skinny?
Definitely! And a lot of the weight loss blogs were about losing weight to get to a healthy weight, not the … well, too skinny ones. I just couldn’t read them anymore. Too much for me! I’d rather read about fitness too!
We go through broccoli pretty quickly, but I usually plan all of our produce consumption in advance, so it goes at a pre-determined speed. (That makes me sound super-neurotic.)
That’s a great NSV though. I always think of those as things like “Fit into my jeans” or something to do with loss, but a victory in terms of adding a positive habit is awesome!
I love that you are super-neurotic. I mean, that you sound super-neurotic.
Lettuce..I have all great intentions of eating salads for the next week for lunch and a week later..I throw it out..I stopped buying it. Instead I buy some lettuce at the salad bar at work and bring my own toppings.
I love NSV and want to hear them all. I also love hearing about why people decide to lose weight and how they do it.
I heart ALDI. Naners go fast in my household.
When I felt healthier than I do now, I definitely paid attention to non scale victories. In fact, I didn’t own a scale for a long time and rarely weighed myself. These days, for health reasons, I do need to pay attention to the scale. But, I have not forgotten those NSVs and champion each and every one! In our house, clementines go super fast. Even Gavin can almost peel them on his own and has been known to eat three at a time!
I think NSVs and non-NSVs (ha ha, so scale victories) can go hand and hand! I use both!
I need with it re: clementines! We never have them at home! (just scarfed down an orange though)