Friend of Julie: Non-Scale Victories

Being obese for so long, one becomes accustomed to embarrassing moments such as needing to ask for a seat belt extension when boarding a plane, or being uncomfortable the entire length of a movie because your body is too big for the chair, or realizing that you are the largest person in this room of one hundred people. After losing a lot of weight, I discovered some these were no longer issues for me. Some of these moments were embarrassing to admit, but they were too victorious not to share. I began to blog about these non-scale victories and many of you shared your stories too. Join me in a non-scale victory dance, as we look back at some of our non-scale victories. 

You may not know a non-scale victory until it happens - and dance when it does!

Things I Really Love

• The compliments
• Finding a pair of pants that fit, without stress
• That my own brother didn't recognize me
• My new body
• The amount of energy I have in a day
• I don't have to scan the room looking for a chair that I'll fit into
• I'm no longer diabetic
• My doctor has taken me off all my meds
• Shopping in regular store (no more large women's stores for me)

Ah Ha Moments

• I walked by a mirror and did a double take - OMG - that's me! I forget! 
• No more chub rub
• I can bend over
• I get up from a chair with less pain
• I discovered a hotel towel fits around me
• I no longer see my belly protrude while I drive
• When I sit in a hairstylists hydraulic chair and I know she'll be able to pump me up - with ease
• Discovering everything I own was too big: underwear, shoes, bras 
• I just found out my ring size went from an 8.5 to a 7
• I can cut my toe nails
• I no longer can use my stomach as a prop to hold up my book
• I'm can cross my legs
• I can paint my own toe nails
• I can shave my legs 
• As I wait for the movie to begin, I realize my chair has open spaces on both sides of me
• I no longer worry about my body pouring over to the airplane seat (or any seat anywhere) next to me

Life Fits Me Better Now

• I have to move the car seat forward after my husband uses the car, I used to have to pull it back
• I can fit both of my legs in one leg of my old pants
• My friend and I fit, at the same time, into a blouse I used to wear
• I fit better in my husband's arms
• I can walk between chairs in a restaurant - straight through without doing the side shuffle
• I'm able to walk behind friends and family sitting at my kitchen island without have to ask them to get up so I can pass by
• I comfortably fit into seats in movie theaters
• All the clothes I bought last summer and couldn't wear now fit me
• Feeling the bones in my butt when I sit on the floor
• I fit comfortably into my camper shower stall
• Getting up from sitting cross-legged on the floor without effort or contortions. 
• I not only no longer need a seat belt extension when I fly - and I have extra room in my seat
• I fit better in my car
• Sitting on hubby's lab on a plastic Adirondack chair and not worrying about it breaking
• My underwear doesn't roll down and your shirt doesn't roll up
• I can tie my shoes without having to prop on a chair 
• I can wear my ring that I haven't worn for twenty years

I Cover New Distances

• I can walk through Walmart and Big Y on same afternoon
• I can trot up to the second floor with a basket full of laundry from the basement without being winded 
• I am a runner once again
• I finished my first 5k in twenty-five years
• Finishing my first 10k in thirty years
• Finishing my first half marathon 
• Finishing my first, second, and third marathon
• I went kayaking for the first time
• I zip-lined for the first time

Short Victory Stories

• I was away with friends and it got cold and I had not packed a sweater. A friend offered me hers and I was horrified at the thought of her seeing me struggle to put on her little sweeter and not being able to get my arms in. She insisted and it fit AND closed! She said she knew it would fit; it was a medium! There was a time I struggled to get into a 3x. That was a moment for me. umbrellas are not the only thing that fits me at Victoria Secrets.
• Every time they check my license at the airport and ask how much I have lost! Or they wonder if it's really me!
• Going shopping in my own store and fitting into clothes that I have not worn in years! My store is as bag of clothes that have been packed away for years. Some still have tags on them.
• I used to make excuses for not getting on the floor with my grand babies and now I'm on the floor...running in the yard...playing hide and seek and can find places to hide...and just able to play and make memories with the girls. This made my day, my week, my month!
• Seeing my tattoo, which is located a little lower than my bikini line. I had forgotten all about it till it appeared recently.
• I can reach the gas door release lever that sits on the floor of the car without having to open the door to get better angle - my belly is no longer in the way. I was amazed the first time I was able to do it. 
• I went rock climbing and I couldn't climb up very far. I didn't look around to see who was watching because I felt victorious that I tried and that someday I will try again. 
• One evening it hit me, as I looked around the large room full of people: I'm no longer the largest person in the room - I'm an average size person. 

It's these kinds of moments we need to remember when something sweet or salty and off-program calls our name.

These are just some of the non-scale victories I've heard from others and I've experienced myself. Life is about living and losing this weight has helped me live a fuller life. I fit better into life and I feel better than I have in decades. There are simple things that I couldn't do when I was obese and there are still a few things I can't do, but when I can do them, I will do a non-scale victory dance.

What about you? What new things can you do today that you couldn't before you lost weight? Stop and do a victory dance for yourself - because you are worth celebrating too! What new things do you want to do that you couldn't do before because of your weight? Keep doing what you're doing until you can celebrate those changes too.