Some non-scale victories

April 18, 2013 by Steph 8 Comments

Having just finished off my Slimming World friendly, sweet tooth satisfying pudding, I have had the chance to marry up healthy eating and satisfying my craving for something sweet.  I’ve even managed to get a bit of chocolate in (hurrah for Curly Wurlys!).

Lately, I have been feeling like I have failed on the weight loss front.  Failed may be a bit strong, perhaps it’s more of a stalling than a failing.  Following my disappointing March round up result I have felt a bit deflated (whilst still being very much inflated).  Over the weekend, I had a good chat to myself.  Rather than my usual self-depreciating, self-esteem bashing talking to, I tried to think hard about how far I have come.  I took the week off from my Slimming World meeting this week.  I had stuff to do anyway (like food shopping for one), and it always turns into a rush on Tuesdays to get everything done.  It feels kind of strange not weighing in.  Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t a chore going, and I enjoy catching up with the friends I have made there, and getting new ideas, but I just wasn’t feeling it this week.

Despite my lack of weigh in, I have had some non-scale successes this week. 

• Firstly, I can now get into my smaller work trousers.  They are from Long Tall Sally (which my mum always come up a bit small on the sizes), and a size 20.  I have been trying to get into them for what feels like months.  I actually wore them to work yesterday.  It feels a bit strange though, wearing a pair of trousers that don’t hang off of me. 
• The second of my non-scale successes is that I can fit into a pair of size 18 Dorothy Perkins jeans.  I have a slight muffin top in them, but they are low-rise.  They’re a little tight, and I probably wouldn’t wear them outside of the house right now, but it’s definite progress and I’m sure that it won’t be too long before they fit properly. 
• The third of the successes is only one that I really gave proper thought to yesterday.  I was walking from the reception at work up to our boardroom with a group of interviewees, and I walked up the slight hill, up the stairs and maintained a conversation.  A few months ago, I would have tried to appear deep in thought as I shuffled up, trying desperately hard not to seem as out of breath as I was.  Not now – I wasn’t out of puff at all.  It is one of those silly but important things. 
• The final thing was people.  Two people at work have mentioned that I have lost weight.  Surprisingly, both men.  I say surprisingly, as I work in a factory, and normally the men don’t much pay attention to that kind of thing.  One of the managers saw me hoiking my trousers up as I walked back towards my office and asked if I was losing weight and said I looked well on it.  The second was one of the warehouse guys.  He’s ever so lovely, and wasn’t quite sure how to word it best so as not to cause offence.  Apparently, I look “well… umm… healthy… um…. “.  I smiled and said thank you and that it was ok to say I was looking thinner.

I have also tried to give some thought to the mental block I seem to have developed for running.  My last couple of attempts haven’t been successful, and I have lost some confidence.  I have been making poor excuses as I realised when I read Peanut Butter Fingers’ post on hurdles to exercise.  I seem so focused on the problem that I can’t find a solution.  I have made a decision to go back to Week 5 of Couch to 5k, and see if I can work up to Week 9 again.  If I am able to get through the weeks quicker, great, but I need to get back to it.  No more excuses – I have the time, I do feel better for exercising, and I lose weight in doing it.

Anyway, the long and short of it is that I feel much more positive that I have done in quite some time.  I feel in control of my eating, and am promising myself a good week of being on plan.