What are your non-scale victories?

I am feeling super good today!

I weighed myself and haven't dropped any weight in 3 months.

I should be upset and angry with "no results", right?

WRONG!

Let me tell you what's going on.  

I lost 5% body fat this past month.  I lost 3 inches in my waistline. I can do more push-ups. I can run faster.  I can lift more.  I have more energy.

BUT... the scale didn't move.  I should be upset because of the scale.

Here's what I know...

Muscle takes up a LOT less space than fat!

I am getting stronger, that means I am gaining some muscle.

My body fat percentage is going down.  That means I am losing Fat.

If all I had done was lost fat and hadn't increased strength. I would just be thinner and not more capable.  But because I have gained strength I am thinner AND and more capable.  PLUS having the muscle mass helps to keep weight off by burning more calories while at rest.

This is why it is CRITICAL to kick the scale focused program of your health journey. 

Remember my story of the skinny runway model that passed out at my bootcamp several years ago?  She was skinny but she couldn't last 5 minutes of a warm up.  That's bad!

She wanted to lose 10 more pounds and be skinnier.  All she knew was the importance of the number on a scale. When I told her she was going to gain a few pounds but have some shape to her, she quit the program because she didn't want to eat more food than one diet coke and a salad every day and over do her cardio til she was nothing.

YOU GUYS!!!!  We have to stop this!

Track your progress, sure.  But find appropriate ways to do so.

 - Use a calipers or other tools to test your body fat.

 - measure your waistline and track inches lost.

 - Watch your pants size change.

 - Take a photo in your bathing suit every few months.

 - test your abilities occasionally (push-ups, hold plank, etc...)

 - Sign up for a 5k every few months and see if you are getting faster and better.

I feel amazing today.  Not because of the scale, but because of my body fat percentage and push-ups.  I even took a quick sprint and found I could move faster and wasn't as sluggish as I was 3 months ago.  What are you celebrating today? 

Cheers!

 - Michelle