Non-Scale Victories. Measure your success without a scale.

Weight loss can be a fickle thing. In the beginning, maybe weight comes off fast, a pound a day or five pounds a week. You can actually see your hard work paying off. But, inevitably, weight loss will slow down. You may even experience weight fluctuations. One or two pounds are gained, before three pounds are dropped. For some people, weight loss never happens quickly. They completely stop loosing weight after some time, no matter what they do or how hard they try. This can be discouraging. It makes choosing healthy foods and scheduling gym time less rewarding.  But, eating healthy and exercise help with more than just the number on the scale. Sometimes, to stay encouraged long term, we need to take note of our non-scale victories. 

First of all, think about your reasons for wanting to lose weight. Was it to have more energy, get rid of obesity related diseases and medications, or maybe to have more confidence and better emotional health? Find out what your driving motivator is and write it down. Look at that reason every single day. Every decision you make should be based on your motivating reason. This way, if the numbers on the scale stop moving, but you can now walk up a flight of stairs without stopping to take a break, you can still celebrate your achievements. Remember health is not measured in pounds.

Next, think about things you can track that are not related to weight. My favorite are progress pictures. Find a picture of yourself at your heaviest weight, or when you felt most unhealthy. Keep that picture close to you and constantly compare it to yourself now. In our bariatric office, we take pictures of patients before surgery. This mainly helps us put a face to a name since we see hundreds of patients a year. But, when a patient comes back six months to a year after surgery, I love to look back at that “before” photo. Most of them looked tired, depressed, bloated, and even older in the “before” picture. Now that they have been including tons of fruits and vegetables, drinking lots of water, and exercising regularly, they look younger, happier and have a sparkle in their eyes, regardless of how much weight they’ve lost. Think about doing a social media post for #ThrowBackThursdays or #FacetoFaceFridays showing off how much healthier you look and feel.  

Another option for tracking is inches lost. Many people get frustrated when the scale doesn’t move, even though they have lost dress sizes. These people are becoming thinner, leaner, and more muscular which is something to celebrate! Invest in a tape measure and make a graph of yourself. Each month measure the inches of your neck, bust, waist, hips, butt and thighs. If you lost inches, but not pounds, this means you built muscle and lost fat, which is really what the goal is. 

Many people also measure success in dress sizes. It’s a cathartic experience to ditch all those old clothes from your wardrobe that are too big. I recommend to keep at least one outfit. That way you can go back and look at it from time to time, celebrating that its still too big and you’ve come so far. One of our patients who often speaks at seminars brings a pair of shorts he used to wear. When he holds them up, the audience always gasps. It’s obvious three of him could fit into those old pants now. He is able to look back at those old cloths and say, “Never again will I go back to this size.” Reward yourself every time you drop a dress size, and throw a party once you’ve left the Plus Sized section of the clothing department. What about those people that only lost 30 pounds after surgery and nothing else? Well old cloths can still be helpful. Does that pair of jeans slide up much easier? Can you zip those jeans now without having to lay down? Do you now need a belt? Or, did you move your belt to the next notch down? Every single one of these is a non-scale victory worth praising. 

Other successes that comes from bariatric surgery, regardless of weight loss are improvements in obesity related diseases. Many people are able to get off or reduce their diabetes medications, get off blood pressure medications, reduce medications for acid reflux, and eventually stop using their C-Pap machines to sleep. In my mind, even if I hadn’t lost weight, I would be glad to rid myself of those diseases. One patient even kept all the medications they used to take on a daily basis as a reminder of what not to go back to. They now take absolutely no medications after surgery and are very proud of this success.  

Fitness can also easily be tracked as non-scale victories. Our office is on the second floor. I love it when patients tell me at their first visit, they took the elevator, but now can run up the stairs. Other things I’ve heard are the ability to walk 18 holes on the golf course, getting out of the pool without using the stairs, able to walk without a wheel chair or walker, not needing to sit for a break while taking a shower, and the ability to walk around the entire block instead of only to the neighbor’s house. Have you noticed something like this since you started your journey to health?

For those more than six months out from surgery, a more accurate way to measure fitness is using a FitBit type device or giving yourself a fitness test. A wearable device can track your heart rate while you exercise. Each day you can try to get your heart rate up for a little longer than the previous day. They will also monitor your steps. If you normally walk 5,000 steps a day, make your goal for the next week 5,500, then 6,000 the week after that. More than one patient has told me that at the end of they day, they are doing laps around the house just to get in their steps. Reaching that goal everyday is a huge non-scale victory. It keeps our body and joints limber, and muscle and bones strong. Fitness tracking devices also monitor your sleep quality. Eating right, exercising, and weight loss all help improve sleep habits. In turn, healthy sleep habits help provide more energy for exercise and help us lose more weight. 

If you don’t have a fitness tracking device, all is not lost. I don’t have one either. Instead, you can give yourself a fitness test once a month. Make it a goal to do exercises each month in order improve your personal best. You’re not completing with anyone but yourself.  Here is what to test.

1. How many sit-ups done in 2 minutes? Have someone hold your feet or stick them under a couch to help you out. 
2. How many push-ups in 1 minute? If you can’t do a push-up start with them against a wall our counter-top. 
3. How long can you hold a plank? Start with your knees on the ground, once you get to 1 minute take your knees off the ground and work on holding that for 1 minute. Once that becomes easy hold the plank with your elbows on the ground (ouch these are tough!).
4. How long can you hold a wall sit? Once you can hold 1 minute, sink down further until you can hold at least one minute with your knees at a 90 degree angle.
5. How fast can you walk a mile. Once a mile is easy to walk, run it! 
   

If you have access to gym equipment chart your progress there. Maybe you can increase the weights you lift or do more and more repetitions each time. Any time you do better than the last is a reason to celebrate this non-scale victory. 

Maybe tracking your food and liquid intake helps you meet other health related successes. A successful day for me it getting in more than 64oz of water, eating a protein and fruit/vegetable at every meal, and sleeping more than seven hours. These actions may not make the pounds melt off, but they improve the quality of your skin, help give you energy to last the whole day, and provide healthy vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants required for long term health. Becoming healthy isn’t a race, its a marathon requires work everyday for the rest of your life. 

Here are some other non-scale victories to celebrate: The simple act of crossing your legs or tying your own shoes. Feeling comfortable enough to go out in public to visit old friends and make new friends. Not worrying about which seat you get in a restaurant because you may not fit in the the booth. Walking onto an airplane without the feeling that people are wondering if you need a seat belt extender or if you will take up more than your space in a seat. Not just going to a theme park with the kids, but walking around the entire day and riding rides without worrying that you wont fit. My personal favorite is to hear when patients can get on the ground and play with kids or grandchildren and not worry that they won't be able to get up again. Lets hear some of your non scale victories!

Recipe Corner:

Spinach and Ricotta Pie with Turkey Sausage Crust
Serves: 12 muffins
Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
8 cups fresh spinach, chopped
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
salt and pepper to tate
3/4 cup egg substitute
2 cups part-skim milk ricotta cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1 pound Italian-Seasoned turkey sausage

Directions:
1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet placed over medium-high heat. Add the onions and garlic; sauté until soft, about 2-3 minutes. Add the spinach and cook for 5 minutes until the leaves are wilted and the stems have softened. Add the nutmeg and season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, add the egg substitute in a large bowl. Add the ricotta, mozzarella and parmesan cheeses. Stir in the sautéed spinach.
3. Spray a muffin tin with non-stick spray. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Use your fingers to press the sausage into place, lining muffin tin cups about 1/4 inch think. Then, spoon in your filling. Don't overfill, they will puff up slightly when baking. Bake on a cookie sheet to prevent spills. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until firm.

http://insidekarenskitchen.com/spinach-and-ricotta-pie-with-turkey-sausage-crust/

Slow Cooker Game Day Beef Stew
Serves: 6
Time: 4 hours 20 minutes

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 pound stew meat, cut into 1 inch cubes
2 cans cream of mushroom soup (Campbells Healthy Request reduced-fat)
4 large carrots, peeled and sliced
4 medium potatoes, peeled a cubed (red potatoes)
1 pound sliced mushrooms
1 package Lipton onion soup mix

Directions:
1. Heat oil in a large skillet and place over medium-high heat. Add stew meat and brown on all sides.
2. Transfer to a slow cooker. Add Cans of soup with one can of water. Add remaining ingredients. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or cook on high for 4-6 hours.

http://insidekarenskitchen.com/game-day-beef-stew-slow-cooker/