Non-Scale Victory June 26 edition

Non-Scale Victories.  

I'm going to have to dig deep this week.   I haven't seen a lot of difference in how my clothes feel, I haven't gained a notch on my belt, I haven't received any compliments lately but you know what I have done?

*kept this blog up every day.

*logged every bite I've taken... for real.

*had only ONE HALF of ONE PIECE of cheezy bread.

*stayed within my points range for 23 days in a row

*made an effort to get more steps in whenever I can

*noticed that my hair feels softer.  YES!  I'm counting that!  I think I'm actually getting enough vitamins to affect how my hair feels! 

None of those things has an affect on how I look but they're all so important.  This is about a mindset and a lifestyle, not only about losing weight! 

Weigh In Tuesday 6/24/14 edition

It's Weigh in Tuesday!
Can you taste the excitement? LOL
I'm down exactly 2lbs today.   I tried really really hard this week.  I've had exactly 21 perfect diet days in a row.  That's unheard of! (for me)  I'm down 18lbs from when I started on June 3rd, 2014.

I'm actually down 4.2 lbs for the entire week but I snuck a weigh-in in on the 20th.   I'm getting a little ahead of myself lately.   I want it so bad and I want it now!!  Slow and steady wins the race though and I'll never actually be done so I might as well suck it up, buckle down and settle in for the long haul.  

Small victories.

So today is hub's official birthday and he wanted to go to Cabela's and Firehouse subs. If you don't have a Firehouse Subs in your area and your watching your diet, You.  Are. Lucky. I mean the medium sub there averages more that a full days worth of points alone.  Never mind the chips and drink. I tried to plan accordingly. The site that I checked for nutritional info said I could get away with a veggie sub for about 12 pts.  I got there and it was not on the menu. I had to ask for it.  I got my sub and took a bite.  Delicious!! But... It was so delicious that I KNEW it wasn't 12pts. I did a little more research on my phone and found that indeed... It was NOT 12pts but TWENTY points.  *sigh*

Here's where we find the victory. I only ate half and half my friends.... Is not a lot.  It was also soooooooooo good.  I really wanted the other half. I also was duped into a light cherry lime aide. Au contaire !! 5pts is not "light" to me!! I dumped it. I got the little bag on 40% less fat kettle chips for 4pts and only ate 4. So I came out of there for about 12 pts and didn't feel bitter about it.  In fact I felt pretty pleased and not dying for something else to eat. 

What a huge victory!!

I hung out with my family and did what they did while not making them feel guilty about their lunch and being good to myself. 

Last night was a restaurant victory as well!  We went to a local gastro-pub with friends and I was able to escape with only 12pts of food in my tummy.  I actually had 14pts left over last night!! I planned my day a little TOO well!!

Today I'm feeling it in my clothes and hubs said he's noticing. How could I possibly not keep doing this?

Attitude / mindset is everything. 

Non-Scale Victories

Non-Scale Victories.   So important because sometimes the scale just doesn't move.   It doesn't mean there aren't changes happening in your body and in your mindset! Mindset is EVERYTHING.   I mean... 100%.   You can't do anything without the proper mindset.   One of the many hats I wear is that of a firearms instructor.   Mindset is of the utmost importance.  To develop that mindset in those who have decided to carry a gun for self defense I ask:
Q: Why do you want to carry a gun?
A:  To protect myself and my family
Q: Why do you need to protect yourself and your family?
A:  Because bad people do bad things to good people.
Q: Ok... when will you carry your gun?
A: When I feel like I need it.   (WRONG!!!  you NEVER know when you'll need it!  This will be important later) The right answer is "100% of the time that I have on pants"
Q:  Do you think you can win a gunfight?
A:  (the student might say...)  Oh.. no... I shoot good enough but I'm not a fighter.. that's why I have a gun  (WRONG!  You're going to be IN A GUNFIGHT!  that's why you've decided to carry a gun)
Q: Do you think carrying a gun will make you more confident? ready for anything? kinda badass?
A: (the student might say...) Well, I'll be more confident for sure...
The truth is that you will be hyper vigilant.   Just the aura you put off will project to most attackers that you are not one to be dealt with.  This doesn't mean you're badass... it means you're aware of your surroundings and you're gonna be harder to attack than the woman with her head down texting.

Now you're wondering... what has this got to do with weight loss?  Let's follow the same thought process.
Q: Why do you want to lose weight?
A:  I'm in pain, I'm unhealthy, I'm embarrassed, I'm limited.
Q:  How will losing weight fix those things?
A:  less stress on my knees and shoulders, less stress on my heart, I'll look normal and fit into normal things, I'll be able to do more activities.
Q:  How will you lose weight and maintain a healthy weight?
A:  by making healthy choices, not binging, watching my calorie intake and getting regular exercise.
Q:  How often will you do this?
A:  (the right answer) for the rest of my life unless I want to gain weight.
Q:  Do you think losing weight will make you more confident, ready for anything, kinda badass?
A:  No, those are mental states of mind, I will develop those attributes with work of a different kind.  I will be hyper vigilant though.  Carelessly eating donuts and not planning before going out to eat can't happen.  I will not let weight and food sneak up on me again.

Developing the proper mindset is more than just knowing these things, it's putting them into action.  People come to me for gun advice because I'm passionate about it.   In the future... people will come to me for health advice because I'm gonna get passionate about it!  It's a good thing!

That realization has been a huge NSV for me this week.   I've had others though.   I officially have a pair of shorts that I can't wear without a belt! Kind of a shame since I love them so much but I'll take it!  I also resisted the urge to stop at Wendy's yesterday and get a double cheeseburger.   Instead, I stopped, looked up a healthy FILLING (because lahhhwwss.... I didn't want a vegetable!) choice and got it instead.   I had a small bowl of chili for 3 CWW points.  It was delicious and hit the spot.   I got some protein and fiber!  GOOD FOR ME!  So those are my NSVs for this week.  I'm going to start keeping little notes in my iTrackBites tracker so I can be sure and list every NSV next week.

Remember.... treat your good days like your bad days because there will BE BAD DAYS.   You have to carry your good choices everywhere! You never know when food will attack!