Wendy was originally scheduled to write this blog, but I have been doing so much technical writing lately I wanted to tackle it. Although I will get a little technical and give you the dictionary meaning of what non-scale victories are to start.
According to Healthline a non-scale victory is: “also known as NSVs, they are health improvements that result from small life changes. They may go unnoticed if you’re only focused on the scale as a measure of your success.” In other words, it has nothing to do with your weight. It’s the other improvements you see in your life.
So… without further ado here are my top 10 non-scale victories that keto has helped me accomplish:
Shopping Made My List of Non-Scale Victories
10. Shopping in Any Section: I used to be the man’s man that stood up and told people how much I hate clothes shopping. Turns out I don’t hate it when I have real selection and I’m not relegated to the back corner of the store in the plus sized section. In fact, being able to pick from any rack makes shopping quite enjoyable… and expensive.
9. Acne is Gone: I never had real issues with acne on my face but did suffer from adult body acne. It was quite painful and looked awful. Keto changed all that. I haven’t suffered from acne in any capacity since starting this eating way of life. That my friends is a definite victory.
8. Movement: this one is very simple. I move easier since losing 165-pounds. Who would have thought not carrying around the body weight of a whole other person would make it easier to climb a ladder or even get off the couch? Being able to move without pain is wonderful.
Is High School Weight on Your List of Non-Scale Victories
7. Reaching My High School Weight: we tend to romanticize high school and use that weight as a marking point of our peak optimal health. For me I’m about 40-pounds lighter than high school. I’m sure some of it is muscle mass as I used to be into body building, but I’m taking it as a victory.
6. Positivity from Others: there are time when this one becomes daunting, but most times hearing people gush about how good I look is a great feeling. It also is a great avenue to educate people about keto and the changes it made in my life. Them seeing me for the first time after several years is something tangible in front of their face to show keto works.
5. My Sex Life: Married to Keto is all about honesty and this must be included. Number 8 was movement so the two go hand in hand. Being smaller, having more stamina, and being healthier are great indicators to hit for a healthy sex life. Keto has helped me hit all three leading to this non-scale victory.
Taking on New Challenges
4. Taking on New Challenges: looking back at the number of things I didn’t do because of my weight and health is depressing. Now that I’m more comfortable with myself and my abilities I have taken up things I never dreamed of. I’ve become obsessed with motorcycles, gotten back into basketball, hitting the weights again. At my heaviest I thought all these things were out of reach.
3. Mental Health: the clarity that has been given to me since starting keto is remarkable. The days of depression and anxiety are behind me. There is no more sugar and chemicals skewing my outlook. I’ve never been a big advocate of food “fixing” an illness, but keto has changed my mental outlook for the better.
2. Sleep Apnea Gone: this is more of a saved my life moment, than non-scale victory. I suffered from severe sleep apnea and without a machine would stop breathing at night for more than a minute at a time. I suffered from constant headaches, was always tired, and had a brain fog that effected my entire life. Since starting keto I no longer sleep with that machine and suffer none of the side effects listed here. I was on a fast track to a stroke, now I’m on the fast track to continued good nights sleeps.
#1 On My List of Non-Scale Victories
1. Control Over Food: I don’t need food anymore to cope. Before it was my go-to whenever something bad happened or even if something good happened. I either drowned my sorrow in it or celebrated with it. Aside from Wendy, food was my best friend. Now it’s just a tool to keep me healthy. That is by far my biggest victory as everything else is a result of this.
Celebrate those victories friends.
Bill
