Non-Scale Victories on Your Weight Loss Journey

Do you focus on just the number on the scales on your weight loss journey?

Long term and sustainable weight loss involve a change in your lifestyle and this does not happen overnight. Focusing on just your weight as measured by the scale can be too limiting to keep you motivated for too long

Non-scale victories are the small life changes you make to improve your health and this will easily go unnoticed if you only focus on the number on the scale as a measure of your only success

You can create a true picture of your progress on your weight loss journey by tracking the many improvements you are making to your health and lifestyle daily.

Instead of just focusing on the number on the scale, here are some of the non-scale victories to celebrate on your weight loss journey:

• ·        Your Clothes now fit better than they used to

Your pair of jeans or dress or any of your other clothes will let you know if your weight is changing before the scales do. If your clothes are fitting much better than they used to, that is a non-scale victory to track and celebrate.

• ·        You Have More Energy

When you change your diet and lifestyle and you are now eating healthy and moving more, you are bound to have more energy and feel less tired

• ·        Your Sleep Has Improved

A study published in the AHA Journals found that people who successfully lost 15 pounds also had an improved quality of sleep. The research suggests that the loss of belly fat has a predominantly positive impact on sleep quality

• ·        You Are Moving More

You may find that you now move a lot more that you use to. Finding the exercise you enjoy and doing it consistently are all worth tracking and celebrating.

• ·        Your Mind Is Sharper

When you change your diet and are now exercising consistently and you begin to lose weight, your mind also gets sharper. A study published in Neuroscience and biobehavioural reviews has shown that weight loss is associated with improved memory, increased attention span, and faster mental processing.

• ·        You Lose Inches Around Your Middle

Doing exercises like strength or weight training can change your body composition. You can track your waist circumference. You can also track your waist-to-hip ration, and make a note of the changes as you continue with your lifestyle change on your weight loss journey. Studies have shown that losing inches around the middle can reduce your risk of cardiovascular diseases

• ·        Your Skin Looks Better

Research shows that eating healthy and regular exercise may also produce benefits that show up on your skin

These are some of the non-scale victories that you can track and celebrate on your weight loss journey.

Weight loss is a journey. It is important to embrace and trust the process.

If you need help to lose weight that is healthy, long term and sustainable, you can book your complimentary strategy call

References

Nam S, Stewart J K (2018) Abstract 10098: Predictors of Sleep Quality Improvement Among Overweight or Obese Individuals: A Randomized Controlled Trial. AHA Journals: 126 (21) Circulation.

Veronese N, Facchini S, Stubbs B, Luchini C, Solmi M, Manzato E, Sergi G, Maggia S, Cosco T, Fontana L (2017) Weight loss is associated with improvements in cognitive function among overweight and obese people: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Neuroscience and biobehavioural reviews, 72:87-94