In case you didn't know, it stands for "non-scale victory", and it's exactly what it sounds like - any small weight loss/fitness related "victory" that doesn't center on a number on a scale. It could be fitting into that pair of pants you haven't worn since acid-wash was cool, running into someone who hasn't seen you in a while almost not recognizing you, or even the simple act of (see one of my earlier posts) comfortably fitting into a restaurant booth.
I know lots of times these happen spontaneously, which is kind of why it feels so awesome when they do, but I've got a number of them I'm looking forward to. I've got the requisite pants and shirts hanging in my closet, waiting their turn. I'm looking forward to the day a coworker looks at me with that semi-befuddled look and says "Are you losing weight?". But here's the one I'm looking forward to almost more than any:
my wedding ring.
When my wife and I married (19 years ago), I was hovering just a bit above 200 lbs. I felt embarrassingly fat at the wedding, and cringed when I saw the photos. It's ironic that I'd kill to be back at that weight right now.
Anyway, my ring was sized to fit me at that weight. A few years went by, I stepped on the scale one day and it said 215. That was my first real attempt at losing a significant amount of weight. I went the Slim Fast low calorie (less than 1200/day) route. Over a period of 7 months, I lost 50 lbs.
Then one day, out of the blue, my ring just fell off my finger. I had lost so much weight it wouldn't even stay on my finger if my hand was at my side. I still remember the ping it made when it hit the floor. Awesome non-scale victory. I got it re-sized, and even kept the little piece of gold they took out of it.
However, like all of my weight loss attempts since then, all those pounds came back (and then some). As I went up and up in weight, that baby was most definitely not going to fit. I quit wearing it, and didn't have the heart to get it re-re-sized. In the drawer it went.
Fast forward to our anniversary about 5 years ago. My awesome, loving, understanding, caring gem of a wife took it to a jeweler and had him put the little piece of gold back in. What an awesome anniversary gift, I was so touched. I went to slide it on my finger, and could barely get it over the knuckle. Non-scale fail. Big, hefty, stinking non-scale fail. (Seinfeld fans' ears just perked up at that obscure reference.)
I don't know at what weight I'll be able to get it back on and wear it comfortably, but I'm tellin' ya - it is going to happen.
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