NSVs All Over the Place

When I first became an active member of the WW message boards, I used to see the acronym “NSV” all over the place.  I like to think I’m fairly intelligent, and most of the time, I find I can guess the unexplained acronyms pretty well by their context, but that one had me stumped for the longest time. I finally had to break down and embarrass myself by asking on a thread what NSV stood for.  Someone kindly explained to me that it was a “non-scale victory,” ie, something in your life besides your actual weight that had you celebrating your new, healthier self.

This afternoon, I had a total NSV at lunch.  It was so exciting to me, I wanted to call up my best friend and tell her.  Or my sister.  Or run back to the office and tell all the women in my department.  But I feel self-conscious about my weight loss, because I know what a touchy subject it is for so many people, and I always worry that when I celebrate my success, I will inadvertently be making someone feel their lack of success.  Anyone who has lost weight and been vocal about it will probably know what I’m talking about…that point where someone congratulates you on your latest success and then immediately follows it up with “I wish I could lose weight, but…” or “You’re inspiring me to do better, I know I need to lose xx pounds…”  or something similar.  I always feel so bad when I hear those things, because it’s like my celebration of success has given them a reason to find their own flaws (real or imagined). 🙁  So, I try not to be too overt about my weight loss, but I will happily discuss it if someone asks if I’ve lost weight or how I’ve done it.  (And they do, believe it or not!)

So, after my little NSV at lunch, I went back to my office and just kept my mouth shut.  But I really, really wanted to to tell someone.  And then I remembered that I have a health and fitness blog now, and it’s okay for me to talk about it here! 🙂  So here it is…

Today while walking in the mall before work, I saw a dress in a store window that made me actually stop walking and look at it.  It was so pretty, and I really, really wanted to try it on.  So, at the urging of my coworker, I went down and lunch and did just that.  This was one of those “higher end” stores (honestly, the whole mall is pretty high-end compared to my down-home roots, lol!), and the ladies there were just waiting for someone to wait on.  The saleswoman who assisted me seemed thrilled that I was there to put her to work!  She asked me what size and I told her an eight (though I said it a bit hesitantly, because I still sometimes doubt my ability to fit into an eight).  She grabbed the one I had seen in the window, plus another few that caught my eye as I walked by, all in eights.

I tried on my favorite and stepped out in the (very fancy) fitting area.  The saleswoman  looked at me and immediately shook her head.  “Nope. I knew that was going to be too big.  Let me get you a six.”  I laughed and said, “Are you kidding me?”  She said, “Not in the least,” and then she walked around me and pointed out all the areas it was too big.  While she got the new size, I tried on another one I liked, and, to my amazement, even I could tell it was too big.  I stood there staring at myself in the mirror in awe for a moments, and then she came back with a size six for each of the dresses I had chosen except one, which she didn’t have in a six.  She brought me a four in that one…which made me crack up! 

I wasn’t laughing a few minutes later, though…all the sixes fit, and the one that was a four actually fit me, too! (It’s the white and black striped one shown here…I hated the pink belt, though.)  I won’t say I had much wiggle room in that four, but I was able to zip the damn thing up and not look like a sardine, lol!  It actually did look really good on me, too! (To be fair, it had a flouncy skirt, so my big hips and thighs were well-disguised).   I tried on the four in the other one I liked, just for fun, and while it did zip up and look pretty decent up top, it was a bit tight in the bottom (this one had a straight skirt–see the one at right. SO cute!).  Still, just knowing the six fit in all the dresses made me absolutely giddy!

But we still haven’t even gotten to the real NSV yet. 🙂

I decided to wait before buying anything at that store, because I really hadn’t planned on buying a dress that day.  However, when I was done, I was feeling really good and still had 20 minutes left, so I walked over to the department store and headed for the dresses.  I tried on two size sixes and they fit, but one was just ugly on me, and the other, which I really liked, felt too big.  I went back to try to find a four, smiling the whole way (lol).  As I browsed through all the racks, I was disheartened to find none, and in fact, the six I had on turned out to be the smallest size they had.  I really liked this dress, and in a fit of discouragement as I pawed through the racks one last time, I said out loud, “You mean to tell me they don’t have anything less than a size six in this dress?!”

And that–the fact that I actually uttered that phrase–was my awesome NSV this afternoon. 😀

One last “non-scale victory” that has nothing to do with me and my weight loss at all…I am happy to say that, after 6 weeks of frustration, anger, and mental draining, I have finally moved past the major life issue that I blogged about back in February (the one that I wasn’t sure I would be able to stay OP through).
It was back in February that I found out my oldest son’s hockey team was going to disband.  It’s a long, unpleasant story, so I won’t bore you with it here. As you can probably tell from my photo posts elsewhere on this blog, I am really, really involved my sons’ hockey teams (I managed both until this team disbanded, and now I just manage the one), and the whole thing was a painful experience for me, probably moreso for me than my son at some points.  But it did show me that I am probably too involved in my sons’ hockey careers.  I am now being forced to take a step back, since I will no longer manage the oldest’s team.  However, I can happily say that my son has made another travel hockey team, so while it will mean a big change for our whole family (especially me), at least I know he will still be skating, which he loves to do.  He’s very excited, and because of that, I’m excited too!

The picture shown is one taken at his 10th birthday party this past weekend…he is a great kid, and an awesome defenseman, and I’m excited to see what is in store for him this season!

Thanks so much for reading and for sharing in my non-scale victories!!