NSV - The Most Motivating Victory!

You don't have to be in the fitness world for very long before you see three letters pop up in everyone's posts and blogs. NSV.

What do they mean? For most people they mean the have undeniable proof that they are making actual progress toward their health and fitness goals. More motivating than the numbers on the scale and more genuine too!

NSV stands for "Non-Scale Victory"

A Non-Scale Victory can be anything that is proof positive that you are achieving your fitness goals. All the time and hard work you put into creating a healthier lifestyle are paying off.

NSVs tend to be more motivating than simply seeing the numbers drop on the scale for two reasons.

1) even when you are making progress the numbers on the scale don't always drop. Sometimes they hold steady and at times you might even seen them climb.... so really, the numbers on the scale are a poor indicator and at times can definitely be a poor motivator of your actually fitness progress.

2) Non-Scale Victories usually take you by surprise. It's that random comment from a co-worker who takes the time to say, "Wow, you're really looking good! Your body looks firmer" or  "your skin is glowing." or that morning you are trudging up that flight of steps to drop your daughter off at day care before work when you get to the top and realize, you're not out of breath! That goes double for when you realize that you've reached the top, you're not out of breath, AND you were carrying your daughter!

It's running a 5K three whole minutes faster than you ran your last one. It's getting through INSANITY: Cardio Power & Resistance the third time around and realizing you didn't have to take a break before the warm ups were over. It's have to cut the sleeves off your t-shirts because your biceps have gotten so big the sleeves are uncomfortable.

But the coolest NSVs I've ever had are the ones you don't really think about until they happen. Like when you pull your winter clothes out of storage and realize not one pair of pants fits without a belt holding them up. Or something as silly as sinking into a bubble bath for the first time in months and realizing there's a whole lot more room in the tub than you remember there being the last time you had the chance to take one!

Yes, Non-Scale Victories are a delight. And can really keep you motivated. So, keep measuring, keep stepping on that scale if you need to, but don't let standard units of measure dictate your feelings about your progress. After all, getting healthy and staying fit isn't about seeing how skinny you can get or about how much weight you can lose. It's about increasing your quality of life. The more you can do today that you couldn't do a week ago, a month ago, a year ago, the better your quality of life is.

So, when you're chasing your little one around the backyard in a game of tag. Take a moment to realize how much more fun it is now that you don't get out of breath after just 5 minutes.

Now that you know what an NSV is I would love for you to share some of yours! What progress have you seen that keeps you motivated to continue doing what you're doing? Let me hear some Non-Scale Victories of your own!