NSV's Galore

First of all I would like to note that you still have lots of opportunities to comment so that you are counted in the Celebrating The One Hundreds Giveaway. Originally I stated that you can earn $1 for the less fortunate by leaving a remark on the giveaway post and another $1 by putting an entry on your own blog linking back to it. Actually, there is a slight change in the dynamics of this unique concept. Thanks to the generosity of Barb and Dawne, who have offered to match dollar for dollar whatever is raised in a donation to their local areas, your comments can now help raise up to $300! That’s three times the amount of the original goal sought after in these efforts! We are 16% of the way there, so – if you haven’t already commented – please feel free to drop a line or post an entry about this to make up the other 84 remarks needed to reach this goal! One last thing… I would also like to thank Leslie for finding the spirit of this endeavor great enough to move her to donate to her own local food bank!

I have a whole bunch of fun non-scale victories which I have accumulated over the past couple of days. One of the few remaining friends who had not yet said anything about my loss finally told me yesterday that I look great and that my drop in weight is really showing. Yay! Nearly everyone has acknowledge the difference now; it’s so great to have people notice and remark.

I have recently noticed that my favourite pair of workout pants just aren’t fitting right - in fact, they are starting to fall off when I exercise. Now I know that this is something to be happy about, but I have to say that I am sort of dismayed about this! I have a few things I can be active in, but this pair of pants are so comfortable and they actually look fairly stylish. Really, they are the only bottoms I was confident wearing out in public if I were to attempt activity with an audience, yet I am almost certain that I will have to permanently retire them within the next week or two. Boo! They will be the very first clothing item that I am sad to part with and they definitely served me well over the last several years. A lot of my shirts are now starting to look frumpy too since they are so large on me. Sheesh! I never expected to be annoyed with losing weight, but I really don’t know how I will be able to replace everything! Oh well, I’m not really complaining… I still count this all as another NSV.

I have noticed that my calves are smaller! My mother has affectionately referred to them as tree trunks in the past to illustrate the fact that they are not terribly shapely – a shame, really, as I had great pins back in high school – but I am just now realizing that my ankles are shrinking and bringing more of a sense of definition to the rest of the lower leg. Also, my wedding and engagement rings have been clanking against one another a lot lately. I am certain that I will have to have them sized soon, but I am putting it off as long as possible since they aren’t close enough to falling off that I am concerned. Furthermore, today I had to go to a chocolate shop to purchase a small gift of appreciation for another friend, and when I was offered free samples by the cashier I turned them down. Not only that, but I didn’t feel like it was a big deal and I left without buying even a single bite of anything for myself.

Here’s an interesting one: I used to visit public restrooms and hope for the wheelchair stall. I know that statement is probably being met with a round of disapproving gasps, but it is true. I was careful to look around before entering to ensure that I would not be taking it from someone who actually needed it, but I felt that it was a necessary move since I did not properly fit in the normal ones. Perhaps, more accurately, I felt that I could not maneuver properly within the confines of the average sized stalls. At any rate, I have stopped doing that. Within this last week I realized that I have no need to continue with that practice since I am able to move around adequately within the regular restroom cubicles now. I guess this is a strange NSV, but I am still happy about it!

My very favourite non-scale victory from this bunch has to be the following though! My darling husband went to hug me this morning, and as he wrapped his arms under my own and around the top part of my torso he exclaimed, “look at the overlap!” He was able to grab his own elbows while he was hugging me!!! That was truly a moment to remember!

Whew! I hadn’t realized that so much had happened over the past couple of days – I just kept jotting down notes so that I would remember everything. It is a great feeling to write it all down properly and really take stock of what has gone on. I love NSV’s!

FOOD & BEVERAGES:
- 9 glasses of water throughout the day
- 1 banana
- 2 cups spinach salad with small cubes of cheese, tomato, dried cranberries, croutons, and an olive oil and balsamic vinegar dressing
- 1 cup grapes and apple slices
- 1 cup lasagna
- 1 Mandarin orange
- 1 pear
- 3/4 cup fat free peach yogurt with 1 cup Maple Nut Oatmeal Crisp cereal
- 2 celery stalks with 1 Tb. light peanut butter

EXERCISE:
- 1 hour and 55 minutes of walking completed in 3 outings (45 minutes long, 50 minutes long, and 20 minutes long)