Wednesday, November 3, 2021
Instead of just my usual WIWW (What I Wore Wednesday) post, I thought I would touch on a topic that I have been thinking a lot about lately. I will have a few outfits at the end of the post, too!
As women, we get really caught up with the number on the scale. It is so frustrating when you feel that you have changed your lifestyle so drastically and the numbers stop changing.
I also think YOU have to be ready to make a change. So much of it is mental. You can’t do it for anyone but yourself. If you want to make a lasting change, it requires patience. There is no quick fix.
Erica (my meal prep partner) and I started talking about “non scale victories” that we had heard people talk about on our Facebook WW forums. They often just call them “NSVs”.
I stopped following indulgent food accounts on Instagram and started following healthy lifestyle accounts. We are all “influenced” whether we want to believe it or not.
She posts the best and most inspirational stuff! I think it’s good to keep this in my camera roll. I have now been on a healthier lifestyle journey for 7 months. Erica has been on her journey for 3 months. Even when the numbers don’t move or don’t move fast enough, we are seeing changes.
- I noticed very quickly that I had more energy. I just had someone say that they thought I was younger than they were because I seemed to have so much more energy than she does. What a compliment! I also had a sweet student give me a lotion a few years ago called Stress Relief. She said, “The other choice on sale was called Energy but you seem to have enough of that.” Ha! I think that was because I “perform” all day at school and then crash after the last bell!
- I almost immediately started sleeping better. I think it only took a week of cutting out the crap for me to see this!
- One of my goals was to stop groaning upon standing. Ha! I was ashamed at all the noise I was making. I am no longer a groaner – or at least as bad of a groaner.
- I literally was choosing not to do things that involved too much walking. I am saying “yes” more to things that involve more walking.
- I was not as extroverted as I wanted to be because I was not feeling my most confident.
- Tom said when he first met me he couldn’t keep up with me when we were walking places and he noticed that I am starting to be that way again.
- I am craving more healthy foods and craving less non-healthy foods.
- I love having our foods last longer because I am watching portion sizes.
- I have less back pain. True story: I started having really bad back spasms in March. I went to set up my classroom and was in so much pain with my back muscles tightening up every time I moved a desk. I was seriously worried about being able to do my job! Don’t anyone let you believe teaching is not an extremely physical job. You really have to be able to stand all day, walk all day around the room, bend over to pick things up, hang things up, and do all of your own grunt work.
- Everyone wants to be in their best shape for summer, but it is a great feeling to put on my leggings from last winter and have them fit so much better. It is a great feeling to not feel so schlumpy in your bigger winter clothes, you know?
- It’s amazing to me how much weight you lose in strange places on your body. My necklaces lay better with a thinner neck, my rings are looser, my earrings are loose (just kidding to see if you are still here!), my tops fit better, etc.
I am sure I have forgotten so much of what Erica and I discussed, but you get the idea. What NSVs have you enjoyed recently or in the past?
I am pissed at myself for not taking care of my body and I wish I had been ready to make a change earlier. But, it’s time to live in the present and move forward.
Now for what I have been wearing lately. I have really slacked on photos because I have just been so busy, but here are a few.
For my party I wanted to go out and get a cute top but I didn’t. I decided on my new smaller sized jeans, my Lucky booties, and my black belt with an old Old Navy boho blouse. It got so cold, though, that I wore my Target poncho for the first time. The shirt was a bit lumpy under and I felt a bit dowdy, but I was warm and comfy.
I finally wore my new Loft clearance dress to school last week. I feel like it looks like Grandma’s curtains but I love it. This might be my Thanksgiving dress.
And, I wore my new floral blouse, a Target cardigan from last year that I bought in about 5 colors, jeans, and my gold clogs.
Thanks for reading!
Amy
Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa 
Best blog yet! On Wed, Nov 3, 2021 at 4:05 AM Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa wrote:
> scottaew posted: ” Wednesday, November 3, 2021 Instead of just my usual > WIWW (What I Wore Wednesday) post, I thought I would touch on a topic that > I have been thinking a lot about lately. I will have a few outfits at the > end of the post, too! As women, we get really” >
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Thank you!
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Oh wow, that was such a nice read!
I understand you feel amazing! (and look amazing!). What does your family say!?
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Thank you T-T! I do feel so much better but I want to make more progress. That is kind of you to say. I don’t think the boys really notice and Tom is very healthy and is happy I am finally on this journey I think. He never criticized me before, though.
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That’s perfect!
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My husband and I noticed pretty quickly that we had more energy and slept/felt better too. I had to have my rings resized (or wear them on different fingers!) and needed to buy all new shoes too. Keep it up!! 🙂
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That was so motivating to me! I had to have my rings expanded several years ago and I may need to get them resized. I hope I don’t need new shoes! I will be sad!
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This was a great read—those “nsv’s” are huge!!
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Thank you, Gretchen! They really are! It’s not just the number and you can look at several women that all weigh the same and they look so different, right?
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Hi Amy,
I read your blog regularly and love how you share your life so generously. I turned 40 this year and I connect with so much of your progress – from kids growing up and becoming more independent to aging and health to trying out new fashion – thanks for sharing all things big and small!
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You are so sweet to say this. Sometimes I feel very narcissistic and weird to be sharing, but I know how much I love blogs and how others give me ideas big and small and inspiration big and small, you know? It is such a journey we are all on, right?
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So proud of you Amy! How do best handle portion control? Do you eye ball it? I’m trying to stay inspired! You are doing great!
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Thank you, Paige! For my zero point foods on WW, I don’t really measure. For anything packaged, I look at points per serving size and see how many points I can “afford”.
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Love this post! Your “grandma’s curtains” dress fits so nice! I love nsv’s so far it’s 12 lbs down and clothes fit better or too big. I’m trying to stay on top of it and donate stuff right away to not slip backwards and especially I’m over all the long tunic stuff. My face is thinner and rings are not tight. I’m lucky that my husband is very supportive too. Just saying this encourages me to keep on it.
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Thank you, Nancy! That is awesome! And, very smart to go ahead and say good-bye to those clothes. I don’t want to wear anything that isn’t flattering anymore. I lose first in my face I think. My hub is very supportive. I know I need to add weight training but finding the time is hard right now. It helps to have encouragers in your life and to be influenced in a good way!
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Yay! For non scale victories! You are crushing it. I love your outfits! The poncho is cute 🙂
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Thank you! I have a long way to go, but I do see progress. Thanks!
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Yes! NSV’s are wonderful. But I too get stuck on just looking at the number on the scale. I always liked using measurements. It is amazing to see weight loss in inches. It makes me feel like I am really shrinking. LOL Did you measure?
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They help when you get discouraged. I did not and I wish I had, but at the same time I would have felt really bad seeing those numbers, too. I was really down on myself when I started.
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I love the Loft dress. Very flattering on you.
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Thank you so much!
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Hi Amy! Happy belated birthday. ❤ I have been reading your blog for a while now and I wanted to let you know that you inspired me to join WW and I am down 16 pounds. I too am enjoying all of the NSV! 🙂 Thank you for your realness and sharing your positivity!
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Good for you Amy – all of these realizations are victories and they are the things that maintenance is made of. I always find that the better I eat the less I crave. You’ve done such a great job!
That new Loft dress is so cute – I love it. I bet it would look great with tall boots too!
xo,
Kellyann
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Thank you! I am learning and I am still a work in progress as I will always be. That is really true about cravings.
Thank you in regards to the dress! I can’t wait to pair with my cognac riding boots!
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