I have to admit, I’m obsessed with the scale. I’m a very literal person. It’s black or white for me and no in between. So much so that it drives Dave crazy. But I can’t help it. And it’s why I’m addicted to the numbers on the scale. I need concrete proof that my efforts are working, and for me, that’s seeing the number on the scale drop. But I’ve recently realized how important it is to celebrate the non scale victories and here’s why.

When you start to incorporate a fitness program into your routine, your results on the scale start to fluctuate. This happens fir a number of reasons. You could be retaining water or even gaining muscle (muscle gains more than fat). When any of these things happen, the scale might not budge at all or even go up! This can discourage many people, including me! It took me a while to accept the fact that I needed to measure my success on more than just the scale.

Two ways I myself measure my success and I have my customers measure their success is by taking before and after pictures and taking measurements. A pictures is worth a thousand words and taking your measurements will truly show whether or not you are shrinking despite muscle gain or water retention. (I also encourage my customers to do this so they can submit their results for a free t-shirt every time they finish a program.) A third way to measure progress is by how your clothes are fitting. We all know we gained weight when we can button our pants so why not enjoy the fact that they are falling off?!

Then there’s also the non scale victories that have nothing to do with weight. Maybe you have gone a week without drinking diet soda, you have finally trained yourself to use 2% milk in your coffee instead of cream, or you have avoided the snacks in the break room for a few days straight. Those are all things to celebrate as well. Breaking bad habits and forming healthy ones are a huge measure of success and you should be just as proud of them as you are the number on the scale.

For me, I celebrated two major non scale victories this past year. One was how amazing I felt in my wedding dress (despite the number on the scale), and the second was that after several years of trying, I have officially broken myself of my Diet Coke habit. What are some of your non scale victories? Comment below. I would love to read them!