We talk a lot about all the things you’re doing in the gym, importance of rest, food ideas etc, etc. What we haven’t spent a TON of time on, are the gains you feel and see outside of the work you’re doing. You’ve seen the video, I’m sure, “I want to be strong like bitch that fight bears in the woods” So here we go

YOU’VE LOST INCHES NOT LBS

1. This is just one of many reasons we recommend doing your measurements once a month or every 6 weeks or so
   • Gonna repeat this in case your forgot or it isn’t top of mind, the number on the scale is only reflective of your relationship with gravity that day
2. Measurements, in our opinion is a greater indication of gains, growth and overall improvement. Measurements solidify what you don’t see since you look at yourself every day
3. Weight loss equates to a decrease in body weight through diet and exercise. Inch loss equates to losing fat-specific areas of your body (waist, hips, thighs etc) OR that you’ve gained muscle in those areas 

YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH FOOD HAS IMPROVED

1. To me, this is one of the biggest non-scale victories you can have. 
   • As we know, diet and fitness culture has crammed SO much ill advised and just straight up info down our throats for a very long time. We’ve ALL bought into it.
2. Repairing your relationship with food, not demonizing enjoying the things you like to eat, with moderation in mind, is one of the most freeing things that can happen to any one of us on this journey
   • If you’re not quite there yet, you will get there! We’ve touched on this one quite a few times in previous episodes, so if you’re new to listening to us, go back to some of our very first episodes. There’s a TON of information to choose from and listen to.
3. This NSV is a baby steps process, just like with any other part of this journey, it takes time and patience with yourself. But once the lightbulb goes off, it is honestly, the most freeing thing about this whole entire process

TOPIC 3: YOUR SLEEP HAS IMPROVED

1. We talk all the time about the importance of sleep; of recovery in general
2. What we mean here is the QUALITY of sleep you get because of what you’re doing in the gym or with improving your eating habits.
   • You know what they say, if you want to tire out a dog, take them for a walk. It’s basically the same premise here. Your body is like, whoa, you kicked my ass, I tired now.
   • You generally fall asleep faster, you have less sleep disturbances and you wake up actually refreshed, which is the entire point of sleep

YOUR ENDURANCE HAS IMPROVED

1. This is my personal favorite NSV
2. Endurance, by definition: the power of enduring an unpleasant or difficult process or situation without giving way… and also demands great physical stamina
3. Think about endurance this way, are you moving with quality for a longer period of time in your workouts? BOOM
   • Stamina and endurance work together wonderfully. Honestly, one cannot happen without the other (stamina, afterall, means the ability to sustain prolonged physical or mental effort)
   • Examples of improved endurance: shaving time off your mile time, being able to complete more rounds within a WOD, being able to do more reps with quality when you’re doing cardio lifting (12-15 rep schemes) 

Non-scale victories show you all the hard work you’ve been doing with cold hard facts that a scale simply can’t provide without some context… NSVs are your context. If you want more examples of non scale victories hit us up anywhere you find us on social media at meathead test kitchen, or on twitter at mtk staff. You can always send us an email to hello@meatheadtestkitchen.com