Tough It Out Tuesday - The NSV Edition

Can I just say, what a difference a week makes! I was fairly close to basket case status last week and my Tough It Out Tuesday post was not very positive, uplifting, or motivating, which basically reflected my current mood. But this week, holy cannoli! I'm back in business.

For all of you TIOT returners.. You might notice something a little different.

My pretty, pretty partner in crime, Allie gave her blog a little facelift and that included a new name and site domain! So I've created a new button.. Which is a temporary place holder until I create (another) new, much prettier button. I'm sorry. I know how annoying it is when a link-up switches their button a million times. Trust me, I know. Been there, complained about that.. BUT it is was it is and so apologies all over the place!

Nothing else has changed..
The "rules" are simple -
1. On Tuesdays write a post about anything fitness, weight loss, healthy living, etc. etc. and link up with Allie and I.
2. This isn't strict or heavily structured. Allie and I really just wanted a mutual place to motivate each other and everyone else who drops by!
3. The main, big, huge purpose of this link up is to motivate and encourage others. I would really love it if you'd take the time to click around the links listed below and give some words of encouragement to everyone else. Maybe even let them know that they aren't alone in their journey. Sometimes that's all someone needs.


So this week I wanted to talk about something I used to talk about a long, long time ago. Non-scale victories. I first learned about NSVs from Katie about a year ago. She actually hosts a Non-Scale Victories linkup every Thursday that you should check out. I've participated in it more than once. Anyway, the idea behind non-scale victories is that generally people only determine their success by the number on the scale. Making a healthy lifestyle change is so much more than that and the little challenges and successes add up to the big ones.

Here are my NSVs for this past week - 

>>  I can feel and I can tell that my endurance is getting better. I'm doing C25K, but this morning I decided to not turn that app on and to just walk/run at my own pace, just to see where I was without an app telling me when to walk/run. Turns out, I can run for a lot longer than I gave myself credit for! This was huge for me and I was basically floating on cloud 9 after I left the gym today.. Which is why this post might seem a little more peppy than usual!

>> A guy called me beautiful and he meant it. Sometimes it's just really nice to hear.

>> My eating has been pretty close to top notch! (yes, i did have ice cream on friday night and yes, it was delicious) My biggest victory with eating is that I've just stopped making it a big deal. I love food and I love trying new things, but sometimes I just need to keep it simple and remember that for right now, food is just fuel. It really clicked this past week and while I don't expect it to last forever, I'm pumped that it's here at all!

>> 64oz of water a day is EASY now. Easy. I can't believe I'm even saying that. I don't even think about it anymore, it just happens. It's awesome, awesome, awesome.

>> I'm noticing differences in my confidence. I don't know if it's my working out or my new "be brave" mentality, but I feel good about myself. Really good about myself.

All of those NSVs should be enough, right? But actually, this week I also had a mini scale victory. Sunday morning I stepped on the scale and saw a very pretty number that made me very happy. I may or may not have fist pumped into the air. I'm not just saying that to add pizazz into this blog post either.. I actually fist pumped the air, alone, in my apartment.

WOO HOO!!

Now, I've got some questions.
Bloglandia is full of people who know more about this than I do and gosh darnit, I want you to share your wisdom and experience with me!! Here are the questions I currently have..

• I read 2 separate articles about lifting weights before cardio and how that's much better. If I'm doing weights that day, I tend to always do them after cardio. There's no reason I do this, I just do. What I'm wondering is if I should switch that up? Or if that doesn't really matter in the long run.
• I live in Indiana, so I've been doing all of my running this winter on a treadmill. Obviously, I'll be a running a 5k outside. See the difference there? Last year I got horrible shin splints while I was running outside and I haven't noticed any while I've been on the dreadmill. I also have different shoes, but still.. Tips, tricks, helpful hints for moving from dreadmill to outdoor running?
• I read another awful, horrible article about the damage ab exercises can do to your back and posture. Well hey, I need to work on my darn posture anyway. So this article recommended back exercises, specifically lower back exercises, but then it didn't give me any. So uh.. what the heck kind of exercises should I be doing? Or should I just stop reading articles I find on Pinterest?

Okay, on that note.. HELP ME!
Also, did anyone else have some non-scale victories this week?
Who else is obsessed with Allie's new blog facelift?
Who is mad at me for being a bad blogger? It's okay, I'm mad at me too.

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