Every January I lead a group through the Whole30 program and one of my over 300 participants shared one of her NSV (non-scale victories) in the group and I asked her if I could share it with all of you...because it's one of the most important and FREEING ones ever....

Here's her share in her own words. I hope it inspires you to stop letting the scale dictate your day...

“So I am typically very private in these groups, use them for recipe exchanges and some personal motivation. However, I had a NSV beyond all NSVs this morning that I feel empowered to share.

I've done Whole 30 a number of times - I believe this is round 4 for me. No issue with eating this way as I've done it in the past for fitness purposes. However, I have always struggled with body image issues and have gone up and down the scale, most recently due to stress and thyroid related issues. The past few months have been hard as I've felt rather depressed about putting on the weight and not being able to find a solution - even with a legit wellness doctor assisting. January 1 something just clicked and I came out of the slump I'd been in, got back on a strict Whole 30 and have honestly felt fabulous - even feeling in the gym like I'm back to the athlete I used to be. When I started this round, I knew a 2 week business trip to Japan was on the horizon, but wasn't going to keep me from doing it for as long as I could. I figured it would help put me in a good frame of mind to at least be mindful of what I'm eating. Well, my trip starts today and my plan worked! I know I'm ending this round early and not going to be compliant over there and don't feel at all bad about it. Believe me, Soba noodles in Japan, for me, are WORTH IT!

Because I knew I was ending my round and had been feeling great (clothes even fitting better), I decided to weigh myself just to see my progress. As the scale usually does, it made me feel like crap. The old 'really, only 3lbs' ran through my head, I started finding reason in why it was 'only 3' (I do lift a lot of weights) and I suddenly didn't feel quite as motivated to head to the gym or stick with my Whole 30 for the few last meals I have. And then I was mad at myself for even weighing - what does it matter? My worth, or frankly even my health, has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with the number on the scale. I had felt SO great until that very moment when I saw that number - how ridiculous is that!?! So I threw my scale in the TRASH! I went to the gym, killed my workout and, guess what? My suit pants that I haven't worn in about a month were looser this morning! TAKE THAT YOU STUPID SCALE! So ladies, from this novel I just wrote (sorry about that!), my point is to NOT focus on weight any longer! Throw away your scale! Who cares what your weight is when this is done? That number doesn't tell you anything about how you feel or what you have to offer to this world!” -Katie