The Inch Jar

 

     I believe in alternative forms of weight measuring rather than just the scale. The scale can be such a JERK. There have been times I have let that scale get the best of me to where I feel like I have worked so hard that I just KNOW its going to say that I have lost 10 pounds, but rather instead say I had gained a pound or lost one pound...then all of a sudden I do not exercise for a week or go on a pizza binge. THIS IS ALWAYS A BADDDDDD IDEA! This has been a long running habit of mine that I have had to break. I bet this started, honestly, when I was a child..as soon as I knew that I was chubby because the boy that sat by me at lunch would make my cheeks shake by drumming on the table while I was eating. and making other others giggle about it. You know why I'm doing good now? I KNOW 100% that I will be at my goal, and when I get there...I will be there forever....

   I know now that if I step on that scale and it doesn't read what I THINK it should read, then I just keep doing my thing and avoid it for a while because that scale does not define me or my efforts. I do things continuously every single day that move me toward my goals. As long as I'm doing that..no matter how long it takes...I will get and stay there! Through coaching right about 25 people on the 24 Day Challenge, I have realized that I am not the only one who had this "self destruct" mentality when it comes to the devil scale. I talk to a bunch of women and men that will admit when they do not see the results they want immediately that they just give up. Feeling the way I do now, I can't imagine thinking like that ever again. Since I have been in those shoes, though, I can empathize.

   This post is titled "The Inch Jar". If you are wondering what that is..well, I'm about to tell you. I came up with the inch jar because I wanted to be able to measure myself other than just that stinking number on the scale. Sometimes it would make me happy, but I like constant reminders and visuals, so I came up with the inch jar. It is a jar "filled with my lost inches". What I did was measure myself with ribbon. I measured my arms, neck, chest, waist, bottom belly, hips, and thighs by wrapping the ribbon around those areas, cutting, and labeling what body part it was. After that, I began to measure the ribbons, every two to three weeks, and cut off what I have lost.

 

 

(This is where I keep the ribbons until measure day)

 



    Look at all those inches in that jar! Even though the scale does not always show me what I want to see..there is proof of significant progress in that little jar. I keep that jar on my desk every day to remind me where I was, where I am, and where I am going. I did not get big over night, and know that I will not get thin over night. I like to encourage others to get their own inch jar..it is very motivating to actually have a visual of how much you have lost. Currently I am down 44lbs and 29 inches! 

   

 

I do have a reason why I was inspired to write this post. My husband and I just finished our second 24 Day Challenge from. I felt like every day and every week like I was losing. When I weighed at the end the scale had only dropped 5 pounds from where I began. BUT...when I measured... I lost 9 inches! THATS INSANE IN THE MEMBRANE! It really felt good chopping off all that ribbon and adding to my little jar! I'm so glad that I chose this company and these products to go on this journey with. I am excited about what it is doing for me, and what I will help my friends do with the same opportunity! These are my before and afters from this 24 Day Challenge

I'm not at my goal yet..but and getting closer and closer and closer every single day. You know how I know this? I am constantly taking action that is moving me closer to the goal I want. That goal is overall heath and wellness. I found these pictures the other day. These are two pictures of a week before AdvoCare found me at all... I was in in my cousins wedding and well over 200lbs.

 

I know..I know..I was still beautiful. The problem is not that..its the fact that I was unhealthy, and technically obese. Now that I have the best products in the world running through my body daily I have more energy than I had when I was 19 years old, I feel better and healthier every single day, and am so confident that I am not only going to reach my weight loss goals, but my income goals too! I HAVE CONFIDENCE! The girl above..she did not have confidence.

(This is another one of my visuals)




 So..If you start feeling like that scale is defeating you, you defeat it and create an inch jar. That scale might not reflect all your hard work, but that inch jar most certainly will.
     Before I end I was to share a quick story about one of my dearest friends. My friend Delaney told me that when she did her first 24 Day Challenge that the scale only showed her a one pound loss! Because her personal trainer took her body composition, he knew there was more, but the scale only showed one pound. After getting off the scale and taking her measurements, she realized that even with "only" a one pound difference on the scale, she lost a total of nearly 11 inches mostly in her stomach!!



Can you see the difference?

 

What if Delaney would have never measured? What if Delaney would have let that scale defeat her like so many of us do? I wonder if she would be down the 55lbs today by staying on AdvoCare products???



She really looks amazing and I am so proud of her! She did not let the scale defeat her but rather RAN WITH THOSE INCHES and have SUCCEEDED SIGNIFICANTLY SINCE!