Non-scale victories (NSVs) are at the heart of your Whole30 success story. They’re the boost in energy, restful sleep, reduction in cravings, smoother digestion, happier mood, and pain-free joints many Whole30 alumni have reported as the result of their Whole30 journey.
Most of us are accustomed to measuring improvements only by way of the scale. The diet industry teaches us the only reason to change our diets is to make ourselves smaller. You came to Whole30 because you wanted something different, something more. And you’ll find it through our proven elimination and reintroduction protocol, thriving community, and focus on the innumerable benefits that can’t be measured by the scale.
We call those benefits non-scale victories. If you’ve never heard that phrase before, you’re not alone! Whole30 Co-founder Melissa Urban is credited with popularizing the term in 2010, and it’s a big part of what makes us unique. So where did the concept come from, what are the many NSVs the Whole30 can provide, and how can you use them to track your Whole30 progress and measure success?
Whether you’re new to the Whole30 or returning for another round, this updated guide and our non-scale victory tips will prove invaluable in your journey.
The history of non-scale victories
Like most (all?) of us, Melissa had a complicated relationship with the scale. She weighed herself daily, and the number dictated her self-confidence, worth, and self-talk. She hated being controlled by a $20 hunk of plastic, but felt powerless to break the cycle. How else do you track your healthy and fitness efforts, if not by the scale?
Melissa did her first Whole30 in April 2009. She hoped the elimination and reintroduction protocol would improve her athletic performance and recovery—but the experiment had unexpected benefits. By the second week, her energy was at an all-time high, she was sleeping like a baby, her stomach was no longer bloated, and she was feeling stronger and faster. The most surprising thing was realizing at some point along the way, she had stopped stepping on the scale. “I just didn’t care what I weighed,” she wrote on her blog, “because all of these other things were so much better.”
After just 30 days, her focus on everything but the scale had dramatically transformed her relationship with food and her body. Melissa wrote, “It was the first time in my life I was able to get off the scale and out of the mirror. I wasn’t thinking about my size, I wasn’t focused on my weight, and I wasn’t constantly scrutinizing body parts in the mirror. The obsession was just gone, and it gave me more confidence in every area of my life.”
As a result of Melissa’s experience, the Scale Rule has always been part of the Whole30 Program Rules. We want you to experience the sense of freedom and confidence Melissa felt during her first Whole30. More than that, the Scale Rule will help you realize that changing the food on your plate can bring countless benefits to every area of your life—those same NSVs we’re talking about here.
What are NSVs?
NSVs represent the physical, mental, and emotional improvements that don’t involve your body weight, fat percentage, or size. They come in a wide variety of categories, and apply to far more than how you feel physically.
Non-scale victory examples:
- Physical health on the inside, like improved blood pressure, cholesterol, or acid reflux
- Physical health on the outside, like clearer skin, less joint swelling, or less bloating
- Mood and emotion: more confidence, a happier mood, and less anxiety
- Food and behaviors, like a healthier relationship with food, fewer cravings, and less negative self-talk
- Brain function, sleep, and energy; like less brain fog, deeper sleep, and consistently high energy
- Exercise, lifestyle, and social; like walking more, working towards other health goals, and feeling closer in your relationships
Can the Whole30 really do all that? YES! A 2024 survey of 5,000 Whole30 alumni reported their top NSVs as fewer sugar cravings, better digestion and gut health, increased energy levels, better sleep, and improved self-confidence—in just 30 days.
Food has such a powerful impact on all of your body systems, and plays a big role in your mental and emotional health too. The foods you eat can play a major role in your anxiety, depression, outlook, or motivation. Dietary changes alone can positively influence your confidence, mood, self-talk, and habits—all of which carry over into your relationships, work, parenting, and self-care.
The non-scale victories you experience during your Whole30 will help you see the power of food, and the importance of creating a personalized approach to diet. Enjoying the foods that work best in your unique body can unlock a huge number of benefits. And much like Melissa’s first Whole30, you may find dramatic transformations in unexpected places!
To help you goal-set for the Whole30, track your progress along the way, and measure success on the program, we’ve created our NSV Checklist.
The Whole30 Non-Scale Victory Checklist
Our NSV Checklist features more than 150 commonly reported Whole30 benefits, as shared by community members just like you. You may already know of some obvious Whole30 positives, like more energy, better sleep, and improved digestion. But a world of non-scale victories await you during your elimination and reintroduction—and this list is just the beginning!
Of course, a list is most helpful when you know where and how to use it. Here are our best non-scale victory tips to make the most of your Whole30:
- Before you start: Use the NSV Checklist to highlight your goals for the program. Be expansive here! It’s okay to think big. Then, circle your top 3-5 goals. That will help you stay focused when you evaluate your progress throughout the program.
- During elimination: Review your NSV Checklist daily, a few times a week, or at the end of each week. Using a journal, your Notes app, or your Whole30 Day by Day journal, track how you feel in each of these key areas. It’s okay if some metrics dip and rise over the course of a week—that’s totally expected. Over time, however, you should see improvements in some or all of your desired areas.
- At the end of elimination: Print a fresh NSV Checklist and check off ALL of the benefits you’ve seen over the last 30 days. Be generous here! Small improvements are still improvements. Highlight or circle all of the areas where you’ve seen significant growth or benefits. Compare that to your 3-5 top goals at the start of the program. What kind of changes have you seen in these specific areas? Capture them in your journal, then give yourself a high-five—you’ve earned it!
- During reintroduction: Using your checklist, note areas where you see negative progress or symptoms during each reintroduction food group. Does eating dairy make your digestion upset? Did eating gluten bring back your joint pain and swelling? This same non-scale victories list can be helpful in identifying and capturing the potential negative effects of each reintroduction group. (And if there aren’t any, the checklist will make that obvious too!)
- Share your success: At any point during or after your program, you can use the NSV Checklist to show off your results. If someone asks about your Whole30, hand them your checklist with all of the marks, circles, and exclamation points… then offer to lend them your copy of The New Whole30. Or, share your NSV Checklist on your blog, social media, or community forum to inspire others. (And send it to @whole30 or @pbwhole30, because we’d love to see it!)
- In your food freedom: Keep your end-of-program NSV Checklist, and refer back to it often. Use it anytime you need a reminder that you are a healthy person with healthy habits. Or, use it as a gauge for your Food Freedom plan. Do you still feel almost as awesome as you did at the end of your Whole30? Keep on keeping on! If not, return to the basic tenets of Food Freedom Forever—or come back for another round of Whole30.
Get your Sharpies ready
Maybe you’re planning for your first Whole30. Maybe you’re returning for another round of learnings. Or maybe you’re here to learn more about why our program is uniquely positioned to help you attain all of your health goals—well beyond the scale.
Our non-scale victory tips will help you shift your mindset away from using the scale as your only measure of progress. We want to open your eyes to the wide world of benefits the Whole30 can provide, in areas the scale could never measure! And our NSV Checklist will be there to help you measure your progress, track your successes, and affirm your sense of confidence every step of the way.
Download our Non-Scale Victory Checklist here.
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