Two minor but encouraging victories to report.
First, I've been taking belly dance classes since May, as well as doing other types of exercise outside of class. This week after class, my belly dance instructor asked me if I'd lost weight! I told her I didn't know as I hadn't weighted myself in a long time, and maybe I was just getting better at pulling in my stomach due to all the exercise. But she insisted that I looked like I'd lost weight. Whatever, I'll take it!
The other was an exercise NSV: I've had foot pain (heel spur/plantar fascitis) for several years now. I even had surgery on my foot back in December, which helped some, but I still had pain even after the surgery. All my podiatrist could recommend was expen$$$$ive custom arches that are way beyond my means.
Well, on the advice of a physical therapist, I started strengthening my feet by picking up marbles with my toes. Sounds silly, and maybe it is, but I made a game of it several times a day. I was hoping it would keep my foot pains from getting any worse, but after a few weeks, I noticed that I hardly had any pain at all. The exercise has, if not totally cured my plantar fascitis, at least alleviated it about 99%. This is an unexpected victory and a huge relief.