Trying to get fit and lose weight is a frustrating process to begin with. When it comes time to measure your progress, the weight loss process only becomes more frustrating. There’s no worse feeling in the world than putting days – or even weeks – worth of effort in only to step on the scale and be faced with seemingly dismal results.
The number on the scale can lead to a lot of mixed feelings, but here’s a little secret – it’s really completely meaningless. At least, it is for measuring short-term goals. While having an accurate read of your weight is still important for measuring your progress in the long-term, there is another far better indicator that you can use for tracking your weight loss.
Go ahead and put the scale back in the closet for now, and grab a flexible measuring tape instead – you know, the type you can find in your grandmother’s sewing kit. Rather than rely on an arbitrary measurement of your weight, you can keep track of the actual changes that are taking place in and on your body.
And yes – it really is true that the number on the scale is arbitrary. That’s because there are a lot of things that can affect your weight in addition to fat loss. For example, gaining muscle mass while you lose fat can lead to unremarkable results on the scale even as the inches on your body melt away. That’s because muscle is much more dense than fat.
Additionally, a woman's natural fluctuations in weight due to water retention through their monthly cycles can become especially discouraging, even though these fluctuations are essentially meaningless when it comes to measuring their progress.
One more thing to keep in mind is that the inches you’re carrying on your waist are a much better indicator of your overall health and weight loss progress than any number on a scale could ever be. Belly fat is especially dangerous, and a number on a scale can’t tell you whether or not you’re carrying more fat around your waist than you should.
To start keeping track of your weight loss – or your weight maintenance – using a measuring tape, grab a journal that you can use to keep track of your progress. Measure your weight loss at around the same time every week, at about the same time of day if possible. While your waist measurement is the most important to keep track of, it can also be a good idea to keep track of areas of the body such as the thighs and biceps in order to gain a fully accurate look at your progress.
You don’t have to ditch the scale completely, but do keep in mind that there is a better way to keep track of your fitness goals. Measuring your progress inch-by-inch can give you the perspective you need to take charge of your body and your health.
