Step away from the scale
Monday August 03 2009posted by Adam - Total Comments: 0
When you're losing weight, there are a lot more things you can measure for progress than weight alone. Body weight can fluctuate pretty dramatically during a week, and sometimes the scale can seem to be glued to the same number for weeks at a time.
But there are many other things you could measure to find success.
Many people find that charting their body measurements over time shows a lot of progress, even when the scales do not. Your body may be building muscle and losing fat at the same time, especially if you're eating a good amount of protein and excercising. The scale could mislead you into disappointment, and body measurements may provide encouragement. Here's how:
Measure your bust, with your arms relaxed at your side at the largest part of your chest.
Measure your waist, around your belly, where you normally wear your pants.
Measure your hips by standing, heels together, around the largest part of your hips.
Measure your arms and legs by running the tape around the largest part of your upper arms and thighs.
Be sure to write all those numbers down so you can compare them in the coming weeks, months and years to remind yourself of how far you've come.
If you're still not impressing yourself, try measuring some of your health indicators. Pull out some old medical papers and find cholesterol levels, blood pressure readings and A1C numbers. Review your prescription history and note how many pills you take.
Now grab some graph paper (or us a spreadsheet if you're really clever) and chart out your progress with any one of these measures over time. Even if the scale isn't showing it, you can surely find something good to encourage you through a weight-loss plateau.