How to measure your progress

Managing extra weight is a fairly new to us, several generations back it was not as widespread as it is today and if you did want to get slimmer at one point or another you just dieted and tracked your overall weight loss. That’s where the “weight loss” term comes from but today it’s more misleading than helpful.
Today we know that we don’t just lose fat, we also lose water and muscle (if we don’t exercise). Overall weight loss is no longer a good indication of our progress simply because fat is not the only thing we lose and gain on a regular basis. Ordinary scales will only work for someone who diets exclusively - you only lose mass in that case, but if you diet and exercise you have to get more creative.
There are several ways to accurately measure progress when you diet and exercise: use scales or body fat % calipers, use body measurements or take daily or weekly pictures of yourself. Each one has its pluses and minuses so you just need to pick the one that works best for you and your goals.

Using scales with BF % function

You will instantly recognize them by little metal plates located where your feet go. They all work the same way independently on design or make.
How they work: A small electrical current passes through your body tissue – it goes slower through fat and faster through muscle. What measured is resistance so it’s not really your body fat that’s being analyzed but your body’s density and, based on a formula programmed (you normally input your height and age), the scale gives your body fat percentage, muscle and water content reading.
Obviously your water content can go up and down during the day so you want to take a reading every day at the same time – ideally, right after you get up and visit the bathroom. There is always a small margin of error with any home scales but you will be able to see a pattern and then eventually progress over a period of time and see how your diet and exercise is working for you. You can normally tell how you are doing already in 4-5 days.
Body fat measuring scales are vital if you are exercising as well as dieting. You gain muscle during that time as well as lose fat and muscle is heavy. You can train and diet for two weeks and see no difference on the scales feeling like you have not progressed at all when in fact you have lost fat and gained muscle. Overall weight loss is not an indication of your progress when you exercise – you simply can’t see it on ordinary scales.
Pros: it’s quick and easy. Once you input your age and height you can use them as easily as ordinary scales except those will also give you a detailed breakdown of body fat, muscle and water content.
Cons: Those are fairly common these days but they can be pricey. Since they all work the same way you can go for a cheaper model.

Using calipers

As an alternative to advanced scales you can use body fat measuring calipers, they are cheaper to get and are easier to store.
How to use calipers: If you are right handed - pull out a fold of your skin with the underlying layer of fat with your left hand and hold it with the fingers of the left hand. Place the jaws of the calipers and force the trigger so the entire force of the jaws is on the fold of the skin. Note the reading on the calipers before you release them.
You will need to measure three locations (the order doesn’t matter): shoulder blade, waist and thigh.  Add up all four readings and use the chart supplied with the calipars to determine your body fat %. Instructions may vary from model to model.

Pros: they are cheaper than body fat measuring scales.
Cons: you need someone to do the measuring for you to get an accurate reading – it is a bit of a hustle.

Using a measuring tape

Instead of judging progress just by your weight or body fat you can use your body measurement as a guide. Every two weeks measure your arms, your chest, waist and buttocks similar to how you take measurement for your clothes – and note the numbers.
If you are trying to get leaner, the numbers should go down and if you are trying to gain weight, the numbers should go up. Alternatively, and this is not as precise, judge by your clothes, if you need new clothes – you are on the right track.
Pros: you probably already have a measuring tape lying around.
Cons: it doesn’t give you your body fat %, you have no idea whether it’s muscle or fat you are measuring. It’s good if you have a certain goal like getting a thinner waist or bigger biceps or buttocks.

Using photographs

Tracking your progress on a regular basis is extremely helpful – you can tell exactly how you are doing by just looking at your progress pictures from a week ago even without taking any measurements (although those also help).
How to: strip down to your underwear and take two pictures: from the front and from the side. Relax, don’t tense your body and don’t try to suck in your gut. These are for you, you don’t need to try to look good. Seeing yourself as you are can be mentally tough but it’s a good reality check and it will help you further down the line however uncomfortable those may make you feel in the beginning.
Pros: You can trust your eyes. You can even tell your body fat by how you look if you look objectively.
Cons: you need to remember to do it every day and keep track of all your photographs in the right order – it requires planning and a regular hands-on approach since you are working with the data long term.

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How to measure your progress

In the past, we used to only diet to lose weight so it was fairly straight forward, all we needed was basic scales to track our progress. These days we all know that just dieting isn’t enough, we also need to exercise to look and feel good, but exercise means muscle and muscle is heavy. The muscle mass is the gains you want but it makes scales all that more irrelevant when you want to see just how well you are doing.

 

There are several ways to track your progress depending on your goals and how precise you want to be. If you only diet, you will not only lose weight, you will lose fat and muscle (which can have serious health consequences later on in life), and in this case you can use basic scales that only show you your general weight. If you exercise as well you will need to get more creative.
Take weekly or daily photographs. It’s not just a way to see how you are progressing but a way to stay motivated. Seeing yourself as you are can be a good reality check – after all, we all think “we are ok” up until the moment when we strip down. Every morning or every week depending on how often you want to do it, strip down to your underwear and take a full body shot – from front and side. Don’t be tempted to suck your stomach in or take a better picture, you need to see how things really are. Then compare older pictures to new ones to see your progress.
Use a measuring tape. Instead of judging by your weight, use your body measurement as a guide. Every two weeks measure your arms, your chest, waist and butt similar to how you take measurement for your clothes – and note the numbers. If you are trying to get leaner, the numbers should go down and if you are trying to gain weight, the numbers should go up. Alternatively, and this is not as precise, judge by your clothes, if you need new clothes – you are on the right track.
Use scales that measure your body fat %. Unlike the dumb scales that only tell you how much you weigh, body fat measuring scales will tell you how much of your weight is fat and how much of it is muscle, bone and water. These scales are not expensive and they can paint you a very definite picture of how thing stand right now. Keep in mind, though, that your water contents change during the day so it’ll help if you weigh yourself at the same time in the day you always do – preferably in the morning before breakfast.
Although it can help to pay attention to how you are doing, tracking your exact progress can sometimes make fitness mentally harder than it should be, especially if you have a long way to go and your progress is slow. Sometimes it just helps to stop thinking about the progress and just do the thing. Show up every single day and work at it then only occasionally look back and see just how far you’ve come. If you are someone who finds strength in seeing the numbers rising or dropping the measuring tape or the BF% scales are the way to go. Tracking progress using photographs is a good middle ground.
Whatever you pick always remember that everything you do, every positive choice, every training session – these things are never lost, erased or not counted in, it all adds up. As long as you keep going and stay consistent with your training you will get fit and stay fit. Concentrating on the work instead of the numbers will also help you integrate fitness into your lifestyle so even when you are not tracking your progress, you are still progressing.

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