Various Ways to Measure your Success

Becoming a slave to the scales will not help in your quest to maintaining a healthy lifestyle.  There will be times when the scale does not move even when you are doing everything by the book.  Most of us would like to lose some weight, but if week after week the scales do not move it can be very disheartening.  There are other ways you can measure your success in conjunction with the scales and I would advise trying at least one of these:

Before and After Photos:

Take a set of photos from the front, side and rear in swim wear, best if it’s a bikini.  Photos do not lie and it will be rewarding to see how you body is changing.  Try to take a set of progress photos every 2 weeks and compare them – sometimes if nothing else is changing you will see some improvement in posture or shape.

Tape Measurements:

Using a measuring tape and noting the size of some key areas can be a good way of measuring success.  I would suggest chest, waist, hips, bum, thighs and top of arms.  If the scales do not move but you have lost an inch on your bum I would doubt you’ll be unhappy.

Clothing:

I would think a lot of us have a piece of clothing we would either like to get back into or have bought in the hope of being able to wear, well now is the time to put that item to work.  One point I would make is that if you are a size 12 and the item is a size 6 that might not be the best item to select, try for an item one size smaller than you are now.  Try it on once a fortnight and you may be pleasantly surprised.  I find that hanging a lovely piece of clothing in plain view everyday that I can’t wear yet is an excellent motivator.

So there you have it 4 ways (scales, tape, photos and clothing) to measure your success.  It does take time for the body to adjust to a new lifestyle so be patient and don’t give up.

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~ by myfitnesstale on April 8, 2010.