Tracking weight loss progress involves more than just stepping on a scale. While the scale provides a quick snapshot, it doesn't differentiate between fat loss, muscle gain, or water retention. Evidence of your ongoing weight loss efforts can be found in many places, like the way you look in the mirror, the way your clothes fit, and the numbers on your bathroom scale. Body measurements provide a simple and accurate assessment of the impact of your diet, nutrition, exercise, and lifestyle changes. For a comprehensive understanding, combining regular weigh-ins with body measurements offers a more holistic view of your progress.
Why Take Body Measurements for Weight Loss?
Body measurements can be more accurate in revealing changes in your body as a result of diet and exercise than numbers on a scale. Because muscle mass is more dense than fat, positive body composition changes are more likely to be reflected by body measurements, particularly as you build muscle and lose fat. If you’ve ever used a pedometer to keep track of your daily step count, you know how satisfying it can be to hit those goal numbers. The same can be true for what a tape measure reveals about your weight loss efforts.
Body measurements also can tell you if you’re at higher risk of certain health problems. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes is higher for women with a waist circumference of greater than 35 inches. As such, reducing waist circumference is an important goal for lowering overall health risks, according to obesity experts. To understand what health risks you may be facing and to see how your weight loss program may be reducing those risks, it’s important to know to get accurate measurements of your waist and other parts of your body.
How to Measure Your Body Accurately
Using a cloth measuring tape is the most accurate way to go. If you don’t have one, be sure to use a flexible measuring tape that isn’t made of elastic. A measuring tape that stretches won’t give you reliable figures (neither will the stiff one in your toolbox).
To consistently get the most accurate measurements for weight loss tracking, wear very fitted clothes or no clothes at all. Stand tall and relax, and avoid sucking in your tummy or tensing your muscles. When measuring, pull the tape measure tight - you don’t want it to be too loose or relaxed. That said, be careful not to squeeze your body or pull your skin in any direction.
Read also: Weight Loss Guide Andalusia, AL
Taking your body measurements at the same time of day can help you get consistent results. For instance, you may want to take your measurements in the morning before you’ve had anything to eat. Don’t feel the need to get body measurements every day. You’re not likely to see much change from one day to the next, and you don’t want to obsess over daily measurements and wonder why they aren’t immediately getting better. Consider weekly or even monthly check-ins with your measuring tape to monitor weight loss progress.
Understand that you can’t always target certain areas for fat loss as you continue to lose weight. You may find that your weight is coming down, but you’re not seeing your belly fat slimming down at the same rate, for example. Your age, hormone levels, and basic body shape all factor into where you store body fat and how quickly (or slowly!) you can see those measurements start to slide.
Key Body Areas to Measure
What body parts you measure is up to you. But make sure you get the most accurate measurements. Here's how to measure each area of the body:
- Abdomen: Measure around the widest part of your torso, which is usually around the belly button. Keep the tape measure in line with the tummy button, ensure it’s level all the way around.
- Calves: While standing, measure around the halfway point between your knee and ankle.
- Chest: To measure your chest, stand straight with your feet together. Measure around the widest point of your bust.
- Hips: It may be easier to stand sideways as you look in the mirror to measure around your hips. Make sure to wrap the measuring tape around the widest part of your glutes. It would be more accurate to call this the ‘bum measurement’! This measures the widest point.
- Thighs: While standing, measure around the widest part of your thigh. Take this measure towards the top of the leg at the widest point at.
- Waist: Measure around the narrowest part of your torso for this one. It’s worth remembering that the waist can be the least reliable measurement due to bloating.
- Upper arms: Allow one arm to relax down your side. Measure around your bicep at roughly the halfway point between your shoulder and elbow. From the tip of the elbow, measure 15cm up the arm. Take the measurement at this point.
Alternative Methods for Measuring Weight Loss
Not all body measurements are taken with a measuring tape. Other methods can provide a more detailed understanding of changes in body fat percentage, muscle mass, and overall physique.
Skin Calipers
Another way to measure weight loss is with what’s known as skin calipers. This is a tool that's used to measure the skin's thickness on various areas of the body, which can offer an estimate of body fat percentage in that spot. By measuring the thickness of the skinfold, you can estimate body fat percentage. You may have had your body fat measured with calipers at a health club before starting fitness classes or working with a personal trainer on a custom weight loss workout plan. Or, you may have your own calipers or be interested in purchasing some to measure body fat at home. They range in price from about $10 for a simple set to more than $100 for electronic calipers that promise extremely precise readings.
Read also: Beef jerky: A high-protein option for shedding pounds?
Using calipers on yourself isn’t easy, so you may want to rely on a trained tester or have someone in your household or a friend learn how to use the devices and where on the body measurements should be taken. Typically, calipers are used to take measurements from several places, such as the chest, abdomen, thigh, upper arm, and back. To test, you’ll pinch the skin in those areas, placing the calipers about half an inch above or below the skinfold. The measurements from each site are then plugged into a formula that will offer an estimate of your body fat percentage. The accuracy of this method can depend on the skill and experience of the person taking the measurement and may not be as consistently accurate as other professional tools.
This estimate, along with percentages of bone and muscle, make up your body composition, which is another way to assess your health and fitness. It’s a somewhat complicated process though, and it may be best left up to healthcare professionals to get the most accurate and useful measurements.
Body Composition Analysis
Body composition gives a more detailed breakdown of what’s influencing the number on the scale. Assessment tools available such as bioelectrical scales, or DEXA scans can provide information about your body fat percentage, muscle mass, bone mass, water and more.
Visual Assessment
Looking in the mirror and visually assessing your body can be a helpful way to track changes in muscle definition and overall body composition. While this method may not provide precise measurements, it can give you a sense of progress and changes in your physique. Some people like to take weekly progress pictures so that they can look back at their progress over time.
Understanding the Numbers
Tracking both weight and body measurements provides a more comprehensive view of weight loss progress. While the number on the scale offers a quick snapshot of your progress, it doesn’t distinguish between fat loss, muscle gain, or water retention. Body measurements, on the other hand, can reveal changes in body composition and shape that the scales can’t account for.
Read also: Inspiring Health Transformation
When we combine weight trends with body measurements, we can better understand what’s happening with your body composition. Here is what this data can tell us:
- Body weight trends down + waist measurement trends down = overall fat loss.
- Body weight trends down + waist measurement stays the same = overall muscle loss.
- Body weight trends up + waist measurement stays the same = overall muscle gain.
- Body weight stays the same + waist measurement decreases = fat loss and muscle gain happening simultaneously.
If your goal is to change your body composition, these two data points-body weight and measurements-are invaluable.
How Often Should You Measure?
The jury is still out on this one. At the end of the day, you just have to find what works for you. One large study of 1,042 participants found that those who weighed themselves once per week or less didn’t lose weight. In contrast, those who weighed themselves six or seven times per week lost an average of 1.7%.
Daily weigh-ins may work for some people, but for others, it may be a demotivating exercise because weight loss is a slow process and weight can fluctuate on a daily basis. For example, a review of 20 published studies concluded that repetitive self-weighing can have a negative impact on mood, anxiety, self-esteem, and eating behaviors, particularly in women and young adults. However, it had a neutral or positive impact on people who were overweight and pursuing treatment.
If you choose to monitor your progress using skin calipers or another method of body fat measurement, you may want to stretch your measurements out to every two weeks, as body fat percentage takes a longer time to change noticeably. Whatever method you choose, it’s important that you take your measurements under the same condition each time and that you keep a record of your readings so that you can track your progress.
The Importance of a Holistic Approach
Numbers can certainly help tell a story, but never forget that body measurements aren’t the whole story - they are just one metric. As with any aspect of exercise, diet, weight loss, or fitness, it is important to maintain perspective. It’s totally normal for body measurement numbers to fluctuate, and there is no perfect measurement that’s right for everyone.
Even if you know how to take measurements for weight loss, the process of losing weight still isn’t an easy one. It requires consistent effort and a lot of small shifts, like swapping out for healthy snacks, making sure you’re getting good sleep (yes, quality sleep for weight loss matters!), and finding a workout routine you can stick to, even if that’s something as simple as walking for weight loss.
Seeking Professional Guidance
If you’re feeling discouraged on your weight loss journey or aren’t sure whether you’re taking the right steps to achieve results, consider working with a professional, such as a doctor or nutritionist. They can help you update your lifestyle and dietary habits and explore the possibility of weight loss medications, if appropriate. We are a team of qualified nutritionists who specialise in weight loss.
tags: #weight #loss #measurements #for #women