6 Different Ways To Track Your Weight Loss Goal.

Why majority of people start their diet and exercise? From statistic, over 70% of people start dieting and exercising to lose weight and to look good.

Great! So how do you track your progress?

There are so many ways to monitor nowadays and not only confusing trainees but also confusing trainers as to what method they should be using for tracking their progress.

On top of the variety of methods, people are looking for accuracy of data and not really understanding what it means. So let's go through 6 different ways that I use to monitor progress in terms of weight loss and look good.

1. Scale

Most common way to monitor weight loss progression is the scale. Main objective of scale is to monitor your weight change.

Issue that I've seen is every scale is tuned slightly different from another. So if you are looking for accuracy of your data, you should be utilizing same scale at same condition.

For example, if you been weighing yourself with the scale in your wooden floor bathroom in the morning before food, then that condition and scale you use should be the same.

This is same in research lab. When device and condition of research is changed, the data is no longer valid. When something is slightly different, doesn't matter how expensive your tool is, it is not valid, therefore accuracy of data is not there.

In terms of using scale as weight loss monitor, unless you are needing to lose large amount of weight (>50 lb), competing in weight classed sports or needing to improve speed in your sports, you don't really need to use it. It doesn't make sense to me for someone who is wanting to fit into wedding dress to get on the scale, because, the main concern should be to be able to fit into the dress and look good not what number is showing on the scale. There has been situation where my client met the weight goal on the scale but there was extra skin hanging from the back. So I would rather use or suggest different methods.

Scale can also be used, if done properly, to determine how hormones are affecting your body weight. For example, if your last meal was at 7pm and woke up at 7am to weigh-in, your weight should be dropped not only because of not been eating for 12 hours but also increase in glucagon secretion due to insulin level drop. If your weight is not dropped, you can assume some food consumption was there before going to bed, sleep quality was not adequate, or there may be some other hormonal issues. Article on metabolism can be found here.

2. BMI

BMI stands for Body Mass Index. A lot of times people confused this with body fat but it is a ratio between your weight and height. Based on the number you get you can categorize yourself in obese, overweight, healthier weight, and under weight. For someone who is needing to lose large amount of weight, this can be useful way to monitor how the person's weight loss is progressing. However, it is ratio between your height and weight so if you have large muscle mass, you can have higher BMI and still be in healthier state. So BMI should be only used as a guide and not as definite answer.

3. Body Fat Percentage

Within body fat percentage measurement, there are so many different methods. Starting from skinfold caliper, hand held device, scale with body fat measurement tool, underwater weighing and so on. Each measurement technique has its pros and cons. And just like scale, you will need to stick with the same method and monitor at the same condition each time.

Majority of time, you should be fasted for 12 hours without any alcohol or caffeine in your body. It is not just about how accurate the devices or techniques are, which is still important factors, but how well the protocols are followed to keep the testing as same as previous is also important.

Body fat measurement should be done for those who has less than about 50 lb to lose. Why? First, if you have more than 50 lb to lose, then you should be focusing on dropping down the number on the scale. Second, around below 50 lb phase of weight loss, you want to make sure that muscle mass are preserved and only fat is been utilize as energy and waste. By knowing the progression of the fat mass change, nutrition planning will be also become easier.

Skinfold caliper can be used to monitor the hormonal imbalance. For example, if I had too much carb and insulin has been high for few days, then my skinfold above my hip bone and under the scapula would be higher than the others. This is a method called biosignature modulation introduced by one of the best strength coach in the world, Charles Poliquin.

4. Circumference

Measuring circumference can be used for those who are getting close to the ideal figure especially for those who has goal of fitting into certain clothes.

I use this method more frequent than another because, there isn't too much complication and there is not much room for error. Only thing I make sure to do is using the same tape measure and measure at the beginning of the training session to keep the measurement consistent.

5. Cloth Fitting

Majority of times, people want to lose weight because of they want to look better. So their concern is not really how much they weigh or number of body fat percentage is. Therefore, how the cloth fit and how they look in it can also be a great way to measure your progress.

Let's say for example that you use to feel tight with wearing XL. But after few month of dieting and exercise and now you can fit comfortably into L size shirt. Now that is progress even if other form of measurement does not say so.

6. Mirror Check

Another thing you can do is check yourself in the mirror. What you see in the mirror is what other will see. It is not a number based or size based but it really show how you are doing. If you are not satisfied, you've got some work to do and mirror will tell you what you are actually lacking.

So what modality you should use to monitor your weight loss is based off of why you are wanting to lose weight. Depending on what your true goal is, way to monitor your progress will vary and it should. Most important thing, especially for the first 4 method, is to keep it consistent with tool, condition, and skill of measuring. Method should not be determined by what others are doing.

Kota Shimada