Tracking Your Progress
If you are one of the many who have decided to lose fat weight than you will need to know about the best methods for keeping track of your progress. Most people weigh themselves on a scale. But a bathroom scale doesn’t tell you how much fat you’ve lost, but only indicates the total amount of muscle, fat, bones, connective tissue, cartilage, water, in addition to food that’s in the stomach. The scale is not the most accurate measure of weight lost, but it’s probably the most popular and will give you regular feedback on how you’re progressing. If you are just beginning an exercise program than you will also be gaining muscle weight in addition to losing fat weight. If say you gain four pounds of muscle and lose five pounds of fat, you will only lose one pound of total body weight, but you are still making progress. The scale will help you recognize when you are not progressing and also allow you to make the needed adjustments in your food portions. To keep track of your weight, weigh yourself in the morning and record the results in your fitness journal.
There are a few other areas where progress can be monitored. If you limit your focus too narrowly you could be missing some other important areas that are effected by weight loss. However each one of these methods are only an approximation and a tool for helping to measure your progress and should not create unrealistic expectations.
Measuring your body fat percentage is a more accurate measure of fat loss than the scale. This is a measurement of lean body mass compared with total fat mass. It will tell you the percentage of fat weight you are carrying around. For men anything above 25% is considered obese, and for women anything over 32% is considered obese, depending upon your age.
The simplest method I’ve found for measuring fat percentages is the military method. Using a tape measure the men will measure the circumference of their waist at the naval and the neck just below the Adam’s apple. The neck circumference is subtracted from the waist circumference and the difference along with their height is used to determine body fat percentages from the following charts: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/kurilla5.pdf
Women will need to measure their neck just below the larynx, waist at the minimal circumference, and the hips at the greatest protrusion of the buttocks. Add the waist and hip measurements then subtract the neck measurement. Look up the results from the following charts: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/kurilla5.pdf
There are many other methods for measuring body fat and if used correctly are usually accurate within 2~5%. Try and measure your body fat every month or two as minor changes in body fat will not register. Knowing your body fat and weight will let you know whether you are losing fat or gaining lean mass. Multiplying your weight times the percentage of body fat will tell you how many pounds of fat you are carrying around. Subtract the pounds of fat from your total weight for the total amount of lean mass.
Another important indication of your fitness level is your resting heart rate (RHR). Your heart rate is an indication of how hard your heart works during exercise and as your fitness level increases your heart rate becomes lower. Athletes usually have lower heart rates than sedentary people (no fooling). Measure your heart rate first thing in the morning by counting how many times your heart beats per minute. Take your heart rate for three days to get an average and record it in your fitness journal. You will also be using your RHR to figure out your Target Heart Rate (THR) for getting into the ‘fat burning zone’ while performing cardio exercise, which I will be posting in a future article.
Your measurements will also change as you lose weight so record the following measurements in your log; Waist- measure your waist roughly one inch above your naval. Your waist line is your life line and this measurement should always go down while you are losing weight and never up. According to Dr. Oz waist measurements for women should be 32 inches or under, and for men 35 inches or under. The extra inches that you add to your waistline could be subtracting years from your life. If you only take one measurement, this is the most important one, even more important than your weight.
Hips- measure your hips at the widest part of your buttocks with heels together. Thighs- measure the upper thighs just below the buttocks. Chest- measure around the widest part of the chest, and for women take a second measurement just under the bust line. Arms- measure your upper arms at the widest part above the elbow, than record all these measurements in your fitness journal. Taking your measurements will tell you where you are losing the fat.
Other ways of tracking your progress include keeping a log of all your workouts and cardio sessions. This is especially important if you’re engaged in weight training to record the number of reps, sets, poundage, and types of exercises after every training session. Otherwise how will you know how much weight you used last time for a particular exercise? An exercise journal along with your measurements will also allow you to look back over the years and see which routines worked best for you and which exercises gave you the best results. Use the Excel spread sheet program to create your own personal exercise log or ask a friend to create one for you.
Take a before and after picture of yourself. Taking a picture of yourself will allow you to see just how much you’ve changed and to make visual comparisons. Every picture tells a story doesn’t it. Take one picture clothed and another picture wearing a bathing suit. One day you may use your before and after pictures to inspire other people, may even someone close to you who needs to lose weight for health reasons. You will not only be helping yourself but also helping others by inspiring them with your success story.
If you haven’t already done so, write down your goals and reasons for wanting to lose weight and when and how you will achieve those goals. The more specific you are about why you need to lose weight and the time you expect to accomplish your goal is vital to your success. Now you’ll be better equipped to measure your progress more accurately and see whether you are advancing towards your goals. This information will allow you to fine tune your diet and exercise routine plus you will have a permanente record of your journey to use as a reference for years to come.
Try not to get too caught up in the measurements as they are only a tool. Just because you don’t see a change on the outside doesn’t mean that you’re not changing in other ways. Remember it takes time to take off weight and that you are also improving on the inside as well, for you may be lowering your blood pressure and cholesterol levels, which is a very significant change. Just remain focused on your goals and the reason you’re doing this, and for every pound you lose means one less pound of unwanted fat.
Before you begin any diet or exercise program consult with your physician.
Things you will need;
A fitness journal
Tape Measure
Pencil or pen
Camera
Weight Scale
A mission statement