The True Measure

The true measure of weight loss is the reduction in body fat. I want to discuss this topic today because I don't want you to focus on what the scale says so much. First of all, it makes or breaks your day to see that number show up on the scale and I don't want your day ruined anymore! Body Fat loss is the true measure of how well you are doing at home with your diet and in the gym. Here's why...

1. The Body Breakdown

• Your weight is broken down in multiple ways depending on your current fitness level.

• We have to focus on what we can control in the body in order to lose the right kind of weight and keep it off for the long haul.

• Muscle: 30-55% of your body weight

• Bone: 15% of your body weight

• Water: 10-25% of your body weight

• Organs & Tissues: 10-15% of your body weight

• Fat: 10-30% of your body weight

• Notice the biggest variations from person to person come from fat and muscle.

• Note: Muscle weighs more than fat so if you're working out consistently checking your body fat is a must. You might be gaining lean muscle but losing fat at the same time and simply weighing yourself isn't going to accurately depict that.

2. The Scale

• Tracking your weight as the only means of your success is setting yourself up for failure because of all the factors listed above.

• Depending on how much salt you consumed last night can greatly affect how much water you retain the next morning which can increase your weight.

• Similarly, the scale might read less if you consumed a lot of alcohol the night before. This is due to the fact that your body is severely dehydrated.

• A few ways I like to measure true success is with circumference measurements, visual assessments, and body fat testing.

3. Circumference Measurements

• I will actually measure my triceps, waist, abdomen (directly over the belly button), the hips, and thighs to see if I'm getting smaller or bigger depending on what my goals are.

• If you are a male and your goal is to increase muscle and get bigger you might also measure your chest.

• I do these measurements with a sewing tape measure.

• Circumference Measurements can tell you things that the scale wont: This area of the body is either decreasing or increasing in size.

• Note: Make sure you are measuring the same area of each body part. If you are lower or higher on the thigh, for instance, it can throw off the measurement.

4. Visual Assessments

• Taking before and after pictures.

• I like to do these without a shirt (sports bras for women) from the front and both sides of the body.

• I take these pictures once a month that way I can tell if I made any real progress.

• Sometimes the mirror can play tricks on you so taking pictures allows you to really compare with a side-by-side the strides you have made.

5. Body Fat Measurements

• You can test your body fat once a month with a hand-held device, an in-body machine, skin calipers, or underwater weighing.

• Since some methods are easier than others and a lot less expensive, I use a hand-held device.

• The hand-held device might not be 100% accurate, but it does take out any human error that you might find with the skin calipers. Plus if you use the hand-held device once a month, it will give you a true read as to how much body fat you have lost.

• The In-body machines are quite expensive.

• Underwater weighing is the most accurate way to test your true body fat, but you will have to go to a special testing facility to do this.

So next time you look at that number on the scale and get depressed, just remember that muscle weights more than fat and really the scale is just a number. Your true measure of success comes from a body-fat reduction & an increase in lean muscle mass.