The road towards a perfect body is difficult. It’s one bumpy ride full of hard work, sore muscles, and disappointments. But, there’s no better feeling than looking in the mirror and seeing a fit and toned silhouette. One of the main reasons for giving up and going back to bad habits is the frustration caused by not losing any weight.
From a psychological point of view, it’s very important to keep track of all the changes your body undergoes while you’re exercising and dieting. Every pound and inch you lose will boost your motivation to keep up the good work(out).
Keeping a Journal
This is one of the most basic methods, and you can do it the old-fashioned way – by writing down your weight, calorie intake, body measurements, or workout sessions every day. If you’re a Millennial, don’t worry, there are tons of useful fitness apps that, basically, do the same thing. It’s a misconception that such journals aren’t useful, because they help you achieve mindfulness and become fully aware of what and how much you’re eating, how long you’re working out, and they show you a direct connection between your efforts and your weight loss. Another good idea would be to write down how you’re feeling after every meal in order to identify the types of food that make you bloated, stuffed, or tired so you can avoid them.
Bathroom Scales
A bathroom scale is usually the first thing people associate with keeping track of their weight. However, this instrument, no matter how accurate it is, can create a false impression that there’s no progress. Only when you combine this measurement method with others, like taking circumference measurements, using body-fat calipers, or trying on your skinny clothes, can you gain a full insight into your progress. You should also avoid stepping on your scale too often, because it may turn into an obsessive-compulsive habit which will only sabotage your motivation.
Taking Pictures
This “before” and “after” method is very efficient, as you can visually perceive the progress you’re making. By comparing your photos, you’ll be able to see how your body is reshaping. The first picture you take should be on the day you start your fitness regimen. It’s important to wear clothes that will show your physique. Men should wear shorts or swim trunks, while women should be in a bikini, or shorts and a bra. The point is to show your belly because that’s the part of your body that undergoes many changes in this process. All this is much easier with a user-friendly body tracker app which helps you track your body transformation. All you have to do is take two photos on your mobile phone, and you will get a 3D image and your exact body measurements. Whenever you upload a new picture, you’ll be able to see the progress you’re making.
Taking Circumference Measurements
Grab a tape measure and put it around the most problematic areas of your body such as:
– Neck
– Hips
– Waist
– Thighs
– Chest
If you want to track your improvement accurately, it’s essential that you take measurements in the morning, before you eat or drink anything, and never after your workout session. Now, if your scale shows zero progress, these measurements can save the day and show you that your efforts aren’t in vain. This could mean you’ve lost fat and gained muscle, and the scale can’t show any progress because a pound of fat weighs as much as a pound of muscle, but it takes up more space.
BMI
Body Mass Index (BMI) is a basic method of determining whether a person is overweight or obese. In order to calculate this simple ratio, you usually need to provide your gender, age, height and weight. As you can see, this is a pretty generic tool, but the main role of this index is to identify whether you have too much body fat and to indicate if there’s a health risk. However, it’s good to know what the normal values are, and they fall somewhere between 18.5 and 24.9. Again, the fact that fat and muscles weigh the same can be confusing, so a muscular athlete might have the same BMI as an overweight person.
Trying on Your Clothes
How many times have you tried to fit into your favorite skinny jeans and failed? When you start with your workout, this should become one of your progress-tracking activities. Apart from being a practical tool for measuring your improvement, this method is excellent because you’ll be thrilled when you realize that after a certain period of time, your clothes don’t stretch as it used to, or that you can finally button your shirt. So, open your wardrobe and let the fashion show begin.
Tracking your progress is equally important as exercise and a healthy diet, as it helps you stick to your fitness plan.
