Don't rely on one metric, AKA the "buy a tape measure and take selfies" thread

(Tom) #1

This is kind of an extension of the Measure Your Progress tips.

Here’s my humble advice: Don’t rely on just one thing to gauge your progress. Here’s what I use: the scale, pictures, and measurements.

Scales: The scale is usually handy and it’s culturally thrust at us everywhere we turn. But the scale lies sometimes. The scale (especially the ones that purport to measure bodyfat) does about as good of a job measuring fat loss as Steve Buscemi does modeling bikinis. When I do use the scale as a metric, I weigh at the same time of the day. Personally, I like to do it right when I wake up, after my morning ablutions, before I suck down 16 ounces (that’s a whole lb right there, people!) of java.

Pictures: I hate selfies, but will take them on a weekly or montly basis to compare with my before pics. Keep in mind that photos can lie as well. Try to keep the lighting, clothes, and angles consistent. Unless, of course, you accidentally find an angle that takes you from a hard “2” to a solid “10.” If that happens, make it your head shot and send me a cut of your modeling proceeds. MyFitnessPal’s app has a nice side-by-side function that I use to compare pics.

Tape measurements: I think this is one of the most underused metrics, and if I had a nickel for every time someone was worried about the scale stopping, but had no idea if their measurements were still declining, I’d have… wait, lemme see … carry the zero…divide by pi… I’d have about 35 cents. I’m a fan of tape measures like this one. Easy to use one handed and places a consistent amount of pull on the tape. I like to place it and snap a photo for two reasons. 1) I can then add the data to MFP later, and 2) it shows me where I placed the tape so I can more closely replicate it next time. But be forewarned, do not enable auto upload of your pics to the cloud, lest ye be showing your gramma some vaction pics and she ends up seeing your (cough) tanlines.

tl;dr Keep track of more than one thing. I like three things. Not every day, but with consistency.

(Stickin' with mammoth) #2

My solid recommendation is to remove your attention from all of it except for one day of the month. Then, measure everything to your little heart’s content. Then, ignore it again until next month. You can tell yourself it’s a marathon, not a sprint, but until you can put away the stopwatch, you’re wasting your own time, pun intended.

In fact, I go one step further and ask myself, “Do I feel better today than I did this date last year?” If the answer is yes, I continue. If the answer is no, I either watch stand up comedy or go for a hike.

(Jacquie) #3

Exactly. what I do! :slight_smile: Weigh, tape measure and Skulpt Aim once a month. Might even go every couple of months since I’m at goal weight. I’m more curious about tracking bf.

#4

Yes, that works really well for some. Others like at least some of the measurements more regularly. I weigh daily just because I like to see what is happening and potentially react to it if I need to. I write on my calendar weight and BG every morning. BUT I don’t freak out with weird gains and losses. In fact, it is illuminating to see how much your weight can fluctuate in a short space of time.

(Jacquie) #5

@Daisy reminded me that I track FBG daily, too. It’s become such a part of my morning routine (over 2.5 yrs.), like brushing my teeth, that I forgot to mention it. :slight_smile:

(No I'm not mad - that's just my face) #6

Yes to this! A friend who had WLS took and posted a Friday selfie every week. It was fun to watch her progress, and for her, even when the scale wasn’t moving, she could see good things were happening.

I could give a shit less what the number on the scale says if I feel and look good.

#7

It is so hard to abandon the scales completely but having these alternative measurements makes all the difference I think. So you could have a stall or a gain for months but you have noted your BG going down and you no longer have sore feet whenever you stand up. Well those are big old wins in my book and the kind of thing that kept me motivated during slow periods. Just looking back over journal entries makes you sit back and think, “Well damn, I did all that already. That is pretty impressive.”