There’s a lot of ways to measure weight loss and track your progress. Using multiple methods can get you a more accurate idea of how much weight you have lost or how much muscle you have gained. If you don’t believe your weight has changed, try measuring it.
Keep reading to learn 3 essential ways to measure your weight loss easily and effectively.
1. Measure Your Body Fat Percentage With Calipers
Measuring your body fat percentage using calipers, known as a skinfold test, has been used for a long time. You don’t need fancy, expensive equipment to get an accurate reading. To get this kind of measurement you’ll need skinfold calipers, which pinch the skin at specific sites on your body and pull the skin and adipose tissue away from the muscle.
The thickness of the skinfold at the different areas are measured in millimeters. You should do this test with no clothes on and use the caliper on these body parts:
- Back of the arm
- Front of the arm
- Shoulder blade
- Waist
- Illiac crest
- Front of the thigh
- Inside of the calf
Record all of the measurements and the areas you got them from as you go so you don’t forget them. Once you have all of the numbers you need, you can enter them into a body fat percentage calculator. It is good to get your body fat percentage before you undertake a new diet or exercise plan and continue to repeat the test every week or so.
2. Use Weighing Scales
Weighing scales are typically the number one choice for people when they track their weight loss. Knowing your weight is important because it is used to calculate your body mass index or BMI. Your BMI can tell you if you are underweight, normal weight, overweight, or obese.
If you have a BMI below 18.5, that means you are underweight. Being underweight puts you at risk for nutritional deficiencies, osteoporosis, poor immune function, fertility issues, and developmental issues. If you have a BMI of 30 or above you are classified as obese.
People with an obese BMI are at risk of type 2 diabetes, hypertension, kidney disease, stroke, heart disease, sleep apnea, osteoarthritis, fatty liver disease, and complications during pregnancy.
3. Take Progress Photos
While taking photos of yourself doesn’t necessarily give you exact estimates of your weight, it will allow you to see how you have changed in the weeks since you’ve started your weight loss journey. Many fitness tracking apps let you add photos alongside weight ins or diary entries. Or, you can join the many Instagram accounts dedicated to wellness and fitness.
Progress photos are also a good motivator when you feel bad or don’t think you’ve made much progress.
This Is How to Measure Weight Loss Easily and Effectively
Regardless of how you track your progress or measure your weight loss, you should remember that your weight will fluctuate throughout the day and due to factors do to things such as water retention. Using these methods to measure weight loss and use these numbers as guideposts.
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