Measuring Your Fat Loss

Pep Talk

A few weeks ago, I had written a post about ignoring your scale and paying attention to other factors when measuring your weight loss progress.  It raised a lot of questions, so I thought it'd be helpful this week to discuss measuring your weight loss in greater detail.

The Problem with the Scale
The scale only gives you part of the story -- your overall weight loss.  But your body has two kinds of weight: lean mass, which includes bones, tissues, and muscle; and fat mass, which is the REAL thing we are trying to get rid of.

Consider this: you could lose 10 lbs. of WEIGHT, but if it is muscle, you will be weaker, feel less energetic, and probably not look much different than when you started.

Also consider this: the scale might seem like it's not budging, but only because you LOST 5 lbs. of fat and GAINED 5 lbs. of muscle.  So really your net loss was 0 lbs., but you will feel stronger, feel lighter, feel more energetic, and probably look more fit aesthetically.

Muscle is denser than fat and takes up less space for the same amount of weight.  Muscle is like a baseball and fat is like a nerf ball of the same size.  They both take up the same amount of space, but the baseball would be much heavier.  This is why the scale might not seem to be going down in numbers, but your clothes are fitting better and you look fitter.

Measurement Method 1: How Your Clothes Fit
A very simple way to measure your progress is to listen to your clothes, not the scale.  If you are going down in clothing sizes, but the scale won't budge, you ARE making progress.  In the majority of cases (with very rare exceptions), you will not go down in clothes sizes and up in body fat.

If you clothes fit better, but the scale is moving up, it is probably because you are gaining muscle mass.  Consider taking photos every so often to visually gauge your fat loss progress.

Measurement Method 2: Tape Measurements
This takes the clothing test one step further.  Rather than relying on the scale, take measurements once a week to track your progress.  Just like with the clothing test, except in very rare cases, you will not go down in measurements and up in body fat.

Some good measurements to take are:

• Across your bust
• The narrowest part of your waist
• The widest part of your hips
• The middle of your thighs
• Your upper arms
• Your calves

On a daily basis, these measurements can vary based on many things, like water retention and what you've eaten.  Consider taking these measurements weekly or every other week.

Measurement Method 3: Body Fat Percentage
This method is a little more intricate, but offers the most information in terms of your fat loss progress.  The easiest way to measure this yourself is to get a body fat measuring scale, which uses Bio-Electrical Impedance (BEI) to estimate what percentage of your total body weight is fat.

Here is how to do your calculations:

1. Total Weight x Body Fat % = Total Fat Weight
2. Total Weight - Total Fat Weight = Total Lean Mass (muscle, bones, tissue, etc.)
3. Compare your Total Lean Mass and Total Fat Mass on a weekly basis to determine your progress.  You want your Lean Mass to either stay the same or go up, while your Fat Mass goes down. 

Hopefully these tips will provide you with the whole picture in terms of measuring your fat loss progress.  Remember that the scale is only one piece of the puzzle and does not give you all the information you need to judge how you're doing.  Use any or all of the techniques above to get a better idea of how your efforts are working.

Challenge Workout

Perform 5 rounds of the following exercises, taking breaks as needed:

• 20 Jump Squats
• 45 seconds Plank