Believe it or not, progress comes in many forms and fashions. There is one form of progress that many people obsess over and that is the number on the scale. Picture yourself waking up on the day of your weekly weigh-in. Imagine groggily lifting your feet up onto the chilled scale. This past week you have methodically stuck to your meal plan and you even completed an extra workout. You dreadfully look down at the number on the scale and you see that you have gained one pound from last week. You are confused, frustrated, angry, and forgetful of all of the progress you have made in past weeks.
You need to remember, weight loss is not linear. There will be guaranteed weeks of setbacks and stagnant momentum in terms losing pounds. Hitting a wall can slash all motivation (check out my blog on how to stay motivated) and be detrimental to you reaching your goals. It might even cause you to completely forget about other areas of your healthy journey in which you have improved. Even though we tend to forget, progress comes in many forms. Below are 8 non-scale progress measures that you should be using in your weight loss journey.
1. Eating more vegetables
If you are eating more vegetables than you were a week ago, that is progress! This may seem like an odd way to measure progress, but vegetables are a critical part of efficiently advancing towards any fitness goal. Especially if you are trying to lose weight, vegetables provide a low calorie, high-fiber option for your snacks and meals. They also contain antioxidants and vitamins which help prevent disease. (Check out last week’s blog on strategies to make your meals more nutritious).
2. Ordering a healthier option at a restaurant
Last time you went out to eat, you ordered a cheese burger with a side of fries. Today you went to the same restaurant, but this time, you ordered a salad and were mindful to go easy on the salad dressing. The change in your order shows you are becoming more disciplined in making healthy food choices that propel you forward to reaching your goals. I am not saying that you can’t ever have a burger at a restaurant, I am just saying that this can be a time where you demonstrate the progress you’ve made.
3. Feeling happier and more confident
You have been participating in a women’s weight loss program and you are beginning to notice changes. Prior to starting a program, you were afraid to wear shorts and show off your legs. Now that you have been consistently exercising for a month, you are becoming more comfortable in your own skin, and you are now able to confidently wear shorts. Your confidence makes you feel happy.
4. Losing inches
Your clothes are fitting better as you are beginning to lose inches around your waist and stomach area. Taking circumference measurements prior to starting a program is a smart idea. Even if your weight doesn’t drop as much as you would like, your circumference measurements may. Take measurements around your arms, waist, abdomen, hips, thighs, and calves. Measure these areas once a month to see what progress you’ve made!
5. Gaining muscle and losing fat
When participating in a strength training program (check out my other blogs; shifting to lifting part 1 & part 2), you gain muscle. It is important to incorporate strength training if you are losing weight so that you won’t lose muscle. You also need to remember that just because the number on the scale didn’t change that week, doesn’t mean nothing changed. Let’s say your body fat percentage actually dropped 1%. This may not seem like much, but let me put things into perspective. Let’s say one week you are 150 lbs and have 30% body fat percentage, and the next week you are 150 lbs and 29%. You when from 45 lbs of body fat to 43.5 lbs of body fat. The number on the scale may not change, but your body composition may.
6. Sleeping better and having more energy
Exercising can contribute to a more sound and restful sleep. It may reduce stress and anxiety as well. Improvements in your sleep patterns is an important habit to track. You can record the number of hours of sleep you get each night to see if you improve. Shoot for at least 7 hours of sleep a night.
7. Having a better attitude towards exercise
Another measure of progress that you want to think about is your attitude towards exercise. Prior to beginning a program, you may dread exercise or be reluctant to attempt new things. Now, you have been working out for 3 weeks, and you are starting to look forward to your workouts. You are even getting up before work to exercise which is something you never thought you would do.
8. Improving performance
Progress can also be measured by performance. Things like decreasing your mile time, improving your flexibility, or lifting heavier weight are all examples of progress that should be tracked! Even if your weight doesn’t change like you want it, you are getting strong and you can’t forget that!
These are a few of the many ways you can measure progress other than using a scale. I am not saying that the number on the scale isn’t important, I just want to remind you of other measures of success. Starting today, I want you to pick one of these non-victories to track and focus on! Create a log so you can record any progress each week or each month.
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