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All too often individuals allow the scales to determine their progress. Whilst this method can be really helpful for those wanting to lose weight, it is often relied on way too heavily. Being dependant on the scales to show a positive change can be a vicious circle and the beginning of obsessive behaviour for many people. Allowing your own mood and mindset to change and alter due to the scales is not a healthy relationship to have with your body, training or food.
Being aware that fluctuations will and are allowed to occur due to many different variables, alcohol consumption, food consumption, stress, activity levels, menstrual cycle, digestion etc… Getting hung up on the scales when they don’t show the figures you want or expecting, isn’t healthy. At the end of the day only a certain amount of these variables are within your control, most often than not the aspects altering weight are all unconscious healthy changes.
Sure, use the scales if you absolutely have to, for significant fat loss, or sport specific training within disciplines which require a weight category, such as boxing or weightlifting. Individuals who are looking to reduce weight, let’s set a date once a month in which we will weigh ourselves, try to do this at the same point of the day (e.g. before breakfast), also try weighting yourself in the same clothes, this allows you to control as many variables as possible to give a direct comparison. Weighing yourself once a month allows you to not depend upon the scales, but it’s still regular enough to be able to track change. For those competing in weight categorized sports, you will quickly be accustomed to how a certain weight you need to hit will feel, and only when leading up to competitions would you check in with the scales to ensure you are on track.
So, what can we use to be able to track change instead of the scales? There are many different methods, and all can be affective depending on the individual, there goals and lifestyle. Here are few ideas of tracking methods:
Pictures
Food diary
Measurements
Mindset
Gym statistics
Try them all for a set period of time, see what works for you, what you enjoy, what links to your goals effectively, do they fit in with your lifestyle, is there longevity in this method for your goal?
Pictures
Pick a time and a specific day and take a picture of your physique, try to use the same poses each time and if possible, the same clothing, for example wearing a hoodie one week and a sports bra the next isn’t helpful. These pictures are for you, nobody else has to see them so they can be as open as you want to be able to see clear changes, shorts and a sports bra for women, just shorts for men for example. Scroll through your past few pictures and you’ll start to see changes, these could be weight loss, increase muscle mass or looking leaner.
Food diary
Tracking food that is consumed and the thought process around the foods chosen and when their eaten can be a really useful tool to look at where changes could be made or where progress has occurred. For example, at the start of the fitness journey perhaps not much thought has gone inti food quality, through the weeks it’s clear the individual has made a conscious effort to consume fresh produce. Other examples could be food balance, so not getting enough protein or too many carbs and now they’ve rectified this, other examples could have been emotional eating, and now the individual has found a method to combat this rather than through food.
Measurements
Measure specific areas of the body, keep these areas exactly the same each time, pick 3 measurements, waist: hip, quads, and bicep, these are typical areas which store fat and can easily be measured. They also cover the entire body, so although you can’t spot reduce fat, you are getting a good reflection of the entire body as well as specific areas. This method is really useful for those looking to lose weight. Measurements will often show more changes than the scales, for example muscle mass can often add weight or keep weight constant on the scales, whereas physical body fat, measurement wise will actually be decreasing.
Mindset
Start a diary in which you fill out about how the session felt, how you feel within the hour after the session, the next day, and any day to day changes you notice due to training. For example, prior to the session being really motivated, found the session hard but really enjoyed it, afterwards on a huge high and a sense of accomplishment. The day after feeling a little sore but feel mentally alert and motivated for the next session. Another example could be, feeling super unmotivated but a friend dragged you on a run, loved the company and felt amazing afterwards, after a few weeks of this routine, the individual notices a huge impact on improved sleep quality and increase in energy levels. Over time read this diary and see hoe motivation, enjoyment, sleep quality, energy levels, mental health, concentration levels, alertness all improved.
Gym statistics
This is an amazing method which directly links to performance-based goals, being able to track the progress through activities and movements in the gym. This requires you to track several different movements or distances, I would advise you to pick no more than 10 aspects to track, this could be time taken to complete 2k run, the amount of wall balls in a minute, 1RM deadlift, time taken to do 1k on a ski, 1RM back squat, Plank hold for time etc… Keep these 10 recorded and test these throughout your training sessions. This will be the most affective form of tracking as you can physically see and feel your progress, ‘this used to feel harder’ ‘I could only do 50kg for 1, now I’m doing 50kg for 3’ for example.
Find the strategies that work for you!