Properly Tracking Weight Loss/Gains

Have a goal weight that you want to reach? Ever weighed yourself at one weight, and then one week later you gained five pounds? You might say to yourself “this can’t be right…” and you are right! Many factors come into place while weighing your body.

Water– The body is 60% water. Changes in hydration levels can change the number on the scale. While eating too much salt can increase dehydration causing the body to retain water, your weight might creep up. Women retain water during menstrual cycles (which is also why they feel bloated.)This can cause weight to fluctuate as well.

Food– To state the obvious, weighing yourself after a meal will increase the number on the scale. It doesn’t mean you gained weight, it only means you’ve added a substance to your body; a substance that will be eliminated in several hours.

Muscle– Muscle mass is extremely dense and doesn’t take up nearly as much space as fat. Therefore, adding muscle will increase the weight on the scale, even if you’re slimming down.

With this information you’ll begin to wonder when the best time is to weigh yourself. I believe that the best way to get an accurate measure on body weight is to weigh yourself in the morning before breakfast. However, with this comes consistency. Let’s say one night you eat at about 10pm then wake up at 8am and weigh yourself. The next week you eat at 7pm and then sleep later and weigh yourself at 9am. You could have not lost a single pound of weight, but because of the substances going in and out of your body at different times, your weight may vary.  On days that you choose to weigh yourself, make sure that your routine is consistent.

More accurate ways to measure progress:

• Body Fat Percentage– Males tend to have about 4 percent of natural body fat while women tend to have around 10 percent. A healthy range for men is anywhere up to 25% and anywhere up to 31% for women. There are many different devices and methods including calipers, bioelectrical impedance scales, DEXA, online calculators, and more. Make sure that your method of choice is always the same in order to track progress. This way, even if there is error with the method you choose, the error is consistent on a weekly basis and your progress is accurate.
• Training– Keep a workout or mileage log. If you do 100 pounds for 10 reps one week, try to either increase the weight or increase the amount of reps or sets the following week.
• Take a picture– If there is anything that I regret about my training, it’s that I never tracked my progress through pictures. There would be nothing better than to look back at old pictures and see how far you’ve come. Take a body picture once every month. This will help you keep track of appearance, because after all, weight is just a number and appearance is everything! As with every other method, make sure to be consistent with the times of day you take a picture and what you did prior to it.

Tracking progress is fun and it keeps you pushing forward. It’s always important to have goals set in place. And remember, a goal without a timeline is just a wish. Push your body to be the way you want it to be.

If you have any questions or comments please let me know. I can be reached through social media as well.

Michael Roulic