There’s nothing worse than exercising week after week and watching your diet like a hawk just for the scale to tell you that your body weight has changed. It happens to all of us and isn’t anything to worry about. Just like that friend who likes to cook up a story, the scale is not telling you the whole truth. The only way to find out the whole truth is to take weight loss measurements and bask in the results of your real fat loss success.
Taking measurements can give you the real low-down on your diet and workout’s success and help you track your results further. Measuring your body won’t take much time or effort, and certainly no investment, just a measuring tape.
Weight loss measurements will show you exactly where you are having the best weight loss progress, where you are losing body fat, and which areas to focus on to burn more fat mass. As we all burn fat a little differently and in different areas, it’s important to regularly measure and take notes of your progress. But how exactly do you take body measurements for fitness to track your weight loss? Our guide will show you just how to measure your body for weight loss!
How to Take Body Measurements
Although there is no need for any special talents, there are certain body measurement techniques to use for each part of the body. For the perfect indication of how the body’s fat percentage and composition are coming along, and whether the exercises and diets are working, specific body measurements for fitness should be taken.
Firstly, you will need to use a reliable body tape measure made from a softer material to bend easily and give accurate results. Having a notebook or file on your phone would be helpful to track your measuring each week or as frequently as you will be measuring.
When measuring yourself be sure to measure at least twice, to be sure the measurements are accurate. For accuracy’s sake, the tape measure should always sit on the surface of the skin, so don’t hold the tape away from your skin.
For losing weight, we all love to have that cup of coffee or green tea first thing in the morning, but you should be measuring before consuming anything. This also helps to have the same circumstances with every measurement and eliminate excess water weight. Keeping the measurements consistent with what you are consuming, and time of day is important to ensure accurate measurements each time.
How to Measure Yourself
When you measure your body make sure that you are wearing tight clothing. The same clothing should always be worn when measuring to ensure that the measurements every day are 100% accurate, otherwise, what’s the use of investing in that measuring tape?
- Abs: When taking your measurements over the stomach it’s important to stand up straight with your feet together and torso straight. Stay relaxed and find the widest part of the abdomen. this is usually around the belly button.
- Chest: Measuring your chest is done the same way as measuring the abs since you need to stand straight with your feet together, find the widest part around your bust, and presto! Always use a flexible and make sure tape level is in your nipple height.
- Calves: With calves, you should measure halfway between the knee and the ankle to ensure accurate measurements.
- Arms: Relax one arm and find the midpoint between your shoulder bone and elbow. This will ensure the perfect accuracy to measure your upper arm.
- Hips: Stand sideways and look in the mirror with the tape parallel to the floor.
- Thighs: One of the easier parts to measure. Just measure the widest part of the thigh.
- Waist Measurement: Measure from the narrowest part of the abdomen for waist circumference
How Body Measurements Change Over Time
Weight loss is a constant struggle for a lot of us. Healthy weight loss is a lifestyle that takes dedication, hard work, physical activity, and low calories. When following the correct diet and exercising regularly results will show soon.
Depending on how you want to lose weight depends on how measurements will be changing over time.
- Body Composition: Some of us only want to lose fat in certain areas and keep other areas the same, but unfortunately, there is not much of a choice in those regards. Body composition, amount of fat, lean muscle, and even tissues all change over time based on lifestyle, exercise, and aging. Measure your areas of the body by using a measuring tape. Your body is changing every time and you need to keep tracking of every body parts. By this you can get a clear picture of your progress.
- Muscle vs Fat: This is another phenomenon of weight loss, but proves that it is possible to lose some inches without losing weight on a scale. Although scales have always been the go-to and easiest method to see if the hard work and diet are paying off, it’s not the most reliable as it only shows where you have lost fat. Scales lack the capacity to show your body fat percentage and also do not consider your body mass index or muscle mass. While you losing weight your body composition is changing. You should maintain proper body shape. The different bodies need different care. Regular body measurements can help to know how to take the body in proper shape.
Building muscle might even lose inches but not show on the scale, which is perfectly normal with fitness workouts. This just proves yet again how important measures around your body for weight loss females are.
Tracking Your Process
Tracking your progress is one of the most rewarding parts of weight loss measurements. It shows your progress and keeps you motivated to stick with the diet. Although you may be tempted to measure every chance you get, it’s best to measure only every two to four weeks to see the real progress.
Keeping track of your measurements will help guide you through what’s working and what is proving to be a waste of time. This will show you exactly how your efforts are affecting your body composition while working hard at building muscle while losing weight. Measuring your weight loss journey also acts as a body fat calculator, as you can see the inches dropping off as you are gaining more lean muscle.
By writing down or recording each measurement of all the muscle groups and parts of the body, you will be able to keep perfect track of your progress in sculpting your new body for wellness.
Measuring Your Weight Loss for Motivation
The scale has proven time and again to all of us that it’s not the most trusted and honest friend, and that weight loss measurements are much more accurate. Body measurements for fitness show us exactly how exercises are helping, and exactly which parts of the body are losing weight or building muscle.
By keeping track of all body weight loss measurements, you will be able to work out better exercising routines and diets to get the ultimate results in building muscle and losing weight.
Reinette Robbertze is a highly qualified professional in the health and nutrition industry, having completed both Journalism and Nutrition diplomas. With a remarkable portfolio of health blogs and magazine articles to her name, Reinette’s writing is fueled by her genuine passion for healthy living. Drawing on her academic background, Reinette delivers authentic and insightful information to her readers. Her engaging writing style, blended with personal anecdotes, creates an immersive experience that keeps readers engaged and informed. Keep following her work for the latest updates and informative articles on health and nutrition.
