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Rhone · 07-29-2008

I highly recommend measuring your progress as many ways as you can.

I had a week where I only lost 0.4lbs, but lost a 1/4th inch on my waist. The next week I lost only 1lb, but lost half an inch on my waist. The week after that I lost 2.8lbs AND my Omron bodyfat monitor showed a 0.9% drop--my best week for both measurements--but that week there was no change in my waist measurement! Then the next week (last week, actually) I lost 2.6lbs and lost half an inch on my waist, but the Omron showed no change in my bodyfat %!

The reality is that fat loss is often masked on the scale by muscle gain or changes in hydration levels; any body fat % reading that you can do yourself at home is going to be subject to some inaccuracy and inconsistency; and not all fat loss is going to show up in waist measurements.

But by measuring yourself in as many ways as you can (not necessarily every day, but at a consistent day and time every week), you are more likely to spot progress that otherwise might go unnoticed.

The mirror, on the other hand, hasn't been very useful for me. Perhaps some people who are already fairly thin can detect small changes, but when I look in the mirror all I see is that I'm just as fat as I was yesterday.

07-29-2008	#7 (permalink)
Rhone Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Baltimore, MD Posts: 265	I highly recommend measuring your progress as many ways as you can. I had a week where I only lost 0.4lbs, but lost a 1/4th inch on my waist. The next week I lost only 1lb, but lost half an inch on my waist. The week after that I lost 2.8lbs AND my Omron bodyfat monitor showed a 0.9% drop--my best week for both measurements--but that week there was no change in my waist measurement! Then the next week (last week, actually) I lost 2.6lbs and lost half an inch on my waist, but the Omron showed no change in my bodyfat %! The reality is that fat loss is often masked on the scale by muscle gain or changes in hydration levels; any body fat % reading that you can do yourself at home is going to be subject to some inaccuracy and inconsistency; and not all fat loss is going to show up in waist measurements. But by measuring yourself in as many ways as you can (not necessarily every day, but at a consistent day and time every week), you are more likely to spot progress that otherwise might go unnoticed. The mirror, on the other hand, hasn't been very useful for me. Perhaps some people who are already fairly thin can detect small changes, but when I look in the mirror all I see is that I'm just as fat as I was yesterday.