|
20 September 2010
How to Track the Progress of
Your Daily Weight Loss Plan
Cliff Baker
You've got your food and exercise taken care of, and now you to know if the
program is working. Track your progress, and you're more likely to keep your motivation and stay
aware of how you're doing. Be sure the program is working by using the following five factors to track the progress of
your daily weight loss plan.
1) Changes in body weight: It might seem counterintuitive, but a scale might not
be the best way to track progress. It seems strange to say, but the scale isn't
the best reader of change.
Your weight isn't the most accurate portrayal of how your body composition is
morphing. The number probably won't budget if you're losing body fat but gaining muscle
mass. But, this method is listed for a reason.
If you're just trying to lose weight, then you'll see a difference on the scale
as part of your daily weight loss plan. There are a couple guidelines to follow when stepping on the scale. The first is to use the same scale every time you weigh yourself. Next, weight yourself at the same
time of the day each time. The number can fluctuate during the day depending on what and how much you've
eaten.
2) Changes in body fat percentage, and 3) Changes in lean muscle mass. These two
factors are the most important way to track the progress of you daily weight
loss plan. Determining these two factors should be the main goal of your daily
weight loss plan.
The whole goal of this is to lose fat and gain muscle. Getting an accurate measurement is somewhat difficult. The "skin-fold measurements" method works for most people. Most of your body fat is located right underneath the skin. Using
callipers to measure the thickness, you can get a decent reading. Getting the most accurate count isn't really the most important thing, though.
You must measure the thickness the same way each time as part of your daily
weight loss plan and compare the readings. Once you have the reading, follow an easy mathematical formula to determine
your lean
muscle mass. Lean muscle mass is any weight on the body that's not fat, including water,
bone and muscle mass.
- Multiple your weight in pounds by your percentage of body fat. This is your fat mass in pounds.
- Next, subtract that number from your weight in pounds. The resulting number is your lean body mass in pound.
One example is a person with 20 percent body fat who weighs 180 pounds.
180 x.20 = 40.
180-40 = 140.
The formula tell us that he or she has 40 pounds of fat and 140 pounds of lean
muscle mass.
Measure yourself about once a week.
Do it more frequently than that, and you can get obsessed with small numbers. Do it less than that, and you won't be doing as good of a job keeping track.
4) Changes in body part measurements. Take a tape measure and start measure your
body. If you're losing weight, the numbers will get smaller. Take measurements of your chest, waist, hips, upper arm and thigh. For a more detailed reading, feel free to include your forearm, calf and neck,
but there won't be a lot of change. It's best to take measurements in the morning before your muscles get bigger
from a workout.
5) Changes in appearance. This is what we all really want, right? Let's be
honest, this is what we're usually looking for. Stand in front a mirror and you can see the changes. This isn't exactly the most reliable method of progress-tracking. But you can visually see from where you're losing the weight.
Take before/after pictures for another appearance tracking method. Small changes won't be as easy to see visually when you check every day. Compare two pictures though, and you'll probably see a drastic difference.
Using these five methods to track the progress of your daily weight loss plan,
and you'll be able to see results through the numbers.
Make adjustments if you need to, but revel in your accomplishments.
For more information to help you with the tracking of your weight loss plan
visit: www.HowToBurnFat.com
|
