Experience using measurements for progress

Luke_rabbit

I'm asking for a friend who I want to support.

She is very obese, although, being a good friend, I don't know specific numbers. At this point, she prefers to not own or use a person scale and wants to use body measurements to track her progress. She recently had a doctor's appointment, so she has a starting weight to enter into MFP.

I've never used measurements, so I don't really know how to advise.

How frequently should she take measurements? What are realistic changes to expect? Any other helpful tips?

At this point, having a lot to lose, she has probably entered 2 pounds a week into the app, although she may have chosen 1.5 lbs because she really wants to be successful and I have previously mentioned that slower is easier.

I'd really appreciate any personal experience from those who started at higher weights and took measurements.

TIA

Edited to add:

She also isn't interested in visiting the forums, but was okay with me asking this question.

Beautyofdreams

Will she use a food scale to weigh her food and log it?

I used both a scale to weigh myself and a scale to weigh my food. I am 5'7" started at age 56(in March 2020) at a weight of 223.4 lbs.(size 2x top/ 18w pants). I have lost over 66 lbs. to put me into the normal bmi category. I also measured myself and took pictures. Pictures and clothing didn't show much of a change, but monthly measurements showed a tiny change. It wasn't a lot of difference in measurements from month to month. I would lose a half inch, sometimes an inch. I walked 6 days a week and did a beginner weightlifting program for exercise from the start so if she doesn't do any exercise then the tape measure may show even smaller differences.

As for clothing showing weight loss, I had to lose 30 pounds before I dropped one clothing size. If she is larger than 2x it will take more weight to drop a clothing size and if she is smaller, then less weight. It has taken less weight to lose with each subsequent clothing size. In total, I have 4 clothing sizes off the top and 7 from the bottom.

Monthly photos showed very little difference. I took front and side pictures at every 20 pounds lost but failed to take initial photos. Small differences would appear over several months time. Not very obvious to me, even though I have lost at least 8" each from bust, waist and hips.

Ultimately, it was the scale that showed the most difference and I found was the most motivating for me. Your friend may not like seeing the initial number on the scale, but each pound lost will be progress and feel like a personal victory. She just has to ignore the daily fluctuations and pay attention to the monthly trend. I weigh every day and don't let the number influence my mood.

No matter what method your friend chooses to track with, it takes patience. The weight didn't come on overnight and it won't leave quickly either. Hope this is helpful to her.

Luke_rabbit

@Beautyofdreams

Thank you for sharing your experience.

She has a food scale. She is also working on reducing "food prepared away from home" which is likely the biggest contributor to her weight.

She can't do much exercise at this point but is doing some and hopefully will increase over time as she loses weight.

callsitlikeiseeit

Its slow going using measurements. pounds come off faster than inches

that said, I take my measurements once a month, generally right around the first of the month.

Photos are even slower showing progress than pictures. I did pictures about every 25-30 pounds or so.

Clothing sizes. Plus size clothing (especially after you get past size 20/22) are very loose and forgiving on purpose, to give lots of room. Which makes it take longer to go down in sizes. probably every 20-30 pounds when you are in the larger sizes.

tinkerbellang83

I've not used it as the sole method of checking my progress but I have used it as one of my tools. I took them on a monthly basis when I was actively losing weight. There was usually progress on at least one of the measurements.

I'd take measurements of my waist, hips, right bicep, right thigh and right calf.

No reason why it could not be used in place of the scales, I am sure many people have issues with using scales and prefer not to use them

I was a UK Size 20 when I started in 2017, and although my clothes fit me until I'd lose around 15-20lbs they were a lot looser and the belt I wore, got to a smaller and smaller size. So although you have to shift a lot to get down a dress size, you can still tell the difference in the fit.

I also definitely noticed differences not between month-month progress pictures but current month vs start picture, which was reassuring when the scale didn't move.

Other things were quicker recovery from an injury I'd had, improved sleep, improved resting heart rate, better athletic performance as I returned to exercise.

As long as your friend is logging accurately and consistently she will get the results whether she uses a scale, measurements, etc or not, and presumably at some point her doctor will weigh her again.

I know you mention she doesn't want to visit the forums but perhaps you can point her to some of the Most Helpful post without actively participating in any threads, there's some very useful info there, although she seems to have a personal guide to MFP in yourself anyway

Luke_rabbit

tinkerbellang83 wrote: »

I've not used it as the sole method of checking my progress but I have used it as one of my tools. I took them on a monthly basis when I was actively losing weight. There was usually progress on at least one of the measurements.

I'd take measurements of my waist, hips, right bicep, right thigh and right calf.

No reason why it could not be used in place of the scales, I am sure many people have issues with using scales and prefer not to use them

I was a UK Size 20 when I started in 2017, and although my clothes fit me until I'd lose around 15-20lbs they were a lot looser and the belt I wore, got to a smaller and smaller size. So although you have to shift a lot to get down a dress size, you can still tell the difference in the fit.

I also definitely noticed differences not between month-month progress pictures but current month vs start picture, which was reassuring when the scale didn't move.

Other things were quicker recovery from an injury I'd had, improved sleep, improved resting heart rate, better athletic performance as I returned to exercise.

As long as your friend is logging accurately and consistently she will get the results whether she uses a scale, measurements, etc or not, and presumably at some point her doctor will weigh her again.

I know you mention she doesn't want to visit the forums but perhaps you can point her to some of the Most Helpful post without actively participating in any threads, there's some very useful info there, although she seems to have a personal guide to MFP in yourself anyway

Yes, I believe she will first notice improvement in her breathing and walking ability and those will be very motivating.

Thanks for the insight into measurements.

freda666

When I first started I did not want to weight myself so simply didn't, nor did I measure myself. I counted my calories and it was obvious after three months I was shrinking, just a little, and only then did I feel ready to get on those scales.

So that is an option - just grit teeth and trust the maths.

hipari

I haven't used measurements as an exclusive metric for my progress, but as one of several. Here's the insights I have on this matter:

1) Many retain liquids and bloat a lot during different phases of their menstrual cycles, so taking measurements always around the same phase would be a good idea. Alternatively, she could take measurements often enough for the data to actually show those fluctuations.

2) The considerations that apply to weigh-ins apply to measurements: same time of day, same amount of food & waste in stomach (so, usually after bathroom before breakfast), same clothing. Clothing: preferably none, but in the past I had yoga pants that happened to have a side seam at the widest point of my butt, so I measured myself always wearing those pants and using that seam as a marker for where to measure.

3) It's really easy to cheat yourself with measurements by measuring from slightly different points at different times, pulling the tape tighter, sucking stomach in etc. This is why I have personally found it helpful to use some type of marker for where I take the measurements consistently. Depending on what your friend wants to measure, it could be something like my yoga pant seam, or something like belly button, a scar or a bone.

4) I personally tracked waist, hips and butt. I found that I would very rarely lose from all three at the same time. Since the same might be true for your friend, it might be motivational to keep track of several measurements and see how there's always some progress somewhere.

5) If your friend's aversion to tracking body weight is related to not wanting to be reminded of her current number, she might feel the same way about measurement numbers. In that case, she might want to consider getting some non-elastic ribbon or cord, taking her measurements with that and cutting pieces that are the length of her measurements. Then, in the future, she can use her original waist measurement cord (for example) to measure her waist and instantly see how much she has already lost based on how much cord there is hanging from the end. Even if she wants to use a proper measuring tape, she might find it motivational to see how much extra room there is between her current self and the measuring tape when holding it where her starting measurements were. Even small losses show quite visibly that way, and I have personally found that very motivational and reassuring when I have felt stuck.

Onedaywriter

Body measurements are tough and frustrating in the beginning. The reason has mainly to do with geometry. When one is very large, a circular circumference requires much more volume loss to shrink. For example, when I started it took well over 20 lbs to lose the first inch off my waist. Close to goal I will lose an inch with about 7 lbs loss.

I think exercise/movement goals might work well. For example, it might be hard to take 100 (or 80 or whatever) steps without stopping for a breather. But after doing this for some days, she might quickly be able to walk 125 steps which give a huge mental boost and keep her interested. That extra 25 steps will represent a 25% increase in ability and will likely take way less time to achieve than a 5% decrease in any body measurement. Even small weight loss makes walking way easier.

HoneyBadger302

I've used and tracked measurements for years, generally taken weekly (same day, same time, etc). Over time they were a good indicator of progress IMO, BUT, week to week can be fickle for reasons many have mentioned (bloat, variations in measurements/tautness of muscles, etc). Honestly, how my clothes/pants fit was a MUCH better indicator in terms of motivation. Needing to start wearing a belt, then needing to go a notch tighter on the belt day in and day out - that was more "motivational" progress for me than the actual measurements (which, one measure to the next can vary widely).

tinkerbellang83

hipari wrote: »

5) If your friend's aversion to tracking body weight is related to not wanting to be reminded of her current number, she might feel the same way about measurement numbers. In that case, she might want to consider getting some non-elastic ribbon or cord, taking her measurements with that and cutting pieces that are the length of her measurements. Then, in the future, she can use her original waist measurement cord (for example) to measure her waist and instantly see how much she has already lost based on how much cord there is hanging from the end. Even if she wants to use a proper measuring tape, she might find it motivational to see how much extra room there is between her current self and the measuring tape when holding it where her starting measurements were. Even small losses show quite visibly that way, and I have personally found that very motivational and reassuring when I have felt stuck.

This is a great idea!

callsitlikeiseeit

Onedaywriter wrote: »

I think exercise/movement goals might work well. For example, it might be hard to take 100 (or 80 or whatever) steps without stopping for a breather. But after doing this for some days, she might quickly be able to walk 125 steps which give a huge mental boost and keep her interested. That extra 25 steps will represent a 25% increase in ability and will likely take way less time to achieve than a 5% decrease in any body measurement. Even small weight loss makes walking way easier.

that's something I never really thought of, but really is part of what I did with myself. When I first started working out, I could BARELY do 10 minutes on the elliptical. It didn't take all that long to build up endurance to do a minute or 2 more on a regular basis.

Meganthedogmom

I really like the idea of the ribbon. I was thinking she could get those belly beads, which just become looser or tighter as you lose/gain weight. That way she doesn’t need to have a number in her mind to know she is getting trimmer.