How do you measure success? BMI? Body Fat %? Weight? Feeling?

Hypsibius
Hypsibius Posts: 207 Member
edited November 17 in Health and Weight Loss
So right now after 6 weeks of aggressive dieting and exercise, my BMI is 26.8, and my body fat percentage (according to my tape measure and this Army body fat calculator is 25 percent)

Curious as to what folks are using as their measure of success or measure of most importance? I've probably been weighing myself a bit too much (which I know that objectively, weighing yourself daily is a mistake).

What about you?
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Replies

  • boopster99
    boopster99 Posts: 48 Member
    What's most important to me is feeling awesome which is what I get from being very active and eating healthy - it's good for my body and soul. How I measure my success is by inches lost and the way my clothes fit. Yes, I'll admit to falling into the scale trap from time-to-time but I'm getting better at avoiding it (moving it to a far location in the basement helped a lot with that!!). Cheers
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Mostly my health and fitness...I maintain a healthy weight, but I don't really look at any particular weight or BF% as reflective of success or failure...
  • Daddy78230
    Daddy78230 Posts: 125 Member
    While losing weight: Punching new belt holes is my most reliable measure (I've had the same belt for the past 70 lbs). But I also track my BF% (bio impedance), LBM and weight.
  • qweck3
    qweck3 Posts: 346 Member
    #1. How I feel #2. How my blood sugars have improved. #3. How much better my clothes fit... #7,975: What the scale says.
  • crazyycatlady1
    crazyycatlady1 Posts: 292 Member
    Blood test results is how I measure my success/where I'm at.
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    For me it's how I look and feel as well as hitting my goals.. so bodyfat% estimates, strength increases, increasing/decreasing weight (looking for a trend), how my clothes look and fit, measurements, progress picture comparisons.
  • sgt1372
    sgt1372 Posts: 3,997 Member
    edited April 2017
    How I look and feel, what my weight is, what my BF is and how much I can lift are all factors in measuring my success.

    I look and feel great (not just my opinion), have been maintaining my weight at 160 for the past 4 months after 6 months of weight loss, my BF dropped to 10% from over 25% and I can lift at an advanced and elite level for my age (66) and weight based on various charts. So, all indicators for success are positive.

    BTW, I weigh myself every morning and monitor all of my food intake on MFP daily. Couldn't have measured my progress and achieved the results I've achieved over the past 10 months without doing so.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    Weight, fitness, strength, body fat %, health, happiness, ticking off challenges or goals.

    Nothing wrong with daily weighing if you have a healthy attitude and understand what the numbers actually mean.

  • mudonthetires856
    mudonthetires856 Posts: 79 Member
    For now, it's just weight. I just started again after a long and fattening hiatus. I will be taking my measurements as well and once I get closer to goal weight, my success will be based on other things like strength and maintenance.

    I like weighing myself everyday. I don't mind seeing the scale go up and down and back again. It gives me a realistic view of how the weight is coming off. I tend to get less stressed when I see the number go up because I know it's coming back down again. Not advisable for everyone but totally works for me.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,343 Member
    It depends on what your start point is, where you're at currently and what your goals are. For somebody who's obese and suffering from the comorbidities thereof, "success" may be losing some of the weight and improving their blood work/relieving their symptoms. For a fairly lean person who's interested in aesthetic goals, "success" may be single digit bodyfat % (for a male) or bodyfat % in the teens (for a female). For somebody who just wants to be reasonably slim and healthy, "success" may be getting to the middle of a normal/healthy BMI. For somebody with competitive goals, "success" may be getting to race weight, improving their VO2max, lowering their race times, etc. - or maybe getting stronger and hitting PRs in their lifts. There are a lot of ways success can be measured and many different goals people want to attain that they can use as their markers.

    The definition of success can also change/evolve as you progress. In the beginning when I was obese, my goals were to get to a healthy weight, rid myself of my bulging gut and get rid of obesity-related issues I was experiencing (high blood pressure, edema, fatigue, acid reflux, etc.). I've since reached a healthy weight/BMI/BF%, those obesity-related issues are gone, and now my goals are mostly aesthetic - to lose the last few vanity pounds, get a little leaner, then add a bit of muscle and maintain it. As a related goal, I want to keep improving my cardiovascular fitness and strength training. I already consider myself very successful based upon my original goals (beyond what I imagined possible in all honesty), but now the goalposts will keep getting moved to set new challenges and improve further. I doubt I'll ever consider it "done".

    As far as weighing daily, I've done it for over 18 months now - it gets entered into a trend tracking app and keeps a running average, which smooths out the daily fluctuations and gives insight into the overall trend, which is a useful metric. For people who like data, it's a good thing; for people who don't understand the concept or freak out over daily fluctuations, maybe it's not such a good thing.
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
    At the moment I'm judging success by Functionality Threshold Power. I weigh weekly just to see where I'm at.
  • Gallowmere1984
    Gallowmere1984 Posts: 6,626 Member
    Relative strength, bodyfat, in that order.
  • janjunie
    janjunie Posts: 1,200 Member
    Appearance, body fat estimate and level of endurance.
  • Geocitiesuser
    Geocitiesuser Posts: 1,429 Member
    The mirror
  • fitmom4lifemfp
    fitmom4lifemfp Posts: 1,572 Member
    Hypsibius wrote: »
    Curious as to what folks are using as their measure of success or measure of most importance? I've probably been weighing myself a bit too much (which I know that objectively, weighing yourself daily is a mistake).

    No, it certainly isn't. It's only a mistake if you are one of those that loses their mind every time they see a normal fluctuation. I weigh myself every morning, and have done so for 15 years.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    edited April 2017
    I weigh myself every 2-3 days, it was everyday for over 2 years. I do this to stay on top of any weight creep and nip it in the bud asap!

    I have been killing myself for the last 6mths desperately trying to get down to a certain magical number on the scale, even though I'm happy with where i am now. So my success is gauged by how i look and if i am happy and content with my figure.
    I changed my calories to maintenance yesterday because i am sick and tired of chasing that number (2lbs less than what i am now), and in all honestly it's not going to make a difference in how i look anyway, it was just a pointless mental game that has completely taken over my life and i just can't do it anymore! My body fat is fine, my BMI is well into the normal range, so that'll have to be good enough.

    Sorry for the rant :blush:
  • loftus4827
    loftus4827 Posts: 57 Member
    That Army body fat calculation is horiibly horribly inaccurate. It's off by over 10% with me compared with a reading from hydrostatic weighing.
    Take that number it calculated you at with a grain of salt
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    It doesn't have to be one thing.

    At first, I measured my success by blood sugar numbers
    Then I measured it by weight (daily weighing and trend charting)
    Then I got interested in running, so I measured by performance and weight
    Every month I measure my success by the measuring tape
    Every time I get close to fitting into an item of clothing that was too small, I measure my success by achieving a comfortable fit
    As I'm getting closer to a BMI milestone I will measure my success by BMI
    Later once I'm at a healthy weight, I might or might not measure my success by body fat (not one of my priorities right now, but that might or might not change)
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,611 Member
    Hypsibius wrote: »
    Curious as to what folks are using as their measure of success or measure of most importance?

    Whether or not I can cycle my events.

    Whether or not I can complete my university courses with a decent grade.


    And while I do weigh myself daily, my weight isn't an indicator if whether or not I'm successful.

  • SusanMFindlay
    SusanMFindlay Posts: 1,804 Member
    1. How I feel (energy levels, mostly - but my legs, in particular, feel different when I'm fit; I can't explain it; they just feel like they want to move).
    2. How clothing fits. Fitting into something you haven't worn in years is always nice. Having to buy new pants because the current ones are falling off is also good for the ego (if not for the pocketbook).
    3. Weight. I'm still heading down toward the healthy BMI range and am still 10 pounds heavier than my goal weight. I weigh daily - not because the daily number matters, but because weighing daily numbs me to fluctuations. Stand on scale; enter number on MFP; FitBit grabs it; TrendWeight grabs it; move on with my day.

    Body fat percentage would be a better thing to follow than weight, but I don't have an accurate way to measure it.
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
    Performance first
    Mirror a distant 2nd
    Performance determined by strength, work capacity & endurance (while avoiding injury)
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    First: Nothing objectively wrong with weighing daily. I do that to get data points, and to not fear the scale, and to be on top of things. Just to pile on :p

    I have never dieted aggressively - aggressive dieting, objectively, is a mistake - but I've lost 50 pounds, still keeping them off two years later, I am more active, and it's easier to find cute clothes.

    For me, success is being more organized, having improved my relationship with food, and that cravings are almost gone.
  • fbchick51
    fbchick51 Posts: 240 Member
    I measure success on everything really. Lose a pound? SUCCESS!!! Lose an inch? SUCCESS!! Go down a clothing size? SUCCESS!!! Wake up this morning feeling great about myself? HUGE SUCCESS!!! Walking a mile easily without hurting? SUCCESS!!! Walking 5 miles easily without hurting? Still SUCCESS!!

    My top priority? That keeps changing as I change.

  • Lounmoun
    Lounmoun Posts: 8,423 Member
    I am not at my ultimate goal weight but I feel successful today because the quality of my life is much better.
    There are a lot of successes.
    I've been logging food every day for 905 days. That is a long time for me to stick to something.
    I weigh less than I did 905 days ago. I am wearing a smaller clothing size. I am wearing my wedding ring that did not fit for years.
    When I started I had to do seated workouts. Exercise was really hard for me. I can do regular workouts now.
    I am in less pain. I can keep up with my family. I do more things. I am sleeping better. My energy level is better.

    Getting to a weight within the healthy weight range and maintaining that is my ultimate goal. Meeting that goal will be another success for me.
  • Asher_Ethan
    Asher_Ethan Posts: 2,430 Member
    Pictures where i look hot AF are my definition off success.
  • Running_and_Coffee
    Running_and_Coffee Posts: 811 Member
    The way I feel at the end of the day. That feeling of being at peace with what choices I made is priceless. (Even if it's a calculated splurge, knowing I can "afford" that because of how I ate the rest of the week.)

    Oh, and yeah, I care about what I weigh, too. Not just how I look or how my clothes feel, but the number. Can't pretend otherwise.
  • mengqiz86
    mengqiz86 Posts: 176 Member
    Tape measure and body fat caliper. I haven't weighed myself for a year. but i have certainly dropped inches and BF%. I get unnecessarily upset over fluctuations of the scale; some times the disappointment will mess up my diet, which is counter-productive. Many people are not as affected by those fluctuations, in which case body weight monitoring would make sense.
  • fizzletto
    fizzletto Posts: 252 Member
    I weigh myself every day, but I don't take those weights at face value- I use the Happy Scale app to predict what my true weight is, and I focus on the trend line rather than what the scale says, because it's so unpredictable (water weight, hormones, etc).

    I also use a tape measure about once every month to measure my hips, bust and waist!
  • BlueberryJoghurt
    BlueberryJoghurt Posts: 67 Member
    I weigh daily and tbh every somewhat grams are a small success! But I do also know if I didnt lose, why that happened and it doesnt discourage me. Im also not an emotional eater so it doesnt bother.

    Longterm success usually trying on clothes that had been a little tight or too small (actually just did that with a dress, it fits perfectly now, woohoo) and mainly how I feel.
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