Waist measurements

gdfrew
gdfrew Posts: 45 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm a bit miffed at this point. I'm male 6ft 0. Weight is 73.7kg I have lost a good 18kg since April. Since then I've been trying to keep track of my waist measurements but its just really erratic. Ive been almost at 37" (around the belly button) especially seeing as one day I'll measure 36" and then the next 38" thinking I've been doing a good job the whole time it's a bit soul destroying. Especially I've read on the NHS website that around the 37 is the danger of high risk category. Aesthetics would please me to have a flatter stomach obviously. But the health side comes first. I'm skinny fat leaving all my weight in the mid section. I have crohn's disease which might explain bloating a little however. It makes it difficult to see results other than the scale. The 18kg weight loss was almost easy actually, I just can't seem to lose any fat. Maybe there is something I'm not seeing from myself you are your worst critic I suppose. Back in March going into lockdown I was just hovering around the xl tshirt point now I'm almost fitting into a small tee.

Any ideas?

Replies

  • Jacq_qui
    Jacq_qui Posts: 429 Member
    Firstly, congrats on your weight loss so far. That's really impressive. If bloating is an issue could you measure other areas? thighs? chest? arms? etc. I know by weighing myself daily there is a huge fluctuation day-to-day - and it can definitely zap your motivation. However, with something like waist measurement I wouldn't expect daily measurements to show you anything useful, surely monthly for something like that is better? I am sure someone more knowledgeable than me will be able to tell you, but generally you want to look at the trend overall. What was it a month ago? What was it when you started? etc.
  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,108 Member
    I'm also wondering: are you measuring at the same time every day? I would measure in the morning, right before breakfast, that might eliminate a lot of the bloating fluctuations?
  • gdfrew
    gdfrew Posts: 45 Member
    Believe it or not yes in the morning after the toilet and a shower is when I measure.

    Im not certain of the overall measurement journey. I really can't remember if at the start I measured at 40" but I didn't keep a great track of it at the start and I wish I did.

    I'll try to measure other areas
  • Deviette
    Deviette Posts: 979 Member
    Congrats on the weight loss!

    I have found measurement vary day to day a lot. For more, even more so than weight fluctuations. And personally, waist is the worst! Because depending on my posture, hydration level, size of previous day's meal, time of previous day's meal, fatigue levels, it all changes the result by as much as an inch or two.

    I measure 4 places and track on the app (you can add additional measurement on the desktop version, I've yet to find out how to do it on the app but once it's added you can then track it). And I try an measure as little as I can resist. It normally works out as once every two weeks which is probably a little too often, but I'm okay with seeing my measurements fluctuating a little. I measure:
    - Waist (least consistent)
    - Bust (changes over the month, but somehow is more consistent than my waist)
    - Hips (doesn't bloody move)
    - Left Thigh (most consistent)

    I added the left thigh as a bit of a whim, but honestly I'm so glad that I did. Unlike everything else that moves around all the time, my thigh has been consistently coming down, and I would never have noticed without the measurements. I don't know what might be an appropriate one for you, it might be a case of trying a bunch of different measurement and then seeing which ones actually make a difference (for example I used to track neck, but I have quite a slender neck, so it just stayed the same. Forever. So I dropped that one)

    I'm not sure what your goals are right now. Your BMI suggests you're in a healthy range, so if you're still worried about the volume of fat on your body, you could consider swapping to more of a body recomp plan rather than a weight loss one:
    https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10177803/
  • charmmeth
    charmmeth Posts: 936 Member
    edited November 2020
    That's great weight loss! Well done!

    For my part, I find the NHS waist measurements a bit problematic, as they don't seem to allow for height variance and tall people. I am female 5'11" (180cm). If I had the waist measurement the NHS says women ought to have I would look as thogh I was wearing a 19th-century nipped-in-waist corset! I did a bit of research into this and found that the WHO recommends trying to keep your waist at less than half your height. If you are 6'0" then that is 72" so 36" would be on that boundary. That's perhaps not much help if you are struggling to get below, but knowing you are very close to the healthy ratio might help.

    Exercise can help trim up one's midriff. My weight seems stuck at present at just over 76kg (I envy you that 73.7...), but my waist as of this morning was to 86cm, down from 88cm last time I measured, in September when I weighed 78.9kg. My waist measurement was 93cm when I started to record it in early August, so this is real progress; it is also now comfortably within 50% of my height, and my weight puts me well within normal BMI. I am therefore ignoring the NHS stricture: "the NHS says women should try to lose weight if your waist is more than 80cm and women with a waist measurement of 88cm are at very high risk of developing conditions such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease."

    That waist reduction has been partly though weight loss but supported by exercise, particularly a four-week programme with BodyFit by Amy focused on strengthening my core, and increased use of my rowing machine.
  • brianpperkins131
    brianpperkins131 Posts: 90 Member
    Are you measuring yourself or having someone do it for you / help you? I ask because there are inherent risks of inconsistencies when wrapping a measuring tape around a person. A little difference in angles between one measurement and the next can result in meaningful differences.
  • SnifterPug
    SnifterPug Posts: 746 Member
    brianpperkins131 wrote: »
    Are you measuring yourself or having someone do it for you / help you? I ask because there are inherent risks of inconsistencies when wrapping a measuring tape around a person. A little difference in angles between one measurement and the next can result in meaningful differences.

    This.

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