How often should you take measurements?

xxzenabxx
xxzenabxx Posts: 935 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Since I’m only losing 20ish lbs at 0.5 lbs a week, I have decided to take measurements as a way to track progress because scale fluctuations drive me crazy. Honestly I have no idea how often to do that though! What have you guys done to track progress and how often should I take measurements?

Replies

  • Sunnypatel93
    Sunnypatel93 Posts: 21 Member
    Hey! Happy to help from my experience.

    There are different ways you can take your measurements:
    1) Scales - this shouldnt be the 'final say' on how your progress is going. This should just assist you because as you stated, it fluctuates for many many reasons and none of them ever mean you've put on fat weight. Step on the scales maybe once a week/fortnight to see the results but please dont be upset if it hasnt gone the way you wanted it to - just keep going! Only after 3-4 weeks of a standstill you may need to make SMALL adjjustments, but its nothing to be worried about
    2) Progress pics - Taking pics of yourself once a week/fortnight and then looking back on them to see the stages you've been through will help you loads.
    3) How your clothes fit - Take note of some of the clothes you wear and how they fit you better, or even become loose on you.
    4) Please remember that the points 1-3 take time, you may see a sudden change initially, and then you may have a small phase where you wont see as much change, but what keeps me motivated is by taking it a day at a time - exercise will generally lift your mood, as will a good diet and nutrition, so remember that these small daily wins are also ones to celebrate!!

    I hope this helps, feel free to connect and I can help/assist more if needed :)

    All the best!!
  • xxzenabxx
    xxzenabxx Posts: 935 Member
    Sunnypatel93 wrote: »
    Hey! Happy to help from my experience.

    There are different ways you can take your measurements:
    1) Scales - this shouldnt be the 'final say' on how your progress is going. This should just assist you because as you stated, it fluctuates for many many reasons and none of them ever mean you've put on fat weight. Step on the scales maybe once a week/fortnight to see the results but please dont be upset if it hasnt gone the way you wanted it to - just keep going! Only after 3-4 weeks of a standstill you may need to make SMALL adjjustments, but its nothing to be worried about
    2) Progress pics - Taking pics of yourself once a week/fortnight and then looking back on them to see the stages you've been through will help you loads.
    3) How your clothes fit - Take note of some of the clothes you wear and how they fit you better, or even become loose on you.
    4) Please remember that the points 1-3 take time, you may see a sudden change initially, and then you may have a small phase where you wont see as much change, but what keeps me motivated is by taking it a day at a time - exercise will generally lift your mood, as will a good diet and nutrition, so remember that these small daily wins are also ones to celebrate!!

    I hope this helps, feel free to connect and I can help/assist more if needed :)

    All the best!!

    Hey thank you for the response. I don’t know if I didn’t word it correctly but I was asking about using a measuring tape, hence the word measure? So how often should I take measurements using a measuring tape? I’m already using a trending app but it’s not useful because of weight fluctuations it’s telling me I’m gaining weight (due to pms week).
  • riffraff2112
    riffraff2112 Posts: 1,756 Member
    Tracking measurements like hips, stomach, thighs, calves, arms, neck can be helpful for a different metric if the scale is annoying and anxiety causing. I definitely kept seeing progress in these areas especially when the weight loss progress slowed down.

    Weekly or even monthly measurements would be adequate as most of these numbers will not change much day to day. Nothing more rewarding than knowing your waist is now 1 inch less than it was a month ago yet the scale didn't show any change

    I have never really got into the body fat % measurements (using calipers or bioelectrical impedance scales) maybe someone has experience with these.
  • xxzenabxx
    xxzenabxx Posts: 935 Member
    goal06082021 wrote: »
    I take measurements roughly monthly; if you have a menstrual cycle, take and compare measurements at the same points in your cycle to control for hormonal water fluctuations.

    Thanks for the tip, I never thought of that. Come to think of it I always gain 1 inch around my waist before my period so it makes sense to do it once per cycle and the same time.
  • xxzenabxx
    xxzenabxx Posts: 935 Member
    riffraff2112 wrote: »
    Tracking measurements like hips, stomach, thighs, calves, arms, neck can be helpful for a different metric if the scale is annoying and anxiety causing. I definitely kept seeing progress in these areas especially when the weight loss progress slowed down.

    Weekly or even monthly measurements would be adequate as most of these numbers will not change much day to day. Nothing more rewarding than knowing your waist is now 1 inch less than it was a month ago yet the scale didn't show any change

    I have never really got into the body fat % measurements (using calipers or bioelectrical impedance scales) maybe someone has experience with these.

    That’s exactly what happens to me. Sometimes the scale won’t move for 2 months 😳 so I’m just going to stick to measuring myself, daily weigh ins and clothes like a pair of jeans because my butt and thighs are my where I gain the most weight.
  • Thoin
    Thoin Posts: 961 Member
    xxzenabxx wrote: »
    Since I’m only losing 20ish lbs at 0.5 lbs a week, I have decided to take measurements as a way to track progress because scale fluctuations drive me crazy. Honestly I have no idea how often to do that though! What have you guys done to track progress and how often should I take measurements?

    Technically the answer is as much as you want. One idea is to do it at the begging, middle, and end of the month. Although I doubt the body would have major changes in a month so maybe just at the beginning and the end?
  • kali31337
    kali31337 Posts: 1,048 Member
    I take photos weekly and measurements monthly. It's really really shocking how different I look in some pictures even when my weight doesn't change that week or when I lost 3 pounds last month but lost over 7 inches in the month. Those things really help me keep going when the scale is not cooperating.
  • suzij27
    suzij27 Posts: 199 Member
    Every 6-8 weeks. I notice changes in that interval, but doubt I would if I did less than once a month. ) I’m in menopause, so I don’t have to factor in my monthly cycle.)
  • age_is_just_a_number
    age_is_just_a_number Posts: 631 Member
    You have to do what is right for you.
    If something is demotivating for you, then don’t do it.
    For me: I weigh myself every morning, but I only record the first weekend of the month. When I record, I record weight, waist, hips, thigh, upper arm, forearm and wrist and body fat percentage. I use health status.com body fat percentage calculator, which return 4 body fat percentages using different algorithms + my scale body fat and average the 5.
    This is what works for me.
  • jsjentz
    jsjentz Posts: 14 Member
    I agree with doing what works for you. I take measurements every couple of weeks but I weigh myself every morning. (A lot of people say not to weigh yourself every day.) Right now the scale is moving faster than my measurements, so it keeps me more motivated this way.
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,626 Member
    i do measurements once a month.

    typically i weigh daily and log it weekly, but for this month and placed that on hold and am not weighing until the 1st. Why? no reason, in particular. Other than to (hopefully) see a bigger jump on the scale instead of increments LOL
  • Kathleen0916
    Kathleen0916 Posts: 11 Member
    I use the measuring tape every 2 months. The scale has been discouraging me lately but when I see that I've lost inches, I tend to feel better about what I'm doing. Good Luck :)

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