Scales or tape measure?

kathleendunlop
kathleendunlop Posts: 8 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So for years I always weighed myself and then a personal trainer told me to use a tape measure instead. So I learnt how to measure myself properly and have been doing that ever since. I may not budge on the scales but drop in the measurements. What are other peoples experiences?

Replies

  • casi_ann
    casi_ann Posts: 423 Member
    I am doing both. It helps to see the inches come off when the weight sometimes is slow.
  • djbrink21
    djbrink21 Posts: 97 Member
    Always do both. They take measurements in different ways and having both is the best way to see progress.
  • shoesalwaysfit
    shoesalwaysfit Posts: 48 Member
    How often do you measure?
  • NocturnalGirl
    NocturnalGirl Posts: 1,762
    The mirror, I want to like what I see
  • smartmom0818
    smartmom0818 Posts: 83
    What I don't understand is how can you lose inches but weigh the same? How does that work...?
  • Josette89
    Josette89 Posts: 244
    I have learned to use both, but trust the tape measure :) Inches are dropping, but weight kinda hangs around, maybe I'm gaining muscle? I don't know.
  • kathleendunlop
    kathleendunlop Posts: 8 Member
    I would measure once a week.

    I don't know why I can loose centimetres but not see it on the scales. This would be with small losses, I'm sure if i lost larger amounts it would show on the scales as well. But I weighed in at 85 kilos for all of two months but lost about 5 centimetres. Honestly dont know how that works. The idea of both is a good idea.
  • Mamafitness15
    Mamafitness15 Posts: 10
    I have noticed that this is the case for me too. While I think it is good to weigh yourself periodically, I think it is way more accurate to keep track of your weight loss with body measurements ( just have to make sure you measure in the same places each time so you have accurate results). Mainly because muscle weighs more than fat, and I know quite a few muscular people that on the scale would be considered obese, but looking at them, they are incredibly fit. I know when I was deployed to Africa for 8 months, I worked out and taught cardio conditioning classes like three times a day, and I was in the best shape of my life, but on the scale I had gained like 10 pounds, but it was muscle, because my waist and other measurements had decreased immensely, and I just had to tell myself not to worry about the scale.
  • kathleendunlop
    kathleendunlop Posts: 8 Member
    Well I think that settles it that measurements are better than scales.
  • OSC_ESD
    OSC_ESD Posts: 752 Member
    What I don't understand is how can you lose inches but weigh the same? How does that work...?

    ~ If eating and exercising correctly ... you can lose unwanted fat and increase lean muscle at the same time ... a dream come true ! ~
  • tobnrn
    tobnrn Posts: 477 Member
    I weigh daily.
    Take measurements weekly.

    I also take pictures weekly to see changes that might not be showing up using either of the above methods. Both above methods can be inaccurate due to water fluctuations or user error.
  • djbrink21
    djbrink21 Posts: 97 Member
    What I don't understand is how can you lose inches but weigh the same? How does that work...?

    Muscle is more dense than fat. The same volume of fat weighs less than the same volume of muscle. The cardio helps to burn the fat and the strength helps to build the muscle. If your pants fit better, but the scale doesn't move, it is likely that you have built up muscle and lost fat. Just using the scale you might think you made no progress, but using both the scale and tape measure gives a better picture.
  • cara4fit
    cara4fit Posts: 111 Member
    Take measurements, like other people say. Especially around the middle, they tell the truth. I just took mine this morning, and was pleasantly surprised to see that I've lost a half-inch off chest, waist and hips in the last 20 days. I haven't weighed myself yet - the scale is at my gym. One indeed can be the same scale weight, and have lost inches, with proper eating and solid workouts, especially in the early stages before weight really peels off. This happens all the time. For many people, inches are lost before significant weight is. Keep on rolling!

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