Sometimes you may feel that you’re not making any progress at all with your fitness program – like a gerbil spinning on its wheel – going nowhere. But there are ways to track your weight loss and fitness targets that will provide the incentive you need to keep on keeping on until you reach your goals.
During your fitness quest, you’ll want to weigh yourself once a month rather than daily or weekly. This strategy gives your body a chance to react to the weeks of effort you’ve given. It also keeps you from becoming discouraged if you happen to see a minuscule weight loss on the scale.
Free Report: How To Stick To Your Fitness ResolutionsKeeping Track of Your Fitness Progress
Another way to track your weight loss and fitness progress is to take your measurements. Sometimes the scale doesn’t reflect the inches you’re losing and taking measurements will reassure you that you’re making some progress.
When you measure yourself, do so without clothing or clothing that fits tight to your skin (such as leotards). There are numerous measurement charts online that provide instructions on how to accurately take your measurements and that will track your progress in inches to your desired goal. You should measure yourself once a week or once a month.
Body Fat Percentage
You can also track your fitness progress by measuring your body fat percentage. This method can provide help you realize how much fat you need to lose to reach the desired fitness goal. Body fat should measure from 25 to 31% for women and 18 to 25% for men.
There are a number of ways to measure body fat, including hydrostatic weighing, calipers, DEXA and bioelectrical impedance scales. But a simpler way to measure body fat is to access an online calculator that uses skin fold or tape measurements. If you belong to a health or fitness club, be sure to ask if they offer any of these methods to measure body fat percentages.
Before and After
A great motivational tool to be your skinniest best is to actually see yourself thinner via a digitally enhanced photo (before and after). If you have trouble picturing yourself thin, it could be a powerful incentive to keep up with your diet and exercise program. There are several online sites where you can obtain a digitally-adjusted photo of yourself.
Another option is to do a Google image search to find photos of people who have a body shape and size similar to your own ideals. Print out the image or images and display these where you will see them all the time, for example near your work desk, on your car dashboard or on the fridge. This will ensure that you have a visual goal that will keep you motivated every single day.
How To Stick To & Create Achievable Fitness Progress
Making a resolution, a promise to ourselves, that we’re going to do something different than we have done in the past can be a challenge. Statistics show that by the end of the first week of setting a goal, 25% of people have given up and gone back to their pre-resolution ways. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Download my free report, How To Stick With Your Fitness Resolutions to see how you can easily create achievable fitness goals.
