It’s easy to get locked into the number on the scale. If it doesn’t budge for days or even weeks it’s common to get upset and think that all your hard work isn’t paying off. 

It’s important to look at other aspects to see if you truly are making progress. If you truly are doing what you should, like not eating junk on the weekends, not skipping workouts, and getting enough sleep then you’ll see results in a variety of ways. 

BMI 

Your Body Mass Index is a value derived from the mass (weight) and height of a person.

The BMI is a convenient rule of thumb used to broadly categorize a person as underweight, normal weight, overweight, or obese based on tissue mass (muscle, fat & bone) and height. 

Your BMI can move up and down even if the scale doesn’t. So, if the scale doesn’t move but your BMI goes down, it’s clear you are still doing the right things. DON’T JUST FOCUS ON WEIGHT! 

BODY FAT PERCENTAGE 

Your body fat percentage is a measurement of body composition telling how much of your weight is fat. The normal ranges for body fat differ for men & women. 

The healthy percentage of body fat for women is greater than that for men, due to the demands of childbearing and other hormonal functions. 

Your BMI & body fat percentage are both great measures of progress because both numbers can improve without much difference in your weight. 

Non-scale wins are important as well, so let’s go over a few. 

ENERGY 

A healthy diet with a good workout regimen will give you constant/steady energy throughout your day instead of a burst of energy and a crash. 

You may notice yourself being more motivated and feeling energized to do other activities like play with your kids, going on a walk, and not just laying down after a day of work to watch tv. 

PERFORMANCE

As you progress in your fitness journey you will start to notice how movements that were hard when you started, seem a little easier. Movements that left you sore don’t do the same anymore. Your times for certain benchmarks or fitness tests are improving. 

One of the greatest feelings as a Crossfit instructor for me is seeing how people come in and improve in every aspect of fitness. 

As you improve your 10 Physical Skills: strength, power, flexibility, endurance, stamina, balance, coordination, accuracy, speed, & agility. You will notice how they  start to translate into your daily activities,like bringing in the groceries, and walking up the stairs.

These are just a few ways to track your progress. Other successes I’ve seen with our 1 on 1 clients include  having a better relationship with certain foods, how your clothes fit, improved confidence and a stronger mindset, as well as  dealing with stress without eating everything you have at home. 

The point that I’m trying to make here is don’t focus on one metric, for example, weight.  If you’re really working hard at whatever goal you have, I guarantee you can see progress in multiple ways.

For more help with goal setting and goal CRUSHING, visit:
https://www.aFewSimpleDisciplines.com