What's Better: Weighing or Measuring?

Posted by Healthy Bitch Daily on Dec 6, 2012

If you're like me, you avoid the scale like an STD.

I own one, but I haven’t stepped on that cold, harsh bastard in months. Don't get me wrong—I know there are benefits to keeping your weight in check. It can keep rapid weight loss on track, reveal if there are any glitches in your diet (was that third piece of chocolate cake really worth the extra pound I gained?) and generally keep you accountable.

But the results of a weigh-in lean heavily upon several factors, including:

The time of day: Unless you are a late-night eater, you typically weigh the least in the a.m. before you’ve eaten breakfast.

Bowel movements: Did you—ahem—use the bathroom yet? (Every ounce counts!)

Water retention: This can be caused by a few different things, like how much salty foods are in your diet, your Time of the Month, certain medications (the Pill can be to blame) and hot weather.

Bottom line? If you're going to take the scale’s word for it, make sure that you stay consistent to get the most accurate results.

Measuring Up
 

For me, weighing myself never seems to work out right. One moment, the button and the loop on my skinny jeans are just a mere gap away, and then I step on the scaled and that gap transforms into the Grand friggin Canyon. The scale never seems to reflect well upon my weight loss and it usually just sends me into a deep depression. I'm the only human being ever that will never lose a single pound.

Sound familiar?

That's why I pulled the measuring tape out of my sewing box a few months ago and put it to some actual use. I needed a way to prove to myself that the work I put into my body pays off. So far, I've been blown away by the results. Fat and muscle weigh the same (think of the old adage, “Which is heavier, a pound of feathers or a pound of bricks?”), yet fat takes up more volume. And some experts even say muscle weights slightly more than fat. So if you're not seeing a difference on the scale but you're feeling slimmer, this could very well be the reason.

That electronic piece of shit says you aren't losing any weight, but so what? Your measurements say you've lost X amount of inches from your whole body! And that is one very big reason that I support measuring over weighing. Measuring not only tells you the true story of your fat loss progress, but it also promotes happiness and motivation, not despair and loathing.

Here are some basic measuring tips:

Measure the places that you can each month to keep on track of inches lost: This includes your thighs (I picked my right thigh for consistency purposes, but you could measure both and then take the average; same goes for arms!), waist, hips, booty (it may get bigger, not smaller, if you're toning up and building muscle), upper arms, neck and bust (if you don’t mind that part shrinking).

Again, it's all about consistency. Make sure you measure the same spot each month. Use a landmark on your body, such as a mole or freckle, and make a note of it. Keep all of your measurements written down in a journal.

Take photos. Have a buddy take some pics of you in your undies or a two-piece bathing suit. Get side, back and and front profiles. Do this every 2-3 weeks. If you're working at losing weight, you'll be able to literally see the difference in your body as you progress—even if the scale is telling you otherwise.

So yes—I'm biased against the scale, but remember: The best way to tell if you are losing body fat is by the way your clothes fit and how you feel in your own skin. Don’t let any piece of equipment tell you different.

Do you weigh or measure? Or both? Let us know in the comments below.
 

Barbara Styles, Guest Blogger

While she was born and raised in the Valley of the Sun (Phoenix, AZ), Barbara is one of the palest people you will ever meet. An avid Disney fan, she is a sensitive Pisces who loves drifting through her days reading horror novels and working with elementary school kids in a Literacy Lab.  Cooking is more than just a hobby, she has an expensive Certificate in Patisserie and Baking from Le Cordon Bleu and works at Sweet Painted Cakes. When she's not off working or visiting family, she is at home with her two dogs and two cats and her fiance Patrick, whom, without, she'd be a crazy cat lady.