Are you a slave to the scale?

How do you measure your diet success?

Are you a slave to the scale

Do you gauge it by your clothes?

Do you use a tape measure?

Are you a chart watcher?

All of these success indicators are very good tools, but they are just tools. We all have goals when it comes to our weightloss and body image. I, personally, don't care about the charts. Who made these up anyway? I have always weighed more than I look like I weigh. These charts do not take into consideration muscle mass or bone density. If I work out and have a lot of muscle, I am certainly going to weigh more than someone who is of the same height, who has very little muscle. Too often I see folks get frustrated because they can't get those last 4 lbs off in order to meet the standard of the chart. We're all different. The average woman is 5'6". I'm 5'4". Does this mean that I have to try to be taller? peeeshah. Listen to your own body.

 As far as I'm concerned, these charts are CRAP

and shouldn't be followed at all.

So that leaves us with the scale, our clothing and a tape measure.

Like I said before, I have always weighed more than I look like I weigh. The scale is a good incidator of how your weight has changed. I'm not even going to say lost. Again, the scale doesn't give you body composition. If you are dieting and excercising, your weight on the scale may stay the same, but your body composition changes. You may lose 3lbs of fat, but build 3 lbs of muscle. I you hop on the scale, and don't see a change, you'll be disheartened. So you must look at your body composition.

My favorite way to judge my success is clothing and a tape measure. I am no longer a slave to the scale. My goal, when it is all said and done, is a particular size of clothing. Yes, I have lost 54 pounds, but the proof in the pudding is the fact that I have purged my closet of size 22, 20, 18, 16, and now 14 jeans. If that isn't a testament to my success, I don't know what is. That is real, tangible evidence of my body changing.

Tape measures are good, but, in my opinion, there is too much room for error. Did you measure in exactly the same spot? Did you exert the same amout of pressure (you all know what I'm talking about) when you take that measurement? But still a good indicator.

The bottom line is. These are all tools to use to measure your success. You need to use all of them. Not just one.

And here's is a big one. HOW DO YOU FEEL? Are you happy with your size, with the way you look? We are all different. Make your goals personal. Make them your own, not some chart that who knows who came up with.