How To Measure Weight Management Success

Before starting a new weight management program it’s important to get baseline measurements so you can monitor changes and track results.  Often times most individuals just use their household bathroom scale as the only tool to measure weight management success.  Unfortunately, the scale doesn’t tell the whole story.

The scale cannot make a distinction between the “good” lean weight and the “bad” fat weight.  These two are important to distinguish between, because losing lean weight slows metabolism and will make it difficult to maintain the weight you have lost.  And can cause the body to re-gain any lost body fat, which leads to the yo-yo effect that so many struggle with.

In reality, the weight that you want to lose is fat.  We all want well defined arms and shoulders, and of course, the six pack abs…we want to be tone!  So we must make sure that when we are going through a weight management program that we monitor and track our lean body weight (muscle) and our fat weight.

The best way to do this is through hydrostatic weighing, or measuring your body density by weighing under water.  But this is not feasible for most people.  Therefore, skinfold testing is the preferred method for assessing body fat percentage or body composition.  In the medical community, BMI or Body Mass Index is the preferred method simply due to the fact that it is non-invasive and fairly quick to calculate.  But BMI can be deceiving because it is simply a comparison of your body weight to your height.  So if someone has a large amount of muscle on a short frame their BMI could show that they’re at an unhealthy body composition when in reality their body fat is in the acceptably healthy category.

Skinfold testing to measure body composition can be done by any fitness professional.  However, keep in mind that not each fit pro “pinches” exactly the same, in exactly the same location.  For this reason, skinfold testing has a +/- 2% accuracy.  So it’s best to be measured by the same fitness professional each time you get measured.  The scale is necessary for this form of body composition measurement because you have to know how much of your total weight is fat weight and how much of your total weight is everything else or lean body weight.

Why is it important to make sure you are preserving lean muscle mass with your weight management program?  Because, as mentioned earlier in this post, lean body weight (muscle) is your direct link to your resting metabolic rate.  One pound of muscle can burn up to 50 calories per day at rest.  So if your fitness program is not building or maintaining lean muscle then you could be slowing down your metabolism.  This will make it almost impossible to maintain any weight you do lose during your program.

Make sure that you are doing exercises that stimulates lean muscle growth so that you lose the weight you’ve always intended to lose…the fat.  Measure your body composition every 4 weeks to monitor and track results.  If you’re not doing enough to maintain your lean muscle, the skinfold testing will let you know so you can make adjustments to your program and bring about the greatest chance for long term weight management success.