Weight Tracking Tips

For many of us, part of being healthier includes seeing the number on our scale move in the downward direction. But apart from the idea of “going on a diet,” what else can we do to help the scale move in the right direction?

Weigh Yourself Regularly

If regularly weighing yourself will not trigger habits, weigh yourself daily or weekly. Get used to the dips and climbs that may accompany your weekly habits or monthly menstrual cycle. According to the National Weight Control Registry, 75% of their participants (individuals successful at maintaining a long term weight loss) weigh themselves at least once a week.

Track more than just weight

If you can, track more than just weight. Many scales today measure body fat percentage. While these may or may not be too accurate, I use it as a baseline to see whether the number is ticking up or down overall. In fact, if you are looking for a new scale and not necessarily the cheapest one out there, look to see if you can get a smart scale that will automatically upload your weight to an app or other device.

Use a fitness app to track your weight trends

If you gain a few pounds following a celebration weekend that included a lot of indulgent foods and drinks, you may notice that you can lose a decent amount of weight on your first day back to your normal routine. Awesome! A full pound lost per day!

But if you track the weight trends on an app like Argus, rather than focusing on today’s exact weight, you’ll see that your 7-day average weight has fluctuated only slightly. A larger increase or loss on a day-to-day basis is more situational and the result of eating or drinking a lot of things out of your normal habits, and will go down again as you get back into your normal routine.

Thinking and tracking this way can help you to not catastrophize those fun weekends when we are focused on celebration rather than health. That said, depending on your goals, you may want to make sure that you are not taking too many days or weekends for celebration rather than health. Talk with a nutritionist or your healthcare provider if you’re unsure about setting proper health goals.

Track positive healthy habits too

How much water should you drink each day, and are you drinking that much? Are you tracking the protein or fruits and veggies you need? I'm not suggesting that you try to track everything, but to pick a few metrics of health to track to help propel you on the path toward a healthier you. For example, you can focus on eating more protein or getting all of my steps in on your rest or lighter activity days. You can keep track of your food in an online food log; however the idea here is not to focus on calories, but on getting in your recommended values for the protein or whatever other nutrient you’re putting a positive focus toward. Keeping (honest!) track of your food intake for a few days and then comparing how you eat with healthy standards can help you identify gaps in your eating habits.

Get moving

You don’t have to take up marathons or anything crazy, but being active every day for at least a little bit helps you to maintain healthy metabolism and bone/muscle health. Pick an activity that works well for you -- the best exercise is the kind that you can keep up even as you go about your regular life.

It’s hard to stick with an exercise that is unsustainable for you and your lifestyle!

For many, tracking and recording my weight and body fat percentage really makes a difference in terms of awareness of trends as you focus on a weight loss goal. You can compare how you are doing now with where you have been in the past, and over time can see “OK, I’m not too far off from where I was XYZ years ago,” or think back to “what was I doing in 2013 that was so helpful for me in being at that better body composition?”

Last but not least, don’t despair! Pick one or two of these tips to implement at a time, and once you’ve made those a habit, think about which ones you can do next to keep you on the healthy road toward body awareness and a healthier you!

Lauren’s first run was around the block in a pair of grungy Vans when she was in middle school. Following that she’s had fits & spurts of running, until a few years ago when she started chronicling her running experiences and training at LaurenRuns. Since then she’s gone on to run 5 marathons and numerous triathlons, including two Ironman triathlons. She likes Swedish Fish, red wine, healthy eating and trying new foods. Follow her blog at www.laurenruns.com, on Twitter at @runlaurenrun and Instagram at @laurenruns, and Facebook at Lauren Runs Chicago.

Main Photo Credit: wavebreakmedia/shutterstock.com; Second Photo Credit: Lisa S./shutterstock.com; Third Photo Credit: AnirutKhattirat/shutterstock.com; Fourth Photo Credit: mimagephotography/shutterstock.com