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How to Weigh & Measure Yourself Accurately

The ordinary weighing scale can only tell you your total weight. It cannot distinguish between water weight and fat weight. Neither can it tell you how much your muscles weigh or how heavy your bones are. But it is the most common way that people track their weight loss progress. So here are some tips on how to weigh yourself more accurately.

Use the same scale all the time. Do not compare how much you weigh on different scales. What’s important is that you take a baseline measurement and monitor your progress from there.
Weigh yourself once a week or twice a month on the same day. If you weigh yourself every day, you may become frustrated because weight can swing two to three pounds up or down due to fluid changes. For example, if you eat a lot of salty food, you retain more water. If you catch a stomach bug, you lose a lot of water from going to the bathroom more often than usual. You get a more realistic picture of your weight loss if you weigh once a week.
Do not weigh yourself several times a day. It makes no sense and can lead to scale neurosis.
If you weigh yourself at night and in the morning, don’t be surprised to see that you have lost between two to three pounds. This is due to evaporation of sweat and minute water droplets in your exhalation while you were sleeping. One cup of water equals half a pound.
Weigh first thing in the morning without any clothes or with minimal clothing after using the toilet and before eating or drinking anything.
You weigh the lightest when you first wake up. You are also at your tallest height because gravity hasn’t had a chance to compress your spine.
Many women become bloated before and during their period. Don’t bother weighing yourself at these times unless you enjoy being depressed.
The most accurate scale is the type your doctor uses. However, make sure the scale is calibrated from time to time.
The scale should be set on an even surface. Avoid using a scale on carpet, which can distort the results by four percent.
Don’t become obsessed with the scale. When you exercise regularly, it’s not uncommon to be a size smaller but to weigh more than you think you should. This is why weighing yourself should not be the only method you use.

Tape measure
A tape measure can help you monitor changes in inches and body size. A tape measure and a scale make a good combination to keep track of the ups and downs of inches and pounds.

Use a nylon tape. Cloth tape measures tend to stretch and become distorted over time.
The tape should be snug and lay comfortably flat. Avoid pulling in to get a smaller measurement.
Measure yourself once or twice a month right after weighing on the scale.
Your measurements also change during the day as you accumulate more fluid from eating and drinking.
Do not measure yourself before or during your period to avoid getting a “bloated” measurement.
Take your chest and waist measurements as you exhale normally. You are only fooling yourself by cheating with a forced exaggerated exhalation.
Chest: Measure at the nipple line.
Waist: Measure at the smallest portion. People store their fat in different ways so look for the smallest part of the torso and take your measurement there even if your belly button seems strangely out of place.
Hips: Measure at the widest part across your buttocks.
Arms: Three inches above elbow or around the widest part.
Thighs: Measure at the largest part of the curve of your inner thighs.
Calves: Four inches below the knee or around the widest part.

According to Edward Jackowski, author of “Escape Your Shape”, a tape measure can tell you whether your body is in the shape of a cone, spoon, ruler or hourglass.

Cone: Chest and waist are relatively close in measurement while hips and thighs are significantly smaller than the chest.
Spoon: No significant difference between chest and waist but a significant difference between hips and chest.
Rulers: Chest, waist, and hips are relatively close in measurement.
Hourglass: There is at least a six-inch difference between chest and waist and between hips and waist. The measurement of chest and hips are usually within a couple of inches of each other.

Clothes-o-meter
The most practical way to measure yourself is the way your clothes fit. A tight pair of jeans or a leather belt are good evidence of weight gain or loss. After I gained 50 pounds with my second child, my favorite jeans were the best and most satisfying gauge of my weight-loss progress. At first, I couldn't even get the jeans past my thighs. Little by little, I was able to slip them up my hips, zip up without turning blue, and eventually, wear them comfortably.

TinaJuanFitness.info