Beyond the Scale: 7 Ways to Measure Your Fitness Progress

Stepping onto the scale is a sure-fire way to see if you've gained or lost weight, but because your fitness encompasses so much more than weight, a scale isn't always the best tool. The numbers on a scale can be misleading too. You could wind up frustrated and ill-informed if the numbers don't reflect what you think they should.  And even if you're happy with the number on the scale, your weight is no guarantee that you are physically fit.  Get the real skinny on your fitness with these 7 additional ways to measure your progress.

1. Medical Markers: Hey, we all want to look great in our jeans, but true fitness is more important than vanity; it is about true health. Make an appointment with your doctor to determine your resting heart rate, blood pressure, glucose levels, total cholesterol, HDL and LDL cholesterol, and triglycerides. Schedule a follow-up appointment for at least 90 days after you begin exercising consistently.  After that, checking out these numbers annually will keep you on track.
2. Clothing Size: Anyone who has struggled with weight gain has gone through that confidence-shattering moment - that tidal wave of self-loathing - when you wriggle into a pair of pants that used to fit and you can no longer button them up. On the flip side is that moment of triumph when a dress that was once too small fits again.  How your clothes fit and how you feel in them are important indicators of your progress and are arguably tied more closely to your sense of confidence than any other metric.
3. Endurance:  Last month you couldn't jog down the street without panting like a dog and collapsing from a side stitch. This week, you can make it around the block.  When you are able to add time and/or distance to your training, it proves that your body is getting more efficient, you are getting stronger, and your training is accomplishing what you intended.
4. Strength: Stronger muscles are a good thing. Not only do you get attractive muscle tone, but more muscle mass increases your metabolism, improves balance and stability, decreases your risk of osteoporosis, and improves your overall body mechanics.  When you're able to do more repetitions of a strength training exercise or increase the amount of weights you can use, you've got something worth celebrating.  Track your progress so you can look back and see your improvements.
5. Body Fat Percentage: Because people who replace fat with lean muscle mass can actually gain weight, it's important to track your body fat percentage rather than just look at the number on a scale.  There are several ways to measure your body fat percentage, such as BIA (Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis) devices that estimate body tissue makeup through electrical current, calipers that measure subcutaneous fat, hydrostatic weighing, which calculates body mass based on water displacement, and BOD POD, which calculates body mass based on air displacement.  While BIA scales and devices and skinfold calipers are affordable and easy to use, they are not always accurate.  Hydrostatic weighing and BOD POD offer much more accurate results, but tests can be expensive and not available in all locations.
6. Visual Observation: Is there a shadow of a muscle on your bicep? Is your waist trimming down? Actually seeing changes in your body - and being complimented on them by others - is one of the most rewarding parts of getting fit.  Don't forget that body transformations require consistency and never happen overnight. It takes about four weeks of consistent effort for you to notice the earliest changes, about eight weeks for your close friends and family to notice, and twelve weeks for everyone else to notice.  Take a weekly picture in your workout clothes once a week so you can compare the changes over time.
7. Measurements: Most people seek fitness to change the shape of their body - to whittle their waist, build up their biceps, or reduce their derriere. Your measurements will show you exactly how and where your body is changing - something the scale cannot do.  As you drop fat and build muscle, the number on the scale might not change a whole lot, but these numbers don't lie.  For the most accurate results, measure your waist, hips, neck, chest, thighs, and biceps, then take those measurements two more times.  Average all three. Chart your measurements weekly to see your progress.

This I Believe...

Be completely still for just a moment...

Can you feel your blood pumping?  Can you feel your food moving through your bowels? Have you noticed that scratch on your leg looks a little bit better than it did yesterday?  All of that is happening without your conscious help!

Dear reader... YOUR BODY IS AN INCREDIBLE, SELF-SUSTAINING ORGANISM!  It is genetically programmed to constantly heal itself even though our environment is constantly changing.  But in our Western society that takes a pill for every ill, our bodies cannot achieve this goal the way it wants to.

This I Believe: YOUR BODY'S ABILITY TO HEAL ITSELF IS GREATER THAN ANYONE HAS EVER PERMITTED YOU TO BELIEVE!  Through this article, I hope to inspire you to not only question what you have been told, but to make a positive change in your life - not because I say you should, but because you want to!

What always amazes me about people who have come to know Western Medicine is when they say, "Wow, it's starting to look like Eastern Medicine is on to something!"  Great!  I'm glad you figured that out, but Eastern medicine has been around for thousands of years.  It has served us so well because they have a different perception of the body as a whole.  Western Medicine thinks of the body like a machine - a car or a phone, where pieces can be replaced or fixed with a pill.  Eastern Medicine sees the body for the organism that it is - like a plant.  When you put a plant in nourishing soil, water it and give it sunlight, it flourishes and grows and is healthy... (unless you give that plant to me!  I have a rule in my house that if it doesn't move or make a noise, it is going to die!  In fact, the last time I presented this talk using a plant as a visual aid, I left the plant at the venue!).

Here is an unfortunate reality that has hindered the Eastern and Western paradigms from merging:

According to an article published in the New York Times several years ago, fewer than 30% of Medical Doctors (MDs) receive any training in nutrition because many schools do not require it.  Physicians are able to seek out nutrition courses, but it is not a requirement.  For those who have had no training in nutrition, it is against the law to prescribe food because it is outside their scope of practice.  By that logic, it the cure for cancer were found in our food (which I believe it is), a Medical Doctor with no training in nutrition could not recommend dietary suggestions.  In fact, it is against the law in this country for an Oncologist to recommend anything other than Chemotherapy or Radiation Therapy for treatment (which are both neurotoxins and cause permanent damage to healthy cells).

The hope I have left in humanity at this point comes from people like Dr. Max Gerson who in 1958 wrote a book of how he cured 50 people of terminal cancer while using natural therapies.  Because his therapies weren't "science-based," his clinic was not welcome here in the U.S. so he had to open in Mexico.  Or like Chris Wark, who after being diagnosed with Stage 3 Colon Cancer in December 2003 used natural therapies to heal is cancer after his Oncologist told him he was "insane" for taking that kind of risk.  Today, he has a blog ChrisBeatCancer.com where he tells his story and the stories of many others who have healed themselves through natural means.

Dr. Max Gerson and Chris Wark speaking out appears to be a thorn in the side of Western culture because their methods weren't "science-based" and they are calling the ones healed through natural therapies "LUCKY."  That made me laugh... because I don't remember LUCK having anything to do with SCIENCE!

I am proposing you walk away from the end of this article with a mindset to become a more informed consumer instead of just crying to your doctor when you see a new commercial on TV for a drug that causes more problems than it helps.

Pay attention to the food you put in your mouth, the fluids you drink, the air you breathe... and what goes on your SKIN!  The skin is your body's largest organ and it readily absorbs everything it comes into contact with.  Think about that when you go home tonight and get into your pajamas and sleep for 8 hours under your sheets washed in Tide.  According to the Environmental Protection Agency, Tide is a registered pesticide, stimulates the growth of breast cancer cells, is the #1 cause of Eczema, feminizes male fish and is banned in Europe!

According to the Society for Human Resource Management, every $1 spent on wellness saves $3 in healthcare.  Let's shift our spending from management and cure to prevention... because an ounce of prevention isn't just worth a pound of cure... it IS the cure!

THIS I BELIEVE!

Are You Sure Your Company Offers Health Benefits?

You're probably thinking, "Of course my company offers health benefits... they offer health insurance."


Unfortunately many people in the business of processing claims or selling insurance do not see the distinction. When large employers do an analysis of their "health" benefits spend and try to equate expenditures to health outcomes there is disappointment.  This should not be a surprise.

First, the metrics for measuring health outcomes are either non-existent or vague at best.

Secondly, even if metrics exist, base line data is usually not available.

Third, and the most important issue is that favorable outcomes to an organization have no bearing to what an individual employee perceives as good health.

Most employer "health" initiatives are cost containment strategies. They focus on averaging down the average cost of a claim. This metric usually has no bearing on improving the health of the employee.it is focused on maintaining the same level of health for a "sick" individual but at a less expensive cost.

While short term financial gains may be realized by focusing on the few individuals who meet the employer's definition of "sick", long terms gains to improving employee health will not result using the current "benefits" model.

Three important philosophical changes are required for employers to impact on their employee's health via the benefits program:

First is the admission that vast majority of employer funded benefits are financial benefits, not health benefits.  Providing tax effective compensation to fund health care costs are important but they are not health interventions.  Ironically funding poor health may make it easier for employees to delay behavior changes that will improve their health simply because the financial consequences of poor behavior are absorbed by employers and not employees.

The second is that restricting financial assistance to health conditions defined by the employer as important is paternalistic and probably counter-productive. We know the 80% of the claims costs are incurred by less than 20% of the population. Does this suggest that 80% of the population is healthy and does not deserve employer support to improve their health?

The third is the industry's focus on supporting sick employees to be sick at a cheaper price. The industry needs to evolve to providing a benefit program that encourages all employees (both those currently suffering from a chronic condition and the majority of employees who are not claiming or absent from work) to maintain or improve their health before the consequences of poor habits decrease the quality of their lives.

The only real solution to prevent or treat chronic disease is to make sustainable lifestyle change. In fact, if we exercise more, eat better, don't smoke and drink moderately (or not at all) we can prevent;

• 90% of type II diabetes,
• 80% of cardiovascular disease,
• 70% of stroke and colon cancer
• 40% of other cancers.

If it's that simple, why are we not doing it? Well that's simple too - Change is hard!
Perhaps providing a corporate culture that supports healthy living is the closest employers will come to providing "health benefits".  

That's where we can help!  We make change fun and manageable for anyone willing who wants to see positive changes in their health.  Call us today to set up a consultation - 704.770.8214.  You'll be glad you did!