There is more than just the scales when measuring your progress

If you have been on our page, or heard any of our previous podcasts you will know that there are many different ways to measure progress.

But for some reason the weighing scale seems to be the only true measure that people use?

Which to me is retarded as there are so many different factors to consider when making your weight measurement a completely accurate reading that you can use.

So, I thought we would go through five different ways that you can test if the nutrition plan that you have undertaken is a success ... or, if you should consider some adaptations to your plans before you go any further.

What we have found in busy ladies from the masses of ladies that we have trained is this:

Women especially ... because of social expectations, slimming groups and unfair marketing by “supplement companies” has caused a mass of ladies who are very uncomfortable getting weighed, and have a very negative association to getting weighed, there weight and tracking it.

And from that … women that are ruled by the weighing scales often end up reverting right back to the very thing that they were doing that hasn’t worked the 10,000 times that they have tried it before ... Insanity principle.

From this comes extremes like ketosis, slimming coffees, starvation ... being miserable and yep you guessed it ... failure ☹

1. Small motivation successes

At Busy Ladies Bootcamps we have had ladies asking if they can even half there portions as they have never had to eat so much before

IMAGINE THAT!

Ladies that are enjoying their meals and feeling so full that they don’t even think that they are on a diet.

Ladies that are enjoying their meals and feeling so full that they don’t even think that they are on a diet.

Ladies that are enjoying their meals and feeling so full that they don’t even think that they are on a diet. The wonders that does for somebodies motivation, after failing so many times on restrictive diets knowing at the first point that they can achieve and stick to the plan.

The positive of this mainly is that we do not feel the need to pick at things ... the danger of being hungry is 2 things:
1. Unconscious calories
Because the stuff where picking at ... we feel are not significant we decided hey ho this wont effect my weight loss ... so we don’t track it or add it to out fast weight loss formula ... through this non mindful eating we consume calories in excess.
2. Our brain tells us we love high calorie junk
Doesn’t it suck that through the years and years of evolution we haven’t yet developed the ability to reject things that are bad for our body!

Because there are mega calories and mega energy available In processed crap and it tastes so good our bodies think that they have hit the mother load!

2. Your energy levels have improved

Having more energy to have fun with the children

Having more energy to have fun with the children

I hear this all the time in consultations "I just want to have more energy", "I have children and just after work and the kids I have zero energy and feel tired all the time".

These people are high caffeine fueled busy through the day and by the evening time are dying to jump on the sofa, and mong out watching the television as they just don’t have the energy for anything else.

I heard a term through some study that has stuck with me and is very relevant to weight loss and training that these people often borrow energy from stimulants such as caffeine or energy boosters of some description.

This is often caused by not getting enough vitamins and minerals, and not stimulating there brains enough with any form of activity.

How would we track progress in this area> simply put , feeling better, feeling of having more energy and this would be seen by small improvements in diet and activity giving you the vitamins and minerals that you need to help you through the day …. Not just being fueled by coffee and stimulants.

3. Your clothes feel better

Your clothes feeling better is a great feeling

Your clothes feeling better is a great feeling

This is a big one !!

So you’re going out! The works do, Christmas do, for food whatever the hell it is ...

and its time, to finally try on the clothes that you have been waiting to try back on,

Maybe it’s the outfit that you have been trying to get back into??

You pop it on……… and wait a minute

YOU’RE NOT GETTING STUCK…… THERE IS NOTHING CONSTRICTING ROUND YOU ...

this is going to well. ... you don’t feel scared to move…. Could this be happening ...

Then you look in the mirror ... and bang bang its happening.

And it feels awesome! You have worked your ass off! Made the changes ... and holy hell you feel great.

Surely this is the best way to be tracking what you want from your training and food regime and, in my opinion, is the one that probably has the BIGGEST impact

4. Better sleep

Sleep is absolutely vital to your overall health

Sleep is absolutely vital to your overall health

So, sleeping better, yes this is one way to see if the system you are using works is testing your sleep pattern! Ever been there? where you just cannot sleep?

I have, and I didn’t realise that it’s because I was absolutely exhausted and as you may have heard the term over tired?

Now there can be literally hundreds of reasons such as stress ... in my opinion is the big one! jet lag, eating late there are too many reasons to list to be honest.

Diet and exercise can make a huge difference! If you over train and under recover or eat late at night this may effect your sleep as clinically proven.

A classic example as mentioned earlier is those people who are mega fueled on caffeine who wonder why they cant sleep ... leading to feeling lethargic ... directly linked to weight gain through poor food choices.

Alcohol is another big one ... massively linked to poor sleep patterns as well.

Changes to be made in these areas ensues that your daily nutrient need are being met, you are drinking less alcohol, feeling less lethargic as you are eating and probably now sleeping better as you have wound down you aren’t over full and you follow your sleeping routine.

SLEEP IS ABSOLUTELY VITAL TO YOUR OVERALL HEALTH !

5. It doesn’t feel like a quick fix!

One of the keys to major success in anything is small changes over a sustained period of time!

One of the keys to major success in anything is small changes over a sustained period of time!

One of the keys to major success in anything is small changes over a sustained period of time!

We do not want weight loss and fitness to become another chore on the to do list that is already full of things that we may not already be feeling to clever about!

You are enjoying the programme and have built the process into your daily life.

This is possibly the biggest measure of success!

You wake up, your driven, goal orientated, you understand why you need to achieve the goals you have set, you know the cost ... but action is as automatic as getting up in the morning and brushing your teeth, when you have come to this point where you aren’t having to make an effort to be who you want to be it is no longer a quick fix but a super strong routine.

Final Note

Hope we've made a little sense of things here. Scales are not the be all and end of of measuring success, sometimes there are more important measurements in life to happiness 🙂