If you ask people in the gym what they want to accomplish with their fitness regimen, most of them would say that they want to lose weight. But they’d be wrong. Most of them want to look better: they want to tone their muscles, fit into a smaller size, which doesn’t always correlate to a drop in pounds.
Most people who say that they want to loose weight really want to increase muscle and reduce fat.
Tracking body composition (fat %) in addition to weight is the best way to do this, since it gives you a more accurate view of your success.
If you are starting a fitness program you may actually gain weight as you develop muscle. This can be very discouraging.
Using body fat measurements can help you see that you are closer to your goal. That helps to keep you motivated!
In addition to body fat, measuring the waist and waist-to-hip ratio provides accurate measure of success.
The goal is to keep yourself from getting stuck in the mindset that the scale is the best way to track your success. It’s not!