How to properly track your weight loss progress

Why does fat go away, but weight does not change?

1. Muscle mass grows

When you do strength training, your body composition gradually changes: muscle mass increases and body fat decreases. At the same time, the body becomes more toned and slender, but the weight can remain in place.

The photo below is a great example from Instagram of Staci Ardison, powerlifter and coach at Nerd Fitness. In the first photo, Stacy weighs 64.5 kg, in the second - 72.5 kg. Can't believe it, right?

Posted by Staci Ardison (@staciardison) Jun 5, 2018 10:18 am PDT

It doesn't matter that the relief is hidden behind a layer of fat. If you do strength training and eat well, your muscles grow.

2. Liquid retention

In the first days of the diet, a person can lose several kilograms at once, judging by the weights. However, there is nothing much to be happy about: it is not fat that leaves, but water.

To lose a kilogram of fat, you need to create a 7,700 calorie deficit, which is almost impossible to do in two days, even if you do not eat anything and exercise at all (which clearly will not improve your health). This also works in reverse: you can lose fat, but by retaining water, the figure on the scale will remain the same.

Your body can retain water for a variety of reasons:

Consuming a lot of salt. Salty foods retain water in the body and release glucocorticoids, hormones that interfere with muscle building.
Menstruation. Many women have fluid retention in the body before menstruation and especially on the first day of menstruation. Moreover, this effect decreases if a woman begins to exercise.
Long flights. Changes in pressure in the cockpit and long periods of inactivity can cause fluid retention and edema.
Taking certain medications … Certain chemotherapy drugs, pain relievers, blood pressure medications, and antidepressants can cause fluid retention.

To find out how much you actually lost weight, you need to know not your weight, but the percentage of fat. There are several ways to determine this.

How to find out your body fat percentage

1. Buy a smart scale

The smart scale calculates body fat percentage using BIA (bioelectrical impedance analysis), or bioimpedance body analysis.

When you step on the scale, a weak electrical impulse is sent through your body and determines the percentage of fat, muscle mass, bone weight and the amount of water in the body. The data is synced to your smartphone and stored so you can track dynamics over time.

Here are some models no more than 3,000 rubles:

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2. Calculate using a special calculator

Online calculators use formulas based on the circumference of different parts of the body. These are mainly the US Navy method, which takes into account height, neck, waist and hips, and the Covert Bailey sports physician method, which uses hips, one thigh, lower leg and wrist. Here are a few apps that include these calculators:

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To make the data as accurate as possible, follow a few rules:

1. Measure the parameters always at the same time - in the morning on an empty stomach.

2. If possible, ask a friend to measure you. So you will stand relaxed and the measurements will be as accurate as possible.

3. Take measurements correctly:

Waist - Measure along the thinnest part of the abdomen, a few centimeters above the navel.
Hips - Measure across the widest part of your hips.
One hip - in some calculations, you need to measure the circumference of one thigh. Measure across the widest part.
Neck - measure across the widest part.
Wrist - measure along the narrowest part.
Forearm - measure across the widest part.
Shoulder - measure across the widest part.
Shin - measure across the widest part.

4. Take measurements once a month, not more often. The composition of the body does not change quickly, so you will receive noticeable results no earlier than in a month.

5. Record your results: weight, body circumference, body fat percentage. This way you can track your progress.

3. Navigate by clothes

Since a kilogram of fat is much larger than a kilogram of muscle, changes in body composition affect your size.

With the same weight, you can notice that the shorts have become much looser, the fat sides that previously hung over the waist of the jeans are gone, and the tight dress now does not fit at all.

This method is obvious, but many people do not see the change, preferring to think that the clothes are just stretched. Flip through old photos, see how the clothes fit you and how they look now. You may be in for a pleasant surprise.

conclusions

If your weight does not change, it does not mean that you are not losing fat.
Weight may remain the same due to muscle building or fluid retention.
To determine how it is changing, you need a smart scale or tailor's meter and a fat percentage calculator.
Weigh yourself and measure your body fat at the same time: in the morning on an empty stomach.
Don't expect quick changes: fat goes away gradually.

Continue exercising and dieting. You will definitely lose weight, become stronger and fit.