Tomorrow is Measurement Day!

I have read a lot about why weight can be a misleading number. Turning fat into muscle can actually make you gain weight, right? Sure. But I still use my scale weekly and will continue to do so because when you start out weighing 195 pounds, you really do need to look at that number! I didn't want to turn all of my fat into muscle, I want it gone!

However, as we work to gain muscle and lose fat it can make a difference from one week to the next ... especially since our goal is to lose a pound each week.

So, besides tracking my weight, I measure myself with a tape measure each month. Tomorrow happens to be that day! Feel free to join me and write down your numbers.

Here is what I will be measuring:
Waist: I measure at my belly button so I can be consistent and leave my tummy relaxed (no sucking in!)
Hips: I measure at the roundest part of my butt.
Upper Arm: I measure right at the middle between my elbow and shoulder
Calf: The largest part
Thigh: Pick one, and measure the roundest part
Push ups: Do as many as you can in one minute; for a woman ages 20-29 doing 34-48 modified push ups is "good" any more is "excellent"
Crunches: Do as many as you can in one minute; for a woman younger than 35 doing 40 is "good" and 50 is "excellent"

Tape measures only cost a couple of dollars and can be purchased at a craft/sewing store. Sparkpeople.com has one you can print out, but I'd be afraid of paper cuts!