YOU on a Diet - where on the waist to measure?

[Aniles]

Hello,

According to the You on a Diet book, I'm supposed to measure at the belly button which is 34" so according to the book, I need to lose about 1.5" but if I meaasure at the small of the waist like some other websites tell you, I'm 29.5" which means I'm OK. So I'm confused if I have an issue or not.

[Paintedlady]

Every time I've seen him measure someone, he always says to measure around the belly button. I believe that's what his book says as well.

[Redheadswife]

This was in the email I got today from Realage:


To measure the circumference of your waist, simply wrap a tape measure around your waist, halfway between your bottom rib and your hipbone
-- it will be about 2 inches (5 cm) above your belly button. Be sure to keep it level. Do this at the same time every day for at least 2 weeks, and record your measurements.

And when you click on the waist loss moniter, it says this:

The Right Way to Measure Your Waist [close]

Measure the narrowest part of your middle—which isn’t necessarily around your belly button. Find the smallest area between the top of the hipbone and the bottommost rib.

[walking2lose]

I've been confused by this two. It actually crossed my mind to take out a sharpie and put a small mark where I measured -- I know that's ridiculous, but I only want to measure every 2-4 weeks (I don't see much difference week to week). Well, it seems every time I do measure, I'm not sure if it's the same place!! Maybe my STOMACH is one thing and my WAIST is another.

[Redheadswife]

LOL...a sharpie!!

[KnCmamma]

If you have the book, the info for waist measurement is on page 11...otherwise here's what it says...

Measure the circumference of your waist at the point of your belly button. (Depending on how your weight is distributed, you may need to make an adjustment to where you place the tape. If you're obese, keep the tape measure parallel to the floor during measurement.)

My question is how often are you supposed to measure your waist? I weigh myself once a week, but not sure about when to measure waist measurement.

[riverbend]

I've seen the show on DHC a few times and I'm confused too. My belly button is at the same level as the top of my hip bone. Gravity? So I have a 41.25 inch waist? Not that I'm anywhere near where I need to be, and I'm sure I'm still in denial about my size, but my stomach simply doesn't protrude as far as some of the people I've seen on the show with the same size waist. So, I dunno. Then again it seems like 50% of my weight is in my mid section. And My mom as the nerve to complain (to me of all people!!) how she can squeeze 2 inches of fat on her stomach.

For those wanting to know how often? I don't know what the book says but for me 38lbs = -5 inches from that belly button area. I measure it every 10 lbs or so. Even then the reduction never seems to be much.

[Mrs Quadcrew]

You measure at the SMALLEST part of your waist (which is NOT necessarily at your belly button - it is usually higher) You can go on their website and it tells you this - it is a link on the left side of the page.

[BfL_Cat]

I think the belly button measurement is primarily for men and/or those, like me, with no defined waist. I'm pretty much straight from the bottom of my rib cage to my hips, so I measure at my belly button.

I agree that if you have a smallest part of your torso, you should measure there.
Cindy

[aphil]

The belly button point IS for men, and for women who are "apple" shaped, with no definable waistline. This is because it is hard to measure the smallest point of the waist, when you really don't have a defineable waistline.

I have been seamstressing and costume making for a few years, and when I fit someone, I always measure at the *smallest point* of their waist for the waist measurement. This is how it is supposed to be done. It can be anywhere from the belly button, up to a couple inches above that, depending on the individual.

So, if you have a pear shape, or hourglass shape, and have a waistline-look in the mirror when you measure to hit that area exactly. If you don't, use the belly button.