[zoesmom]

Alright, I know many of us take up the lose X pounds by X date challenge. What about those of us who stall? I know there are many of them. Heck, include me in that bunch. It gets frustrating when week after week you see your peers going down and you either remain the same or worse...go up.

HEY! GOOD NEWS!!! If you are true to your plan and your goals, you ARE losing, albeit more slowly. But when the scale fails you, your measurements will not! My handy dandy spreadsheet can be found HERE

I challenge you...join me in measuring your inches! Here's the rules:

1) Measure no more than every two weeks. Any more than that is ridiculous and you are going to be upset when you don't see a significant change. Less than that is okay.

2) Input your measurements on the sheet. That is it. I'll take care of the rest. Pay attention to what tab you are on, as I will be adding tabs for the measurements weeks instead of columns...you know, to keep it more crisp and less messy.

3) I am not asking for goal inches. I mean, pounds we can guesstimate. Inches...not so much. So let's not set each up for failure. Instead, let's just have fun with this and see what we can accomplish by Labor Day weekend (I will be ending this challenge on August 30th)

4) I am not asking for the slow loss areas, such as calves, triceps, and neck. We lose inches off those areas SLOWLY and I would rather not have any one discouraged. Likewise, if there is a certain area you would rather NOT measure, by all means, don't measure it. You'll still see your numbers go down

This challenge is for anyone and everyone, but mainly geared towards those who are asking "What's the point?" Because, you will soon see just what that point is.

SO...get ready...get set...MEASURE!!!!!

[zoesmom]

Tips for measuring:

Bust: Place the measuring tape across your nipples and measure around the largest part of your chest. Be sure to keep the tape parallel to the floor.

Chest: Place the measuring tape just under your breasts/pecs and measure around the torso while keeping the tape parallel to the floor.

Waist: Place the measuring tape about a 1/2 inch above your bellybutton (at the narrowest part of your waist) to measure around your torso. When measuring your waist, exhale and measure before inhaling again.

Hips: Place the measuring tape across the widest part of your hips/buttocks and measure all the way around while keeping the tape parallel to the floor.


Thigh: Measure around the largest part of each thigh.

Upper arm: Measure around the largest part of each arm (above the elbow).


When taking measurements, stand tall with your muscles relaxed and your feet together.
When measuring, apply constant pressure to the tape (so it doesn't sag) without pinching the skin.
Use a flexible measuring tape, such as plastic or cloth.
Measure under the same conditions each time, such as wearing the same clothes (or none at all).
Measure yourself in front of a mirror to make sure the tape is positioned correctly. If possible, have someone else do the measuring for you.
The place to take some of these measurements will vary slightly from person to person. To ensure accuracy, just remember to take them in the same place on your body each time.

[Rated]

I am in! I will post on the spread sheet when I am home on my computer. Since it seems to be more difficult on my phone

[wannaskipandlaugh]

Is it okay that I just do certain places? I don't do chest and bust... just bust? and yes seeing the inches lost from 1 month ago.. helped my mind when I did not lose very much weight last month.... Thank you

[zoesmom]

YEAH! Welcome to the challenge Rated!!!

wanna - measure whatever you want to.

[wannaskipandlaugh]

I really appreciate this very much! You are right.. seeing the inches go down, is a proof positive that you are getting smaller why your clothes don't fit anymore

[zoesmom]

Originally Posted by wannaskipandlaugh

I really appreciate this very much! You are right.. seeing the inches go down, is a proof positive that you are getting smaller why your clothes don't fit anymore

PRECISELY! I've been noticing more and more threads popping up with people bemoaning that they are stalling out and it made me think that they are likely not doing measurements. I know I wasn't at first. Now, I can't dream of otherwise. Sometimes my weight is faster, sometimes my inches is faster, but one or the other (or both) is ALWAYS moving. I'm just hoping to find a way to give a few more people a more positive outlook on this and help them realize it is worth it, and they are too

[lilsquirrel]

Ohh! I'm in I always seem to pay attention to my pounds and not the inches. I'm going to measure in cm and then convert to inches so I get a more accurate read on things. This should be interesting

[2FatCats]

Quick question:

I recently hit my maintenance body fat target but I lift weights so I expect my measurements to continue to change. Actually, I have tracked measurements all along and that's what matters to me - not the number on the scale!
Would it be okay to join in with you guys?

[zoesmom]

Welcome in lilsquirrel!!!

And why heck yes2FaCats!!! The more the merrier!

[Changergirl]

I'm in. I was actually thinking of starting a challenge like this so thank you for doing it. My measurements are a bit different than how you set yours up but that isn't a big deal. I also measure way too many places so that's probably why! I already measure every 4 weeks and tomorrow is measurement day so I'll add my new ones then.

[zoesmom]

Originally Posted by Changergirl

I'm in. I was actually thinking of starting a challenge like this so thank you for doing it. My measurements are a bit different than how you set yours up but that isn't a big deal. I also measure way too many places so that's probably why! I already measure every 4 weeks and tomorrow is measurement day so I'll add my new ones then.

AWESOME! Out of curiosity, how do you measure? When I was looking up the tips on how to properly do it, I think I found 300 different ways, so I just grabbed one

[Tuscany]

I'm in...and thanks for taking the time to set this up zoesmom! I already track my inches and I even have an inch ticker. I weigh daily, but only measure once a week. I agree with your comments zoesmom...sometimes my weight falls but inches don't, and sometimes it works in reverse. But, each week I seem to get at least one positive result, either weight or inches, and it always helps to have some good news.

I tend to measure a bit differently than you. I also measure my calves and my belly (around the belly button), but I've never measured my chest (only my bust). But, no problem, I did a quick chest measurement and added it on your spreadsheet.

A quick comparison of my numbers on the spreadsheet to those of the others has confirmed something I've long suspected: My arms are out of proportion to the rest of me! They're much larger than one might expect given my weight and the rest of my measurements. I can't wait to get rid of these monster arms (on the assumption I ever do get rid of them ).

[2FatCats]

Great! I'll enter my measurements under "F"!

Also - that diagram you have for measurement sites- #6 is more like my area under my belly button (or my kanga pooch as I like to call it) and my hips measurement is a little lower, kind of right across the top of pubic bone and around lower buttock area.

[Pink Hurricane]

Yay! I just joined the challenge and added my starting stats!

I love this idea to see the change of our measurements!!