Going into this, I intended to weigh myself only sporadically as a reinforcement, but I actually realized today that I have no way to weigh myself at all! My scale and my roommate's are both broken, and so is the one at my gym.

I don't know exactly what my starting weight was (I'm guestimating 155-150 based on past experience) so I have nothing to measure against.

I did pull out a measuring tape and write down my inches yesterday, so I have that, but realizing I have no scale access whatsoever made me wonder:

What are some other things you can use to measure your progress without that number?

What do you personally measure your progress by?

Pictures! before and afters are awesome for seeing progress. Get in your skivvies, or some tight clothes and set up your camera or get a trusted friend to take pictures from all angles. In a month, do it all again!

Clothes are a good indicator of progress, how they fit and hang. (not just your jeans feel loose coz maybe they haven't been washed in a while )

Most importantly, how you FEEL. Feeling, smaller, stronger, healthier, fitter, leaner. Even if it means running up the stairs without being winded!

The scale only gives you a numerical reflection of your relationship with gravity

I prefer to take measurements and photos.

Tape measure measurements track FAT loss.

Scales track weight loss.

FWIW...weight loss can be anything...muscle, blood, water, bone....

Pick your loss.

I know, sarcastic post. I go with primarily tape measure and how my pants fit. I check my scale, but the number keeps going up or staying the same. My inches keep going down though. I like that number better.

non scale victories are always great too! Sometimes they sneak up on you... I was so excited when I was able to sit in my husband's computer chair without it squeezing my hips that I started crying.

Photos and clothes are nice!

i had to quit weighing myself because, with heavy weight workouts, the scale was messing with my head terribly

i go by how my clothes look and feel, particularly my tight hoodies around my stomach area and in the hip area of my pants, both of which will tell me right away if i'm gaining or bloated....i need to take measurements, i suppose, but never have bought a tape measure

Thanks for the input, guys! It's interesting to see how other folks measure progress. It got me thinking... I went to a holiday party a few weeks ago and wore a cute dress that I really had to squeeze into. So I think I'm going to use the pictures from that party as my "befores" and measure progress in part by how that dress fits.

If you want to see, my profile should have a picture of me in the dress from the party. Phew!

^^^THIS^^^

I gained 10 pounds when I started heavy lifting. But, I lost 2 pant sizes. I am much smaller than my peers who share the same height/weight as me...and in a lot of cases, smaller than those who weigh less than me. All thanks to heavy lifting!

Tape measure and pictures. My favorite pair of jeans, freshly laundered. The puffiness or lack thereof in my face. Adherence to my plan in my food log.

These are the lot uses I use for loss and maintenance, aside from the scale. Together they give a more complete picture.

Since I am 3 years into this, I've had to find lots of ways to measure progress, other than the scale. Some weeks/months, I'll weigh in, other times I will not and I will do things like:

• measure success by how many times per week I work out
• how many days per week I track my food
• whether I can implement a good/new habit (i.e., eating a fruit/veggie every day or getting 7 hours of sleep per night -- consistently for a month)
• I take measurements
• I'll go to the mall and try on tons of clothes to see if I can drop a size in a different brand than I normally wear
• Sometimes I'll look at photos, but they tend to make me sad...
• I also give myself physical challenges like taking a new class at the gym every week for a month or walking faster during my lunch walks (I use the Runtastic app, so it tells me my pace)

I've accepted that the scale will go up & down and I don't freak out anymore, and since I'm basically in maintenance (I gained a few pounds over the holidays) I have to find a lot of new success measures!