If you are currently trying to lose weight, the chances are this probably isn’t the first time. Indeed, many people fail at losing weight, but the reason people fail is probably because there is more to losing weight than just eating healthy and getting exercise. Yes, that is all you really have to do, but if you want to stay motivated you have to track several things as well.
BODY WEIGHT
So, body weight is not exactly what you are trying to “lose” when you say you want to “lose weight.” In some regards, people may be heavy but not on the unhealthy side. Simply monitoring body weight only tells us how much weight a person has lost and not necessarily how healthy a person is.
Besides as you work out more you will undoubtedly add muscle to your body. And this will put weight back on, even after you have lost it. This is a great metric to track progress, but not the only metric that will tell you how successful your weight loss has been.
BODY FAT
This is a better indication of how much “weight” you have lost. Of course, checking Slimon body fat percentage is not as easy as stepping onto a scale to check body weight. However, you can buy special tools to help you measure this. The goal is to have a body fat percentage of about 25 to 31 percent for women and 18 to 25 percent for men.
CALORIC INTAKE
If you are trying to burn fat (ie “lose weight”) then you need to track your caloric intake. The only way to lose weight is to use more calories than you take in so you need to make sure you are eating enough good calories to give you the energy you need to get through the day, but fewer calories than you burn up in a workout.
This can be somewhat complicated, but you can get more information on the calories in the food you eat and how many calories you burn off during particular workouts.
AMOUNT OF SLEEP
Something many people over look when trying to lose weight is getting enough sleep. Sleep helps restore your body’s energy and regulates metabolism. Not getting enough sleep can contribute to high blood pressure and high blood sugar, among other health conditions.
