You really don't want to lose weight

Weight is a horrible, horrible indicator of your fitness. I weigh more now than I ever have but that's because I've put on muscle. If I just looked at the scales as an indicator of my health I would be depressed and quit exercising and watching what I eat. Why bother training and dieting if there's no change? If weight is my only guide then I wouldn't be happy.

If you decide to lose weight and begin to exercise what do think is going to happen? You are going to burn fat. That's good. Congratulations. Burning the fat means that you will lose weight. But guess what else is going to happen? All those muscles you are exercising are going to toughen up, get bigger and stronger and you know what that means? It means you are going to put on weight. When you get on the scales and see that the weight hasn't changed how are you going to feel? Horrible, right?

Weight is a horrible indicator. It has it's place but, as a sole indicator, it is not helpful. A better measure is your fat content. If your fat content is going down and your weight is staying the same then you are putting on lean mass - that's a good thing. If your fat content is going up and your weight is staying the same then you are losing lean mass - that's not a good thing. Measuring your fat is a healthier measure than weight alone.

So how do you do it?

Let me suggest two ways of measuring your fat content. In both cases you will get a reasonable gauge of your fat content as a percentage of your total weight. For me, I like mini goals and quick feedback so I will measure myself once a week to see that I'm making gains toward my goals.

Currently I am currently using Accu-Measure Calipers. They give a quick and accurate measure of my fat percentage. They are very easy to use and aren't very expensive. You can purchase them online (here in India). They come with a chart that quickly lets you know where you are within 2%.

The second method is the US Navy Calculator. This is what I used when I first started measuring my fat content. All you need is a tape measure. An online calculator can be found here, here and here. There are two formulas running around the internet, an older one and a new one. One formula for working it out yourself is:

Men in inches: %Fat = 86.010*LOG(abdomen - neck) - 70.041*LOG(height) + 36.76
Men in cms: %Fat = 86.010*LOG(abdomen - neck) - 70.041*LOG(height) + 30.30

Women in inches:%Fat = 163.205*LOG(abdomen + hip - neck) - 97.684*LOG(height) - 78.387
Women in cms: %Fat = 163.205*LOG(abdomen + hip - neck) - 97.684*LOG(height) - 104.912

At some point in your journey toward fitness your body fat won't matter. What will matter is how you feel about yourself. Do you like the person you see in the mirror. When you get to that stage the measuring tape will no longer be your friend - get rid of it.