Friday, August 16, 2013

Do You Take Your Measurements Regularly?

One of the top 10 search terms for my blog lately has been “What Should My Waist Size Be?” The above is a picture of me yesterday taking my own measurements after a fast walk. I did a post awhile ago on waist size and still get people clicking over to read it. There is � Continue Reading...

Diane Carbonell on waist measurements

One of the top 10 search terms for my blog lately has been “What Should My Waist Size Be?” The above is a picture of me yesterday taking my own measurements after a fast walk.

I did a post awhile ago on waist size and still get people clicking over to read it. There is a lot of information about the importance of reducing belly fat because of the health risks associated with higher amounts of abdominal fat.

Waist size, hip size, arm size, thigh size, chest size, and even wrist size change as you lose weight and get more fit. Honestly, I was shocked at how my numbers changed as I lost weight. Even my wedding rings fit once more after I lost weight.

I wish that I had measured more frequently as I lost weight because seeing the numbers drop from waaaay to high to normal measurements was very encouraging. In case you didn’t remember or haven’t read my book, at my highest weight my waist size was well above 60 inches. How did I know? Because a standard 60 inch tape measure wouldn’t even come close to fitting around my hips.

You can see from this picture below that I carried a lot of weight around my hips. Well, the weight was everywhere but you get the idea. :)

Diane Carbonell pushing child on swing.

The benefits of measuring yourself as you lose weight are mainly psychological as you do not need to measure yourself in order to lose weight, but you may give your weight loss efforts a boost if you do, especially if you are dealing with a plateau. Sometimes your body shrinks while the scale stays the same. I’ve seen that happen a lot.

Although I could tell from the way my stretchy pants fit that I was getting smaller in the hips and waist, it was very exciting to be able to fit the measuring tape around my hips and see a number under 50 inches.

In the years since I lost half of myself I make a deliberate effort to take my measurements regularly. It not only keeps me in touch with my body but also gives me a heads up if things change.

I’d encourage you to measure everything you can think of and keep those measurements in a safe place. Update them often as you continue on your journey.

Have you measured yourself along the way? What benefits do you see to measuring regularly? Diane

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