WEIGHTS AND MEASURES By: Lisa Ritchie

You’ve been exercising, dieting, and really sticking to your goals. You weigh yourself, and….Nothing. Not an ounce gone. There must be a better way! There is! You could be getting results that just aren’t showing up on the scale.

Don’t get hung up on that number on the scale. Pounds may not be the best indicator for how well you’re doing. You may hear the old wives’ tale that muscle weighs more than fat. A pound, however, is a pound, regardless of its composition. For example, a pound of feathers WEIGHS the same as a pound of iron. It’s still a pound! Muscle (just like iron) is DENSER, so a pound takes up less SPACE than a pound of fat.

Do your clothes fit better? Grab an old-fashioned tape measure (the cloth or flexible kind) and measure your waist at its’ narrowest point. Next measure your hips at their largest point, each of your thighs about mid-point from knee to hip joint. Keep a record of these along with the date and compare one month or six weeks later.

Regular workouts also make you FEEL better, and not just physically. You should have more energy and you’ll sleep better. Circulation improves and your skin looks radiant along with shiny hair.

You’ll also feel better emotionally since exercise is a stress reducer. Count these little victories. The first time you can walk up a flight of stairs and not lose your breath, or when you play with your kids for half an hour, and you’re not exhausted.

Your tastes are changing. Steamed vegetables and fish taste good. You no longer crave sugar, fat and salt. After a few weeks of eating healthy, your taste buds start to change. It may take a little time and you might be tempted to cheat along the way, but in the long run it’ll be well worth it.

You’ll look better. One fun and eye -opening way to measure your success is to take photographs along the way. Take a “selfie” every four weeks in the same clothing. The first time someone says, “have you lost weight?” is priceless.