We have a lot of numbers when it comes to measuring health. Your doctor gives you some of them: cholesterol and triglycerides, hormone measurements, insulin or blood glucose, metabolic panels, blood pressure and pulse. Some measurements you take at home: body measurements, weight and body mass index (BMI), blood sugar if you are diabetic.
These measurements have revolutionized health in so many ways. We live in a time when you know not only what a heart attack is, but how to prevent it and whether you as an individual are at greater than average risk. We even know, to a lesser extent, some steps you can take to prevent them. As a student of history, this feels like an unprecedented gift.
But all these numbers also can sabotage us in our search for better health and longevity.
Personally, my weight can trigger some negative spirals. If the scale goes in the "wrong" direction, I want to quit. I want to give up my healthy diet and exercise plans, and just sit on the couch, eating alternately sweet and salty snacks until I can't anymore.
As the years have passed, I've gotten better at detaching myself from that number, but I am still very careful about when and why I take my weight. If I am doing a program or challenge for a set period of time, I do not weigh myself because I know it might derail my dedication to that program. I do not weigh myself when my mood is either low or high, because I know it will possibly make the lows lower, or end a particularly happy or fulfilled moment in my life.
At the same time, measuring is such a helpful way to stay motivated! If you are working hard, it is good to be able to show in a real way where that work is going. I would never start training with someone without having some kind of metric by which we can gauge progress, and if you are embarking on a program or setting a goal, I can only emphatically suggest that you do the same.
But how do you know what measurements are right for you? I have some pointers for finding them, but first, eliminate any measurement which:
Makes you feel bad no matter what the result. (You may not have a measurement that makes you feel this way, but if you do, you can probably say right now what it is. Do a gut check.)
Is not relevant to your goals. (If your goal is to lose weight, it might not make sense to know your one rep max on a squat, whereas if you goal is to get stronger, your weight is not going to help you see or understand your results.)
You cannot take yourself with relative ease. (Body fat and muscle mass are a good example of this. There are many tools to take these measurements, like DEXA scans, calipers, hydrostatic weighing, and bio impedance, but most of them are not easily accessible at home, and some of the tools are unreliable. If you don't live near a clinic that offers DEXA scans or aren't able to afford it, you're probably better off using a simpler measure, like waist and hip measurements.)
So, you have eliminated some unhelpful measures. How do you choose the right way to measure? It really all comes down to your goals.
Performance goals. If you want to perform better in life or sport, a performance measurement could work well. For a beginner, this might be how many squats can you perform with good form? Can you do a pushup? If you are working with weights, finding your one rep max is helpful. For cardio, choose speed or distance as a measure. How long can you run without stopping? How far? What is the fastest you can cover a set distance? These are extremely helpful measurements, and are also relatively easy to take. I recommend everyone have a performance goal, no matter what your other goals, because if you are putting in the work, you will almost certainly get a result, which can really help with motivation and positive reinforcement.
Body composition or weight loss goals. This is a little trickier, and sometimes surprisingly controversial, so it's important to eliminate any measurements here that don't serve you (see above). But if you are trying to lose fat or put on muscle, I'm a big believer in a simple tape measure, scale, and spreadsheet. For women, measuring the neck, waist, chest, hips, and thighs can be helpful, and for men, neck, waist, chest, hips, and arms. See this article if you want to take these measurements yourself. If you have body fat goal, you can use this site to convert these measurements into a good idea of your percentage. Of course you can measure more or less, but these measurements should show changes, and are easy to take every week or two, allowing you to get a good feel for change over time. If you have access to a DEXA scan or bio impedance scale (a scale with the little metal thingies), you can use them, but take the scale with a hefty grain of salt, and use the same scale each time.
General health goals. For measuring overall health, you can combine some of the measurements from the other goals here. A waist-to-hip ratio is a good health indicator for getting an idea of visceral fat, which is a predictor for many health issues. Knowing your cardiovascular limits is also helpful, and one way to measure would be seeing how long you can run, walk, or cycle without stopping or running out of breath. You can also take your resting heart rate (see here for a quick tutorial on doing this by hand or using a device like smartwatch or fitness tracker), which is good indicator of heart health, and should improve with cardiovascular training.
Specific health goals. If you are diabetic and want to reduce the medication required or improve your numbers, or have a heart condition, or high cholesterol, or any other number of health conditions, these are goals are great and important, but you will want to measure with the help of a healthcare professional. A personal trainer can help with accountability and support, but is not qualified to take or understand these measurements.
If you have goals not covered by this list, or questions about measuring yourself for tracking purposes, let me know! I would love to help if I can. You can also sign up for a consultation and assessment (here) and I'll help you figure out what and how to measure to meet your own goals.
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