Intro
Let me tell you first hand that it is so easy to get bogged down by the number you see on the scale. I get up every morning and stand on that 12"x12" scale and sometimes it feels like that thing just pulls a random number out of its ass like I just shook a magic 8 ball. It's enough to seriously demotivate you when you know you have been working incredibly hard.
Well flash forward a year and that feeling still hasn't gone away. In that time though, I have learned so many other ways to measure my progress that the scale no longer feels like such a mood killer when it doesn't go the direction I want it to. Just want to remind everyone of those other ways to measure progress if the scale is currently beating you up!
Progress pictures
First and foremost are progress pictures! Take them often and take them early. When you are down a considerable amount of weight and you go back and see you didn't take a lot of before pictures you will regret it (I know i do). Early on you may not see a lot of differences especially if you are very overweight but as you hit those goals; 25 lbs down, 50lbs down, etc. take a look at them. I'm sure you will notice a difference at some point and when you do the difference will shock you!
Belt Notches (Clothing)
My personal favorite has been with belt holes. As time went on I put on more and more weight and had to go up the belt until I was almost out of holes. I wore a size 44 belt and only had 2 more holes until I would have had to size up, until one day that stopped. And then slowly as the weight came off I realized my pants were falling down a little bit more and tightened it up a hold, and then another, and another. Until one day I ran out of holes and had to purchase a new belt. The new one was a size 38 and I have gone down two holes since I bought that belt. I still keep that old belt, not because I ever plan on wearing it again, but because it was a measure of progress that brought me so much joy whenever I would go down a notch. It is an excellent measure of how you're dropping pounds and getting slimmer! (In that same vein are watches and I guess clothing. You will eventually start to fit things you didn't or things that were once the right size are swimming on you.)
Body Measurements
Body measurements are another measure of progress that I feel a lot of people don't take advantage of. I regret not taking measurements at my highest to know just how far I've come and I really only started taking them about 6 months ago but they help to paint a picture when that scale won't budge. I would suggest taking these once every few weeks to a month and keeping a log so you can look back and compare. You'll be amazed how much of a difference you might see in a month!
So that wraps up a lot of the big tangible progress metrics but there are so many intangible metrics out there that also slip our mind.
Food Relationships
The biggest one in my opinion is our relationship with food. We all know that weight loss happens in the kitchen. What we eat directly impacts what direction our weight loss journey goes in. Eat in a deficit your weight goes down, surplus weight goes up. I don't speak for everyone but 9/10 your relationship with food has to change in order to lose and keep weight off in the long term.
I struggle with BED and looking back now, my eating patterns and habits were sooo disordered. Not only would I eat 1000+ calories a meal and then a 1000+ "second dinner" but I would always be hungry and constantly find myself snacking between meals. Now I look at food through a whole new lens. Not only do I eat smaller portions and more nutritious choices but I rarely snack. Now, I would be a liar to say I don't still struggle with urges to binge, or devour a big burger; however those urges have been mainly silenced. I still indulge from time to time but I do so within a healthy margin of my daily calories.
All that to say, you will probably notice a drastic change in what and when you are putting food in your body. Food switches from being a source of pleasure to most people to becoming a source of fuel. (Not to say you can't find eating pleasurable). And that is something to be proud of because it shows mentally you have made a choice to put your body ahead of destructive, impulsive, and intrusive thoughts. It's a change that I believe must be made to enjoy long term success.
Fitness/Strength
Recently this has been one that I have been using to measure my goals. As I approach 200 pounds and getting closer to my ultimate goal weight I have been re-introducing exercise. I picked back up my cycling and running and recently have been getting back into the weight room. Not only have these improved my mental health but it has also been enjoyable to see myself making progress.
For anyone with fitness goals in their life you know how rewarding it can be to hit those goals and blow past them but also look back on them in the future and see how far you came. When I got back into running I couldn't run a 5k in less than 45 minutes which was abysmally slow compared to when I was a healthy weight. A few weeks ago when I last ran one I was able to run a 5k in 35 minutes. I managed to drop 10 minutes off my time and it felt amazing.
So set those goals and track your progress and over time you will hit and blow through those goals. It's all a matter of hard work and sticking with it and you will see progress.
Closing
If you have stuck around through all of my humble brags and ranting I hope maybe I could help you out a little bit! The scale can be cruel, especially if you struggle with the number on it. Obviously this list is not the end all be all of measuring progress and there are many more ways but these are the biggest ones that I could think of/have used. Best of luck to everyone on their journey, you'll get there one step at a time!
TL:DR
There are both tangible and intangible measures of progress. Tangible progress measurements include: progress pictures, clothing that no longer fits, body measurements. Intangible progress measurements include: food relationships and fitness/strength. This is not an exhaustive list by any means, just some of the measurements that have helped me!
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