I often tell people that endless hours of cardio is not the optimal, long term, way to loose fat. I usually suggest a very healthy amount of weight lifting (even for women). This is because weight lifting damages the muscles, prolonging the calorie burn as they are repaired. Additionally someone who is packing muscle will have a significantly higher resting metabolic rate. Here is the catch, as you pack on the muscle, you may find yourself getting heavier and not lighter. So how to you track your progress? Remember, you can’t improve what you can’t measure.
I feel that tracking fat loss is best accomplished with an electronic fat loss monitor. These are cheap and easy to use. I like the Omron Fat Loss Monitor (Omron HBF-306C Fat Loss Monitor), which can be purchased from Amazon.com for $26.
Some people say that the skin fold test or the water displacement test are the only true measures but none of these are easy to do on a daily basis. Granted, electronic fat loss monitors are not 100% accurate but I am not looking for an iron clad number, I am just wanting to see that my body fat is declining.
Omron suggests that you use the monitor two hours after last drinking anything. Because right after I wake up is the only time this is possible, I have integrated use of the body fat monitor into my morning routine. Every morning I weigh myself and then enter that weight into the monitor. I record both the weight and the body fat percentage. From there I can gauge the success of the workout and diet.
