How to measure inch loss

Measuring circumferences

Obviously when you embark on a new healthy lifestyle including becoming more active and making better food choices, you’ll be keen to know where you’re currently at and what improvements you are making along the way. There’s various ways in which people tend to measure progress, but usually most measure their success via weight loss. Now whilst this seems an obvious choice, the truth is you’re far better measuring changes to your body shape, or in other words, your circumferences.

Although most fitness and healthy eating programmes result in initial weight loss, there are often times that you may not lose weight but still be losing inches. In this scenario relying on the scales to measure your success isn’t the way to go. In fact some people can find it quite disheartening when they leap on the scales to see they’ve put on a couple of pounds, despite all of the positive progress that’s been made.

Most of us may now know that muscle weighs more than fat, and this can often account for weight increases whilst still being able to get into smaller sized clothes. As an extra bonus, increased lean muscle also increases your natural metabolic rate as muscle burns more calories than fat. So with more muscle you’re burning more calories even while you sleep!

With all that in mind we thought it would be useful to give you a quick guide as to the best body circumferences to take and how to take them, to get the best judge of your progress. 

Be consistent

The key is to always be consistent each time you take your measurements and make sure you are measuring the same places. Also if you are wearing clothes the first time you take measururements, then always wear clothes for each subsequent measurements. Any variances in the approach you take will obviously lead to inconsistencies in the measurements, and not necessarily a true reflection of what you’ve achieved.

What you need

So, here’s what you’ll need to take your circumferences:

• No prizes for guessing… a tape measure! (and not one of those sturdy flick-back DIY ones)
• an extra pair of hands (it helps!)
• a Measurement Chart

Chest

It’s best to take a top-down approach and start with your Chest measurement.

Stand in a relaxed upright position, and place the tape measure horizontally across the nipple level. Measure to the nearest quarter of an inch.

Arms

Again the key is to be consistent. Officially you should measure mid-way between the acromion and olecranon process. In plain terms this means first measure the distance between the bottom of your elbow and the bony prominence at the end of your shoulder, and then find the mid-way point (you may need help with this).

Once you have the mid-way point then this is where to measure the circumference. Obviously repeat on both arms.

Waist

Again stand relaxed in an upright position. The waist is simply the narrowest point around your middle (usually a little above the belly button). If there is no obvious narrowing then just measure at the mid-point between the belly button and just below the chest bone.

Ensure the tape measure runs horizontally from back to front and that you measure as you exhale.

As tempting as it is to hold it all in as much as possible, just relax and try and get a true picture.

Belly Button

Simply measure horizontally around the belly button from back to front.

Hips

A slightly different approach should be taken for males and females in measuring the hips.

Measure hips at the tip of the hip bone in men. For women measure around the widest point between the hips and buttocks.

As always ensure the circumference is taken in a horizontal plane, and that the glutes are not tensed.

Thighs

For the thigh take the measurement 8 inches above the kneecap. Repeat for the opposite thigh.

How often?

How often you take your circumferences is entirely up to you.

In the initial stages of a programme you may want to take your measurements on a weekly basis. After 6-weeks you can track less frequently, say every two weeks. After a sustained period you may even take your measurements only every month or two. The key is to write them down in a Measurement Chart each time so make sure you Download our LFF chart for your use.