Know Your Numbers


When it comes to getting in shape and living healthier, so many people rely on one measure of success—weight. But there are so many other great (and sometimes more telling) ways to know if you're moving closer to your goals. For instance, do you know your:

1. Total cholesterol, HDL ("good") cholesterol and LDL ("bad") cholesterol

2. Blood pressure

3. Blood sugar level (if you have diabetes)

4. Triglyceride level

5. Waist circumference (or pants size)

It's important to have specific markers of health to track along the way—doing so will help you stay motivated because you'll know where you started and be able to see how far you've come. Relying on all of these measurements can give you the whole health picture, whereas focusing only on your weight offers a limited—and at times, misleading—view of your progress. Remember, weight fluctuations can have nothing to do with your efforts. Your diet, your menstrual cycle and a variety of other factors can affect the number on the scale. So, while it's fine to keep track of your weight loss, it should be just one of a bunch of numbers that you use to gauge your success.  

Below, a few statements I commonly hear from my clients, on how motivating knowing all of your numbers can be:


"Packing my lunch for work every day can be a real pain sometimes, but it's so worth it when I see that my blood pressure has dropped to close to the normal range over the last five months."

"When I feel tempted to reach for a rich dessert or have a second glass of wine, I think of my BMI chart and how the numbers are consistently getting lower and lower. Keeping my numbers moving in the right direction feels better than any dessert or drink will ever taste."

"I used to put cream in my coffee every day, but when I switched to one percent milk I saw a change in my cholesterol levels after six months. Now I take small changes seriously–they really can make a difference in my health and weight!"