True progress comes in many forms aside from just your bodyweight alone. That is one measurement, sure, but that isn't even a marker of "progress" at all for some individuals!
A well rounded health and fitness routine extends far beyond just what you look like and so progress should be measured in each different way.
This is a lifelong journey and with each new stage of life, the measures of progress and success will change as well.
Let's look at 6 different ways to measure progress that have nothing to do with your body weight!
Body measurements:
Okay so.. Muscle does NOT weigh more than fat. 1lb = 1lb. However, muscle tissue IS more compact than fat tissue. When you have more muscle mass, you will also be more compact than someone who has more fat mass. The number on the scale may not change, but your body measurements will!
Performance Gains:
Exercise will improve many more things than just the number on the scale. The more you do, the more your strength and endurance will improve leading to improvement in your performance and athletic ability.
Positively Improving Your Mindset:
Exercise is a great mood and confidence booster! When you do hard things, you make yourself proud.. As you should be!
Creating New Healthy Habits:
Exercise and healthy eating isn’t all about the way you look or how much weight you can deadlift. It’s also about bone density, immunity, mental well-being, maintaining muscle mass as you age, balance and stability, maintaining independence as you age, etc etc. Being active and creating a well-rounded health and fitness routine creates healthy life habits and routines that positively support you in many ways as you age!
The Way Your Clothes Fit:
As your body size changes whether by actual weight lost, or body re-composition, your clothes will absolutely fit differently! Sometimes we want gains and will celebrate our clothes getting tighter in ideal places (i.e. booty and bicep gains) and sometimes we want loss leading to clothes fitting looser in those ideal places (i.e. waist/hips and back)! Pay attention to these changes, they’re real and exciting!
Visible or Measured Body Composition Changes:
Two people can weigh the exact same and be the exact same height, but have drastically different body compositions (aka Body Fat %). The less fat and more muscle you have, the better your body composition will be. If the scale isn’t changing, but your body fat % is dropping, KEEP GOING! You’re doing awesome!!
Celebrate every accomplishment, every bit of progress, and then get back to work!