Tale of the tape

One of the best ways to stay motivated in your workout is to know that you are getting results. In some cases, change is not always readily apparent in the first month or so. The scale may show a slight improvement, and you may feel more vigor in your daily routine, but your body unfortunately still looks the same. But looks may be deceiving, especially when it comes to body fat.

Many gyms and trainers may have special devices (called bioelectrical impedance analysis scales) that are able to quickly compute your body fat content. But, for those of us who generally don't carry around bioelectrical devices with us, results can be uncovered with the use of a simple measuring tape.

Measure the circumference of your waist at the belly button. If your staring at a measurement of, say, 34 inches, and last month it measured 36 inches, that means that you've already changed pants size by lowering your amount of body fat Check your arms, chest, legs, and back, and you'll likely find similar results. Because you lose fat from all over (rather than in individual areas of the body), it can sometimes be difficult to observe change with your eyes, which is why the tape measure can be an invaluable tool in your fitness progress.