A good friend of mine once lost a significant amount of weight, without once stepping on the scale. I marveled at her ability not to measure her success, except every time she dropped a pant size, of course.

Then, there are the rest of us, the ones who need feedback on a little more regular basis. I step on the scale every single day, not because I'm obsessed, but because the information it gives me is motivating -- positive or negative.

While a bathroom scale is a simple and inexpensive way to track your progress, as Health points out, there's more than one way to skin a cat keep track of the fat you're burning. You can track your BMI, measure your waist circumference, or even get an accurate but expensive DEXA scan.

The scale works for me, though I understand it's only a number and not an indication of my overall fitness. What's your favorite way to track weight loss?