10 WAYS TO MEASURE PROGRESS THAT WILL DECREASE SELF SABOTAGE
Self sabotage kills more results than lack of action does. Let that sink in for a moment.
As women, we are generally pretty guilty of self doubt and sabotage and this is a key factor I help clients to overcome as a health, fitness and nutrition coach. If you want to decrease self sabotage then you need to measure progress in a way that supports you in seeing all of the ways you might be progressing that you don’t typically take note of on a daily or weekly basis that are actually adding up to your long term success, here’s how.
(And make sure you read to the bottom, I want to show you a client’s success story as proof of these markers!)
Spoiler:
The Scales Are Not The Best Progress Marker
We need to address that elephant in the room, the one that greets you in the bathroom each morning and has the power to put a spring in your step and support progress or dampen the rest of the day and sabotage it. We have been conditioned to think that if the scale goes down it means we’ve done a good job and celebrate but if the scale goes up we’ve done something wrong and that it’s a bad sign. Re-writing that narrative can be so tough but it might be exactly what’s stopping you from seeing solid and sustained results.
If you’ve recently hopped on the scale and weren’t happy with the number you saw, whether it didn’t drop as much as you were hoping or it didn’t drop at all… then I hope you can hear me out.
Many of you are still highly focused on that number and use it as a success indicator. I’d say it’s one of the biggest mental battles I see women fight, yet once they break through it, they really take off in their results.
By solely focusing on the scale, you are not only missing the point of WHY you started on this health journey in the first place, but you are also, very likely, sabotaging your progress.
Remember, the scale only tells you a measure of gravity on your body at that moment in time. It doesn’t tell you:
- If your body SHAPE is changing
- If your body SIZE is different
- If you are getting STRONGER
- How good you FEEL
- How HARD you have been working
- About your mood, sleep, stress or consistency improvements
Have you thought about that at all?
When you start to lift, you should lift in a progressive strength training plan, consistently, while gaining strength in your exercises and executing them with such intention… you’re likely going to see the scale change (UP).
And if each time you associate that UP with a negative feeling, you will sabotage the positive changes that come along with it.
If you are strategically working on gaining strength and muscle, you will see the scale increase. This is a GOOD thing. On average seeing about 1-3lbs per month with proper nutrition and training intentions is very positive progress!!
I go into detail about goal setting and markers outside of the scales in this blog post, which I think is super important to understand, but now, I want to talk to you about measuring progress away from the scale.
Progress Markers That Are WAY Better than The Scales
There are SO many other ways you might be making progress that can't be seen by that number on the scales, your goals are made up of so much more than that. That goal is filled with feelings. Usually feelings surrounding confidence, energy, better digestion, hormonal balance all of which fill up this bigger WHY of living a life you love in a body you feel amazing in, right?!
There are far better ways of measuring these feelings, such as:
Clothes fitting better
You feel how your favorite jeans fit. You know when they feel uncomfortable and tight or some space is appearing in the waist or butt. Take note. This can be such a great way to notice shape and body composition changes happening.
Less bloat
Bloating is a very common issue in women, but it’s not normal and it can indicate reduced digestive capacity, bacteria imbalance, yeast overgrowth, thyroid issues and for the importance of weight loss, a slow metabolism. Bloat can impact your comfort and your shape but it’s cause can be what is standing in your way from creating sustainable shape and weight changes.
Fewer cravings
Cravings can show up for many reasons, blood sugar imbalance, eating too little, restrictive eating, nutrient deficiencies and unmanaged stress are a few of them. Cravings are uncomfortable physically and mentally and they indicate a lack of balance somewhere! Improving here indicates great progress! We work on this individually in our 1:1 coaching program however we also address this head on with many clients in our health and nutrition consultations, find out more here.
More consistent weekends
Girl, we’ve all been there. Strict through the week then let loose on the weekend. It leaves us feeling guilty, lethargic and makes progress really hard to attain. But a health journey shouldn’t mean you don’t enjoy your weekend. How you think about what you do matters and aligning the appropriate give/take balance for you is key to making your weeks and weekends blend to create a cumulative effect to bring about progression. Setting boundaries is one way to support yourself here, I talk about this more in this blog post.
More energy
Record how you feel at different points in the day, from waking up, mid-morning, post lunch and the evening. How does your energy feel? Look back over a couple of weeks or a month and see how much this has changed. Do you notice more energy in the mornings? How about less (or no) energy dips in the afternoon?!
Less binges
Consider how often you might find yourself feeling a lack of control around your food. Food binges are a sign that something is off balance. Many of the same causes of cravings from above apply here including if you are eating enough, binging will be less likely to impact your progress.
Sleeping better
Sleep and energy levels go hand in hand. I love my Oura Ring which tells me all the details of my sleep quality. Sleep affects our metabolism, weight, health and happiness and the correlation between sleep and these is well researched meaning if sleep quality and quantity has improved, you are progressing!
More freedom with food
Through your journey you should start feeling more comfortable with food, trusting in it and in your body’s response to it. This is hard for a lot of us, I know, but that’s why it is a good progress marker!
Less negative self talk
This is a biggy. Be kind to yourself, your body is amazing, just think how much it does FOR you. Remember that your body is on your team. It simply is following the directions and inputs you are giving it. If you want it to change, you have to give it new inputs but that doesn’t mean you need to dislike your body or disrespect yourself in the process. Think about how you would talk to a friend or your daughter in the same process, anything you wouldn’t say to them, you shouldn’t say to yourself.
Getting stronger
Are you lifting heavier? Doing more push ups? Can you now do a balance you couldn’t before? Are your abs getting more toned? THESE are the tangible markers that matter. Strength will change your shape, it may also change the scale but that is not the marker we are watching.
Client Success Using Alternative Progress Markers
Don’t just take my word for all this, I want to show you all this in a real-life client example of mine, Amanda.
Amanda wanted to achieve that ‘toned’ look. And as you may have learned in this blog just what needs to happen to do that, to get from the photo on the left to the current state on the right, Amanda had to work on a few areas of her health.
On the left:
She was taking Miralax daily to support digestion
Had high anxiety and easily overwhelmed, exploring medication
She had a lack of trust in carbs/food and body
Training hard 6-7 days a week lifting and HIIT
Feels foggy when she wakes up
Eating 1700-1800 calories
Having irregular, painful periods
Weighing 117lbs trying to lose fat
On the right:
She addressed not having a gallbladder and gut health to support consistent bowel movements
She addressed gut issues and nutrient status, added parasympathetic time daily... no anxiety
Gained total confidence in her body and is not afraid to eat all the foods, even those carbs!
Lifting 3-4 days a week with progressive overload, yoga, a focus on walking and deload weeks
Feels rested and easy to wake
Eating 2000-2100 calories
Has regular, pms free periods
Weight 109lbs working on building muscle and strength
Amanda had to go through a few phases of optimizing her metabolism and body function before she could get it to respond as she wanted. Her shape is smaller and tighter but if she only went by what the scale measured throughout her process she would have missed out on ALL the improvements that were happening, that NEEDED to happen first to get her body to respond as it has.
If Amanda’s story inspires you, inquire about coaching with us and see how we can guide you on your personal health journey using 1 on 1 coaching.
It’s Time to Stop Your Self Sabotage
So when you’re gaging your progress on your health journey, I urge you to set progress markers that are non-scale victories (process or behavior related tend to work well) as those will ultimately be in your control and support you in seeing many ways you are in fact progressing when the scale isn’t shifting (goodbye self sabotage).
If the scale is increasing your self sabotage rather than boosting your progress, how about taking a break from weighing yourself?
Try not to use the scale for the next two weeks and focus solely on the markers outlined above. Track and record each one, listening to your mind and body throughout. Then see how your motivation and happiness is affected. In two weeks, get back on the scale, but as you do, think of Amanda’s story above, the number might have gone up but look at her shape, did your alternative progress measurements show progress from the last 14 days?
Need help rewiring your mindset? That’s one of the major foundational supports of our 1:1 coaching program and we’d love to help you start thinking like the best version of you, the you that you are improving right now!