You can't manage what you don't measure. If you are in management you know how true this old adage is. Jack LaLanne knew this back in the 60’s and often said "the tape measure does not lie", his point is that often times our guesses are not all that good and if we don’t measure we can’t tell if it’s really getting better or worse.

Time to be honest, if you are overweight, it’s because during a certain period in time, you were not diligent about measuring. You obviously didn’t wake up one morning to suddenly find yourself 40 pounds overweight! It obviously happened gradually over time when you were not measuring, which means you were not paying attention to the gradual increases in your weight. Those who have the habit of stepping onto a scale on a regular basis are more likely to keep or maintain a healthy weight, because measuring triggers the brain to start paying attention to your diet and exercise, and it also sends a signal that you should find ways of improving this number.

You can’t manage what you don’t measure also applies to the food that you eat. There was a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine that discovered that people who started keeping a food journal and wrote down everything they ate realized that they had been underestimating their calorie consumption by an average of 1,053 calories a day. Folks, that’s a lot! Which means you could easily gain 8 pounds of fat in only 30 days, think about it.

Two action items for you, start keeping a daily food journal and write down everything that goes past your lips. Also start weighing and recording your weight every week or every other week and get ready to be surprised at what your weigh scale will say in just a few weeks. You can’t manage what you don’t measure, journal it, keep track of your journey and watch your body and life improve leaps and bounds.