Using a printable weight loss tracker is a great tool for measuring your progress. When trying to lose weight, you want a method to measure and record how you are doing. This way you can make adjustments as needed when you are at a plateau. Measuring how much weight you have lost is just one method of tracking your progress.

A good printable weight loss tracker will allow for more than just measuring and recording pounds lost. You want to also track inches and body fat percent. During any weight loss program you will experience times when you are not losing pounds. This can be discouraging if this was the only method of tracking your progress. You see, often times when a person is not losing weight they may in fact be losing inches or body fat. This is why your printable weight loss tracker should measure more than just pounds.

One of the hardest things to achieve while trying to lose weight is staying motivated. However, if you measure more than just pounds lost, you have alternate methods to help you track progress and stay motivated to lose weight. Therefore, to stay motivated and to see the full progress you are making, you want a printable weight loss chart that tracks it all – weight loss, inches lost and body fat lost. It is not necessary to track every inch but you will want to select a few areas of the body like the waist, arms and legs. You can also add the hips and chest. Just make sure that you measure more than just one area of the body to get a true measure of how you are doing.

Tracking body fat is probably even more important than tracking weight loss or inches. Excess body fat can lead to many medical risks such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes and metabolic syndrome and more. Tracking body fat however is not as easy as hopping on a scale and reading a number. There are various methods for measuring body fat. The most accurate and common method is to take skin fold measurements. This requires special equipment that you can purchase. You can also you’re your doctor or a staff member at your local gym perform these skin fold measurements. Another method, although not as accurate, is to use an online body fat calculator. Even though these calculators are not as accurate, it will allow you to measure and see your progress when losing body fat.

The best way to track your progress is to weigh and measure yourself once a week. More than this can give you misleading results as a person can fluctuate in weight by 2 to 4 pounds daily. This is primarily due to water weight. Additionally, you want to weight yourself on the same day of the week and at the same time of day. This will give you the most accurate reading for recording in your printable weight loss tracker or chart. So pick a time when you can easily measure and record your progress.

A weight loss tracker is just a tool for you to use. The real work of losing weight has to start with you. First and foremost learning to eat healthy is the best method for losing weight. Additionally and probably just as important is to add exercise to your weekly routine. These two steps will get you started on your way to losing weight, inches and excess body fat. So get active, eat healthy and use your weight loss tracker to see how great you are doing to reaching your goal.