Excuses are for losers.
Action is for winners.
Being in shape is an absolute must for every man.
When you are trying to lose weight, half-assed efforts will result in failure.
Weight loss is serious business and you have to do it like you mean business.
You have to measure everything.
What gets measured gets done.
I don’t have the patience for a diet that lasts forever. I want to see the results. I want to see I am going in the right direction.
That’s why I measure everything.
You don’t need any fancy equipment to measure your weight loss progress.
Here are the top 4 weight loss tools to measure your progress like a boss:
Tool #1: Bathroom Scale
You have to weigh yourself periodically to see how your diet is doing.
I recommend weighing yourself every morning.
Extra benefit:
Doing something every day is a sign of commitment. If you do something every single day, it’s a habit.
You are signaling your brain that you mean business.
Tool #2: Measuring Tape
Waist circumference is one of the most reliable indicators of your fitness.
When you are losing fat, your waist should be shrinking.
If you are losing weight but your waist circumference stays the same, you might be losing muscle instead of fat.
A measuring tape is the most practical tool to diagnose that problem before it starts to hurt you.
I recommend measuring your waist every day too.
If you are too lazy to do it every day, do it at least once a week.
Tool #3: Spreadsheet
Measuring means nothing if you are not recording what you measure.
Write down the date, your weight, and waist measurements.
I use the good old Microsoft Excel to record my numbers.
Here’s how it looks on my Excel spreadsheet:
Google Drive has free online spreadsheets if you want something free and close to Excel.
A pen and paper are fine too.
Tool #4: Kitchen Scale
A caloric deficit is a must for losing weight.
If you are not eating fewer calories than you burn, you will not lose weight. Period.
Weigh your food on a kitchen scale before you eat.
Let’s say I want to grill chicken breast for lunch.
I weight it on the kitchen scale.
Let’s say it weighs 8 oz.
4 oz of raw chicken breast without the skin is 124 calories.
So I know I’m getting 124*2=248 calories from the chicken breast I eat for my lunch.
It’s simple and effective.
I recommend recording this information too.
I record it in Excel.
Bonus Tool: Skin Fold Caliper
There are 3 kinds of training methods to gain muscle:
If you are doing any of these and if you are doing it correctly, you will gain muscle.
While it’s hard to gain muscle while you are losing fat, it’s possible. Especially if you are a newbie.
So, measuring your body fat with the help of a skin fold caliper may give you better results than a bathroom scale.
Conclusion
These are the only weight loss tools you will ever need to lose weight.
There is no reason to buy anything fancy.
There is no reason to make things complicated.
Keep it simple and methodological.
Being in excellent shape is a must for every man.
Lose the extra weight and get on with your life.