I use 3 ways of determining whether you are in a calorie deficit with my online coaching clients, and I am going to share those here with you today!

1. Weight on the scale going down week-to-week or month-to-month.

The scale is maybe the worst measure of progress. Why? It doesn't account for water weight retention and fluctuation, fluid intake, carbohydrate-water retention, muscle gain/loss, etc...

So many people get frustrated when they step on the scale and see that number not going down. I get it...this used to be me.

But here's the thing:

The scale is not going to tell you day-to-day whether you are losing body fat. It is usually only efficient as a marker of progress once you hit weeks of data, and better yet, months of data. If you see the scale consistently going down after months of weigh-ins, you can safely assume you are in a calorie deficit.

2. Body Measurements

Using waist measurements may be more accurate to tell whether you are actually in a calorie deficit than the scale. Measuring the same place consistently on a monthly basis will tell you if you are losing body fat. Keep in mind, the waist does not carry a lot of muscle, so if you are losing inches, you are losing FAT.

How often should you measure?

It depends, but a good starting place is biweekly, then once you are further on your journey, measuring once a month may make more sense.

3. High Quality Progress Photos

I stress high quality here because most people's progress photos are absolutely terrible. What I mean by high quality is the lighting, camera, angles, and making sure that you are consistent with the same location and quality month to month.

If the lighting is different or you are flexing, the pictures will look completely different.

Ever seen those IG "30 day transformation" pictures that don't even seem possible?

Well, they usually push their stomach out in the before photos, have bad lighting, and drink a lot of water so they are bloated for the before pic, and then the after pic they usually are dehydrated, empty stomach, flexing, and using better lighting. It will look like a completely different person, let alone the photoshopped pics which I won't get in to.

How often should you take progress pics?

As often as you'd like. Some of my clients take pics week-to-week, and some of them take them month to month. What's most important is just to get them done, and not obsess over those changes. You can start comparing once you have several months of photos and you may notice some pretty amazing changes.

If you like these tips, or have any questions you want me to answer on the podcast, leave a review and I will answer them soon!

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