Monitor your progress with monthly checkins

I use different markers to assess my weight loss/ health progress. Since I'm not losing huge amounts of weight, I still want to make sure I'm headed in the right direction. As long as I'm seeing progress on a monthly basis, I feel good about my current strategies. If I notice my strength/endurance performance, weight, or measurements remaining stagnant, I know I have some tweaking to do.

Some tweaks I've done in the past:

• Cutting back on after dinner snacks
• Increasing cardio/intervals/conditioning
• Looking for new strength training exercises (most recently kettlebells)
• Abstaining from alcohol for awhile
• Using myfitnesspal for a week to keep tabs on what I'm really eating. I find this helps me rediscover proper portion sizes.

I do these adjustments without really thinking about them. With time, this adjustment process will become more organic. Because you no longer have fat loss deadlines, you don't have the pressure to do the absolute right things, in the absolute right order. You have room to experiment with what works best for you.

Because I do not constantly gauge my caloric intake and I have an easy-going approach to 'dieting,' I can get off track from time-to-time. A monthly check in helps steer me to my desired destination. Without always having to be 'on', I don't suffer burn out and quit. Even if I lose 1 pound or a .25 inch, I'll take that as a sign to keep on trucking. I don't really start to adjust unless I've gained weight (which has happened), or I've remained stagnant for two months in a row.

Just last week, I had my chest, waist, and hips measured. And my current strategies are working! So this month, I plan on doing the same thing I've been doing. 

I don't have all my measurements from two years ago, so I can't show you the complete picture.  But below are my progress measurements for a year, around a total of 15 inches lost.

Chest

Most recent: 33 inches, a 4.5 inch loss

37.5 inches was my largest chest measurement last year.

Waist (at the bellybutton)

Most recent: 30 inches, a 4.5 inch loss

34.5 inches was my largest waist measurement last year.

Hips

Most recent: 37.5 inches, a 6 inch loss

43.5 inches was my largest hip measurement last year.