Here's All You Need to Know About Body Tape Measurements

Everything is measured on the smart scale: bones and muscle mass, body water and more of your body composition. It’s challenging to tell whether you’re gaining or losing anything! 

Body measurements come into play here–it gives you a greater understanding of your body’s actual changes, making it easier to monitor your progress. If you’re seeking to transform your body composition by reducing fat or gaining muscles, knowing the right way to take your body measurements is important. 

There are many techniques to keep tabs on your weight loss and fitness success. We collected some expert recommendations and asked RENPHO Fitness Advisor, Dr. Stavros Matoukas, for his tips on the importance of keeping track of your progress and measuring your body parts with the RENPHO Smart Tape Measure–read on to learn more!

Why Track Body Tape Measurements?

Body tape measurements are a good way to see “where” you are putting on weight, but it’s also important to understand “what” you are putting on weight. Thus, in order to distinguish if your gains are made up of muscle or of fat, we also advise keeping track of your body fat percentage. 

Other advantages of measuring your body parts include

Body tape measurements help to determine which muscle groups are growing and which may need to be approached differently if strength training is part of your routine.

The ability to look back on your progress over the course of months or even years is one of the most satisfying aspects of adopting a healthier lifestyle.

Many times, even when you follow a healthy eating and exercise regimen, your weight on the scale does not decrease as you would like it to (it can even rise). But you start to realize that your clothes are starting to fit you better and you feel and look lighter and more energized.

The absolute number on the scale may not be changing as you'd like, but as fat is removed and lean muscle is gained, your body composition is actually changing substantially. In these circumstances, body tape measurements are a great tool to see how your body composition is changing.

Here’s the right way to measure your body parts:

Abs – Find the broadest portion of your torso–typically somewhere around your belly button–while standing with your feet together and your body straight but relaxed.

Arms – Find the middle point between the shoulder bone and the elbow of one arm, while standing upright and relaxed.

Calves – measure the calves halfway between the ankle and the knee.

Chest – While standing with your feet together and your torso straight, locate the area around your bust that is the widest.

Hips – your hips are where your glutes are the broadest. Try standing sideways and glancing in a mirror. Verify that the tape is perpendicular to the ground.

Thighs – Use the broadest section of the thigh or check for the midline in between the lower part of the glutes and the back of the knee.

Waist – find your natural waist or the area of your torso that is the thinnest.

Depending on your goal, you will frequently notice changes in inches lost or gained before you notice a difference in the scale. Body measurements frequently paint a more accurate image of your progress than the scale. 

Stavros notes to make sure you measure in the same location each time. “Use an indicator (like a mole on your arm) that you are familiar with to indicate the region, or make sure to measure at the widest area of your calf muscle each time. Find a strategy to keep in mind what is most helpful to you.”

More Tips from Dr. Stavros for Accurate Measurements:

1. Measure at least twice to ensure accuracy and get the average of the two measurements to determine your final numbers. 
2. Make sure that the skin is not compressed during any measurements
3. Extend the tape measure so that it rests on the skin’s surface. Without decreasing weight, some people may experience inch loss. That could indicate that you are growing muscle and shedding fat.
4. Note that the difference between length and circumference is 2.1 cm or 0.84 inches, since the tape needs to be needled into the tape receptacle, while circumference measuring.

How to Determine Whether It's Muscle or Fat

It is possible to drop inches from your body without actually decreasing weight on the scale, which is another unusual factor in weight reduction. 

If you’ve been doing strength training to your routine or have started a new activity that causes your body to produce more lean muscle tissue, you may notice that you’re shedding inches, even though you aren’t losing weight while you increase muscle. Although muscle is smaller than fat, it weighs more. If you wanted to gain muscle, this is a terrific indication that you were successful.

Stavros affirms that he personally flexes the muscle and always measures it at the point where it’s the thickest. He explained: “The reason for this is simple: the biggest part during flexion will always be easy to pinpoint and will yield reproducible measurements. There’s only one point where the muscle is thickest. The ultimate goal is to have a repository of measurements where you can track your progress, and all measurements need to be made under the exact same circumstances. Measuring the muscle in a non-flexed state has intra-rater variability and will provide inconsistent results.”

Tracking your measurements may provide you with more information, and body composition rather than weight actually provides the most accurate representation.

You may find out where your body stores excess fat by knowing your body type or shape. If you don’t immediately shed fat in those tricky areas, knowing your body type might help you feel less frustrated. 

How Often Should You Measure Your Body Parts?

There is no requirement for daily tracking while taking body measurements, because physical changes often don’t occur every day. 

Stavros advises measuring your body once a week, in the same place and at the same time. “When keeping track of your progress, it’s of vital importance that you stay consistent,”  he added. This will be sufficient to observe trends and determine how you’re changing over time. 

To avoid forgetting and gradually develop the habit, make sure to set a weekly reminder for taking the measures.

Other Factors You Need to Keep Track Of

When you have a goal, keeping note of your accomplishments can greatly influence how successful you are in achieving your ultimate objective. Gather the data below so you can further evaluate your growth and challenges:

Tracking your body weight

There is no single metric to determine how well you’re doing. However, you can mix a range of trackers to get the full picture, which includes meal tracking, recording your exercise and weight monitoring. These elements work together to produce a useful formula.

Tracking your initial weight and regularly weighing yourself, each week or every few weeks, will help you figure out what is working and what might need to be adjusted for weight reduction or muscle building. “Daily weight tracking may be a bit excessive, as your body fluctuates slightly and you won’t have time to witness the full effects,” Stavros’ advise.

With the Renpho Health app, partnered with the Smart Body Scale, keeping tabs on your weight and seeing a visual history is simple. Renpho Health has a helpful weight tracking option. Just enter your weight, save the information and monitor your data. Plus, it’s always accessible for you to review and update!

Monitoring your food intake

Your weight can be affected by when, what, and how much you put in your body. With the Smart Food Scale and Renpho Health, you’ll have a perfect way to keep track of what you eat and how many calories you consume.

Keeping tabs on your exercise plan

“You must consistently push yourself to increase the intensity of your workout if you want to get stronger and fitter,” Stavros recommended. “You won't know how hard to push yourself in your current workouts if you don't keep track of how hard you worked the prior week.”

Using the AI Gym app to follow your personalized workout plan is a great tool to stay on track. As you carry out your strategy, you’ll automatically level up! Every workout is recorded and saved under your profile, allowing you to review your progress at any time. 

You are more likely to achieve your desired outcome if your goals and the way you monitor the process and results are as detailed as possible. Try it out for a couple of weeks! 

Celebrate your achievements

Give yourself a pat in the back when you’re able to handle more push-ups than last week or you have met your weight target!  

Stavros’ final tips are: Make sure to plan ahead, analyze what works and what doesn’t and don’t be afraid to make adjustments! Whatever method you use to keep an eye of your progress, it's crucial to be persistent and patient. Being fit is about more than just looking good and losing weight; it's about enhancing your quality of life by being in better overall mental and physical health.

We hope we covered some important tips for you! Let’s see how you measure up–get the RENPHO Smart Tape Measure today!