How to Take Body Measurements for Weight Loss

Evidence of your ongoing weight loss efforts can be found in many places, like the way you look in the mirror, the way your clothes fit, and the numbers on your bathroom scale. But another set of numbers may also be helpful: your waist circumference and other body measurements.

While these measurements can serve as a helpful benchmark to track your progress, it’s important to know how to take body measurements for weight loss to ensure the numbers you get are accurate and actually helpful. After all, your body is unique, and many factors contribute to your body weight and shape, including genetics, age, and life experience.

Read on to learn how to take measurements for weight loss and how to interpret those numbers in our body measurement guide.

If you’ve ever used a pedometer to keep track of your daily step count, you know how satisfying it can be to hit those goal numbers. The same can be true for what a tape measure reveals about your weight loss efforts.

Body measurements provide a simple and accurate assessment of the impact of your diet, nutrition, exercise, and lifestyle changes. Sometimes, they can even be more accurate in revealing changes in your body as a result of diet and exercise than numbers on a scale. Because muscle mass is more dense than fat, positive body composition changes are more likely to be reflected by body measurements, particularly as you build muscle and lose fat.

Further, body measurements also can tell you if you’re at higher risk of certain health problems. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes is higher for women with a waist circumference of greater than 35 inches. As such, reducing waist circumference is an important goal for lowering overall health risks, according to obesity experts.

To understand what health risks you may be facing and to see how your weight loss program may be reducing those risks, it’s important to know to get accurate measurements of your waist and other parts of your body.

Ready to unfurl your measuring tape and start tracking those numbers? Using a cloth measuring tape is the most accurate way to go. If you don’t have one, be sure to use a flexible measuring tape that isn’t made of elastic. A measuring tape that stretches won’t give you reliable figures (neither will the stiff one in your toolbox).

To consistently get the most accurate measurements for weight loss tracking, wear very fitted clothes or no clothes at all. Stand tall and relax, and avoid sucking in your tummy or tensing your muscles.

When measuring, pull the tape measure tight — you don’t want it to be too loose or relaxed. That said, be careful not to squeeze your body or pull your skin in any direction.

Tracking Progress in Weight Loss Measurements

Taking your body measurements at the same time of day can help you get consistent results. For instance, you may want to take your measurements in the morning before you’ve had anything to eat.

That said, don’t feel the need to get body measurements every day. You’re not likely to see much change from one day to the next, and you don’t want to obsess over daily measurements and wonder why they aren’t immediately getting better. Consider weekly or even monthly check-ins with your measuring tape to monitor weight loss progress.

Understand that you can’t always target certain areas for fat loss as you continue to lose weight. You may find that your weight is coming down, but you’re not seeing your belly fat slimming down at the same rate, for example. Your age, hormone levels, and basic body shape all factor into where you store body fat and how quickly (or slowly!) you can see those measurements start to slide.

What body parts you measure is up to you. But make sure you get the most accurate measurements, do the following for each area of the body:

• Abdomen: Measure around the widest part of your torso, which is usually around the belly button.

• Calves: While standing, measure around the halfway point between your knee and ankle.

• Chest: To measure your chest, stand straight with your feet together. Measure around the widest point of your bust.

• Hips: It may be easier to stand sideways as you look in the mirror to measure around your hips. Make sure to wrap the measuring tape around the widest part of your glutes.

• Thighs: While standing, measure around the widest part of your thigh.

• Waist: Measure around the narrowest part of your torso for this one.

• Upper arms: Allow one arm to relax down your side. Measure around your bicep at roughly the halfway point between your shoulder and elbow.

Not all body measurements are taken with a measuring tape. Another way to measure weight loss is with what’s known as skin calipers. This is a tool that's used to measure the skin's thickness on various areas of the body, which can offer an estimate of body fat percentage in that spot.

You may have had your body fat measured with calipers at a health club before starting fitness classes or working with a personal trainer on a custom weight loss workout plan. Or, you may have your own calipers or be interested in purchasing some to measure body fat at home. They range in price from about $10 for a simple set to more than $100 for electronic calipers that promise extremely precise readings.

Using calipers on yourself isn’t easy, so you may want to rely on a trained tester or have someone in your household or a friend learn how to use the devices and where on the body measurements should be taken. Typically, calipers are used to take measurements from several places, such as the chest, abdomen, thigh, upper arm, and back.

To test, you’ll pinch the skin in those areas, placing the calipers about half an inch above or below the skinfold. The measurements from each site are then plugged into a formula that will offer an estimate of your body fat percentage.

This estimate, along with percentages of bone and muscle, make up your body composition, which is another way to assess your health and fitness. It’s a somewhat complicated process though, and it may be best left up to healthcare professionals to get the most accurate and useful measurements.

Numbers can certainly help tell a story, but never forget that body measurements aren’t the whole story — they are just one metric. As with any aspect of exercise, diet, weight loss, or fitness, it is important to maintain perspective. It’s totally normal for body measurement numbers to fluctuate, and there is no perfect measurement that’s right for everyone.

Here’s what else to keep in mind when it comes to body measurements, either for weight loss or fitness tracking:

• Body measurements can help you track progress and changes in body composition, sometimes more accurately than a scale. Your body measurements can also indicate your risk for various health problems, including heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

• When it comes to how to properly measure your body for weight loss, a flexible cloth tape measure is best. Also make sure you're measuring each area of your body correctly to get the most accurate results.

• To get accurate measurements, take them in the same places on your body at the same time of day. Morning may be best because your belly size, in particular, can change throughout the day depending on what you eat and drink.

Even if you know how to take measurements for weight loss, the process of losing weight still isn’t an easy one. It requires consistent effort and a lot of small shifts, like swapping out for healthy snacks, making sure you’re getting good sleep (yes, quality sleep for weight loss matters!), and finding a workout routine you can stick to, even if that’s something as simple as walking for weight loss.

If you’re feeling discouraged on your weight loss journey or aren’t sure whether you’re taking the right steps to achieve results, consider working with a professional, such as a doctor or nutritionist. They can help you update your lifestyle and dietary habits and explore the possibility of weight loss medications, if appropriate.