The argument for weighing yourself frequently
A two-year Cornell study, recently published in the Journal of Obesity, found that frequent self-weighing and tracking results on a chart were effective for both losing weight and keeping it off, especially for men.
http://news.cornell.edu/stories/2015/06 ... your-favorThe method “forces you to be aware of the connection between your eating and your weight,”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3268700/In conclusion, although there were methodological limitations to the studies reviewed, there was ample evidence for the consistent and significant positive relationship between self-monitoring diet, physical activity or weight and successful outcomes related to weight management.
Waist Measurement and Waist to Height Ratio (WHtR)
Waist measurement is a more important general health indicator than weight/BMI due to usually being proportional to the amount of visceral (internal) fat one carries. Visceral fat is dangerous because it's metabolically/hormonally active. There is a strong relationship between the amount of visceral fat one carries and chronic diseases. Weight/BMI doesn't tell the whole story of fat loss, often due to increased muscle weight. Also particularly tall or short people are misrepresented by BMI. BMI was originally designed to study populations, not individuals. That is why I post waist and waist to height ratio (WHtR). WHtR is beneficial for others to know at what stage of weight loss you are at by body shape.
To make it easier to post WHtR, I've added a calculator link below. Although the ratio is easy to calculate since it's just your waist circumference divided by your height. It should be measured at the circumference point half way between your bottom rib and the top of your hip bone. This is typically about 2.5 cm above your belly button.
WHtR calculator.
The best time to take a waist measurement and measure weight is first thing in the morning.
Some information on waist to height ratio (WHtR) and why it's better than BMI for indicating health:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/265215.php
http://ashwell.uk.com/images/2005%20IJF ... 0Hsieh.pdf
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22106927
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waist-to-height_ratio
Weight and Body Mass Index (BMI)
There is no problem with just posting weights alone, but it doesn't mean much to others. The same applies with waist measurements. So if you want others to know at what stage of weight loss you're at, I encourage you to give a height reference or calculate the BMI.
To make it easier to post body mass index (BMI), I've added a BMI calculator link below. To calculate manually, it is your weight (W) in kg, divided by the square of your height (Ht) in metres, or BMI = W / Ht^2.
BMI calculator.
feet/inches to cm converter.
The best time to measure your weight is first thing in the morning.
Diet, exercise, or both for weight loss?
The three main factors that influence weight/waist are genetics, diet and exercise. Being a cycling forum, most will try to increase their exercise to lose weight. The study below shows that diet is 78% and exercise is 22% of the weight loss equation. Both significant diet change and exercise together is obviously better.
The following is from a the American Institute for Cancer Research blog which summarises a recent study comparing diet and exercise in weight loss.
After 12 months, women in the exercise group lost 2.4% of their body weight; diet only reduced by 8.5% and those exercising and dieting lost 10.8% of their weight. And the more they lost, the more their biomarkers were reduced.
http://blog.aicr.org/2016/07/15/study-l ... more-18206
The Diet Thread is available to discuss diet, or if you have any questions relating to diet..
What Goal Weight?
The answer to that question depends on a number of factors. But if your aim is to get healthier then it may be better to set the weight goal low. An example of this is Kempner's ideal weight for height chart below. Back in the late 1930s, Kempner was the inventor of the Rice Diet to treat - or in some cases even reverse - a number of chronic diseases before medications were used by MDs. As you can see, the ideal weights he set for his patients are very low, but achievable for most.
A Basic Diet Guide
For revision simplification, I have moved this guide to the first post in the Diet Thread.