Measuring your inches lost is a great way to complement the numbers you see on the bathroom scale to help to gauge your progress. After all, your scale can’t tell where the weight is coming from. Therefore, if you build muscle while you lose fat, you may not see any progress, or it may even look as though you’re gaining weight for a while.

Therefore, measuring your inches lost helps to give you more insight into what is really happening with your body. Ideally, if you take your measurements before even getting started, you can create a baseline that will tell you how far you’ve come right from the start. Keep a paper or digital notebook with regular measurements.

Try to be very consistent when you’re measuring your inches lost, including both the method you do and the regularity of your measurements. Many people find that by doing their measurements on the first of every month, it’s easier to remember to do it after the same length of time every month.

To accurately take your measurements, use the following steps:

1. Find your body’s natural waist area. It’s usually found around 2 inches above your hipbones. It’s the smallest point on your torso. Stand up tall but relax your body muscles so you’re not “sucking in.” Stand in front of a mirror so you can tell whether or not the measuring tape is perfectly straight all the way around. Take the measurement and write it down.

2. Next, take your hip circumference by placing the tape just above the pubic bone and wrapping the tape around the widest part of your buttocks. Check the mirror to make sure your measuring tape is straight.

3. Take a chest measurement by wrapping the measuring tape around your body under your arm pits at its widest part. This can be difficult to do on your own, so take time to get it right while looking in the mirror or ask someone else for assistance in taking the reading.

4. To measure your thighs, find the highest point of the muscle and wrap the measuring tape around just under the natural lowest point of your pubic bone. Measure each thigh separately and record both numbers.

5. Measure your calf muscle by wrapping the measuring tape around its widest part about halfway between your ankle and knee. Measure both calf muscles and record each one.

6. Measure your arms at the bicep area’s widest part, located halfway between your armpit and elbow. Don’t flex your muscle for this measurement, leave it relaxed. Measure each arm separately and record both numbers.