I'll say that with the waist measurement, a big cofounder for me is bloating as I'm super prone to it, so unless I eat strict carnivore I can expect a huge variation in my waist measurement.
Yea, same for me. I've gotten some people saying that, for them, waist is way more consistent day-to-day than weight. So it might depend on factors like that. Although I'm very volatile in the weight section as well, lol.
I measured my biceps once, haha. 15 inches at the time.
But if I do 5 body parts then it's 5x the effort. Tape measure is already way more effort than weight scale.
Currently I'm doing waist measurement just to see how it'll go for the next couple months. But even the tiniest error when measuring (like tape not exactly the same spot as yesterday) makes 3-4cm difference.
I make my own clothing. And I never measure my waist; instead I drape the pattern on myself and fit my waist that way. It's just too squishy and chancy at the waist for me to get an accurate measurement. And all of your comments about the variability apply, too. (Chancy is about consistently finding my waist because squishy in the front & sway back at a different level in the back.)
However, I do measure my bicep and high bust. Since I write this down on the pattern, I can't ever find it, so each new pattern, I measure. When I last bothered to gather the measurements, those measurements were consistent. Which fits (ha, ha, a pun) with my experience wearing the clothing that I make. It fits in a consistent manner. Things fit consistently at my full bust, too, but like my waist, but for different reasons, I drape the full bust, so no measurements there.
My clothing tells me that my hips are consistent, too, but this is a more difficult measurement because it's large, and also saddlebags, tummy, and butt are all fullest at different levels, so that makes finding a consistent level to measure hard.
Anyway, I do agree that the waist is not the greatest marker for tracking weight or sewing pattern size, but I was wondering about the other spots. Of course, I don't measure my bicep or whatever every day, but the clothing that I made 10 years ago still fits acceptably well which makes me think my weight hasn't changed.
OTOH, I'm not trying to lose weight, and I do understand/remember the need for timely feedback in that process.
I wouldn't mind if the measurement was as accurate as the scale and took 30 seconds instead of 10 seconds (or whatever it takes to step on the scale and read it).
The waist makes sense to me per se - it's a place where most of us put on/lose fat first. It's also a pretty good indicator for visceral fat, which is the most unhealthy type that's inside your body, not "on the outside."
But unless I tattoo a line on my stomach to consistently find the same spot every day it's just too inconsistent.
Kinda makes sense that your arms or chest wouldn't change that much. I suppose if you don't work out A TON or put on A LOT of weight your arm size won't change much. It's one of the last places people put on weight. So if you lost/gained 10lbs total it would probably be the exact same arm size and all your clothes would still fit around the arms just fine.
That's probably why pants size is one of the most visceral (haha) indicators for us, it basically measures waist size in a pretty rough way.
I keep a spreadsheet that lets me track running averages for 7 days, 30 days, 90 days, and 365 days. This really helps me put the fluctuations into perspective.
I'll say that with the waist measurement, a big cofounder for me is bloating as I'm super prone to it, so unless I eat strict carnivore I can expect a huge variation in my waist measurement.
Yea, same for me. I've gotten some people saying that, for them, waist is way more consistent day-to-day than weight. So it might depend on factors like that. Although I'm very volatile in the weight section as well, lol.
Have you tried measuring another body part, like upper arm or thigh or high bust, full bust, chest?
I measured my biceps once, haha. 15 inches at the time.
But if I do 5 body parts then it's 5x the effort. Tape measure is already way more effort than weight scale.
Currently I'm doing waist measurement just to see how it'll go for the next couple months. But even the tiniest error when measuring (like tape not exactly the same spot as yesterday) makes 3-4cm difference.
I make my own clothing. And I never measure my waist; instead I drape the pattern on myself and fit my waist that way. It's just too squishy and chancy at the waist for me to get an accurate measurement. And all of your comments about the variability apply, too. (Chancy is about consistently finding my waist because squishy in the front & sway back at a different level in the back.)
However, I do measure my bicep and high bust. Since I write this down on the pattern, I can't ever find it, so each new pattern, I measure. When I last bothered to gather the measurements, those measurements were consistent. Which fits (ha, ha, a pun) with my experience wearing the clothing that I make. It fits in a consistent manner. Things fit consistently at my full bust, too, but like my waist, but for different reasons, I drape the full bust, so no measurements there.
My clothing tells me that my hips are consistent, too, but this is a more difficult measurement because it's large, and also saddlebags, tummy, and butt are all fullest at different levels, so that makes finding a consistent level to measure hard.
Anyway, I do agree that the waist is not the greatest marker for tracking weight or sewing pattern size, but I was wondering about the other spots. Of course, I don't measure my bicep or whatever every day, but the clothing that I made 10 years ago still fits acceptably well which makes me think my weight hasn't changed.
OTOH, I'm not trying to lose weight, and I do understand/remember the need for timely feedback in that process.
I wouldn't mind if the measurement was as accurate as the scale and took 30 seconds instead of 10 seconds (or whatever it takes to step on the scale and read it).
The waist makes sense to me per se - it's a place where most of us put on/lose fat first. It's also a pretty good indicator for visceral fat, which is the most unhealthy type that's inside your body, not "on the outside."
But unless I tattoo a line on my stomach to consistently find the same spot every day it's just too inconsistent.
Kinda makes sense that your arms or chest wouldn't change that much. I suppose if you don't work out A TON or put on A LOT of weight your arm size won't change much. It's one of the last places people put on weight. So if you lost/gained 10lbs total it would probably be the exact same arm size and all your clothes would still fit around the arms just fine.
That's probably why pants size is one of the most visceral (haha) indicators for us, it basically measures waist size in a pretty rough way.
I keep a spreadsheet that lets me track running averages for 7 days, 30 days, 90 days, and 365 days. This really helps me put the fluctuations into perspective.
Good idea! Do you measure weight or waist (or other) circumference or both?
Just my weight.