"I've been exercising for a long time, but I'm still the same weight. Why haven't I seen any results?" That's a question I hear often, both from my clients and my readers and my response is almost always the same: A scale doesn't tell the whole story. In fact, your body is no doubt making small changes each day, changes that can't always be measured by the tools we have available. If that's the case, how do you know if you're making progress? A good dose of patience and a new method of tracking progress might be the answer.

Track Your Body Fat

Scale weight can be a useful number to know but, even better, is knowing your body fat percentage. This is important because scale weight doesn't always tell the whole story. As Elizabeth Quinn, Sports Medicine Guide notes: "An individual can be "over-weight" and not "over-fat." A bodybuilder, for example, may be 8% body fat, yet at two hundred and fifty pounds may be considered "over-weight" by a typical height-weight chart." (Body Composition vs. Body Fat)

Knowing your body fat percentage can give you a better idea of how much fat you really need to lose and, even better, whether you're making progress in your program...things your scale can't tell you. It's possible for your scale weight to remain the same, even as you slim down, especially if you're losing fat and gaining muscle.

There are plenty of options for body fat testing including:

• Calipers
• Bioelectrical Impedance Scales
• DEXA (dual energy X-ray absorptiometry)
• Hydrostatic Weighing
• Online calculators (used in conjunction with skinfold or tape measurements)

A healthy body fat range is 25 - 31% for women and 18 - 25% for men. To choose the right method for you, get more details at What's Your Body Fat? Keep in mind that most health clubs offer some type of body fat testing.

Get the most out of your body fat measurement by:

• Checking it once a week or every other week instead of daily. Body fat doesn't vanish overnight and you may not see those small changes if you measure every day.
• Having the same person measure you each time. Different trainers will measure you in different ways, so stick with the same person each time and make sure the person is very experienced in measuring body fat.
• If using a bioelectrical impedance scale, be sure to measure under the same circumstances each time. Hydration, food intake and skin temperature can affect body fat measurements.
• Keep track of your numbers in a journal or calendar.

Take the Body Fat Quiz to find out how much you really know about your own body fat.

Use the Scale

As I mentioned above, scales don't always give you the whole story about your body or your weight loss progress. For that reason, scales (when used alone) are my least favorite method of tracking weight loss. Another reason to dislike scales is what I like to call 'Weight Loss Psychosis,' or the tendency for otherwise rational people to abandon all reason, lock themselves in closets and/or ditch any and all healthy behaviors because...why bother if the scale doesn't change?

The problem with body weight scales is that they measure everything--fat, muscle, bones, organs and even that sip of water you just had. The scale can't tell you what you've lost or gained, which is important information if you're trying to lose weight...and by weight, what we really mean is fat.

Here are just a few things that can increase your weight, causing it to fluctuate as much as 10 lbs in one day:

• Water. Because the body is about 60% water, fluctuations in your hydration levels can change the number on a scale. If you're dehydrated or have eaten too much salt, your body may actually retain water, which can cause scale weight to creep up. Similarly, many women retain water during menstrual cycles, which is another thing that can make that number change.
• Food. Weighing yourself after a meal isn't the best idea simply because food adds weight. When you eat it, your body will add that weight as well. It doesn't mean you've gained weight, it simply means that you've added something to your body (something that will be eliminated through digestion over the next several hours).
• Muscle. Muscle is more dense than fat and it takes up less space, so adding muscle could increase your scale weight, even though you're slimming down.

That doesn't mean the scale is useless. In fact, it's a wonderful tool when you combine it with your body fat percentage. Knowing both of these numbers will tell you whether you're losing the right kind of weight...fat. Simply multiply your weight by your body fat percentage. For example, a person who weighs 150 lbs with 21% body fat has 31 lbs of fat and 118 lbs of lean tissue (150 x .21 = 31.5 lbs of fat, 150 - 31.5 = 118 lean tissue). Keeping track of these numbers on a weekly or monthly basis will help you see what you're losing and/or what you're gaining.

Next: How to Take Your Measurements