“What gets measured, gets managed…”

“…and what gets managed, gets done,” my friend said to me in the car the other day.  “That’s what we used to say in business anyway.”  I gazed out the window and let that sink into my brain.  “Wow.  That’s really profound,” I replied.

 

I’m certainly not running a company like my friend but it’s the same concept in health and fitness.  As a trainer, I start out measuring my clients (circumference, weight, body fat %) on their first day.  Everyone gets measured NO MATTER WHAT.  They all hate it.  Everyone rolls their eyes and huffs.  Some people refused to watch as I balance out the scale and write down the number.  They rattle off excuses and reasons why they are this size.  And everyone tells me stories of when they “used to be” in shape back in high school.  No one likes this part.  It’s uncomfortable, embarrassing, and awkward.  Back when I was a new trainer, I used to let clients talk me out of measuring them.  They would say, “No, no, no we don’t need to do this.  I know where my measurements are.  No need to beat a dead horse.”  They would say to me, “Look, I’m not paying you to tell me what I already know.  That’s why I came to you.  I obviously ‘know’ I have a problem!”  I would give in and skip the measuring.  What would happen?  I would have NO WAY of tracking the progress.

 

I learned very quickly that under no circumstances do I skip the measuring part.  It acts as constant accountability and guidance to their progress.  I remeasure my clients every 3 weeks.  I always tell them, “The numbers don’t lie.”  My client can tell me over and over they are sticking to the meal plan and not cheating but when the numbers come back bad, that’s when the truth comes out:  “Well, Coach, I kinda ate a WHOLE PIZZA last night.”  

 

“What gets measured, gets managed.”  

 

The other side of this catchy little saying is measuring your food.  I tell my clients, “MEASURE, MEASURE, MEASURE!”  If it calls for 2/3 cup of brown rice, I want them to scoop out the rice, take a butter knife and scrape off the top.  I want it exact!  When you measure your food before eating it, you become keenly aware of exactly how much you are consuming.  This goes for water, too.  I tell my clients I want them to drink a gallon of water per day and I want them to MEASURE every drop to make sure it’s a gallon.  You would be shocked if you knew how far off the mark most people are when they just “eyeball it.”

 

The best way to be successful in your fitness quest is to measure.  Measure your weight loss, fat loss and inches.  Measure your progress by keeping a workout log so you can watch yourself get stronger. Measure your food and drink intake and write it in a food journal.  Why?  So you can feel guilty that you let yourself get so far off track, 5 dress sizes bigger and 45 lbs heavier?  No!  So you can celebrate your journey to a new you.  

 

And believe me…you will like this “you” better than the one in your high school cheerleading uniform.    

CODE RED QUICK TIP #2

Miles Hewitt climbs Haleakala