Every Profile member's journey is unique to them; our members come from all walks of life. Although you may recognize that very fact, it's in human nature to compare yourself to others. It's natural for us to see the greener grass on the "other side" when you look at online forums, have conversations with your friends and family members, and take the time to reflect on how things used to be. It’s natural to fixate on how far you have to go on your journey, instead of taking the time to reflect on how far you’ve come.
Think of how you felt before you began this journey. Was there a time where you couldn't walk up a flight of stairs without taking a break, and now you use the stairs instead of the elevator every chance you get. Think of the last time that you were able to feel your stomach grumble when you were physically hungry and not filling an emotional void, and now you are able to recognize that your stomach growling as an indicator that your body needs to be refueled. Remember the time that you had a stressful day at work and decided to take a walk instead of head to the cupboards for relief? What about the countless times you walked aimlessly through the grocery store, overwhelmed at the selections, and now can walk in the store prepared with a list of healthy options, and walk away from the unhealthy choices you would have chosen before.
All Progress Is Meaningful
When you began your Profile journey, you made the choice to change your old habits and mold new behaviors. Your Profile Coaches help you see your potential by listening, educating and providing resources to establish the best potential for your success. Your coaches also help you recognize how far you have come by diving inside the numbers with your progress.
It's common to look at the scale and think the weight floating across the screen is the only thing that matters. Believe it or not, there is more to it! Your Profile journey is so much more interesting when we can look at overall body composition to see how your body has changed. If we are using body weight as a measure of health, a reduction of 5-10% in weight can begin to decrease your risk of chronic health conditions. Your Profile coach can help you understand the purpose of evaluating other measures of success such as body fat percentage, basal metabolic rate (BMR), body mass index (BMI) and body measurements.
Understanding Meaningful Metrics
If we take a moment to look at body fat percentage, an above average percentage correlates with increased health risk. As you lose weight through a caloric deficit, your body fat percentage decreases, therefore decreasing your risk for chronic health conditions.
In addition to body fat percentage, your Profile Coaches can help you understand your Basal Metabolic Rate or BMR. This refers to the number of calories the body needs at complete rest. Needs vary from person to person, but decrease as you lose weight.
Your physician may use Body Mass Index, or BMI, as an indicator for health. Your Profile Coach can help you understand how the different BMI categories correlate to your health, but this is a simple, inexpensive and non-invasive metric, so it has its limitations.
Lastly, your Profile Coach uses anthropometric measurements to assess progress over time. They take your neck, chest, bicep, waist, hip and mid-thigh measurement every 4-6 weeks as another tool to evaluate how your body is changing!
There are many factors that contribute to success! As you continue your Profile journey, take time to reflect on the choices you make on a daily basis that may be different than the ones you made pre-Profile, and at your next appointment, ask your Profile Coach about the other measures of success.