The scale is not the only way to determine success

For many people, trying to lose weight and get fit is just like looking at that confusing dashboard. Your doctor calculates your body mass index (BMI). Someone at the gym takes a skinfold measurement. And your bathroom scale awaits you each morning. Which one should you use to measure your progress?

"No tool is perfect, and each one tells you something different," says Marianne Dixie Stanforth, MS, a kinesiology lecturer at the University of Texas at Austin. "What's important in measuring fitness is body composition—how much fat versus how much muscle. Some tools, like a scale, won't tell you that." So what do measurement tools tell us?

The Scale
As we all know, a scale simply weighs the body. Weight fluctuates from day to day—even within the same day—and doesn't tell much about body composition. A very muscular 150-pound woman might look very different than a less muscular one. Ounce for ounce, muscle weighs more than fat (although it's denser and takes up less space), but a scale doesn't reflect that.

Tape Measurements
These are simple measurements at various places on the body. They chart a change in inches, but they can't tell if the tissue is muscle or fat. "A simple way to do girth (or tape) measurements is by trying on that merciless pair of jeans in the closet," says fitness consultant Neil Maki, MS. "You're probably losing fat and gaining muscle when they fit again."

Skinfold Measurements
For this method, measurements from folds of skin and fat at various sites on the body (for example: midriff, upper arm, back) are used to calculate body fat. It assumes, perhaps inaccurately, that fat under the skin is proportional to total body fat. But, says Maki, "This can be a good way to track your progress—to compare yourself to yourself. Make sure a skilled person is performing the test, and, as with all the techniques, keep all the variables consistent." That means try to have the same person give you the test each time, with the same equipment.

Body Mass Index
BMI gauges the relationship between your height and weight. "This number is more about measuring health risks from being overweight than about your daily or weekly fitness progress," says Stanforth. But it's a useful number to know, nonetheless. Knowing your health risks could give you the motivation you need to keep at being or getting fit. Find out your BMI with our BMI calculator.

Bioelectrical Impedance
Now available in home scales, this tool gauges body fat by how fast electrical stimulus travels through the body. It's based on the premise that lean muscle tissue conducts electricity faster than fat does. However, it doesn't work well for very lean or very obese people and is thrown off by dehydration and other bodily water fluctuations.

"The key is to find the method that works for you personally," says Stanforth. "For some of my clients, the scale only frustrates them. Girth measurements might be better, because then they can see how they're slimming down and toning up in a certain area. Find the method that motivates you, and go with it."

7 key steps to lose weight

"People struggling to lose weight often talk about their lack of willpower, as if willpower is something that you are either born with, or not," says Palma Posillico, vice president of training and development for Weight Watchers International. "Losing weight is all about 'wantpower'—about recognizing that you already have all the resources you need to get what you want."

These resources include knowing what you want, knowing how to get it and knowing how to keep yourself motivated along the way. Here are some strategies to help you discover all three and reach your weight-loss goals.

1. Plot out your goals.
It helps to have an action plan to keep you on track. "Storyboarding" is a technique used by movie directors to sketch out a plotline, frame by frame, before they start filming. In a similar way, you can make a blueprint for success by breaking your goal down into parts. Say you've given yourself three months to lose 10 pounds. Make a chart of the timeline and build it up, week by week, with details of shopping strategies, exercise tips and so forth—anything that helps make your goal concrete and achievable.

2. Envision your success.
Athletes mentally rehearse every step of their winning routine to make it feel attainable. In the same way, you can make your own goals as real as possible by visualizing yourself succeeding in particular scenarios, like making the right choices when dining out. Revisit these scenarios often, and think about how good you'll feel about achieving your goals.

3. Don't sabotage yourself.
Many of us unconsciously sabotage ourselves with self-destructive thoughts such as "I'll never lose weight." Whenever you catch yourself thinking this way, try to substitute more constructive statements; for example, "I haven't lost as much weight as I would like, but I can change that. I'm going to start by setting aside time to exercise three times each week."

4. Be your own cheerleader.
Some people believe it's modest to put themselves down. But you wouldn't call a friend "fat" or "ugly," would you? You deserve the same respect, so try becoming your own best friend. Celebrate your progress, and try not to obsess about setbacks.

One way to do this is to make a list of your accomplishments in every area of your life (personal, professional and physical). List the talents and skills that enabled you to achieve them, and look at this list often. Adds Posillico, "Begin a daily journal of everything you did 'right' today." You'll be surprised how quickly it adds up!

5. Avoid being a perfectionist.
Try not to think in all-or-nothing terms—that you've blown your diet, for example, simply because you've overdone it at one meal. "We need to be kinder to ourselves, and learn to regard setbacks as learning opportunities," says Posillico.

6. Follow through with your goals.
Believing you can achieve your weight-loss goals is important, but you have to act too, by changing your eating habits, increasing your physical activity and so on. You can't just think yourself slim, but you can think yourself into the right frame of mind to optimize your prospects.

7. Affirm your self-belief.
Feel your confidence wavering? One way to reinforce your self-belief is with positive affirmations: simple, self-validating statements repeated as often as possible, preferably daily. Try coming up with one or two of your own, and remember to keep them positive. You can—and you will—succeed, as long as you believe you can do it!

Weight Watchers offers a variety of tips to help you get and stay organized while pursuing your weight loss goals. We also provide strategies to help build your confidence.

How to make exercise a habit

For many, exercise is perpetually a low priority, something you only do for a few days at time, here and there. Many people also believe that exercise requires a large daily time commitment, or that it has to be physically difficult and demanding. But the truth is that even small amounts of light activity can make a big difference in your weight loss.

Forget the myths.

First of all, these common misconceptions about exercise may be what's holding you back:

Myth # 1: Exercise is never fun.

Not only can exercise be fun (Do you hate playing catch with your kids? Hiking through the woods?), it can help fill gaps in your life.

For example, "if you're around people all day long, you can choose an exercise that allows you some alone time," says Robyn Stuhr, exercise physiologist and executive vice president of the American Council on Exercise. If you sit in front of a computer, exercise can be a social thing for you. If you never see your spouse, exercise together.

If you find something that works for you on a personal level, that will make exercise more fun. Plus, you'll be more likely to do it if you look forward to it.

Myth # 2: Exercise is a major disruption.

"The bottom line is that exercise, unlike diet, is something you have to make yourself do," says Stuhr. "Everybody has to eat every day, but you have to purposely set aside time to work out. And it's very easy to let other things get in the way."

But there's a bonus to working out that you won't notice until you do it. When you exercise, you get more energy. And when you stop (like many yo-yoers do), your energy level starts to drop, so it's even harder to jump back in. Sticking with it helps, even if that causes scheduling problems in the short term.

Make it a habit

Making anything a habit—from exercise to eating right—is a matter of having enough "want power," says Palma Posillico, vice president of training and development for Weight Watchers International. "Life gets in the way, so unless you do something proactively, it's very easy to make excuses."

One strategy for acquiring a new habit is to imagine the benefits of that habit. In the case of exercise, picture yourself in great shape. This will help inspire you.

Here are some other tricks for making exercise a habit:

Start slowly.

An hour-long high-intensity aerobics class on your first day will only discourage you, maybe hurt you, and send you back to square one.

Find an exercise buddy.

A workout partner can be immeasurably helpful, because you have a responsibility to your friend not to talk yourself out of exercising. Try to choose a buddy who's in about the same shape as you.

Pick an exercise you like.

Then commit to trying it consistently for at least three weeks. If you still think you hate it after that amount of time, give yourself permission to say, okay, this isn't working. Then pick something different and repeat.

Weight Watchers provides strategies on how to fit exercise into your routine, and create an exercise plan you'll enjoy