Why Taking Progress Pictures is Key

Good morning! I hope you’re having a great week so far.

Question: have you ever made some changes to your nutrition, stayed consistent with your workouts, and stayed on plan….only to step on the scale and see that it hasn’t. even. budged?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jy9jaOuC138

This is one of the many reasons I dislike the scale as an accurate form of progress measurement, but also leads into the three measures of progress I use for my clients.

Those three measurements are: 

1. clothing fit
2. measurements in inches
3. progress pictures

Today, I want to talk about the third one —– why taking progress pictures so important, not only from a progress standpoint, but also from a mindset standpoint. While they might be a little scary, they are super important for being a mechanism of measuring progress on your fitness journey.

In the video below, I will share with you:

• Why taking progress pictures is a good idea
• How to see past the intimidation factor of taking progress pics
• Why they tell a big part of the story that other measurements might not
• An example of amazing client progress, when other measurements didn’t move much

(click the image to play)

Progress Pictures

I don’t require my clients to take progress pictures. The type of progress that we measure in my boot camps and in my one-on-one clients is circumference measurements (i.e. waist is X inches around), how clothes are fitting, what you see in the mirror, and also progress pictures. Notice that scale weight is not on that list.

That’s intentional — the only time I ask my clients anything about their weight is if we’re figuring out macronutrients, and that’s so we can get dialed in on the exact protein, fat, and carbohydrate requirements that will fit their needs. Other than that, we don’t use the scale as a measure of progress.

Progress pictures are only a way of measuring progress — I always ask my clients to detach emotionally from them, because a lot of times I know that they’re hard to take, especially if you’re not happy with where their body is at the moment. That’s something else we work on too, is body acceptance — we may not be exactly where we want to be, but that doesn’t mean we can’t appreciate and accept where we are. So, we take a step back and realize that all the pictures are  is a method of progress tracking — that’s it! Don’t attach any judgement, don’t add any emotion, they’re just a method of tracking progress.

That said, progress pictures are so important. I strongly encourage my clients to take progress pictures because measurements and clothing fit only tell a part of the story! I was talking to my boot camp clients the other day about progress and keeping a good attitude because some weeks, all 3 or 4 of those categories will change in your favor! During other weeks, maybe only one changes, or you go through a week where you don’t see any changes. Progress is not straight and linear, but as long as you’re seeing progress over time, you’re good to go!

Measurements and clothing fit alone will not tell the whole story. I want to give you guys and example today of my client, Carly, who has been making some really positive changes to her diet. We’ve addressed nutrient timing (the time at which she eats certain macronutrients) and the amount of protein, carbs, and fat she’s eating — and she’s completely changed her workouts (she is crushing our training program!)

However, this past check-in I received from her, she said, “I’m feeling kind of discouraged, I don’t see any changes, my clothing fit isn’t really different, and my measurements haven’t changed too much.” She was just feeling really discouraged despite these good and positive changes. She wanted to speed up her progress a bit. I looked at her latest progress pictures and compared them to her previous progress pictures from about three weeks ago, put them side by side, and the changes were undeniable

Take a look:

This is only three weeks difference. Seeing these side by side, you can clearly see the changes she’s made in only a few weeks, even if she didn’t see too much difference in measurements or clothing fit. There’s always room for user error in measurement, and clothing fit can also be subjective.

Right away, she said, “Oh my gosh, I can see a huge difference!”

One thing we do as part of my Lean Body training & nutrition online boot camp is take initial progress pictures and measurements, and then take updated ones every two weeks. Again, this isn’t something that’s absolutely mandatory, but it is encouraged.

Many of the women in this program start seeing results in less than 2 weeks because of the changes we make. They also report feeling satiated from their meals, more energy, and better sleep. I truly believe the nutrition changes we make in this program are the best out there, and that my training program that coincides is a notch above all others.

A couple tips for progress pictures — make sure you take them at the same time of day, in the same room with the same lighting, and wear the same clothing. Also, if someone else can take the pictures, or if you can use a self-timer, that would help to get the most accurate pictures

I hope that was helpful! Registration is currently open for my next Lean Body training and nutrition boot camp that starts February 13th. It’s $179 for the 6 week program, which is the last time it will be offered at this low pricing, and I always offer a satisfaction money back guarantee. Also, it you participated in this program last year, all of the workouts have been updated, and I’ve also included more nutritional guidance and information. Spots are filling up quickly — if you’d like more information, or would like to secure your spot, you can do so here.