06/12/2019

There are so many ways to measure progress other than the number on the scale. •
I name some of them on the photo and I’ll further explain them here-
Decreasing your heart rate (number of times your heart beats per minute) over a period of time is a great indicator. This means that your heart isn’t “working as hard’ to pump out the same amount of blood- Blood pressure is another good indicator (as long as you are not on blood pressure medication) •
Movement and knowing when to rest (and actually doing it) are key to strengthening the “self awareness” piece that needs to be present.
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Before I go into the explanation of each of these, know that NOT ONE of these is ‘the best’ indicator- but a lot of these are better indicators (other options) than the scale to ‘observe’ progress with increasing movement in your life.
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If I do not yell at the person in front of me who cut me off during rush hour, then I’m doing pretty good in the “patience” department in life- if I want to take all the crumbs in my car and rub it in their face, that’s a pretty good indicator ‘something’ is off. •
“Time btw/ rest breaks” is one I bring up often with my clients- maybe one day they need 30-45 seconds, and the next month they progress to needing only 15sec. (now this can vary from day to day, but it’s another option to add to the mix)
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On a scale of 1-10, you were to measure your ‘difficulty’ of walking up a flight of stairs---and then a month later, that number decreases- that’s another great indicator to you that your movement game is going well. •
And of course, I had to bring this one and round it into mental health (which is a HUGE) part of health, SETTING boundaries- If you are able to set clear boundaries with friends, co-workers and loved ones, you are doing pretty darn well!
Hope this helped with some other ways to measure improved health!