Buy a Really Good Scale

Obesity is like Debt; it creeps up on you. Once you have it, it is neither quick or easy to get rid of.

I am a firm believer in owning (and using) a really good scale. It is really the only way to know where you stand. My personal scale measures weight, body fat, muscle mass, water weight and bone density. Now, some people will say that these scales are not accurate. I would agree. But, they will give you a relative measure that can be used to chart your progress. If you are trying to loose weight, these scales will also help ensure that you are not loosing muscle mass (rather than fat).

Personally, I weigh my self each morning. I also weigh my self both before and after I ride. Now you may say that weighing oneself before and after riding is obsessive. I beg to differ. The purpose of checking my weight is to determine to what extent I am dehydrated. The more weight I have lost during a ride, the more fluids I will force afterwards. It also helps me to understand how much I need to hydrate during future rides.

One week out of each month I chart my body fat, muscle mass and bone density. I then average these numbers and compare them to prior months' averages. These averages give me a good trend line that I can then use chart my health. In the end, my goal is to never get too far off track.