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Tracking for Fat Loss Success: Navigating Your Fitness Journey with Smart Metrics · FitMitTuro Fitness Podcast

• 1:09
  Turo Virta: So today, I'm talking about what data you should be tracking, to measure your progress, so that you are doing it in a right way. And, and that you are not getting frustrated, because you are not seeing results, what you would like to see, or maybe you are actually making progress without realizing what causes that you are quitting before you give you a chance to actually see that you are making progress. So for most of these things are four factors, but it doesn't matter.
• 1:42
  Turo Virta: Basically, it's for any goal, what you have, and how what kind of data and why you should be tracking. So let's get into it.
• 1:51
  Turo Virta: So So for first, why it's for fat loss. So you probably know that you have to create that calorie deficit somehow. And how you are creating it's mostly because of your nutrition. And obviously what you are doing like how is your How big is your BMR what is personal metabolic rate, so how much how many calories your body is burning, when you are resting, then it's your non daily or non exercise activity or to need it's your daily steps. Movements what you do kind of outside of your office little workouts, and then protein intake or is like thermic effect of food. And that is highest in protein, it there is a little bit in carbohydrates and very little in fats, but that and then that those exercise burns calories you burn during your actual workouts, actual exercise. So how you are how you're going to create that calorie deficit goes. The this is this is what is the hardest part like so many people are telling that I'm in a calorie deficit, but not seeing results or not losing weight. And here are here are some the most important things, what you should be doing, what data you should be tracking and how to actually do it. So it's also that more data you are tracking more you are doing like more chances you keep for yourself to actually see that you are actually doing something because those results, then in the end, they are coming coming from when you do those repeat these actions often enough. And it's kind of also way to stay motivated. And see that if you are how earnestly you are actually doing those things, what are leading to that fat loss or weight loss, whatever or whatever your goal is. So there are many ways how to actually do so. So what biggest mistake what I see people are doing that they are using skeevy the only way to mess with their progress or maybe what other measurements what you're doing like you might see in a clothes, that clothes are fitting better, but or you look into a mirror. But those are things like that you don't have. So good ways to measure like weighing yourself scale rate is telling the truth, but it's also how you are using that scale. And I'm going to do a little bit more about it a little bit later how to use ski in a right way. So but like better ways for fabulous is to take some body measurements, the measurements so that you are actually measuring, take your some tape and measure your circumference in your hips, in your arms legs. And like three four points, like what I recommend for my clients always to do is to measure your belly button, largest part from hips, then the point from kind of from your elbow and let's say that it's 15 centimeters above your elbow and from there that you have the same point every time when you measure it and same thing for your leg you can take from your knee and they look for example 20 centimeters doesn't matter where but the 10 It's It's you've write it down where you have to get that it's always at the same point as as dose will change all the time. Then pictures pictures are telling the best what is actually happening because if you are looking only into a mural you are it's so frustrating because you are not you look you see yourself like kind of daily and you are not going to you're the last person who is actually realizing and seeing that there is something happening. So take pictures and compare those pictures to kind of before after pictures and there you will see what is actually happening and that is those are those are best ways like kind of measurements.
• 5:45
  Turo Virta: And then there is some kind of performance based goals like if your goal is to improve your running time improve, improve your strength, so that you are overtime, able to improve like that you are getting stronger you are able to use more weight when you are strength training or you are able to improve your running time run later. longer at the same time, or whatever your goal is. So this is this is what what kind of things what you should be tracking. So, so what I what I love tracking with these lately is that it's not that it's not going to be, you're not going to improve, for example your workouts every single time, or you are not, if your goal is to increase your step amount, it's or lose weight, this is this is not, you're not going to lose every single day weight, every workout, you are not able to add more weight, you are not if your goal is to sleep better or sleep more, you are not able to do it every time, but when you see like how to use the data, is to actually look at long term trend trends and patterns and see where those strengths are going.
• 6:53
  Turo Virta: And this is this is what you are when you are consistently tracking, you're able to improve all those things and see that long term like not focusing on short term wins or whatever is happening in some short term, but it didn't define those strings, how it's going. So and this is like a it's like more more you are tracking, it's it's saying like if your goal is to improve something, tracking it or measuring it some way, it's the best way to actually stay motivated and be sure that you are actually doing it. So, let's say that your goal is to improve your to get more money in your account, improve your finances, if you are not tracking how much you are spending, how much you are how much coming in there is a very good chance that there is not in a long term there is more but if you are tracking it, you see how is your expenses what you are spending, and then you will see that okay, where I need to do where I need to do some assessments, improvements to actually start making progress.
• 7:53
  Turo Virta: So, this is this is why you should be dragging. And and I think what is what is also very important is to write some notes and do some kind of journaling, when you are how you are feeling like if you if you are not feeling well, why you should be doing it like and then just that says because it's not the goal is not to track everything if that makes you feel for example, if you're tracking your calories and it makes you feel worse, or you get obsessed with it, then it's better to write it down and not made it kind of that you have to do those things and do look what is what is actually helping you and what not so understanding and realizing the difference between being obsessive and perfectionist or doing it for a purpose to improve your health and fitness in long term. So the next the next thing is is that how to say actually you're realistic fabulous coach so what is what is realistic fat loss goals? So let's say that you I know you create a calorie deficit which is around 500 calories per day what is like pretty average it could be like the list like you are still able to see results like let's say 250 300 calories. So one kilo of body fat or is around 7000 calories and it's if you put it be a bounce it's around to bounce is a one pound is 3500 So more or less in that direction is one and how big the deficit is. It's that amount what you're losing in long term it doesn't mean that you see the results like right away or after a week.
• 9:39
  Turo Virta: And when you are when you do it in the long term notice is this is the progress what you're doing and what is a very good progress for fat loss is that if you are let's say that you create the 500 calorie deficit it's 3500 if you do it seven days in a week, so it's a half kilo type loss per week so it's it's a two kilos in a month but if you think that what is realistically possible what is a good progress it's one to two kilos per month if he obviously if you have a little bit more fat to lose, then you could go a bit higher big bigger calorie deficit but it should not be too big or especially if it's if you are going to use it for a long period of time. So, this is this is for fat loss versus sustainable good amount of progress in long term. So these are not that these are like I would not look it if you look your weekly scale rating how to see from the scale so how I love to use it to skate that I miss her myself for example and recommend to my all my clients to bake them in they rate themselves every single day. So it's kind of nice to have and do not have any kind of emotions when you are grading yourself.
• 10:51
  Turo Virta: So it says the data you are collecting and then get it's nothing else there is no emotion so you don't need to panic if the if it's going up or if it's going down because that's totally normal. And for various reasons. I'm not going to deeper on those reasons in the store.
• 11:04
  Turo Virta: In part, but when you get that you have every single day, you take your weight, mold and put them all together divided by seven, you get one rate number per week. So that is your average rate per week. And then you can compare it week by week, and then see in the long term, where that where the trend is going, and what kind of progress you're actually doing. So this is this is the best way, like, for example, in my my workout apps and apps that you have that when you rate yourself, it's going automatically tearing, and it's making beautiful drinks, like you are seeing it's going up and down, up and down. But in the long term, that trend should be going down or if it's not going, then it's time to go back to metal, what you are using and looking how consistent you have been actually with your actions or if there is something from what you are currently doing.
• 11:56
  Turo Virta: So, these are these are practical ways how to measure your progress, and then how to how to how you are setting off your goals. So I love to use like using methods called smart.
• 12:13
  Turo Virta: So what stands SMART stands for is for specific, M is for measurable, A is for attainable.
• 12:24
  Turo Virta: Error, R is for relevant, and D is time bound. So what it means so specific goal, we should be clear and specific leaving, like kind of no room to think it like if it's if I have, if I have accepted or not. It should be answer the questions that have who, what, where, when, why, and how. And the more proceeds the goal is, it's easier, easier it's understand and work towards for example, instead of setting like a general goal, like losing faith week specific goal would be to lose 10 pounds. And it would put some timeline there like for example, three times, like in three months, right then bounce. That's it. That's the realistic goal. But the timelines for weight loss, it's not those are probably not the best goals. But if you have it that loose, then bumps and then by how you are doing it by exercising three times a week, and following my nutrition plan or wanting to financed or, or if you are tracking. And so this is kind of specific how you are actually going to do it, and then is miserable. So it should be some wonderful preamble so that you can track your progress, and you can evaluate your progress. So establishing like specific criteria to measurements allows you to determine if you are if you are on track, or if assessments are necessary. So for instance, for example, like if your goal is to increase seats, you would make it measurable by setting target by exceeding 20% increase sales.
• 14:06
  Turo Virta: So this is just another example in other parts of life, how you would be measuring it. So if your goal is to lose weight, you can be using that scale rate and setting or if your goal is to improve your strength in some workout specific exercise, you could set the goal and Limelight did my I want to deadlift 550 kilos 10 times within that time.
• 14:28
  Turo Virta: So it's something that you can measure. So it's all then A stands for attainable. So it should be challenging enough to inspire your progress. But it should be also like realistic and attainable. So think like, what kind of resources you have.
• 14:46
  Turo Virta: And avoid setting those unrealistic goals. Because usually if that goal is unrealistic, how it's going to lead, like, for example, if it's for weight loss, it's leading to frustration, and you are going to feel that you are a failure.
• 15:02
  Turo Virta: So it's it's it's hard, it's not easy. That's the set kind of goals that it's that you are, it's not you need to push a little bit yourself, but it's going to need it but it has to be somehow also achievable. So relevant, we should be it means that it should be aligned with your overall goals and values and priorities. So it should be it should be adding increasing your motivation and commitment.
• 15:36
  Turo Virta: And it's kind of in the big picture. If your goal is to let's say in one or two years, it should be improving your health or whatever. It should be kind of a long term vision and it should be relevant for that what your bigger picture like those, those kind of small goals. What do you let's say that it's in a one month, two months, three months kind of short period of time, what are leading them to that like bigger goal and they are helping when you exceed those more goals.
• 16:06
  Turo Virta: They are helping you if your goal is to, for example, improve your blood pressure or some other health goal in the long term in a year or two, but those more goals are helping you to exceed that bigger goal. And then the timeout bound means that it's you have to have some kind of timeline deadline.
• 16:25
  Turo Virta: Because if you don't have any deadline, like I'm not saying like weight scale weight is probably the only way where I don't recommend to having some some time time goals. But if your goal is to do have some like a strength goal, for example, where you can align that time, when you are going to when you are going to exceed it, and what you are going to do so that you have clear action steps, what you are going to do to exceed that goal. So so that there is like, thing it like other way like there is, for example, Christmas, everybody knows that it's it's that the 24th of December, so you know that it's coming. So what you are going to do before everybody is going like that, it's that the doesn't help that you say that, okay, I buy my presents big after it, it has to be on that day or then you are later.
• 17:17
  Turo Virta: This is kind of helping you to take action when you need to do it.
• 17:24
  Turo Virta: Then, other things, what I always recommend, like what is so valuable for tracking is the tracking your steps. So I saw it now by myself, I had my sport tracker watch. And it was in repair for last month. And now I was just looking I didn't have anything to track my steps or I have that kind of tracking app in my phone. But as I don't have phone always with me, it's not so accurate as as my woods and like they assess curious to know when I got my phone because I had a kind of feeling that I wasn't so motivated to take my state trip and I didn't see it when I didn't track my steps.
• 18:03
  Turo Virta: And then I looked my phone like I'm not at there's there was no difference how I was using my phone earlier or before. But then when I look back those stats, how many steps I actually took when I didn't have my sport tracker. And on average, in within past six weeks when I didn't have my woods I 2000 steps lead less per day. So this is just showing like small things like tracking your steps.
• 18:29
  Turo Virta: And seeing having some activity tracker and seeing how much you're actually doing goes I saw that when I didn't have it, I didn't know how many steps I took, or what's entailed how much I need to do more. Because now when I have my watch, it's reminding me sometimes to get up time to get some steps. And then I see my activity level that it's way too below what it should be. It makes me that okay, now I need to go for a walk, I haven't took any steps.
• 18:55
  Turo Virta: And these realizations didn't come when or they kind of compact I didn't I didn't have any data to compare. So I couldn't tell if that is if how many steps I have been taking.
• 19:07
  Turo Virta: So these are these are simple ways how to track your state steps. thing, how to how to actually what you should be also tracking is your workouts. So especially strength training workouts, those are like, that's the biggest mistake what I see that especially people who are not so much into fitness they artists, especially women, they are lifting weights, but they don't take that it feels heavy, but they never kind of like try to add more teams. And goes they think that I'm not so strong, I'm not able to use or bigger dumbbells, or they are they feel so heavy when I prep them. But when you start to drag it like it doesn't matter how much weight you use in the beginning, but your goal is always that if you know, like, for example in my workout that you have possibility to add every time how much weight you do, how many repetitions you do. And then next time app is already like if you change like next this week, you're doing five repetitions.
• 20:09
  Turo Virta: So you should be using a lot heavier weights. Next week you do same exercise you do, let's say 15 reps. So you have no idea how much you made use of be using my app discounting based on your last workout how much your rates of people's you have to think that it's your last rep should be always feeling so hard that you can't imagine to do more than two reps with same rate. So So write it down how many kilos or how many pounds you have been using weights exercise, how many reps and the next time when you when you do the same exercise, you have some kind of data, you see that Okay, last time I did this amount of reps with using this much weight. And now let's see it's I tried to use a little bit more weight than last time and see how it's going. If you can do it, then go back and do more reps but but this this way, this way when you try Like your workouts, you know what you're doing. And this is now it's when I started doing my strength training, and started to track, it's like two years ago. And now when I look back how much weight I was lifting, two years ago, it feels like, I don't feel like that I know that I have got stronger, but I have no idea how much actually stronger and then when I looked at holistic, so much I have been able to activate, it's not coming every week, but in over a long, longer period of time. It's so motivating, and makes you feel so, so much better when you see that how much you have been actually actually making progress. So then otherwise, what I love to use his kind of body composition so so there is like, race, if you want to miss your your fat percent, it's those are like, if you are using some kind of scheme instrument, I'm not a big fan of doing them like I have, I have a scale at home, for example, which are very, they are affordable, some kind of what is showing your fat percentage, but that number of factors and it says every single day, depending what you have been eating, how much hydrated you are, how much your daily rate is so so it's not very accurate. It's same kind of like scale rate. And if you go to somewhere to measure your fat percentage, and you do it like every couple of months, it really it gives like a long period of like long term trend, it gives you direction where it is going, but they are not remembered they are not very accurate. They tried to sell it, it's kind of good, very interesting way to see but you don't see every single day what is actually going on. So a lot better ways to measure your fat loss is to take like I said earlier date measurements, pictures. And those are those are more than enough to track your progress. So then about nutrition. So nutrition is probably the most important thing to track your progress obviously takes little bit time.
• 23:02
  Turo Virta: But but if you like if you are i my i did podcasts about tracking calories. This is I'm not going to go deeper. That is like probably the most important thing, especially tracking, seeing becoming first of all, why it's so important becoming aware what you're currently doing. So before you try to do some kind of changes, I always don't change anything it how you have been eating and see what you're currently doing. And then when you know what you're currently doing, it's so much easier to start make those adjustments. Because if you go right away, and you start kind of because most of us know what you should be doing. And if you go right away that you go on a perfect diet, you have no idea what you would you love to do what you are doing in day by day basis. So so start tracking your nutrition become aware and then think that what is one habit if you see that you are struggling to hit your protein, where you would be adding more protein is your breakfast is it your lunch to dinner, would you be adding some kind of snacks so these are these are just simple assessments you could be doing to improve your nutrition and portion sizes adding more protein and that is that is the best piece so then other things what I personally was I'm okay you don't need to be honest, you don't need to you don't need to track all of these but if you I'm just giving you example, what you should be what I'm tracking myself and what you should be doing and how to use it. So what I dragged myself is sleep and that is probably the most important thing what have changed everything for me.
• 24:51
  Turo Virta: Because sleep if you have some kind of watch or in or whatever that is measuring your sleep quality and quantity. So so when you are it's a they are not like any of these tracking apps, they are not very accurate. So it's they don't know exactly everything but they give you a good idea about drinks, what is everything to everything. And one thing with sleep is that don't take it like because if I if you see that what is telling that huge lift you didn't sleep well. It doesn't mean that your day is sad day. But it gives you just that okay what I was doing day before what didn't work, how I can improve it to get it better. So for me drinks what I have learned from tracking my sleep that we're unable to sleep at the same time every single day. I feel a lot better. I my sleep quality. I get more previously, when I go at the same time every single day, seven days a week. That is That was the biggest game changer.
• 25:50
  Turo Virta: Then other things it's like, like if I have late night workout, my heartbeat is still up and I'm not my sleep quality is not as good if I work out in the morning and I don't even use alcohol if I Drink alcohol, even small portions like later in evening, if I have one or two beers, in evening, my sleep my heartbeat is like five to 10 beats higher on average and my sleep qualities and obviously, if you drink even more, then you can forget it, but that you already know. But this is like, it's not that it doesn't mean that you can never have those things, but to know at least to know to become aware, what how they are affecting and what is what is.
• 26:37
  Turo Virta: happening, go sleep is something that most of us are under estimating. And that is, that could be probably the most important thing for fat loss overall health because if you don't sleep enough, you are going to eat more. That is just the it's not it's a fact there are so many studies that show for example, difference between someone who is sleeping six hours per night, or someone who is sleeping eight hours, there is like 300 calories per day, automatically you are you have more cravings, you think to make nutritional choices, which are not so healthy. So you are going to eat stuff, like which is higher in calories and lower, like lower kind of Whole Foods, nutrient foods. So it's all like on average to 300 calories more per day. And you can imagine what kind of difference that is made. It's also reflecting how active you are outside of your workouts, how is your quality of your workouts? So sleep is everything starts basically from your sleep. So this right, that's why this is, is tracking your sleep, it's so important, but understanding it that it's not if you tend to be a person who is like that, okay, now might be Swint when What's this telling me that I didn't sleep well, so it, it don't use it, then it's probably not the best idea, but at least recognizing those trends. And then, other thing, what I personally don't do, but what have helped many of my clients is tracking kind of that mental and emotional well being. So, this is these are like writing, writing dosha things like journaling. Because this is this is like how you are feeling like what is going on, if you have stress, like, the funny thing is with your brain that when you once you put it out once you journal it, it's because it's it then it's away because you keep thinking about those things. Like what is probably stressing you if you have family, you have kids, you have busy work, everything but when you journal it, write it down how you are feeling what you are, what what is going on, and then it's kind of if you have some kind of to do lists, you put them down on a paper that is already helping so much that it says to be from your brain. And then you know you don't need to think about it anymore. And these are this is one of the best ways for example to improve your sleep is to actually journal night before like what is what kind of thoughts you have what you are feeling. If you have some sorrows, if you are happy, grateful for something, or if you have a lot of things going on, then writing it down what you need to be doing. So then it's away from your mind, your head, your brain, and then you don't need to think about it all night and your sleep quality probably will be better. So these were the best tips what you should be tracking. And if you have any questions, let me know and thank you for listening. Talk to you soon.