Let’s look at an example.
Think about a weight loss goal of 15kg.
Most people think that the weight is the goal and they measure it relentlessly. I lost 1kg. Now I’ve lost another 1kg. Oh, now I’ve gained a kilo. I’m a failure!
No wonder you get disappointed – measuring weight doesn’t tell you anything about which parts of your approach, your how, your method, is working. So you start losing belief and give up at your apparent failure.
For example you could gain 1kg because you’ve put on muscle at the gym, and muscle is the main fat burning powerhouse in your body. So it’s a good thing to gain muscle mass, it’s the primary vehicle for losing weight.
The thing is that there’s a lag time. You gain muscle first, the a week or two later, the weight sees a rapid drop.
But if you are only measuring weight, then you won’t see any of this. You’ll only see the gain and you will feel like a failure.
Now imagine you are that person trying to lose 15kg. How you would feel if you understood this important point about strength training?
Let’s say you could out your emotions aside and see this fact.
What if you had correlated 1kg weight gain to your first two weeks of sessions at the gym doing a strength training program?
Chances are you’d feel excited because you could see how your actions are creating your results, and you’d want to persist for long enough to see that happen.
That’s why measuring your habits and actions are just as important as measuring the result.