This week, your challenge is to MEASURE YOUR SUCCESS. You will revisit the Relative Health analysis from your first week to see how far you’ve come.

CHALLENGE: Take your measurements and compare them to your week one and mid-program challenge numbers. Again, these measurements focus on 10 major components to your healthy lifestyle. Using the list below, conduct an easy at-home assessment of your health:

***BMI formula: [weight (lbs)/(height in inches x height in inches)] x 703. For example, a person who weighs 150 pounds and is 5 feet 3 inches tall has a BMI of 26.5. [ 150 lbs. /(63 inches) x (63 inches) ] x 703 = 26.5

Height  & Weight Component: While your height will not change, regular workouts and balance activities have been shown to improve posture which can make you appear taller and leaner. Regular workouts and healthy, balanced eating can result in weight loss or lean muscle gain of up to 2 lbs per week. Use this information to make your goals manageable.

BMI Component: Use the formula above to calculate your Body Mass Index. Underweight < 18.5, Normal = 18.5 – 24.9, Overweight = 25 – 29.9, Obesity > 30 (According to NIH.gov)

Inches: Use a tape measure to calculate the circumference of your chest, hips, thighs and waist at the widest point. A waist circumference of 31.5 or higher is considered “at risk” (According to NIH.gov)

Physical Ability & Injury: What are you able to do? What do you want to be able to do? What hurts/aches and what restrictions does it cause?

Stress Level & Sleeping Habits: Do certain activities increase your stress level or make you anxious? Stress increases your Cortisol levels and makes weight loss difficult. This can also affect you’re the quality and consistency of your sleep; including chronic fatigue and insomnia.

Eating & Workout Habits: Weight Loss or Gain is all about the balance between your intake and your burn.  But remember, you have to eat enough to give your body enough energy for physical activity.

RD Fit: Week 12 – - What to do?

Once you’ve taken your measurements, look at the first week and mid-week numbers. Did you stay on a steady pace? Did you achieve your goals faster in the first or second part of the program. All of these things will help you to make health and wellness a more effective and seamless part of your lifestyle.

RD Fit: Week 12 – - Where are you?

Let’s see where you are in the RD Fit: Lifestyle Challenge program.

You have reached the end of the program and next week, you will enter into the maintenance phase. This week you are taking a look at your progress and measuring it in numbers (quantitatively). Try to think about what you could have done differently to achieve even more and apply those things next week when you create your maintenance plans.