When I was 18 I had a personal trainer who, during the first session, took a series of measurements to enable us to track my progress with her. She advised me that it was important to always measure exactly the same positions as moving about your body can result in inaccurate results. She also forced me to relax and not have any area being measured tense - no breathing in!
I though it was a bit overboard - surely you would naturally go to the same place again? But she was right, when I took my own measurements, I found myself wanting to measure where I would yield the best results. The measurements can vary quite a lot - my actual waist is about 5 cm smaller than my lower waist (where my love handles are). If I measured even a little lower or higher in that area it would get different results. It's also really difficult to fight the desire to hold my tummy in when I am measuring - especially after two kids! I have to force myself to breath out, but I must admit I don't completely relax.
Her approach to ensure accuracy was to measure from a fixed point on my body to the place we wanted to measure. For example, 20 cm from the nobble at the end of my collar bone was where she would measure my arms. I still follow this practice but instead of measuring to set locations I use markers on my body e.g. I have a small mole on my thigh the perfect height to measure my thigh width.
I have also found that when I am writing on the right hand page of my notebook, and can see the previous measurements on the page it influences my measurements as I tend to want to pull the tape tighter to try and beat the week before. I have a rule that the tape has to be sat on top of my skin during measurements, not pulled tight enough to press into the skin. I also try to stop myself from looking at previous measurements until I have completed taking the current set.
Its amazing how much I try to deceive myself whilst tracking my progress - even though I know if I create false results it does me to good!
