The scale – friend (when it says exactly what we want to hear) or foe (when it doesn’t budge, or worse goes in the wrong direction)? No matter what the scale says, it isn’t a better tool to judge your health. Thankfully, there’s a better way to measure your health. Try these for better ways to gauge your health:

1. Wake up one morning (not after a flight or a night out) and try on jeans and see how they fit. You can take a photo if that helps or jot down a few comments about how the jeans fit – waist, thighs, hips, legs. Retest every 2 weeks noting, for women, your menstrual cycle.
2. Do the same with a belt at two different spots – 1 inch above your belly button and 1 inch below your belly button. Remeasure each week.
3. Let’s talk coffee. Do you have to drink it to function in the morning? When it wears off, do you feel the need to get another one? Do you use coffee to go to the bathroom (#2)? If you answered yes to an
4. y of these, your better scale says you may be relying on caffeine instead of enjoying your caffeine sources.
5. What about hydration – did you drink half your body weight in water? Water enables your body to run better – to use nutrients, to remove waste, to clean things up, to help you feel full, and to run better.

5. How’s your step count? Could you do better? Walking – stepping – improves creativity, maintains brain health, helps reduce stress, aids fat loss, and supports better digestion.  Start by taking your current average (record your steps for 3 days then divide by 3 to get your average) and add 1000 steps – can you make that happen more often? Also, look at patterns on the days that drag your average down – how could you make them better? Write that “how” down and do it this week.
6. Set your alarm clock for when you will turn OFF your devices and lights –  use it as an alarm to go to bed better! Too many of us keep the lights on in some form and that keeps us from better sleep. And yes, it is better to go to bed earlier and wake up earlier. But doing that means less stuff in the evening – less food, less drink, less entertainment, less work … how could you do less in your evening? Identify one “how” and work on it this week.
7. Nurture your support system. Make time with your bestie and ask them to tell you three things they admire about you. Then share three things you would like to do better and ask for their support in making them happen within a specific time frame. Tell them how you plan to do better and how you would like them to remind you and support you in your efforts.
8. Better your digestion. FACT: you can’t get or keep better health if you don’t have better digestion. Your body needs to get what you take in, have it be usable, and remove what isn’t better for you. Your body sends you critical signals with your digestion – not going, going too often, going in the wrong direction, unwelcome smells, poor skin – so pay attention and address these first as they are what will keep the other parts of the better scale from becoming better. Have you taken the Digestive Evaluation? If you haven’t done it yet, do it now.

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