How to MEASURE progress in your fitness journey!

HOW DO YOU MEASURE PROGRESS??? 

Is it SOLELY by the number on your scale??? I mean, seriously... IF you KNOW you have been eating healthy food... and working out more than you usually do... and your scale goes up 2lbs, do you really let that TRASH your day and erase all of the HARD WORK and DEDICATION you've put in??? 

Working with FEMALES can be TOUGH!!! So many of us are SOOOOO FIXATED on that damn "ideal" number that we forget to FEEL PROUD of ourselves for waking up early 4 days this week and getting our workout in... or choosing to SKIP the donuts at the office... or walking the stairs instead of taking the elevator. All of those LITTLE choices that will end up COMPOUNDING over time and defining your health as a whole. 


Look ladies... I love looking lean... and I am happy when my scale drops down too... but having that be your DEFINING MOMENT every morning is RIDICULOUS and NEEDS TO STOP. It should be but one of MANY WAYS you MEASURE your progress!!! And depending on where you are at... Your weight may actually GO UP as you build lean muscle and shed fat! (as seen in the pic below!!!)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ 

Here are just a few others ways to MEASURE YOUR PROGRESS:

- MEASUREMENTS (Take BEFORE measurements of chest, waist, hips, arms, and thighs) *INCHES are far more important than POUNDS!*

- BODY FAT (You can use a scale that has a body fat measurement tools built in it, you can use Calipers, or they even have tests you can have done at the gym... Whatever you choose... be consistent using ONLY that one way to measure)

- HOW DO YOU FEEL? Are you sleeping better, do you have more energy, feeling more positive, happy? (These are ALL results of a healthy diet and regular exercise!!!) 

- HOW DOES YOUR SKIN LOOK? YEP! With a healthy diet, you should even see your skin tone improve and clear!

- HOW DO YOUR CLOTHES FIT? As your body composition changes, you will notice your clothes fit differently! (THIS IS ONE OF MY FAV WAYS to MEASURE MY PROGRESS BECAUSE I LOVE ME SOME SKINNY JEANS!!!)

- A PICTURE SPEAKS A THOUSAND WORDS!!! ((MY ABSOLUTE FAV WAY to MEASURE PROGRESS!!!)) Pleaseeee do yourself a favor and take progress pics!!! (I mean, seriously, PIC below... Need I say more???)

- BETTER, STRONGER, FASTER!!! When it comes to exercise... this is one of the FIRST signs of progress and the EASIEST to MEASURE!!! On day ONE see:
How many push ups you can do?
What size weights are you using?
How far into your workout video can you make it?
... and then take note as the weeks go by how much BETTER, STRONGER and FASTER YOU BECOME!!! It doesn't take long to see this type of progress!!!

ALL of these contributions should be added together to measure YOUR PROGRESS!!! 

Weight really is JUST A NUMBER... that NO ONE has to know but you!!! 

Don't JIP yourself and forget so CELEBRATE ALL OF THE AREAS of PROGRESS ABOVE!!!

Make it COUNT... and COUNT MORE than JUST POUNDS, Ya hear?!?!

Lindsay Matway: TOP BEACHBODY COACH 2013

Ever had that one person in your life that made EVERY DREAM feel possible? Who believed that you could move mountains and made sure to pour themselves into you to make sure you believed as well?

At Lenny's with Billy the morning I found out I was officially TOP COACH 2013!

17 years ago I spent every Saturday morning at this Lenny's breakfast counter (shown in the pic of Billy & I) with my grandpa. He would pick me up at 8:30am, take me to my 9am guitar lesson and then we would end our morning together at Lenny's, enjoying danishes, OJ and pancakes. I could sit there with him for hours, listening to him tell stories of his life and all the adventures he had experienced… He was the most patient, gentle, humble, yet incredibly driven person I have ever known... and will ALWAYS be the biggest influencer in who I am today. 

My Grandpa and I (age 10)

Today, I felt it was only fitting to go back to Lenny's and sit on those same two stools my grandpa and I shared our Saturday mornings on, to celebrate a pretty special accomplishment in my life with the 2nd biggest influencer in my life, my husband, Billy. It HIT ME while we were there that though my grandpa passed away before he got to meet Billy… that he has to be SO PLEASED with the man I chose to spend my life with... A man who is just as patient, gentle and humble as his was. 

                                      

Without these two people BELIEVING IN ME before I ever had one single SUCCESS under my belt… I would NOT be here today… getting phone calls from everyone at Beachbody corporate, the last of which was the CEO, Carl Daikeler, congratulating me on becoming the first ever FEMALE TOP COACH in the company's history! A title I was able to earn by leading more coaches to have success in this business than any other coach this year. (HOW RIDICULOUSLY HUMBLING!!!) 

CEO of Beachbody, Carl Daikeler and I in Miami for Super Sunday

I feel so blessed. Blessed not only to have the life I have today, with a TEAM that is more like my FAMILY, to whom made ALL of this possible with their amazing drive, vision, heart, passion, belief and integrity… but for my PAST and every person in it who helped shape me into the woman I am today. I am SO THANKFUL. Most of all… I want to thank GOD. The God who took a broken, very lost girl 3.5 years ago and gave her a vision of what life COULD be like if she stopped fighting for control and SURRENDERED to His Plan. I am constantly blown away with His grace in my life and know to whom much is given, much is expected. 

I am going to keep going. I am going to continue to work hard and stay in the trenches… not because I have to, but because I am CALLED to… I feel a RESPONSIBILITY to share this business with others. To help them understand that their dreams are still POSSIBLE… and to BELIEVE IN THEM the way that both my grandpa and husband believed in ME.

Here is to an INCREDIBLE 2014!!

My Top Coach 2013 Acceptance Speech in Miami, FL on Jan. 12, 2014