If you are not up to measuring your body with a tape measure or weighing yourself on a set of scales then another popular method is to look at your dress size. If you are looking to go to an event or to fit into a certain piece of clothing that you can't seem to get into, then dropping a dress size or two is another way to measure how well your diet and exercise plan is going.

Not very accurate!

This method is not really something I personally would like to recommend as I think that it is not really the most accurate way to measure your body’s changes. In today’s world of fashion there are so many different brands, designers and styles that in one shop you might be a size 12 in the pants and a 16 in the top, and three doors down you won’t be able to fit into a size 16 pair of pants and you take a medium in the top. This can be very frustrating especially if you have your heart set on being a size 10.

Every brand is different and even within the same brand, each style is different. I have tried on jeans from one shop and not been able to get into a size 16 and then tried on a different style (same brand of jeans) and the 14 was a little loose.

Now imagine if I had been working really hard for a month or two and walked into that shop and only tried on the size 16 jeans and couldn’t fit into them! It would be extremely deflating, I would feel like all the work I had just done with my diet and exercise was for nothing.

Pick a shop and stick with it

Therefore if you are going to use this method then pick your shop, brand and style before you start. For example, don’t compare Levis 501 with Levis 545 as one style might suit you more than the other. Simply compare only Levies 501 with each other, like-for-like. If you get into a 36 now then aim for a 34 or whatever you are comfortable with.

Personally I think clothing sizes are too fickle to use as an accurate measurement and they have never made me all that happy. I lost 30lbs and tried on a size 12 dress and it was too big which made me ecstatic and then about 10 minutes later I tried on a 14 pants and they were a little tight - I couldn’t have gone to the 12 if I wanted to! This made me feel dreadful and forget about all the good things.

Remember if you do choose to use this method to take the sizes of the clothing loosely and don't worry too much if something doesn’t fit. It could be a bad cut or a faulty item; there is lots of room for error. If you do end up using this method it is a good idea if you can double up your record keeping with either weighing yourself or measuring using a tape measure.