If you don’t know by now, stepping on the scale to measure your weight can be misleading. Excess body fat may take up a lot room on the thighs, belly and elsewhere, but it really doesn’t weigh very much.

Most people consider excess body weight and body fat as synonymous. But this is simply untrue. Because we are a weight-conscious society, for many people stepping on the scale each morning is a powerful ritual—and one that’s difficult to break.

Body fat takes up much more space than muscle and water.

The most practical way to monitor body fat is to not step on a scale, but rather to measure your body circumferences. This handout provides the guidelines to measure 7 different body parts on both men and women to track changes in body weight.