If you want to see a change in yourself and your body, you need to measure your performance as you go along and set yourself goals. Without goals, you won’t stay focused and you’ll have no motivation.

The only way you’re really going to know if you’re losing weight or toning up is by monitoring your measurements. As the saying goes: “One accurate measurement is worth a thousand expert opinions.”

To really see progress, I’d recommend taking measurements every one to two weeks. At first you might not think you’re losing weight when you stand on the scales and the numbers haven’t dropped, but try measuring your body fat. Although your weight may not have decreased, your body fat will if you’re putting in the work. This means you’re becoming leaner and toning up. Remember that muscle weighs more than fat.

You might be wondering how to measure body fat. Working out your BMI is a good place to start and measuring it is easy, especially with some of the latest apps on the market. We’ve picked some of the best free ones.

  • BMI Calculator: This app is a quick, easy, simple solution to all your weight problems. Your body mass index (BMI) is a measurement of your weight and height. All you need to do is input your height, weight and calorie consumption to calculate your BMI and help you reach your ideal weight sooner.
  • Diet Assistant – Weight Loss: Rated 4.5 stars on iPhones and 4 on Android phones, this app rates highly among users. One of the hardest parts of losing weight is eating healthily, as temptations surround us all. Diet Assistant makes it much easier to watch what you eat. It acts like your own personal nutritionist. Enter your target weight and the app will design a meal plan to get you on track to achieving it. It even creates meals for those with specific diets such as high-protein meals or vegetarian meals.

  • Calorie Counter and Diet Tracker by MyFitness Pal: The key to this app’s success is that it incorporates the two weight-loss essentials – diet and exercise. It lets you calculate everything from fat and calorie intake to cholesterol. The app also calculates over 350 cardio and strength-training exercises to help you trim down and tone up.

    • Alternatively, if you prefer to do things the old-fashioned way, the easiest way to measure BMI is with a measuring tape. Before you start measuring, make sure you know your waist measurement. A healthy range for a woman is 32 inches or less and for a man it’s 37 inches or less. Also know what healthy weight should match your height by visiting this link www.rte.ie/ot/wp-content/files/2015/01/OT8KYN-Chart-2015.pdf to give you an idea if you’re healthy or overweight.

    Another good way to track progress is by taking photos of yourself weekly, preferably in the same location and wearing the same outfit so you can really see the changes. It’s good to take a photo on a focused area like your stomach or legs as that way you can easily compare your progress to pictures taken weeks before.