Getting Lean, Qualitative Measures, and the Law of Diminishing Returns

Something to keep in mind that as you get leaner and leaner your ability to measure or quantify change will decrease. Progress will start to show up more qualitatively and less quantitatively so it’s important to learn to accept the limitations of numbers as your be-all-end-all barometer of progress.

For example, improvements in vascularity don’t show up on any numbers or measurements. You can’t quantify everything.

Also remember that the process is not a straight line – as you get leaner it gets harder to get even leaner and progress is slower near the end than it was at the beginning. You tend to have to work harder, comply more, etc., for less results the leaner and leaner you get. It’s the Law of Diminishing Returns.

Goal achievement unfortunately isn’t a magical process of moving from point A to point B in a straight line – it would be nice, but it’s untrue. Progress is always non linear in both experience and results.

An overemphasis on numbers, as is all too common (whether that be scale weight, body fat percentages, measurements, etc), often serves for many as an added source of perceived pressure and winds up with the individual using these markers as a sign of success or failure.

Attempting to quantify everything will wind up diluting your ability to recognize qualitative progress. Too much quantification hurts your journey; it doesn’t enhance it.

Yes measure what you’re going to measure – we keep track of bodyweight and a list of various measurements – but none of these numbers in isolation mean anything without the added context of the other assessment tools used.