Beverley Simpson breaks down quantitative measurements like weight numbers against qualitative ones like how clothes fit or pain levels. Both matter for tracking real progress in weight loss and recovery, and knowing which to trust when matters.
There's differences between a quantitative measurement, which is looking at numbers and data, and then also a qualitative measurement. How do I feel? How much pain do I have? Can I do these activities without any issue? So part of it comes down to what is the actual measurement that that person values the most, and then how often are they looking into that measurement. So if I have a client who let's say their goal is to lose weight and they are losing weight at a relatively good pace, a pound a week, everything's moving well, and they're saying, oh, I only lost. Or I tried on these jeans the other day and I felt like they were too tight. Even though you've been losing weight consistently. Right. So the qualitative measurement is going in the exact right direction. But their quantitative measurement, where they feel like the rate of weight loss isn't enough, or sorry, the quantitative is going the right directive, the qualitative, the genes feel tight. They don't feel like they're losing weight fast enough. That's out of whack. So making sure that they can see the forest for the trees becomes important too. Making sure they understand that the progress that you're making is actually good. If somebody is worried about something like tendinopathy, they have no frame of reference of our mind. They don't know what normal is, what fast is, or anything like that. So to be able to say, well, I can do these things that I used to not be able to do and it doesn't hurt anymore, that's big. That's a major improvement that a lot of people don't give themselves enough credit.
