The FastDay Forum

First of all can I say many thanks to moogie for all your hard work on this forum including the new progress tracker.

I just wondered the position on your body, you all measure your waist? I'm sure I've seen somewhere, MMs site maybe, that you should measure your waist on the line of your belly button, yet I would have thought your waist is a bit above this? As this measurement is a gauge to body health and used in the format that it should be half your height, I want to be sure I'm measuring the correct place as on me there is a difference of 2".

Many thanks all for all your input and help

I read that in the book and I think it's so you measure in the same place each week.
Hopefully seeing the measurement going down.

As long as you measure at the same point each week then surely that would count. Personally I measure my waist at the smallest point

I would say (certainly for a woman) that the waist is the thinnest point between the hips and ribs.

[carorees]

I guess going for the belly button as the waist height ensures consistency!

Your waist is the narrowest part of your body, I'd image. (Unless you're an apple shape in which case that's be your hips!)

The British Heart Foundation give a 'definitive' answer and instructions on how to measure your waist here: http://www.bhf.org.uk/bmi/bmi_measurewaist.html

[carorees]

Thanks Dominic

I saw that they give absolute values for waist size in their risk table as opposed to waist: height ratio. I would have thought that height needed to be taken into account?

True Caroline I rather agree with you, I guess they are trying to make it (too) simple...

I heard somewhere that waist should be half of your height? Xx

I'd have though that it's all very ball-park stuff anyway. Even waist to height doesn't take body shape into account...

Thanks for the replies. I wasn't too bothered about looking at how much was disappearing each week but can understand the belly button measurement to find that out but as Dominic says, on the BHF site it states waist measurement for women @34.5 for high risk! Using the belly button measurement I measure 35 so you can understand why I'm concerned, yet I'm not that much overweight. I had major heart surgery just over 2 years ago, not because of heart disease but just because of a bacteria and bad luck. I want to make sure I'm not putting any extra strain on my heart so want to get it right. Think I will use the belly button for the progress tracker but higher up, as on the BHF site, for putting my mind at rest. Thanks everyone