Fit not thin

For years I have been obsessed with the what the scales have to tell me, sweating over a pound, always aiming for a new target. I even had an app on my phone that let me chart my weight loss only adding to my obsessive weighing.

I have never been skinny but equally I have never been overweight. But it didn't hit me until I started to run miles a week and physically see that my body was toning up that I realised maybe what I weighed wasn't the most important factor. My weight hasn't dropped drastically but my body shape has changed hugely.

Which is when I started to look into other ways to measure my changing shape and stumbled across the Body Fat Percentage Calculator. I used the measurement method putting my height, waist, neck and hip measurements into a calculator online and was given a percentage which then fitted into one of the below categories:

Women

10-12% Essential Fat
14-20% Athletes
21-24% Fitness
25-31% Acceptable
32%+ Overweight/Obese

Men

2-4% Essential Fat
6-13% Athletes
14-17% Fitness
18-25% Acceptable
26%+ Overweight/Obese

I was pleasantly surprised to see that I fell almost smack bang in the middle of the "Fitness" category. Now for a girl who loves cake and big dinners it really did show that what I am doing is right. I don't have to live off salad leaves and steer clear of carbs. I can eat healthily and heartily as long as I am willing to focus on exercise rather than starvation. It seems obvious but this was a big realisation for me having opted for diets over exercise terrified of looking unfeminine and "ripped".

So now that I have had my epiphany and am determined to be fit not thin I won't be so terrified of the extra helping of pasta after a particularly gruelling run.

How do you chart your progress?