Forget the scales and get your shape taped

If you want to know what shape you're in, bin your scales. These days, when it seems we're all obsessed with our weight, we're slaves to the scales. Every home has them. Half my clients start each day on them in case they've gained a gram or two overnight. The newsagents are full of magazines debating the weight gains (boo) or losses (hurray) of any celeb unwise enough to be photographed in a bikini.

Even our doctors still use weight and height to calculate our health, in the form of the body mass index. It's a shame we hang so much of our sense of self-worth on a measurement that gives such a skewed view of a person's health. My trainers at TenPilates are all in pretty good shape. They're trim, fit and healthy. But on a pure BMI calculation most of them would be considered obese. It's all down to the combination of body fat, muscle and skeletal mass.

Take two women of equal size and body shape. The first one doesn't exercise or eat healthily, drinks and smokes. The second does all the right things in terms of exercise and diet.
The first woman weighs 55kg, of which 35 per cent is body fat. The second woman weighs 65kg, but only 20 per cent of that is body fat. See where I'm going with this?

Taking a lead from the scales, the second woman would worry about being 10kg heavier. But the reality is it's the first woman who's in trouble. She's clinically obese, with all the long-term health risks that represents.

If you want my advice, ditch the scales. For a better idea of the shape you're in — and the clue is in the word "shape" — get a tailor's tape measure instead, and measure the circumference of your hips, stomach, upper arm, thigh, calf, neck and chest.

Remember to measure the same area (it should be about the middle) every time. It will instantly show you how and where your exercise and diet programme is changing the shape of your body.

David Higgins is co-founder of TenPilates. TenPilates.com