Celebrate the beauty of being alive! Looks and feel better. Being healthy and slim is the best way to start.

Success can be measured on a number of levels. It's important to measure your growth by the new healthy habits you're adopting as well as by your appearance. Long-term decreases in medical harms, injury, and other health risks and an improved quality of life, with or without weight loss, are the most important measures of success.

Short- and medium-term changes can also be measured regularly during the process. These include obvious changes in health-related behavior patterns such as a decreased reliance on medications, increased ability to perform physical activity, a reduced intake of fat, and the increased intake of dietary fiber, vitamins, and minerals in your diet.

If you've started making slight changes in how your food is cooked or prepared, or if you're reading labels at the grocery store and are discovering new tastes and textures, you're making great improvements towards a healthier lifestyle. When you feel good about yourself and acknowledge the changes you're making along the way, you're more likely to keep moving forward on your path.

Physical indicators of progress towards a healthier body fat distribution include the waist circumference and waist-hip ratio (WHR). Because abdominal obesity has consistently been associated with risk factors for diabetes and heart disease, any reduction in the waist circumference or in the WHR is a positive step towards a healthier body fat distribution, regardless of weight loss.