IF YOU DON’T MEASURE IT, HOW DO YOU KNOW IF IT’S WORKING?

Every day, people make changes to improve their health. 

They start a new diet. 

Take a supplement. 

Begin an exercise program. 

Change their sleep routine. 

Start a medication. 

Or make a significant lifestyle change. 

But there is a surprisingly simple question that often gets forgotten: 

How will you know whether it actually worked? 

FEELING BETTER MATTERS — BUT IT ISN’T THE WHOLE PICTURE 

How we feel is important. 

More energy, better sleep, improved mood, less pain and greater exercise capacity are all meaningful outcomes. 

But many important changes in our health occur long before we can feel them. 

Blood pressure can change without symptoms. 

Blood glucose can gradually rise without symptoms. 

Insulin resistance can develop silently. 

Cholesterol and triglycerides can change without us noticing. 

Body composition can change even when body weight barely moves. 

That is why objective measurements can be so valuable. 

START WITH THE OUTCOME YOU'RE TRYING TO CHANGE 

Rather than simply asking: 

“What supplement should I take?” 

or: 

“What diet should I follow?” 

perhaps we should first ask: 

“What am I actually trying to improve?” 

If the goal is better metabolic health, we might monitor glucose, insulin, HbA1c, waist circumference or body composition. 

If the goal is improving cardiovascular health, blood pressure, lipids and exercise capacity may be useful. 

If the goal is building muscle, strength and body composition become relevant. 

If the goal is improving sleep, sleep duration, sleep quality and daytime function may matter. 

The measurements should follow the goal. 

THEN MEASURE AGAIN 

This is where health interventions become much more informative. 

Instead of: 

Try something → Hope it works 

we can begin thinking: 

Measure → Intervene → Reassess → Adjust 

Did the marker improve? 

Did it remain unchanged? 

Did something unexpected happen? 

Should we continue? 

Should we modify the intervention? 

Or should we stop? 

This doesn't mean we need to obsessively track every aspect of our health. 

Quite the opposite. 

The objective is to identify the few measurements that actually matter for the outcome we're trying to achieve. 

TURNING HEALTH INFORMATION INTO HEALTH FEEDBACK 

We live in an era with extraordinary access to health information. 

The challenge is no longer simply finding another diet, supplement, exercise program or health strategy. 

The greater challenge is determining: 

Is this intervention actually helping me? 

And that requires feedback. 

Because when we measure the right things, health interventions stop being simply something we do. 

They become something we can evaluate. 

If you don't measure it, how do you know if it's working? 

Measure what matters.