You usually find that anyone on a Gastric Band journey will mostly gauge their success through the numbers that come up on the scale, but this can sometimes be misleading. We may be holding onto fluid at certain times of the month or gaining muscle and because muscle takes up less room than fat, we probably have lost inches but maybe not as much weight on the scale as we would like ' this can be infuriating! Some of us even get obsessive about weighing ourselves on the scales, but there are other ways to determine your success on your Lap Band journey ' here are our top 5!!1. Your clothesFor most of us who have been obese, we have a wardrobe chock full of different sizes - when I started my Lap Band journey, I had at least 7 different sizes of clothing in my wardrobes. I have used this to great effect on my journey. I commenced with the biggest size I had and then I put the next size down hanging behind my bedroom door. Every week I would try on this pair of pants and when they fit, I started wearing them and threw out the old, larger pair. I am down 4 pants sizes since the beginning of my Lap Band journey and I have my eye on the next size down which is hanging on my bedroom door!2. How long it takes you to walk a mileFor many of us who have had a gastric band fitted, exercise is an alien concept (or more like alien torture!). Exercise can be one of the best indicators of fitness and weight loss! Walking or any form of exercise becomes easier and easier the more weight that you lose because you're not hauling around so much weight. Work your way up to walking a mile starting with 10mins of walking if that's all you can do. Once you are walking a mile, write down the time that it takes you to complete the distance. Replicate this each week and see how fast your body responds to regular exercise and weight loss.3. Monthly photosYou might not notice the differences that are happening every day when you look in the mirror but a picture is worth a thousand words! Take photos of yourself from the front, side and back at the same time each month and watch the changes take place! This can also be a great reminder of how far you have come. If you are feeling you aren't exactly where you want to be at on your journey - take out these pictures and compare where you were at the start to your latest photos, generally this will cheer you up straight away!4. Compliments from family and friendsIt's really lovely when we receive compliments from friends, family or even colleagues and this is a great way to see how you're going on your journey. Sometimes it takes a little bit of time for people to notice the weight that you have lost if you have quite a bit to lose but then generally the compliments will come thick and fast!5. Your own measureFor many of us, there are some great personal measurements that we can take. Some people like to measure the reduction in the number of medications that they are taking, some will measure it by the pain (or lack thereof) in their backs when they are in bed. I actually have a unique measure I like to use and that is the bathtub! I like to have baths for a treat and each time I get in, I check to see how far my thighs are from the edges. In the beginning, both thighs hit either side of the bath, now I they are nowhere near it and I can get my whole fist between my thigh and the bath - now I am aiming for 2 fists! What is your personal measure?