How To Figure Weight Loss Percentage

There are many ways to track weight loss. In addition to monitoring the number of pounds and number of inches you have lost, it also may be helpful to know the percentage of weight you have lost relative to your starting weight. According to the National Institutes of Health, if you are overweight, you can lower your risk for heart disease by losing 5 to 10 percent of your body weight.

Step 1

Weigh yourself on a bathroom scale. It is best to do so in the morning, before eating anything.

Step 2

Subtract your current weight from your starting weight (your weight before losing those pounds), using a calculator or pencil and paper. For example, if your current weight is 120 lbs. and your starting weight was 130 lbs., you would calculate 130 - 120, which is 10.

Step 3

Using a calculator or pencil and paper, divide the difference you calculated in Step 2 by your starting weight. In the example given above, you would calculate 10 / 130, which is 0.0769.

Step 4

Multiply the quotient from Step 3 by 100 to get the percentage. In the example above, you would calculate 0.0769 x 100, which is 7.69. This indicates you have lost almost 8 percent of your body weight.