As mentioned in a previous post, weight loss can be very easily related to American football.
For those unfamiliar with American football- there is a clock, like in soccer (football everywhere else!) In soccer (if I understand the game correctly, there are two 45-minute halves, with no real time outs, and time can be added by the officials at the end of the half (or maybe just the final half). American football is also divided into halves, but each half is 30 minutes long, and further divided into quarters of 15 minutes each. It is fairly unusual for much time, if any, to be added back on to the clock.
After my first successful round of weight loss, I've decided that this is a pretty manageable way of doing things, and have set a goal for the next four weeks. The weight loss goal of the first four weeks was a total of ten pounds; through diet, exercise, a pedometer and an Excel spreadsheet I managed to drop seventeen pounds.
I need to explain "downs" to those unacquainted with American football. In stark contrast to soccer, which is similar to ballet in that there is near constant motion, American football is more like a chess match, with one huge difference. In chess, opponents take turns attempting to place their opponent into check and ultimately mate. In football, a team has four opportunities to run plays and attempt to score- or, at least get another set of downs. An American football field is 100 yards long (meters/metres and yards are fairly close in length; one inch== 2.54cm, a yard ==36 inches, and a meter==39.36 inches [yes, I know these things by heart]). To get a "first down", a team needs to move the ball 10 yards from where they originally possessed it. When they move the ball 10 yards or more, they get a new set of downs.
So, I successfully completed my first four week challenge- I lost 17 pounds. In football parlance, I gained 17 yards, maybe. I now have a new set of downs.
I truly, truly hope all of the soccer fans out there are able to follow this analogy, because I think it works pretty well. Pressing on...
I've moved up the field, farther than I'd expected when I first started. I have a new set of four weeks to work with. Initially, I thought about increasing my goal just a bit, say to 12 pounds for the period. However, I added some simple analytics to my spreadsheet, and decided that instead of shooting for a weight goal for the next four weeks, I'd shoot for something a bit more significant in terms of health. 12 pounds is good, but 14 pounds will drop my BMI into a lower category, so it's a goal worth shooting for.
I've said this before on twitter: I'm not a data scientist nor do I pretend to be one. However, most of us can do some common sense analytics and improve or fine tune our goals. The answers (or very clear directions to the answers) are often right in front of us. We just need to know how to ask the right questions (or to be brave or honest enough to ask them).
My wake up call started with a reflection in a mirror. What's yours?
As always, I am hochspeyer, blogging data analysis and management so you don't have to.
Thursday, August 27, 2015
Tuesday, August 25, 2015
Four weeks
Someone on a forum recently asked me what I've been up to since last posting there. I thought what I wrote was useful, so I'm republishing it here.
"Looking at my fat abs, and deciding to attack with knowledge and experience. I'll make an Excel spreadsheet for the lamest of reasons- I'm putting this to good use and am tracking diet, macros, vitals and training in it.
My weight has been pretty stable over the past 12-24 mos, but stable == 39.68 BMI! When I finally ran those numbers a little over a month ago, I just said , "ENOUGH."
I did some research on keto, and decided that I didn't really want to go full-bore keto, so I came up with a reasonable compromise: a carb-restricted diet. The premise is simple: follow the spirit of keto, but rather than keeping carbs in the bargain basement of my macros, eliminate the bad carbs, pump up the fats and protein, and get more active.
I've been using a pedometer forever, and I recently got the Runkeeper app for my phone. I don't run, btw- I actually hate running, but Runkeeper tracks all sorts of stuff. I've found that if I can get three walks in per week (ONLY 3!), I can get some decent weight loss. My very worse weight loss week was last week- only 2 pounds. Only one walk. My second week, though, was insane- 8.6lbs dropped.
The dietary component is simple: no pasta, ramen, potatoes, bread or boxed dinner mixes ("Hamburger Helper"). I love this stuff... I really do. It's been over a month since I've had any of it. My wife has insisted that I keep up on fiber intake, so I do consume carbs- but mostly from fresh (or baked) veggies. Butternut squash, tomatoes and cucumber are my current primary carb sources. And... here's the disclaimer: this WILL NOT work for everyone. I eat slowly. Very slowly. Monday night, I consumed a grand total of two cups of tea, a Monster (Ultra- nearly no carbs), and 10oz of ground pork and ground beef patties. My maintenance kcals are currently just shy of 2500/day. My intake was 836... that's a bit unusual, even for me: I'm usually closer to 1400-1500.
Resistance training: not a lot going on for several reasons.
The primary reason is the "lose weight vs build muscle" argument. The last time I tried to lose weight I lifted fairly heavy (for me). I got stronger and looked better, but was still fat. My primary training right now is walking, I'm not certain that a casual observer would notice much difference in me, but my belly has definitely shrunk, and my favorite belt needs a new hole for my smaller diameter. I have two resistance tools which I use at work (there are times where I have to wait for processes to finish, so I can do these). The first resource is a Wham-O "Super-Duper ball". Orange and about 4" across, it's great for squeezing- good forearm and shoulder work. The other resource is about the same size, except it's a 2lb medicine ball. I like to throw this up towards the ceiling in sets of 10 reps. Neither of these will give me huge guns, but they burn calories and keep the muscles primed!"
... and that's me talking some trash with one of the mods at iron-sanctuary.com. If you're into body building, I highly recommend this site.
As always, I am hochspeyer, bloggging data analysis and management so you don't have to.
"Looking at my fat abs, and deciding to attack with knowledge and experience. I'll make an Excel spreadsheet for the lamest of reasons- I'm putting this to good use and am tracking diet, macros, vitals and training in it.
My weight has been pretty stable over the past 12-24 mos, but stable == 39.68 BMI! When I finally ran those numbers a little over a month ago, I just said , "ENOUGH."
I did some research on keto, and decided that I didn't really want to go full-bore keto, so I came up with a reasonable compromise: a carb-restricted diet. The premise is simple: follow the spirit of keto, but rather than keeping carbs in the bargain basement of my macros, eliminate the bad carbs, pump up the fats and protein, and get more active.
I've been using a pedometer forever, and I recently got the Runkeeper app for my phone. I don't run, btw- I actually hate running, but Runkeeper tracks all sorts of stuff. I've found that if I can get three walks in per week (ONLY 3!), I can get some decent weight loss. My very worse weight loss week was last week- only 2 pounds. Only one walk. My second week, though, was insane- 8.6lbs dropped.
The dietary component is simple: no pasta, ramen, potatoes, bread or boxed dinner mixes ("Hamburger Helper"). I love this stuff... I really do. It's been over a month since I've had any of it. My wife has insisted that I keep up on fiber intake, so I do consume carbs- but mostly from fresh (or baked) veggies. Butternut squash, tomatoes and cucumber are my current primary carb sources. And... here's the disclaimer: this WILL NOT work for everyone. I eat slowly. Very slowly. Monday night, I consumed a grand total of two cups of tea, a Monster (Ultra- nearly no carbs), and 10oz of ground pork and ground beef patties. My maintenance kcals are currently just shy of 2500/day. My intake was 836... that's a bit unusual, even for me: I'm usually closer to 1400-1500.
Resistance training: not a lot going on for several reasons.
The primary reason is the "lose weight vs build muscle" argument. The last time I tried to lose weight I lifted fairly heavy (for me). I got stronger and looked better, but was still fat. My primary training right now is walking, I'm not certain that a casual observer would notice much difference in me, but my belly has definitely shrunk, and my favorite belt needs a new hole for my smaller diameter. I have two resistance tools which I use at work (there are times where I have to wait for processes to finish, so I can do these). The first resource is a Wham-O "Super-Duper ball". Orange and about 4" across, it's great for squeezing- good forearm and shoulder work. The other resource is about the same size, except it's a 2lb medicine ball. I like to throw this up towards the ceiling in sets of 10 reps. Neither of these will give me huge guns, but they burn calories and keep the muscles primed!"
... and that's me talking some trash with one of the mods at iron-sanctuary.com. If you're into body building, I highly recommend this site.
As always, I am hochspeyer, bloggging data analysis and management so you don't have to.
The (inevitable) post-game weight-loss analysis
Almost four weeks ago I started a fitness program somewhat of my own design with the quantitative goal of losing 10 lbs (~4.5kg) in four weeks, and the qualitative goal of be fitter overall. As I was sitting here getting ready to write this, a few analogies came to mind.
If you're acquainted with American football or the Sony Playstation, you may have heard of John Madden, former NFL coach and television commentator. This, in turn, led me further down into the rabbit hole until I ran into the Batman television series of the 60's. The connection here is that Madden used to do "chalk talks" on interesting plays during a game, in which he would quickly outline a particular play on a whiteboard or other device, often punctuating the action with "BIF!" "BAM!" "POW!" just as the Batman series would do every time the Caped Crusader (the REAL Batman, btw) landed a righteous uppercut on a villainous villain or one of his or her henchmen.
So, ... Madden + Batman = weight loss?
Not quite. I'm not dieting- I'm getting fit. I've made some lifestyle changes which have resulted in success: the goal was to lose 10lbs in four weeks- I lost 17 (~7.72kg)!
As my tracking was over the course of four weeks, a tie-in with American football was almost a natural. There are four quarters in a football game, and all of my data tracking was based of a four week period. In fact, one might even go so far as to think of this first "game" as a preseason game, in which I put of ideas forth, get some training in, experiment with diet, and get the Excel spreadsheet up to speed. The only difference between MY preseason and a football preseason game is that in my "preseason", the results count.
The analogy can be extended even deeper. In the NFL (American football), teams generally either have a dominant air (passing) offense or a ground (rushing) game. In my world, the "air" attack is mainly diet-based loss, whilst the ground game (running in the NFL [American football]) is walking in my analogy. So, how'd I do?
Week 1 (1st quarter): Weigh-in. Not much much data, just setting down some baselines. First official (results) weekend. Three pound loss- a field goal?
Week 2 (2nd quarter)- A huge loss (8.6lbs- 3.9kg) This took me totally by surprise- I weighed myself FIVE ties to verify that that this number was correct!
Week 3 (3rd quarter)- A smaller loss, mostly due to a lack of my ground game (walking).
Week 4 (4th quarter)- Pretty much maintenance. So, as a recap: I've got four weeks "on the books". How did I do?
Ausgezeichnet! Of course! I am SO happy, joyous! These results were unexpected, to say the least.
A quick flashback to Friday morning appropriate. I was putting my stuff in Meerkat (our trusty Subaru Outback) just as my boss was pulling into the parking lot. He got out and we exchanged "good mornings".I then told him I had started a fitness program, with the intent of losing 10lbs in four weeks.
"Wow, that's quite a goal." (I'm paraphrasing here, but he meant that, as he's a pretty slender fellow). When I told him I had already lost 15lbs, he was nearly speechless! Frequent readers may have noted this in passing, but I tend to keep my language and situations "G" rated. But, damn, Damn, DAMN!
I LOST 17LBS IN 4 WEEKS!
I am sitting at my computer (obviously) in the SUL listening to Elvis' "Way Down". I'm not a huge Elvis fan, but I love this song,and it seems to be such an appropriate wrapping this up.
That's all for now. Another exciting "chapter" is just around the corner!
As always, I am hochspeyer, blogging data analysis and management so you don't have to.
If you're acquainted with American football or the Sony Playstation, you may have heard of John Madden, former NFL coach and television commentator. This, in turn, led me further down into the rabbit hole until I ran into the Batman television series of the 60's. The connection here is that Madden used to do "chalk talks" on interesting plays during a game, in which he would quickly outline a particular play on a whiteboard or other device, often punctuating the action with "BIF!" "BAM!" "POW!" just as the Batman series would do every time the Caped Crusader (the REAL Batman, btw) landed a righteous uppercut on a villainous villain or one of his or her henchmen.
So, ... Madden + Batman = weight loss?
Not quite. I'm not dieting- I'm getting fit. I've made some lifestyle changes which have resulted in success: the goal was to lose 10lbs in four weeks- I lost 17 (~7.72kg)!
As my tracking was over the course of four weeks, a tie-in with American football was almost a natural. There are four quarters in a football game, and all of my data tracking was based of a four week period. In fact, one might even go so far as to think of this first "game" as a preseason game, in which I put of ideas forth, get some training in, experiment with diet, and get the Excel spreadsheet up to speed. The only difference between MY preseason and a football preseason game is that in my "preseason", the results count.
The analogy can be extended even deeper. In the NFL (American football), teams generally either have a dominant air (passing) offense or a ground (rushing) game. In my world, the "air" attack is mainly diet-based loss, whilst the ground game (running in the NFL [American football]) is walking in my analogy. So, how'd I do?
Week 1 (1st quarter): Weigh-in. Not much much data, just setting down some baselines. First official (results) weekend. Three pound loss- a field goal?
Week 2 (2nd quarter)- A huge loss (8.6lbs- 3.9kg) This took me totally by surprise- I weighed myself FIVE ties to verify that that this number was correct!
Week 3 (3rd quarter)- A smaller loss, mostly due to a lack of my ground game (walking).
Week 4 (4th quarter)- Pretty much maintenance. So, as a recap: I've got four weeks "on the books". How did I do?
Ausgezeichnet! Of course! I am SO happy, joyous! These results were unexpected, to say the least.
A quick flashback to Friday morning appropriate. I was putting my stuff in Meerkat (our trusty Subaru Outback) just as my boss was pulling into the parking lot. He got out and we exchanged "good mornings".I then told him I had started a fitness program, with the intent of losing 10lbs in four weeks.
"Wow, that's quite a goal." (I'm paraphrasing here, but he meant that, as he's a pretty slender fellow). When I told him I had already lost 15lbs, he was nearly speechless! Frequent readers may have noted this in passing, but I tend to keep my language and situations "G" rated. But, damn, Damn, DAMN!
I LOST 17LBS IN 4 WEEKS!
I am sitting at my computer (obviously) in the SUL listening to Elvis' "Way Down". I'm not a huge Elvis fan, but I love this song,and it seems to be such an appropriate wrapping this up.
That's all for now. Another exciting "chapter" is just around the corner!
As always, I am hochspeyer, blogging data analysis and management so you don't have to.
Saturday, August 22, 2015
Goals are great- results are better
(I started writing this last Sunday... the 16th! It's been a fairly busy week.)
Well, it's Sunday night. I find that Sunday night is often a good time to reflect on the previous week, especially as Sunday has turned into my "weigh day".. The problem is that Sunday night for me == Monday morning for most "normal" folks. Well, not really, but my schedule is a bit screwy- which is why why my fitness tracking is also nonstandard.
Like most folks, I have a regular work week, doing my job from Monday through Friday. The difference is that my Monday starts when most "normal" folks are considering going to bed (around 8 p.m. [2000])...and this is why my macro tracking is a little odd. Back to macros-
After three weeks, I've decided to track macro Monday thru Friday only. There's a couple of reasons for this. First, the schedule: I don't normally have sit-down meals with the family- most of my calories during the week are taken in at work, and these are easily tracked. Saturday is a short, one meal day, and Sunday is my carb reload day. Yup, I'm a bad boy "dieter"... which is why I've blown away my weight loss goals (in other words, I'm not dieting- I'm on a fitness program)! My stated goal (at the beginning of this venture) was 10lbs (~4.5Kg) dropped in 4 weeks. This is officially the end of the third week and I've lost 15lbs.
To be honest, I don't think my approach will work for everyone- or forever for me. For starters, you've got to have the mindset, the attitude, that you WILL do this. Your initial goal has to be reasonable, believable and be fairly short term. In other words, it HAS to be doable- you won't succeed if you set yourself up to fail (if you don't believe me, look up the Battle of Midway, Operation Market-Garden, or any one of countless other military failures based on an unreasonable, complicated goal)
"Sort of" addendum:
It's now Saturday afternoon the 22nd. As one may surmise, it's not been a good week for writing. My sleep has been odd, I've been limping around a bit and generally pretty busy at work. Of that group of three, only the last one is desirable. This will be all for now- stay tuned for some exciting news which will be published in the next blog!
As always, I am hochspeyer, blogging data analysis and management so you don't have to.
Well, it's Sunday night. I find that Sunday night is often a good time to reflect on the previous week, especially as Sunday has turned into my "weigh day".. The problem is that Sunday night for me == Monday morning for most "normal" folks. Well, not really, but my schedule is a bit screwy- which is why why my fitness tracking is also nonstandard.
Like most folks, I have a regular work week, doing my job from Monday through Friday. The difference is that my Monday starts when most "normal" folks are considering going to bed (around 8 p.m. [2000])...and this is why my macro tracking is a little odd. Back to macros-
After three weeks, I've decided to track macro Monday thru Friday only. There's a couple of reasons for this. First, the schedule: I don't normally have sit-down meals with the family- most of my calories during the week are taken in at work, and these are easily tracked. Saturday is a short, one meal day, and Sunday is my carb reload day. Yup, I'm a bad boy "dieter"... which is why I've blown away my weight loss goals (in other words, I'm not dieting- I'm on a fitness program)! My stated goal (at the beginning of this venture) was 10lbs (~4.5Kg) dropped in 4 weeks. This is officially the end of the third week and I've lost 15lbs.
To be honest, I don't think my approach will work for everyone- or forever for me. For starters, you've got to have the mindset, the attitude, that you WILL do this. Your initial goal has to be reasonable, believable and be fairly short term. In other words, it HAS to be doable- you won't succeed if you set yourself up to fail (if you don't believe me, look up the Battle of Midway, Operation Market-Garden, or any one of countless other military failures based on an unreasonable, complicated goal)
"Sort of" addendum:
It's now Saturday afternoon the 22nd. As one may surmise, it's not been a good week for writing. My sleep has been odd, I've been limping around a bit and generally pretty busy at work. Of that group of three, only the last one is desirable. This will be all for now- stay tuned for some exciting news which will be published in the next blog!
As always, I am hochspeyer, blogging data analysis and management so you don't have to.
Wednesday, August 12, 2015
Weight loss by the numbers
In a previous post, I had mentioned my setting the goal of losing 10lbs (approximately 4.5kg) in four weeks.
As I write this, here I am omly two weeks into my program. I've lost 11.6lbs (just over 5.2kg). What now? And, more importantly for anyone reading this who is interested in losing some weight, how did this happen?
Well, for starters, it's important to recognize that everyone has a style (and more importantly- a metabolism) unique to them. That is, what one eats, how one eats and how one's day is spent. In my case, for example... I'm a slow eater. So slow, in fact, that in Air Force basic training, I lost 25lbs (over 11kg) in six weeks. At my current pace, I'm on track to beat that.
So...
In one sense, I'm quite pleased- ecstatic, in fact- with these numbers. I looked back at my weight lifting log, and this is the lightest I've tipped the scales at since March of 2010! On the other hand, there's a part of me that is a bit alarmed, as these results are based largely on a large, daily caloric deficit- I seem to be in "Biggest Loser" territory, and even though what I am eating is quite healthy, the large drop in weight is a bit unsettling.
So..., how did I get this weight-loss jump start? R.E.A.D. (I just made that acronym up, so don't bother googling it!) Research. Eating. Action. Data. Don't be surprised that Data is in there- after all, this is a blog about data and the management and analysis thereof. But, as Research is first, let's go there.
I've known for some time that I needed to shed pounds. Over the last few years, my weight has been high- but pretty stable. Between 2010-2014, I made a few serious attempts at losing weight. I was slightly successful in that I did manage to dump some fat and build some muscle, but my weight wasn't moving much at all... at least, not in the desired direction. My personal experience was the foundation of my research. Over the years, I had heard from time to time of a ketogenic diet. It sounds simple: take the three "macros" that make up the calories in food (carbohydrates, protein and fat), and flip the weighting. Typically, in a Western diet, we consume a large amount of carbs and fats, and not as much protein (my observation... I may be wrong!) However, I knew that carbs were MY problem. I just love creamy pasta dishes way too much. I ate too many of them in a week, with too large portions. For variety, I'd have ramen.
As I researched keto more, I decided that I wasn't going to do a "true" keto diet (where approximately 70% of one's calories come from fats, 20% from protein and the balance from carbs), but rather I would do a carb restricted diet. I started off simply enough: I weighed myself. Then, with that simple baseline, I began building my spreadsheet.
The spreadsheet, of course, is the Data, but it's the next logical place for me to go. It currently has four worksheets. Vitals is where I track changes in weight on a weekly basis, as well as other indicators calculated from weight, height, gender, and age. Once I start lifting in earnest again, I will add lean body mass (LBM) to this sheet. Diet is the next sheet, and it's my food diary. Foods are entered on a daily basis, and macros are calculated and then converted to percentages of daily intake. Nutrition is the sheet that stores all of the foods that are in the diary. As foods are consumed, they are copied from this sheet on to the Diet sheet, and new foods are added as necessary. The first week was the most difficult, as I was starting from scratch. The data generally comes from one of two sources: the nutrition facts on the side of the food package, or the Nutririon Data site. The last tab is called training, and it is home to my walking data; this comes from my Runkeeper app and from my pedometer. I don't currently use it for much else other than to track data. A Lifting tab will be added once I start lifting again.
I think Eating and Action were more or less covered already, and besides, it's past my bedtime. So, as always, I am hochspeyer, blogging data analysis and management so you don't have to.
As I write this, here I am omly two weeks into my program. I've lost 11.6lbs (just over 5.2kg). What now? And, more importantly for anyone reading this who is interested in losing some weight, how did this happen?
Well, for starters, it's important to recognize that everyone has a style (and more importantly- a metabolism) unique to them. That is, what one eats, how one eats and how one's day is spent. In my case, for example... I'm a slow eater. So slow, in fact, that in Air Force basic training, I lost 25lbs (over 11kg) in six weeks. At my current pace, I'm on track to beat that.
So...
In one sense, I'm quite pleased- ecstatic, in fact- with these numbers. I looked back at my weight lifting log, and this is the lightest I've tipped the scales at since March of 2010! On the other hand, there's a part of me that is a bit alarmed, as these results are based largely on a large, daily caloric deficit- I seem to be in "Biggest Loser" territory, and even though what I am eating is quite healthy, the large drop in weight is a bit unsettling.
So..., how did I get this weight-loss jump start? R.E.A.D. (I just made that acronym up, so don't bother googling it!) Research. Eating. Action. Data. Don't be surprised that Data is in there- after all, this is a blog about data and the management and analysis thereof. But, as Research is first, let's go there.
I've known for some time that I needed to shed pounds. Over the last few years, my weight has been high- but pretty stable. Between 2010-2014, I made a few serious attempts at losing weight. I was slightly successful in that I did manage to dump some fat and build some muscle, but my weight wasn't moving much at all... at least, not in the desired direction. My personal experience was the foundation of my research. Over the years, I had heard from time to time of a ketogenic diet. It sounds simple: take the three "macros" that make up the calories in food (carbohydrates, protein and fat), and flip the weighting. Typically, in a Western diet, we consume a large amount of carbs and fats, and not as much protein (my observation... I may be wrong!) However, I knew that carbs were MY problem. I just love creamy pasta dishes way too much. I ate too many of them in a week, with too large portions. For variety, I'd have ramen.
As I researched keto more, I decided that I wasn't going to do a "true" keto diet (where approximately 70% of one's calories come from fats, 20% from protein and the balance from carbs), but rather I would do a carb restricted diet. I started off simply enough: I weighed myself. Then, with that simple baseline, I began building my spreadsheet.
The spreadsheet, of course, is the Data, but it's the next logical place for me to go. It currently has four worksheets. Vitals is where I track changes in weight on a weekly basis, as well as other indicators calculated from weight, height, gender, and age. Once I start lifting in earnest again, I will add lean body mass (LBM) to this sheet. Diet is the next sheet, and it's my food diary. Foods are entered on a daily basis, and macros are calculated and then converted to percentages of daily intake. Nutrition is the sheet that stores all of the foods that are in the diary. As foods are consumed, they are copied from this sheet on to the Diet sheet, and new foods are added as necessary. The first week was the most difficult, as I was starting from scratch. The data generally comes from one of two sources: the nutrition facts on the side of the food package, or the Nutririon Data site. The last tab is called training, and it is home to my walking data; this comes from my Runkeeper app and from my pedometer. I don't currently use it for much else other than to track data. A Lifting tab will be added once I start lifting again.
I think Eating and Action were more or less covered already, and besides, it's past my bedtime. So, as always, I am hochspeyer, blogging data analysis and management so you don't have to.
Monday, August 3, 2015
8.3.15
This post's title says it all about my present state of mind. Frequent readers are probably aware of my theory that a blog title should be something of a hook. As of right now, I have nothing. Friday and Saturday, I had high hopes for the weekend, expecting to accomplish several things. As I sit here composing this on early Monday morning, the stone cold sober reality of the past weekend is illuminated by a circular fluorescent bulb: next to nothing is my total so far.
In terms of the absolute number of tasks I had intended to get done, the weekend was pretty much a wash. I didn't get the grass in front of the house cut. Although I did cull a few books out of the SUL, there was no major progress in the reorganization. I also got nothing else done in the basement at large.
On the plus side, I got in an excellent walk on Saturday morning walk. And, I got the spreadsheet started- more on that in a bit....
If you've read my previous post, you know I'm off on a fitness quest. If you haven't read the post, do it now and then come back here!
I had actually started the spreadsheet on July 27th, the official start date of my fitness adventure. As is the case of spreadsheets for projects such as this, I started out simple, with not a formula in sight. However, I did my weigh-in a day early this week (Sunday rather than Monday), and decided to update the spreadsheet immediately afterwards. The workbook currently only has one worksheet where data is actively being entered. This is the "VITALS" and currently lists weight, BMR (basal metabolic rate) and BMI (body mass index); with Jennifer's assistance LBM (lean body mass) will be added as soon as I can get back into the weight training groove.
Here was where I ran into my first technical (software/data) obstacle. When I made my first entry, I simply copied the results from one of the myriad of online calculators. However, on Sunday I could not find the one that I had originally used, so I decided to plug a formula in, as it would have been a necessity at some point anyway. The most accurate and popular method of calculating BMR is attributed to a formula developed by Mifflin - St. Jeor et al, so I decided to incorporate this into my spreadsheet. The problem is this: while I have absolutely no problem with the metric system, and am pretty comfortable with doing conversions, in MY world, weights are still measured in pounds. So, I spent about fifteen minutes in a futile search for an English equivalent to the Mifflin - St. Jeor formula. Frustrated, I did the only logical thing that I could think of: I converted. Now, the nice thing about the formula is that there are only three variables- height, weight and age. Age ony gets changed once a year, so that's no big deal. Height, although a universal variable, is nearly a constant on the personal level, so I calculated that and plugged it in. Weight, though, is the "magic number" for my project. Truth be told, my scale will display weight in either English or metric, but since this is one area where all of my IRL friends and acquaintances (even those in Canada) are more comfortable or familiar with English weights, I decided to stay with pounds. So, the only thing that was dynamically recalculated is weight, and that is handled in a separate cell. The end result is I have accurate BMR and BMI calculations.
I mentioned a few privacy issues in the last blog. PII is a huge topic, and when it comes to MY PII, I try to be careful. I can say this, though, about my first week: even though it was not strictly keto, I managed to drop three pounds (~1.3kg). Whether that was newb losses or hard work, I'll take it, as it's a solid start!
*A side note on the American diet: I started this journey because I knew I was out of shape by any standard. The only real changes to my lifestyle were: becoming more intentional about my lifestyle, and making better nutrition choices. I walked three times this week, which is good but not great. The really big change was cutting out all processed foods (stuff in a box)- primarily noodles and ramen, as well as some homemade gravy dishes.
The second week is about calories and macros- I also hope to get back to weight training- I expect my first LBM measurement to be ugly!
As always, I am hochspeyer, blogging data analysis and management so you don't have to.
In terms of the absolute number of tasks I had intended to get done, the weekend was pretty much a wash. I didn't get the grass in front of the house cut. Although I did cull a few books out of the SUL, there was no major progress in the reorganization. I also got nothing else done in the basement at large.
On the plus side, I got in an excellent walk on Saturday morning walk. And, I got the spreadsheet started- more on that in a bit....
If you've read my previous post, you know I'm off on a fitness quest. If you haven't read the post, do it now and then come back here!
I had actually started the spreadsheet on July 27th, the official start date of my fitness adventure. As is the case of spreadsheets for projects such as this, I started out simple, with not a formula in sight. However, I did my weigh-in a day early this week (Sunday rather than Monday), and decided to update the spreadsheet immediately afterwards. The workbook currently only has one worksheet where data is actively being entered. This is the "VITALS" and currently lists weight, BMR (basal metabolic rate) and BMI (body mass index); with Jennifer's assistance LBM (lean body mass) will be added as soon as I can get back into the weight training groove.
Here was where I ran into my first technical (software/data) obstacle. When I made my first entry, I simply copied the results from one of the myriad of online calculators. However, on Sunday I could not find the one that I had originally used, so I decided to plug a formula in, as it would have been a necessity at some point anyway. The most accurate and popular method of calculating BMR is attributed to a formula developed by Mifflin - St. Jeor et al, so I decided to incorporate this into my spreadsheet. The problem is this: while I have absolutely no problem with the metric system, and am pretty comfortable with doing conversions, in MY world, weights are still measured in pounds. So, I spent about fifteen minutes in a futile search for an English equivalent to the Mifflin - St. Jeor formula. Frustrated, I did the only logical thing that I could think of: I converted. Now, the nice thing about the formula is that there are only three variables- height, weight and age. Age ony gets changed once a year, so that's no big deal. Height, although a universal variable, is nearly a constant on the personal level, so I calculated that and plugged it in. Weight, though, is the "magic number" for my project. Truth be told, my scale will display weight in either English or metric, but since this is one area where all of my IRL friends and acquaintances (even those in Canada) are more comfortable or familiar with English weights, I decided to stay with pounds. So, the only thing that was dynamically recalculated is weight, and that is handled in a separate cell. The end result is I have accurate BMR and BMI calculations.
I mentioned a few privacy issues in the last blog. PII is a huge topic, and when it comes to MY PII, I try to be careful. I can say this, though, about my first week: even though it was not strictly keto, I managed to drop three pounds (~1.3kg). Whether that was newb losses or hard work, I'll take it, as it's a solid start!
*A side note on the American diet: I started this journey because I knew I was out of shape by any standard. The only real changes to my lifestyle were: becoming more intentional about my lifestyle, and making better nutrition choices. I walked three times this week, which is good but not great. The really big change was cutting out all processed foods (stuff in a box)- primarily noodles and ramen, as well as some homemade gravy dishes.
The second week is about calories and macros- I also hope to get back to weight training- I expect my first LBM measurement to be ugly!
As always, I am hochspeyer, blogging data analysis and management so you don't have to.
Wednesday, July 29, 2015
The post that needs to be written
It is now the waning hours of 7/29 in the United States (that's 29/7 in many other parts of the world).
One of the reasons for my fascination with dates and times and other units of measure stems from just trying to be both accurate and understood. In grade school, it didn't matter as much- if you weren't understood in English, then everyone switched to Polish. That was the sort of neighborhood I grew up in.
Later on, I joined the Air Force, and not only had to contend with cultures, I had to deal with time zones. Jennifer had some related experiences, and we're pretty much both in tune with time zones, measurements and cultures.
So there I was on the morning of the 28th of July, trying to finish one more blog entry for the month. I eventually decided that the last theme for the month of July was going to be "fitness". Specifically personal fitness (i.e. my fitness).
A couple of days ago, I had announced to my SIL Donna that I was joining her on a weight-loss quest. I'm no stranger to this, but I've not tried very hard in the past, either, so this time, I'm starting out with a very concrete, attainable goal: I want to drop ten pounds in four weeks (28 days). Now, most things I've read say one pound per week is perfectly safe and attainable. Conventional wisdom would seem to indicate that 2.5lbs (1kg== 2.2 lbs) per week is safely doable. My biggest concern is whether I'll hit that target.
Now, as all of this is PII (personally identifiable information), I may not be able or willing to share all of the data even after I'm done with the process. However, ... getting back to Donna.
We had had a small text convo about my goals, and she said something to the effect of, "Oh, you're going keto!" To which I replied, "No, I'm going carb restriction." We pretty much agreed to disagree at that point.
After further research, though, I'm fairly certain that my new diet is not "keto". It's merely carb restriction. Keto is actually the addition of fat to replace carbs. At this point, I do not intend to do that.
In fact, for the first week or two, I don't plan on doing much of anything resembling what is conventionally referred to as a "diet," although I understand that anything one ingests is one's "diet."
Like nearly everything else, keto comes in a wide variety of forms, and there is a "bit" of disagreement of the proponents (a.k.a. "True Believers") in each plan as to what actually constitutes keto. In my early research, I was much surprised to learned that keto seems to have started as an epilepsy treatment rather than a weight loss treatment.
But-as far as my goals go- I'm not doing a strict keto regimen. Keto seems to do a direct substitution of fats for carbs, with the goal of training one's body to get accustomed to using fat for energy rather than carbs. My plan doesn't go that far, at least initially, and is really not that structured. I start out sensible rather than radical: elimination of pasta and packaged foods. No chocolate or sweet snacks. More exercise.
So, basics for a week or two is the final operational plan. We'll see how that goes, and then tweak as necessary. Numbers will be posted on a "need to know" basis.
Wink, wink, nudge, nudge. Say no more, say no more. (Python and data!). :)
As always, I am hochspeyer, blogging data management and analysis so you don't have to.
One of the reasons for my fascination with dates and times and other units of measure stems from just trying to be both accurate and understood. In grade school, it didn't matter as much- if you weren't understood in English, then everyone switched to Polish. That was the sort of neighborhood I grew up in.
Later on, I joined the Air Force, and not only had to contend with cultures, I had to deal with time zones. Jennifer had some related experiences, and we're pretty much both in tune with time zones, measurements and cultures.
So there I was on the morning of the 28th of July, trying to finish one more blog entry for the month. I eventually decided that the last theme for the month of July was going to be "fitness". Specifically personal fitness (i.e. my fitness).
A couple of days ago, I had announced to my SIL Donna that I was joining her on a weight-loss quest. I'm no stranger to this, but I've not tried very hard in the past, either, so this time, I'm starting out with a very concrete, attainable goal: I want to drop ten pounds in four weeks (28 days). Now, most things I've read say one pound per week is perfectly safe and attainable. Conventional wisdom would seem to indicate that 2.5lbs (1kg== 2.2 lbs) per week is safely doable. My biggest concern is whether I'll hit that target.
Now, as all of this is PII (personally identifiable information), I may not be able or willing to share all of the data even after I'm done with the process. However, ... getting back to Donna.
We had had a small text convo about my goals, and she said something to the effect of, "Oh, you're going keto!" To which I replied, "No, I'm going carb restriction." We pretty much agreed to disagree at that point.
After further research, though, I'm fairly certain that my new diet is not "keto". It's merely carb restriction. Keto is actually the addition of fat to replace carbs. At this point, I do not intend to do that.
In fact, for the first week or two, I don't plan on doing much of anything resembling what is conventionally referred to as a "diet," although I understand that anything one ingests is one's "diet."
Like nearly everything else, keto comes in a wide variety of forms, and there is a "bit" of disagreement of the proponents (a.k.a. "True Believers") in each plan as to what actually constitutes keto. In my early research, I was much surprised to learned that keto seems to have started as an epilepsy treatment rather than a weight loss treatment.
But-as far as my goals go- I'm not doing a strict keto regimen. Keto seems to do a direct substitution of fats for carbs, with the goal of training one's body to get accustomed to using fat for energy rather than carbs. My plan doesn't go that far, at least initially, and is really not that structured. I start out sensible rather than radical: elimination of pasta and packaged foods. No chocolate or sweet snacks. More exercise.
So, basics for a week or two is the final operational plan. We'll see how that goes, and then tweak as necessary. Numbers will be posted on a "need to know" basis.
Wink, wink, nudge, nudge. Say no more, say no more. (Python and data!). :)
As always, I am hochspeyer, blogging data management and analysis so you don't have to.
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