What I want...graphs
I like data, but just looking at it in plain form is relatively meaningless for me, for example, my Noom app lists my data in my history but only graphs my weigh-ins and I thought that was cool. But alas I am not able to internalize the data like I thought I was. For example, I thought my calorie intake was fairly consistent over the past 25 days but the graph shows otherwise.
I also thought my exercise was consistent, but the graph shows otherwise.
I thought my weight loss was consistent and I am in the ballpark, it is not as consistent as I thought but not as erratic either.
In previous weight loss experiments I logged and graphed, that way I had the data but I could more easily see trends, I did this with a simple spreadsheet and only logged my exercise and weight. This helped because I was also able to log in and see trends to help me fight mental demons. Things like hey I "gain weight" during my period, nope not really because it disappears pretty quickly it is water/hormonal and should not be counted. It helped me keep perspective to keep ongoing.
So using my app to log data I went and created graphs, 3 individual ones because y-axis was so wildly different between each graph while the x-axis which was the date was consistent. Then I stacked the graphs on top of each other because I am not a huge graphing nerd this will just have to do.
The top is calories (shown in red) the range on this graph is 800 calories. The middle is exercise (shown in green) the range is 0-45 minutes. The bottom is weight in blue) is a range of 15 pounds. I didn't include the values for the weight and calories because they are personal and the point is to see a trend.
No app is perfect and it looks like I need to take a bit more charge of my data because I need more than what I am getting. Now that I see this it has made me realize that I need to be more consistent with both my exercise and caloric intake because those graphs should not be so jagged. I have an actionable goal to try to be more consistent, and knowing the way I work I will focus on more consistent exercise rather than calories right now. If I try both I will fall flat on my face and feel ready to quit. That is not to say that I will not actually work on consistency with calorie intake as well, I will, but that will not be my focus.
I will leave you with a flashback graph I did the added red bar are pretty obvious, the blue bars indicate when I was sick. When I see this graph it reminds me that I can do this and that graphs do motivate me.
And while it took me about 4 months to lose almost 15 pounds, I know what was going on at that time, and I know I was not even considering my caloric intake. I know that I can do this, I will do this, and yes it sucks that I have to count my calories but this is my life right now.
I know that I don't want to do this but I can either face my reality and do what I need to do right now and have success, or I can try to make changes based on my fantasy self and be disappointed. At some point, I may be able to stop tracking the calories but that will only happen if I become confident enough in my ability to successfully estimate what a serving size is and what that caloric content is. My goal with counting and weighing my food is that I will be able to internalize healthy sizes because right now my estimates are way out of wack and this is my attempt to reset. But I have to overcome many many years of not thinking about what is normal so this will take time.
My take away is tracking will lead to my success but only if I find the data that I am tracking displayed in a format that is useful to me. I want to build a healthier lifestyle habit for me so I need to monitor how I do that.
I also thought my exercise was consistent, but the graph shows otherwise.
I thought my weight loss was consistent and I am in the ballpark, it is not as consistent as I thought but not as erratic either.
In previous weight loss experiments I logged and graphed, that way I had the data but I could more easily see trends, I did this with a simple spreadsheet and only logged my exercise and weight. This helped because I was also able to log in and see trends to help me fight mental demons. Things like hey I "gain weight" during my period, nope not really because it disappears pretty quickly it is water/hormonal and should not be counted. It helped me keep perspective to keep ongoing.
So using my app to log data I went and created graphs, 3 individual ones because y-axis was so wildly different between each graph while the x-axis which was the date was consistent. Then I stacked the graphs on top of each other because I am not a huge graphing nerd this will just have to do.
The top is calories (shown in red) the range on this graph is 800 calories. The middle is exercise (shown in green) the range is 0-45 minutes. The bottom is weight in blue) is a range of 15 pounds. I didn't include the values for the weight and calories because they are personal and the point is to see a trend.
I will leave you with a flashback graph I did the added red bar are pretty obvious, the blue bars indicate when I was sick. When I see this graph it reminds me that I can do this and that graphs do motivate me.
I know that I don't want to do this but I can either face my reality and do what I need to do right now and have success, or I can try to make changes based on my fantasy self and be disappointed. At some point, I may be able to stop tracking the calories but that will only happen if I become confident enough in my ability to successfully estimate what a serving size is and what that caloric content is. My goal with counting and weighing my food is that I will be able to internalize healthy sizes because right now my estimates are way out of wack and this is my attempt to reset. But I have to overcome many many years of not thinking about what is normal so this will take time.
My take away is tracking will lead to my success but only if I find the data that I am tracking displayed in a format that is useful to me. I want to build a healthier lifestyle habit for me so I need to monitor how I do that.
“We manage what we monitor.” Self-measurement brings self-awareness, and self-awareness strengthens our self-control. And on the flip side, anything that makes us lose self-awareness weakens our self-mastery. Alcohol makes it all too easy to place giant bets at a casino; a long, stressful day can lead to a night of online binge-shopping; vacationing with a group of friends can make it easy to blow through a personal budget." Source Gretchen Rubin
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