Weight and Body Fat Tracking

I have no problem admitting that I am a data junkie, a number geek of sorts. Ever since I was a child, I have been fascinated with numbers and telling a story with them. It really is no wonder that I naturally found a career and a hobby that is data heavy. Aside from all the training gadgets, I like to track numerous other things...mileage in shoes, mileage on a set of tires, how many times I eat at a particular place...the list goes on and on.

One of the areas that I am most consistent is with my weight. I have blogged about this a few times before. I don't think I am really obsessed with my weight and I don't think I have a very unhealthy relationship with food. Instead, I like to simply monitor it over the course of time so develop a longitudinal graph. I have been doing this for nearly 2 years with no real goal in mind.

I rarely step on the scale and feel that I need to make changes to my diet...though I should. Instead, it is just an FYI moment. So each Tuesday morning, I follow the same morning routine of getting out of bed and onto the scale to record my weight and body fat. I personally don't believe in weighing myself each day because there are too many factors involved. So I like the idea of a once a week snapshot. Also, I don't really think my scale is 100% accurate but since I use that scale each time, then I find changes comparable.

This year my goal is to get better about it. In the past, I just wrote it down on a piece of paper and looked at it over the course of the year. This year, I am logging each each Tuesday in BT. My goal is to post a new chart at the end of each month so that I can monitor it a bit more. Again, the goal isn't necessarily to 'lose' weight, though, I honestly feel like my ideal weight is probably 157-161.

Instead, I want to hold myself a bit more accountable this year and track changes. I am going to try a few different experiments to determine their impact on my weight. For instance, last year, I did an ice cream challenge. Each and every night, I ate ice cream (4-600 calories) because I felt like I was under fueling my body. Surprisingly, my weight dropped a few pounds. I am definitely up for that challenge again. I am currently starting another challenge by changing my dietary supplements. I am intrigued to see if it makes a difference. Finally, I want to see if their is an correlation between the hours I train and weight loss. Each and everyone of us is different, this is MY experiment.