Fit Dad: Tracking with Myself

"Write it down! How do you know how far you've
come if you don't know what you did?"
-Tony Horton from P90x

I am a proud father. That pride comes from an instinctual part of my brain. Every other part of my brain is screaming in rational panic, almost constantly to the fact that I am responsible for a great little life.

One area is screaming "Hey you're not in great shape and all that little guy is going to do is run around. Right now you're to lazy and fat to keep up with him, and he's not even walking yet"

Well I'm trying to take the pride and energy from my pride and take care of that over weight aspect. I'm not in the morbid area of my weight but if I could I'd prefer to swim with my shirt on. The first step in fitness is getting back on the treadmill. The treadmill of fitness and weight loss.


This time around I am attempting the nerd version. I am trying to collect data on what works for me. Tracking weight, the size of arms, legs, waist, chest and hips. Then I'm keeping track of the foods I eat focusing on fat, carbs and protein. When I work out how many projected calories burned. ( I say projected because well there is now way for me to know for sure) The question I have is, how lame is that?

Why bother creating and collecting this data. It's exercise you work out you should be able to tell what works. Many recent and modern studies are showing the working out is maybe 20% of losing weight and getting healthy. The other 80% is eating right. So keeping track, creating and collecting data has a few key benefits.

One: It's self policing. If there is a blank day of data when I know I should of work out it is an impartial, non-emotional remind. It's like a work out buddy who you can't rationalize away or trick in to agreeing that you should take a day or two off. It also won't guilt you back into action though.

Two: It also reminds you of how far you've come.

Three: You can figure out what actually works. There are many work out books, diet books and fitness programs out there. That doesn't mean they work for everyone. I personally use P90X and have Insanity in the wings for when I can build up some endurance. Even still I have to keep track of what works with in those programs for me. Due to poor hand eye coordination and lack of rhythm. I don't get the full benefit of "Kenpo X". So I go for a three mile interval run. How did I learn that? Data.

Four: After getting enough data you can make charts. And chicks especially European chicks love chartists.  A chartist is a professional chart makers, it's an ancient artisan craft. A craft the involves pies and bars.

Being roughly 6 feet tall and having a starting weight of 233 that puts my body mass index at 31.1 Which according to the "National Heart Lung and Blood Institute". Means I'm obese. ....again.

http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/

Till next time I'm going to eat my vegetables, take my vitamins and write it all down.

Sincerely
Joe Nickels