So, I have a primitive system for keeping track of my weight: I weigh myself daily and put the number in a log file. Every so often I make a plot. Here is the current one. I have been diligent about writing down the numbers, but I have not made the plot for at least a year, so while I was aware that I’m heavier now than during last summer, I had no idea of the visual impact of that weight loss and regain. My immediate thought: Now what the devil was I doing in May of 2012, and can I repeat it this year and avoid whatever happened in July-August?
Hmm… come to think of it, I was taking allergy meds, and then I stopped taking them. If that’s it, probably not replicable.
Further hmm, my daughter was born in early April last year. Stress? I did not consciously notice being stressed, but perhaps I wouldn’t; at any rate my routine, obviously, was rather disrupted. Timing is not quite right, but there could be some lag.
a) I like having things in a text file that I can open with a flick of the keyboard on the same system I’m working on anyway
b) Making my own plot, I have full control of the formatting, plus I can do things like fit trends over given periods, mark out particular dates, or otherwise customise
c) I dread the day when some overeager Google popup tells me that “It looks like you’re trying to control your weight! Would you like me to show you some weight-loss products?”
(At least one of these items not intended seriously).
Oh, I absolutely believe that Google will tell you about weight-loss products if they detect you tracking a number that looks reasonable for a human weight in pounds, and that they have an algorithm capable of doing that. It’s the overeager popup with the near-quote of Clippy (the original Microsoft version, not our friendly local Clippy who, while he might want to turn you into your component atoms for reuse, is at least not unbearably upbeat about it) that’s unrealistic.
“Flick of the fingers on the keyboard”, then: From writing here it is Windows-Tab, Windows-1, C-x b, w-e-i-Tab, Enter. If the file wasn’t already open in emacs, replace C-x b with C-x C-f.
If you can, buy a machine that measures your body fat percentage as well (bioelectrical impedance) - it’s a more meaningful statistic. If you’re measuring once per month, under consistent hydration and bowel volume, it could be pretty convenient. The alternative, buying callipers with which you’d perform a skinfold test, requires you train yourself in their proper use (perhaps someone could teach you).
So, I have a primitive system for keeping track of my weight: I weigh myself daily and put the number in a log file. Every so often I make a plot. Here is the current one. I have been diligent about writing down the numbers, but I have not made the plot for at least a year, so while I was aware that I’m heavier now than during last summer, I had no idea of the visual impact of that weight loss and regain. My immediate thought: Now what the devil was I doing in May of 2012, and can I repeat it this year and avoid whatever happened in July-August?
Hmm… come to think of it, I was taking allergy meds, and then I stopped taking them. If that’s it, probably not replicable.
Further hmm, my daughter was born in early April last year. Stress? I did not consciously notice being stressed, but perhaps I wouldn’t; at any rate my routine, obviously, was rather disrupted. Timing is not quite right, but there could be some lag.
If you put the data into a Google Doc, you can get a plot that updates whenever you update the log. That’s what I’ve been doing.
Convenient, but
a) I like having things in a text file that I can open with a flick of the keyboard on the same system I’m working on anyway b) Making my own plot, I have full control of the formatting, plus I can do things like fit trends over given periods, mark out particular dates, or otherwise customise c) I dread the day when some overeager Google popup tells me that “It looks like you’re trying to control your weight! Would you like me to show you some weight-loss products?”
(At least one of these items not intended seriously).
You mean (a), right? ’caus “flick of the keyboard” is kind of funny, but setting that up for a particular text file sounds awfully… unworkable.
(point (c) is not nearly as unrealistic as it might seem at first—they’re pretty much already there to some extent)
Oh, I absolutely believe that Google will tell you about weight-loss products if they detect you tracking a number that looks reasonable for a human weight in pounds, and that they have an algorithm capable of doing that. It’s the overeager popup with the near-quote of Clippy (the original Microsoft version, not our friendly local Clippy who, while he might want to turn you into your component atoms for reuse, is at least not unbearably upbeat about it) that’s unrealistic.
“Flick of the fingers on the keyboard”, then: From writing here it is Windows-Tab, Windows-1, C-x b, w-e-i-Tab, Enter. If the file wasn’t already open in emacs, replace C-x b with C-x C-f.
Ah, yes, the mighty emacs.
I should get around to installing and using that someday. >.<
If you can, buy a machine that measures your body fat percentage as well (bioelectrical impedance) - it’s a more meaningful statistic. If you’re measuring once per month, under consistent hydration and bowel volume, it could be pretty convenient. The alternative, buying callipers with which you’d perform a skinfold test, requires you train yourself in their proper use (perhaps someone could teach you).