The Problem with Measuring Health: Quantification |
2 Comments |
While I have mentioned in the past that money and health have a lot in common, there’s a big difference that I’ve been struggling with lately. It’s the problem of quantifying success. When it comes to money, if I save it, I see tangible results in my bank account. If I make more, I check it at the end of the day, and more or less know exactly where I am. However, when I eat something healthy, I’m not given that same feedback. I don’t notice a change. Even with a scale, we all have water weight throwing off the numbers weight and body fat percentages.
I don’t think I’m the only one having problems with this. I read posts like the weigh-in that crushed my soul. This is from someone who has conquered tens of thousand of dollars in debt on his other blog, No Credit Needed.
What’s the solution? I’m not sure I have a very good one. I’m toying with the idea of just a weigh-in every two weeks. That is dangerous as well though because if that day is a big water day (for whatever reason), it could mask the gains the I’ve made. Those masked gains could psychologically throw me off track. Instead it may be best to weigh myself at the same time every day and calculate a moving average in Excel. Over time, if I make healthy choices and get exercise in, I should see this trend in the right direction.
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PropellerNext: Customize Your Meals
May 16th, 2007 at 9:16 am
Personally, I believe in weighing yourself daily and watching trends rather than the actual number. I have very few outliers with the method that I use, and what I care about isn’t one specific day but what my moving weekly average is.
You might want to consider not zeroing your scale; if you know that the weight it shows you is going to be off by 15-20 pounds you won’t care what the number is but how that number relates to the days before and following.
June 3rd, 2007 at 3:13 am
Try weighing yourself on the same day once a week. Do it in the morning after you go to the bathroom, but before eating or drinking anything. While there is still some variation and the results from the last week may not be correct, it’s a good indicator for longer-term progress (few weeks)