Weight Loss - Part 5: The Data Way

There is a really really big reason...no, actually...it's HUGE...for keeping data. But before we get to the biggest and hugest, most over-arching and overwhelming reason, the one thing you absolutely positively need data for...let's talk about what kind of data you should keep, and how to gather it.

Data is the life-blood of progress. At least it is for me. It should be for you, too. Here's what I mean. This whole losing weight thing is really about your quality of life. But how do you measure quality of life? How do you quantify your quality of life? The answer is...data. It would seem very obvious that you measure weight loss and weight gain in terms of pounds or kilos. And that's true. We do. But these measurements are actually data results - they are aggregate data measurements. If you weigh yourself once a week (note - I suggest Friday mornings), you'll have a weekly summary measurement of how you're doing...once a week.

So how exactly do you measure the activities you engage in to lose all that weight day by day, hour by hour? What quantitative measurements will you use to measure your workouts, your daily food intake, all your running back and forth during the day? What data will sustain you from moment to moment, to let you know you're on the right track? What data will keep you going late at night, when the munchies set in, and you want to devour an entire box of Cereal? How will you fight the cravings? What data will you rely on? Data from last week?Yeah, you would be a stronger person than I.

But fear not, I have some suggestions.

First, let technology help you - let it do some of the heavy lifting for you. Technology has come a long, long way. Fitbits are trendy, but not really helpful in the everyday sense - they do one thing, and one thing only. The technology you want is an Apple Watch. That's a truly useful piece of equipment on your journey. It's even better when paired to an iPhone. Apple has integrated its Health applications. Combined, these applications generate data on just about everything you do...how often you move (it can even remind you to do so), how long you sleep and rest (and it can wake you up, too), how long your gym workouts are, how many laps you do in the pool - all while you're streaming music or your favorite TV talkshow. You can look up maps, find healthy restaurants, google foods you come across for nutritional information. The best part is that you can set daily goals for movement, exercise, and being up and around - these really help to keep you going. Together, the Apple Watch + iPhone combination is an awesome journey tool. Irreplaceable, as far as I'm concerned. And the data it generates from moment to moment is unparalleled. It's really the solution you want. It's what you need. Tools for the job at hand. Invest in your future, and don't settle for less. This is the data part that's easy.

Second, get used to keeping a food log. A food log is, simply put, a record of everything you eat all day long. Food logs can be very general, and they can be very specific. In order to be of educational value, however, a food log needs to pretty specific. Part of what's going on here is not simply calorie tracking...it's also about learning how to eat, and when to eat, and what to eat, when. It's about re-educating your mind and body, and re-training yourself to eat differently...for the rest of your life. It’s about finding patterns...your patterns...in the chaos, so to speak. So in order to be of any value, your food log needs to be specific...if you want to be successful. That means you have to take it with you wherever you go, it means you have to be willing to do on location research - looking up calories for foods and ingredients, it means you have to be brutally honest with yourself when you record your data. This is the data part that's hard - the follow through - it’s really, really hard. But it’s really really important.

Right about now you're probably thinking, "Is this guy for real? Seriously? A food log??"

Here is the food log I use everyday. Feel free to download this and use it for yourself.

Yeah, I'm for real. Here's why it matters. For all the above reasons, it matters. But most of all, it matters that you develop a sense of validity and reliability about your weight loss. Validity refers to the scientific principle of measuring what you actually mean to measure...that sounds simple enough, but it's actually pretty complicated. The reason it's important is that you need to develop ACTUAL behaviors for your weight loss, behaviors you can implement at any given time, and you need to know that what you think you're measuring is actually what you're measuring. Reliability refers to the scientific principle of being able to reproduce your results over and over if you repeat the same behaviors. This is important because it lets you "project" your weight loss behaviors and renders weight loss predictable. Validity and Reliability matter - they are at the core of your psychological well-being (even if you didn't know it), and at the core of your ability to sustain a weight loss program. This is what will keep you from chucking the whole thing in the corner. Yeah.

OK...now for the really, really big reason on WHY you should keep data. And I've talked about this often, perhaps even in these blog pages already.

The human mind is built to manage behavior in one specific way when it comes to experience. It is built on the principle of REWARDS. Nature decided in all her wisdom that human beings should learn best, most effectively, and most deeply, if their behaviors are followed by a REWARD. To put simply, failure isn't particularly rewarding. It tends to make us give up, and abandon what we are trying to behave into being. But if you reward us for a certain behavior we are more likely to engage in the same behavior, again and again, until that behavior becomes habit and we can make room for additional, more task specific behaviors. This is, in fact, the story of evolution. We wouldn't be alive if this wasn't the case. Rewards keep us going, they make us repeat ourselves...because when we do something, and we are rewarded, we are more likely to do it again. And that’s how sustained weight loss happens, too.

That's it. That is, in a nutshell, the single biggest reason why you should keep data. Because when you are successful and you lose a little bit of weight in the first week, you are more likely to do it again. And again. And again. It's what gives longevity to your efforts...it's what keeps you going. Data keeps you going. It’s how you turn short term weight loss events into long term weight loss maintenance behaviors.

Weight loss can be difficult...but it doesn't have to be. It can be predictable. And rewarding. And you want that. You need that.

Because in Food as in Life...Flavor Is Free!