As an engineer by training, I find quantitative analysis -- numbers -- an expression of control. Self control, exercise, body function, health and illness... So while I'm fortunate enough not to have to be "Bionic Betty" with a peripheral pancreas, I still refer regularly to six separate instruments, plus additional Web-based resources, to manage my food intake, exercise output, and biometric information.

Weight. Some folk say weighing once a week is enough, but I find that if I don't weigh in every morning, my weight can go off on very health-unfriendly curves. I log my weight both in The Daily Plate and in my personal Excel workbook.

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As people with diabetes living in the 21st century, numbers rule our lives. The first number that comes to mind (other than weight, which for me should be my morning fasting weight -- and which should be much lower than it is) is blood glucose level. My morning reading tells me what I should have for breakfast: if it's high, I look for something with fewer carbs; if it's low, I start running for the fruit bowl. (Which might be the exact opposite of what I should be doing, considering that if I've been running high for several hours, a serving of fruit may hike me further in the short term, but will bring me back to normal by the end of the two-hour postprandial period. Then again, my diabetes is diet-controlled; food choice is critical.) If you're on insulin, that blood glucose check might tell you either to grab some sugar quickly, or to administer a correction bolus.

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www.sugarstats.com

I had never considered myself a numbers girl. I had always thought that I was, in fact, the furthest thing from a numbers girl. In high school, I sat - bored and unengaged - through Algebra 2, Geometry, Trigonometry, and Calculus. In college, Statistics was the one course that found me with a grade below a B. Numbers had never been my friend. (READ MORE)