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.
Fasting numbers. After that initial weigh in, there are my fasting numbers: blood pressure and blood glucose. My Lumiscope wrist cuff has 50 memories, but the data must be transcribed manually. My goals numbers are those of someone without diabetes, hypertension, or metabolic syndrome. I want my fasting blood glucose to be under 100 mg/dl, and my pressure under 140/90 -- a level my doctor is happy with, despite it being higher than the 130/90 standard of care for people with diabetes. SInce I react badly to most antihypertensives, I'm OK with that as long as I don't spike higher under stress.
Blood glucose testing and goals. After my fasting numbers, I'm not hugely consistent with how I test during the day -- a lot depends on my activity, my hunger levels, and whether or not I'm feeling "off". I'll always test before a workout to make sure I'm at a safe level. I'll also test after a workout to see what sort of post-exercise replenishment I might need (if any). I usually test after breakfast, and before bed, and sometimes before or after dinner. While ideally I should do some series tests (every half hour from 1/2 hour postprandial to 3 hours) on a regular schedule, in reality I'll only do that if I'm reading really high (for me) and waiting for my numbers to go down. I'll test if I'm headachey, or hungry, or excessively cold when I should not be. Sometimes I'll test randomly just to see where I'm at.
Food. I'm not as consistent with this as I feel I should be, but if I'm cooking or pouring something out from a package, I will weigh my food on a digital scale that is accurate to the gram. This is particulary important with calorie dense foods such as oils, nuts, and dried fruits. My food gets logged qualitatively in the Excel spreadsheet, and quantitatively at The Daily Plate. Based on my weight and my weight goals (to lose weight without completely starving myself), The Daily Plate will recommend a calorie level for me, which it will adjust up or down based on the day's activity. As with most people with diabetes, I'll moderate what I'm eating -- or when -- based on a combination of my activity and my then-current blood glucose level.
Exercise. As I noted in an earlier post, I log my exercise a couple of different ways. First, there is my Polar F6 heart-rate monitor (HRM). I use the HRM to monitor how hard my body thinks it's working. The F6 model stores some basic data about my body and estimates how many calories I'm burning during an exercise session. It can upload the data to Polar Personal Trainer, a free exercise-logging service from the folks at Polar. I also log any distance I traverse during exercise. If I'm at a gym, I'll write down the mileage and elevation information from the readout on the treadmill, elliptical, stairmaster, or stationary bicycle. (I've not yet found a way to do this spinning.) If I'm cycling, I'll take the information off my CatEye Cycling Computer. If I'm walking, cycling, or jogging outdoors, I'll also log my efforts through the Livestrong Loops on The Daily Plate, as well as through Map My Ride, and I'll use those estimates to add mileage to my uploaded exercise sessions on Polar Personal Trainer.
Now, if all this weren't enough... well, I need to put the diet-and-exercise stuff together somewhere. Before I started with The Daily Plate, there was my custom Excel workbook. While it took me a while to get all the formulas right, when it's updated I can tell how many calories per pound I should have been consuming (versus how many I did consume, and how many I expended on exercise), and I'm able to print out both a daily log and aggregate information for the past week, the two weeks previous to that, the past month, and any calendar month. What it doesn't tell me is the effect of specific foods or caloric levels on my blood glucose levels. The best I can do there is the anecdotal comments in my main Excel log page.
Of course the big issue with this is that it can easily take an hour out of my day (most of it on The Daily Plate) -- and when I'm running behind because I have a busy day at work (or a busy work life), or too many other crises bearing on me, that's an hour I don't have and it quickly gets too far behind to catch up. Anyone got a day to lend me to update The Daily Plate from Hallowe'en onwards?
