Since my last post on body weight (Excel Templates for Body Weight Records) I have continued to try and lose weight. Well slowly but surely my weight is reducing and I have my latest graph to demonstrate it below (select it to enlarge it):
My Weight Loss Graph for 2015 up to 27th July.
I have struggled to lose 35 pounds (2½ stones) over a 10 year period. I recall saying I wanted to retire at the correct weight, but that never happened. Well I’m nearly there so I hope those struggling to lose weight can gain some cheer from this article.
I found these ABCON PostShip parcel scales in COSTCO, Derby. They seem to be a parcel shipment person’s dream. They’re great for sellers on auction sites.
NOTE: ‘ABCON’ and ‘PostShip’ are registered trademarks.
Until I bought these ABCON PostShip parcel scales I had been using my wife’s Salter Electronic (Model No.3007) kitchen scales for weighing packages destined for the mail.
Excel Graph of Helpful Colin’s Weight 2011. (Select it to enlarge it.)
“Happy New Year! In 2012 I resolve to lose weight (again).”
Well I resolved to lose weight every year since at least 2005 and some years I succeeded. One tool I require for this is an accurate record of my weight on a DAILY, yes DAILY, basis. I know all those slimming clubs advise against measuring weight daily but to me that is unscientific. High definition pictures are better than low definition ones and weighing every day gives a good weight definition. Anyone would think that the act of measuring weight caused it to change. (I know Quantum Physicists have their doubts.)
Being scientific requires not just the measurements written down somewhere but a graph to give a picture of what is happening over time. I want to see if my weight is actually heading down or up or staying put. During this time I have come down from my heaviest of 15st (95.25kgs) in 2005 and again in July 2007 to 13st 4lbs (84.36kgs) in the same year. Then I rose again to 14st 7lbs (92kgs) and came down to 13st 2lbs (83.46kgs) in February 2010. Now I have risen again to 14st (88.9kgs) a weight I swore I would never see again.
(Note to self: I need to be more scientific about regulating the calories I consume.)
For me as a Microsoft Excel user for many years, Excel was my tool of choice for recording and plotting the data. The rest of this post explains my method for collecting the data and the use of Excel to record it. Ultimately it offers Excel files that you can download to use as templates with your Excel software so you can record your measurements in like manner.
Having decided on the tool for recording the data I then had to decide when I would measure my weight. I chose first thing in the morning, before eating or drinking, after visiting the bathroom and without clothing (I keep my hat specs on). This way I get the feel-good-factor of seeing my lowest possible weight each day. (We lose up to 1.5kgs at night due to exhaling moisture in our breath and urinating.) The point here is not to come up with an exact daily weight – it’s impossible. Our weight fluctuates up and down 2 or 3 pounds throughout the day. The point is to try and arrive at a consistent set of measurements that can be used to display a meaningful average weight situation, over time, on a graph.
