 Poster: A snowHead
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Over 5 years of my new KPI format for fitness training. Time for a review...
2018 summer I drunk too much alcohol overall. Luckily, I managed to adjust the calendar year figure by having some dry spells.
My calorie consumption to maintain weight seemed to increase in 2018. This could be related to alcohol increase, however more likely it was due to some antibiotics I had to take after a minor operation. (as well as a flushing of my digestive system using a laxative)
Things seem to have settled down now, shortly after I took a self prescribed course of probiotics. (my theory is that my body was not absorbing all the calories due to a lack of diversity of flora, however the reason is not as important as the fact that things have returned to normal again)
Weight has started to increase now, so I have returned to a normal relationship between calories in and fuel used.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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You've got me on visual acuity anyway.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Hats off to you for doing this, it's a lot more disciplined than I could do.
There does seems to be a lot of measuring inputs going on. I know we have a tendency to want to avoid decline as we get older but for fitness would it not make sense to give yourself some 'stretch' goals and for health maybe focus more on the results (liver health, cardiovascular health, etc).
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@Bigtipper, As per @olderscot, you appear to be measuring lots of inputs - but no actual performance outputs. What result are these inputs having, are you measuring fitness, endurance etc?
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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@RobinS, I measure lots more figures both input and outputs. The point is to highlight the KEY performance indicators. Otherwise there would just be information overload, and a lack of focus.
@olderscot, before and after every run I do a 10 -15 minute stretch, yoga postures, and pre run warm up /post run foam roller massage.
The point of a KEY performance indicator is that it summarises as much as possible in one figure. The core body strength dolphin plank time is my key measure over time.
Obviously, KEY figures for another person would not be the same as me as they may have a different focus on what they want to achieve and what they need to achieve.
For me, it is about longevity and avoiding all the KEY health problems associated with old age. Cardiovascular problems and cancer are the main killers in the UK today (for those of advancing age at least). The KEY performance indicators all reduce these risks if kept within my specific target range.
The fact that I am still alive is probably the main output. Difficult to monitor what would have happened on a different timeline or with a different level of KEY performance indicator.
Accepted wisdom is that you measure where you are, not where you are going. My KPIs measure what I am doing to maintain my health, not specifically measuring how healthy I am. That is a snapshot, like a balance sheet. My KPIs are more like the profit and loss account.
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Sorry, I'm a bit slow sometimes. For a while I didn't understand your reply.
By 'stretch' goals I meant objectives that you need to work for rather than just maintaining the status quo. For example, maybe next year you could aim to try and achieve a 5 minute dolphin plank.
I get what you're saying about the KPIs being things you can do and make sure you do. The thing I'd be concerned about is that Sugars, for example, are just one element of the whole blood sugar, Insulin resistance, Diabetes, cardiovascular inflammation story and maybe keeping track of what's happening in your body is a better measure of how well your KPIs are helping you achieve your goal. For example if you were eating lots of starchy carbs then you could be undoing all the good work your low sugar consumption is doing.
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I am not trying to diagnose any problems.
I am trying to eat a balanced diet. Now, there are many definitions of what a "balanced" diet is. The media, the government, the WHO all have suggestions. It becomes a very complex myriad of analysis, in order to achieve the many differing versions of balanced.
Certainly, at the basic level, I measure carbohydrates, sugars, fibre, proteins, alcohol, fats, saturated fats and I keep that balanced. However, sugars and specifically added sugars are demonised by the media. We are told to keep them within a specific level. However, most packaging does not ever contain anything saying how much of the sugar is added sugar and how much is natural occurring.
The reason people need to measure the output as you say, is they do not measure the input adequately to ensure they eat a balanced diet. If it were possible to measure the input adequately, then you would need less medical intervention. Less drugs, less side effects, less cost and overheads.
One can be concerned about these side issues, the KEY focus though is on the main things which are detrimental to health. If you are a diabetic, then you would need more focus on issues affecting sugar levels. I am not a diabetic, so my KPIs are limited to monitoring sugar levels consumed. Outside of the KEY performance indicators I know how much carbohydrates I eat.
You mistake my targets as goals. I am monitoring rather than trying to improve. If anything I expect my times to decrease over time as I age. However, early warnings of such a decline, can be compensated by changing things.
For example, I noticed recently that I was requiring more calories in order to maintain weight. A reasonably significant increase. Most people, would have lost weight. I just kept increasing what I ate and looked for a reason like antibiotics which might have damaged the workings of my insides. It may be that this would have resolved itself on its own, but I chose to take some probiotics for a month.
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It's all good and I wish more people paid as much attention to eating healthily as you do.
Your weight example is a good case of where monitoring the output lets you use that as feedback to adjust your inputs. Without that we're just assuming that the targets we set ourselves will achieve the desired results which often isn't the case.
I have nothing but praise for what you're doing though. By eating healthily, not getting overweight, exercising multiple times a week and limiting your alcohol intake you're pretty much doing everything that can be expected to stay fit and healthy.
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FAQ
