Progress Tracking

1/21/2023 (Originally posted 12/25/2021)

WHAT I DID – I started tracking my daily progress September 9th 2019 – I was at 291.4 pounds that day –I weighed in every morning – documented day count, daily weight, daily gain/loss, exercise (if any) duration/type, introduced BMI calculation later (for graphing) – on March 8 2020, I weighed in at 191.4 pounds – 100 pounds lost (exactly 6 months to the day). Today is 12/25/2021 – it’s been 839 days since September 9th 2019 – 119 weeks 5 days – my average weight in 2021 is 186.4 pounds – my average weight in December is 184.6 – current BMI = 24 . All of the information above is documented – from day 1 to day 839, and tomorrow will be day 840, and I’ll track my progress again.

Some people don’t like to weigh-in every day – I do – I like to see the number – and document it daily. I use a simple Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. If you need an example, let me know.

I mentioned in the earlier posts I didn’t track food macros, other than to keep net carbs below 25g daily. If you want to track food macros, there are plenty of apps available to help.

Progress pictures:

Make sure you have a REALLY BAD starting picture…like so bad you could wake up the next day and just comb your hair and look 10X better LOL!!. I knew I was starting in early September 2019 so I did take a couple “before” pics – the one on my current profile pic is the worse…I’m not proud of it…actually a little ashamed – I used it as motivation – still do – I never want to look like that again – that’s why I document my progress – still – every day.

I did not take many – if any – progress photos in the middle of my weight loss so I’ll never have a cool tic-toc video to stitch together. I actually wish I had documented more.

When I did the 75hard program this past fall, one requirement is a daily progress picture. The main reason is to look back and see the subtle changes.

Bottom line, once you start losing the weight you will feel much more photogenic but regardless – document your progress frequently with a photo – same pose(s) – same angle – they should show your body (tank top/shorts etc.) – your progress pictures are for you – only – they DO NOT have to be shared on social media – or anywhere – your decision – but document your progress.

Goals:

Set goals – 2 or 3 to start

I had turned 55 years old and my first goal was to lose 55 pounds (Goal#1). Once I lost the 55, I realized I was still “overweight” at 236.4 pounds (Day#74 11/21/2019) – so I decided to get down to 205 pounds (Goal#2 – lowest weight I had been since the mid 1980’s). I got to 205 on 2/9/2020. By then I was really good at losing weight and realized how close I was to losing 100 pounds (so enter Goal#3) – I then got down to 191.4 to check the 100 pound weight loss block. My final goal was to get to a BMI of 24 or less, which is entry into the “normal” BMI slot. That happened at 187 for me (Goal#4) so that is where I’ve averaged for the past year or so.

One reason I’ve kept all of the weight off is tracking – if I start to go up 2-3 pounds – I realize it quickly and cut back on portions, fast a little longer, increase water, back to the basics!

Body Mass Index (BMI) Calculation / Formula

How do I calculate my BMI (Body Mass Index)?

Weight (in pounds) X 703 / height in inches2

Height: 6”2’ = 74 inches

74 x 74 = 5,476

Weight: 187 pounds

So 187 pounds x 703 = 131,461

131,461/5,476 = BMI of 24.01

BMI Categories:

Underweight = <18.5

Normal weight = 18.5–24.9

Overweight = 25–29.9 (60-70% of Americans are here)

Obesity = BMI of 30 or greater (30-35% of Americans are here)