I got a new scale a while back that not only tells you how much you currently weigh, but other interesting statistics based on small electrical currents that run through the soles of your feet. It's nifty. It's relatively accurate, but even if it isn't perfectly accurate, it's a good gauge over time of how you're doing as the numbers change proportionally.
About twice a month I wait for the scale to go into it's longer measurement cycle and then I write down the results on a piece of paper. I now have about five months of data including weight, body fat percentage, muscle percentage, hydration percentage and bone mass percentage.
The number have changed over time, most notably the muscle mass, which is the one I'm the most interested in. It's not changed by much, but just going up one percent for every hundred pounds you weigh is adding a full pound of muscle. It's been nice to see the numbers creep up in one direction and creep down in the body fat percentage direction.
The measurements are based on some baseline data you enter initially. Your gender, your age, your height and your fitness level. These bits of information get wiped out every now and then because my son can somehow stand (or bounce or hop) on the scale and get it into configuration mode. But aside from a quick check to make sure I'm not six feet eleven inches or aged fourteen, it's very consistent and has been performing.
The one setting I'm not as sure about any more is the fitness level icon. The manual says if you exercise ten hours or more per week you qualify for the, "athlete" setting. Otherwise, just pick the normal setting. I don't know that I've ever met the requirements but I have it set to athlete. Even if I was running five miles every day and taking an hour to do so, that's only seven hours in the week. At this point I'm doing three to four runs each week and even counting the long runs at two-and-a-half hours, I'm still only exercising around five hours.
It is so silly, but it makes me feel better thinking I would qualify for that little icon of the runner instead of the little icon of the lady in a dress. I may have to drop it back to the dress lady come winter if I don't get a chance to pick up the pace and get some more exercise in.
The Big Boy Update: pet zel. Did you mean, "pretzel?" "Petzel, petzel," points at pantry shelf, "petzeeeeeeeeel!" He likes pretzels. A lot. If you give him a few pretzel sticks in a little bowl he will carry, very carefully, the bowl over to the table, put the bowl on the table and then climb into the chair and sit quietly while eating pretzels.
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: The formula dilution. It's time to get her off formula for good and move on from the bottles. She doesn't like the taste of whole milk because it's significantly different in flavor from her formula. I've gotten her to sixty percent milk at this point without balking. Hopefully by the time she's a year next month we'll be done with formula.
Fitness Update: Packing. Up and down stairs. Not fitness so much, but lots of activity. I need to look for a pedometer app for the phone and find out how many steps I take in a given day and how far that equates in distance walked.
Someone Once Said: Don’t indulge in wishful thinking or never argue with the weather.
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