Dhammaanteen waxaan soo marnay fasaxyada kirismaska^(Christmas) , waxaanan ka fakareynaa siyaalo aan ku magdhabano isbeddelka degdegga ah ee qaab nololeedka muddo 2 toddobaad ah. Qof kastaa wuxuu u muuqdaa inuu ka walaacsan yahay miisaanka la saaray inta lagu jiro fasaxyada, sidaas darteed waxaan go'aansaday in aan haysto tirada ugu horreysa ee Christmas iyo New Year . Ka dib markii aan xogta ka helay dareenka dhaqdhaqaaqayga, hurdada iyo cuntada, waxaan soo saaray gabagabo aad u xiiso badan. Maqaalkan, waxaan kula wadaagi doonaa xogta laga bilaabo Disembar 2014^{(December 2014)} , marka la barbar dhigo sannadka intiisa kale. Fikradda la yaabka leh ayaa ah in ciidaha ay yihiin, dhab ahaantii, maaha mid muhiim ah marka la barbardhigo sanadka intiisa kale marka la eego xogta dhabta ah. Waa tan waxa aan bartay:

Maxaan Raadinayay?

Sababtoo ah waxaan ogaa inaan u guurayo guri cusub bishii Diseembar^(December) , waxaan doortay inaan naftayda ku xaddido dhowr nooc oo cabbirro kuwaas oo markii horeba ii fududaa in la igu raadiyo:

• Qiyaasaha la xiriira cuntada^{(Food-related metrics)} : Waxaan hayaa diiwaanka cuntada oo faahfaahsan, kaas oo diiradda saaraya nafaqooyinka ugu waaweyn - karbohaydraytyada, borotiinada, fiilooyinka, iyo dufanka - marka lagu daro kalooriyooyinka
• Qiyaasaha la xidhiidha^{(Sleep-related metrics)} hurdada: tayada hurdada (sida lagu qiyaasay cududdayda BodyMedia Link^{(BodyMedia Link)} ), muddada hurdada iyo wakhtiga hurdada
• Qiyaasaha la xidhiidha dhaqdhaqaaqa^{(Activity-related metrics)} , sida uu sheegay cududdayda BodyMedia Link^{(BodyMedia Link)} (tirada tillaabooyinka, kalooriyada gubtay)
• Cabbirka miisaanka^{(Weight measurement)} subaxda iyo fiidkii

Ogow in uu khalad ka jiro dabagalka wax walba. Laga soo bilaabo miisaanka (miisaanka ayaa laga yaabaa inuu khalad yeesho), si loo qiyaaso tirada cuntada iyo cabbirka dareenka isku xirka BodyMedia^{(BodyMedia Link)} . Si kastaba ha ahaatee, taasi waxay tilmaamaysaa oo kaliya in xogta aan si sax ah loo xiriirin xaaladaha qaarkood, sida aad ku arki doonto daraasaddan. Inkastoo dhammaan khaladaadka, gabagabada xiisaha leh ayaa weli la soo saari karaa.

Gabagabo Hordhac Ah

Gabagabadayda ugu weyni waa in qaab nololeedka Diisambar^(December) uu yahay inta badan qaab nololeedka aan haysto inta lagu jiro sanadka intiisa kale, oo ka sii daray xoogaa (10-15%) fasaxyada. Markaa haddii miisaankaagu kordho, waa sababta oo ah waxaad ilaalinaysaa hab-nololeed aan fiicneyn laga bilaabo sanadka intiisa kale oo aad sii xoojiso: in yar oo aad cunto cunto, xoogaa huruddo, xoogaa dhaqdhaqaaq yar. Laakiin badideenna kaliya waxay u muuqdaan inay fiiro gaar ah u leeyihiin miisaankeena inta lagu jiro muddadan, sidaas darteed fikrad been ah oo ah in dhibaatadu ay ku jirto fasaxyada ayaa la abuuray.

Waxaan la socday miisaankayga inta lagu jiro muddadan, inkasta oo aysan jirin wax xaddidan oo ku saabsan waxa aan cunay, waxaan helay kaliya 1 kg (2 rodol) inta lagu jiro fasaxyada, taas oo si tartiib tartiib ah u soo baxaysa hadda. Taasi waa wax aan la rumaysan karin marka la eego aragtida koowaad - fasaxyadu miyay 10% ka xun yihiin sanadka intiisa kale? Marka la eego xogta, waa run.

Halkan waxaa ah xogta la isku daray ee 9 bilood ee ugu dambeysay 2014^{(aggregated data for the last 9 months of 2014)} . U fiirso^(Notice) sida uu weli miisaanku hoos ugu socdo si tartiib tartiib ah, inkastoo xaqiiqda ah in kalooriyada gubtay ay ka hooseeyaan kalooriyada la cunay. Taasi waa sababta oo ah waxaan beryahan dambe aad u qiyaasayey cuntada (waa in aan taas joojiyo). Waxa kale oo aan bilaabay in aan cabbo biyo badan, aniga oo cunaya soodhiyam yar, taas oo ka dhigaysa in tirada guud ee biyaha jidhkayga ay hoos u dhacdo.

Isbeddellada yaryar ee xogta ayaa mararka qaarkood ka tarjumaya isbeddello waaweyn oo nolosha ah. Haddaba, aynu dhex marno qaybaha gaarka ah ee cabbiraadda hore loo sheegay (cuntada, hurdada, dhaqdhaqaaqa, miisaanka) si aan u aragno sida ay u kala duwan yihiin inta lagu jiro xilliga ciidaha.

Waxaan u arkayay dhammaan bisha December inay tahay xilliga fasaxa. Waxaan doortay bisha oo dhan sababtoo ah qaybta hore inta badan way ka mashquul badan tahay si loo diyaariyo qaybta labaad. Markaa bisha oo dhan waa carqalad ka imanaysa hawlaheenna caadiga ah.

Cunto

Dareen-celintaydii ugu horreysay markii aan arkay xogta waxay ahayd: "Ma ahayn wax xun!". Celcelis ahaan qaadashada kalooriga ee Diisambar^(December) waxay ahayd qiyaastii 3700 kcal maalintii, marka la barbar dhigo 3330 kcal celceliska maalintii 3 bilood ee la soo dhaafay ( Sebtembar-Noofambar^{(September-November)} ). Waxa xiiso leh^{(Interestingly)} oo ku filan, taasi waa koror 11% ah! Marka la eego tirada saxda ah, aad bay muhiim u tahay, dabcan.

Haddii aad la yaabban tahay sababta aan u cunayo kalooriyo badan, waa sababtoo ah waxaan sidoo kale gubaa wax badan (sida lagu qiyaaso BodyMedia Link ). Hadafka miisaankayga hadda waa inaan lumiyo qiyaastii 1 kg (2 rodol) bishiiba 3da bilood ee soo socota, markaa waxaan bixin doonaa feejignaan dheeraad ah. Intii lagu jiray bilihii la soo dhaafay, waxaan si xad dhaaf ah u qiyaasay qaadashada cuntadayda si ka daran sidii caadiga ahayd, markaa tirooyinka dhabta ahi maaha kuwo aad u sarreeya marka la bilaabo.

Marka la iska dhaafo kalooriyooyinka, cabbirada kale ee cuntada ayaa u muuqda mid aad u wanaagsan. Waxaan dhibaato ku qabay qaadashada dufanka tan iyo Maajo 2014^{(May 2014)} , maadaama qaadashada dufankaygu uu ahaa meel u dhaxaysa 40% iyo 45% qaadashada kalooriga. Tani waa xun, oo waxay keentaa korodhka khatarta cudurrada wadnaha ee muddada dheer, waan ogahay. Tani waa sababta oo ah isbeddellada soo socda:

• Waxaan sameeyaa soonka kala go'a (cunida quraacda iyo qadada oo keliya); tani waxay la macno tahay in aan cunayo cuntooyinka kalooriyada ku cufan. Kuwaas waxay u muuqdaan inay ku jiraan dufan badan.
• Waxaan ka tanaasulay hilib (marka laga reebo hilibka kalluunka) mar Juun 2014^{(June 2014)} ; sababtu waa sababtoo ah anigu kuma kalsoona inaad heli karto ilo la isku halayn karo, il joogto ah oo hilib caafimaad leh. Tani waxay sii adkaynaysaa qaadashada dufankayga, maadaama aan la halgamayo sidii aan u heli lahaa hab dufanku ku yar yahay si aan borotiinno ku filan ugu keeno cuntadayda. Waxay u baahan yihiin korriinka unugyada, waxaanan hadda ka qaadanayaa khudaarta iyo farmaajo.
• Waxaan bilaabay cunista hal avokado maalintii (si fiican, ku dhawaad ​​- ilaa 200 9 bilood ee la soo dhaafay). Waxa ku jira dufan badan oo aan dheregsanayn. Inkasta oo la aaminsan yahay in ay hoos u dhigto khatarta cudurrada wadnaha^{(lower heart disease risk)} , cabbirka guud ayaa weli ah mid dhib badan.

Laakiin waxa wanaagsan ayaa ah, qaadashada dufanka inta lagu jiro Diseembar^(December) kamay xumaan sidii caadiga ahayd. Wax kale oo aan si dhow ula socday ilaa Noofambar 2014^{(November 2014)} waxay ahayd qaadashada sodium. Waad aragtaa, waxaan cunayay cuntooyin milix leh muddo bilo ah anigoon wax badan ka fiirsan. Soodhiyamka oo aad u badan ayaa keenta khatarta sii kordheysa ee cudurada wadnaha:

• Rooti karsan^(Wasa) oo qani ku ah fiber-ka si ay uga caawiso in aan qaato fiber-kaygu sareeyo. Laakiin waligey kuma fikirin inaan sidoo kale hubiyo milixda.
• Saliid Saytuun Pretzels^{(Oil Pretzels)} si aan u joojiyo dhimista miisaankeyga iyada oo la adeegsanayo kalooriyooyinkeeda anoo soo bandhigaya cunto fudud oo caafimaad leh (ama sidaas ayaan u maleeyay).

Waxaan labadaba ka saaray cuntadayda December 2014 , waxaadna arki kartaa in inkasta oo aan ku jiray maalmo gaar ah (rikoodhka shakhsi ahaaneed ee 7000 kcal ee la cunay maalinta kirismaska^(Christmas) ​​​​), celceliska soodhiyamka bishiiba waa ka sii fiican yahay.

Mar haddii aniga iyo xaaskayga aynaan cunin hilib marka laga reebo kalluunka, waa inaan aad uga taxaddarnaa qaadashada borotiinka. Waxaa farxad^(Happily) noo ah in hooyooyinkeen ay ku baraarugeen markii aan soo booqannay qoysaska fasaxa, cunnooyinka waaweyn ee aan ka qayb qaadanayna waxa ay qani ku ahaayeen hilibka kalluunka. Markaa bishii Diseembar^(December) , waxaan helay celcelis ahaan 13.26% qaadashada borotiinka, taas oo ah tan ugu sareysa tan iyo markii aan joojiyay cunista noocyada kale ee hilibka.

Aniga ahaan, xidhitaanka diyaafadu waxay i siisaa nasasho badan oo aan ku raaxaysto. Tani waa xoogaa ka soo horjeeda, laakiin sababta ayaa ah inaan ogahay inaan hadda qiimeyn karo xad-dhaafkayga oo aan barbardhigi karo waxa dhacaya sanadka intiisa kale.

Ugu dambeyntii, in kasta oo cuntada fasaxa inta badan la kariyo oo ay ka maqan tahay fiber, weli waxaan ku guuleystey inaan soo jiido 45 garaam maalintii celceliska fiber bishii Disembar^(December) . In kasta oo xaqiiqda ah in aan joojiyay cunista barafka Wasa^{(Wasa Crispbread)} .

Hurdo

Labada cabbir ee hurdada ee aan si dhow ula socdo waa: Dhibcaha Hurdada^{(Sleep Score)} (0-100, ka sarreeya ayaa ka wanaagsan) iyo Waqtiga Hurdada Hurdada^{(Time to Fall Asleep)} . Labadaba waxaan ku cabbiraa anigoo xidha xidhidhiyaha BodyMedia^{(BodyMedia Link)} oo ila jiifa. Dhibcaha Hurdada^{(Sleep Score)} waa saamiga u dhexeeya wakhtiga aad hurudday (sida uu qabo dareemayaasha), iyo wakhtiga sariirta lagu qaatay. Xogta hal habeen waxay u ekaan kartaa sidan:

In kasta oo ay fududahay in la fahmo sababta aan u isticmaalo dhibcaha hurdada, wakhtiga^{(Time to Fall Asleep)} hurdada ayaa muhiim ii ah sababtoo ah waxaan ahay qof firfircoon oo leh dhibaatooyin hurdo. Si aan taas u wanaajiyo, waxaan adeegsadaa dhowr farsamooyin oo kala duwan: Wax akhri ka hor wakhtiga hurdada ka Kindle -kayga adoon muraayaddayda xidhin (si ay indhahayga u daaliyaan), ku seexo calool madhan si aan tamar yar u yeesho fiidkii inta lagu jiro (soon kala go'a), iska ilaali. kafeega oo dhan. Muddo ka dib, waxay caddaysay cabbir aad u wanaagsan oo ku saabsan sida wanaagsan ee aan u shaqeeyo.

Intii lagu jiray Disembar 2014, celceliska Dhibcaha Hurdadaygu^{(Sleep Score)} wuxuu soo noqday ilaa 86%, waxqabadka wanaagsan ee aanan gaarin tan iyo bilowgii xagaaga, markii aan maalin kasta ku socday mayl badan maalintii hawo cusub oo nasasho badan. Dhibcuhu wuu wanagsanaay in kasta oo culayska la xidhiidha raadinta guri cusub iyo u guurista dhammaan alaabtii (waxa aanu ka buuxinay baabuur deeqsi ah).

Waqtiga hurdada la seexdo^{(Time to Fall Asleep)} wuxuu ahaa mid aad u hooseeya. Asal ahaan^(Basically) , mar kasta oo aan haysto wakhti aan ku dhufto sariirta, waxaan ku seexan lahaa isla markiiba. Maan haysan tamar aan ku akhriyo Kindle -kayga haba yaraatee, taas oo ahayd calaamad wanaagsan laakiin waxa ay igu kalliftay in aan ka fikiro buugaagteyda qaaliga ah oo aan beddelo hab-socodka akhriska.

Daqiiqadaha hurdo^(Slept) waxay la mid ahaayeen 2dii bilood ee la soo dhaafay ( Oktoobar^(October) iyo Noofambar^(November) ) - 370 daqiiqo. Tani aad bay uga sarraysay Sebtembar^(September) (kaas oo lahaa 357). Bishii Sebtembar^(September) waxaan bilaabay in aan ka shaqeeyo Programmer Fitness , mana garanayn sida loo habeeyo wakhtigayga weli. Tani waxay keentay in badan oo habeenno ah, iyo dhamaadka bisha, waxaan go'aansaday inaan helo xoogaa hurdo iyo jadwal joogto ah.

Dhibicdayda hurdada inta badan waa 85%, taasoo la macno ah in aan 7 saacadood sariirta seexdo, oo aan seexdo 6 ka mid ah. Taasi waa celceliska ay ku jiraan maalmaha fasaxa ah iyo fasaxyada. Haddii ay u egtahay qiimo hoose, fadlan ogow inaan isku dayay inaan kordhiyo, laakiin kuma qancin natiijooyinka.

Dhaqdhaqaaqa

Intii aan ka shaqeynayey Fitness Programmer^{(Programmer Fitness)} , Waxaan ogaaday in qadarka kaliya ee macnaha leh ee kaloriyada gubtay ee celceliska qofka uu xakameyn karo ay la mid tahay tirada tillaabooyinka aan sameyno. Hoos waxaa ah laba garaaf oo laga soo qaaday macmiilka dhabta ah si loo caddeeyo taas. Midda kowaad waa kala-goynta kalooriyada gubtay ee heerka dheef- shiid kiimikaadka aasaasiga^{(Basal Metabolic Rate)} ah , Dhaqdhaqaaq dhexdhexaad^{(Moderate Activity)} ah iyo firfircoonida xooggan^{(Intense Activity)} (ku dar tirada guud ee kalooriyada gubtay).

Midda labaad waa isku xidhka cabsida leh ee Hawsha Dhexdhexaadka^{(Moderate Activity)} ah iyo tirada tillaabooyinka.

Taasi waxay iga dhigaysaa inaan ka taxadaro tirada tallaabooyinkayga in ka badan intaad filayso. Iyo la yaab: tirada tillaabooyinka aan sameeyay Disembar^(December) ma ahayn kuwii ugu hooseeyay ee 2014. Waxaa si fudud loo macnayn karaa:

• Waxay ahayd inaan u guurno guri cusub bishaan. Tani waxay ka dhigan tahay in la daawado 15-20 guri ka hor inta aan dooran kan aan u soo guurnay. Taasi waxay u baahneyd baabuur wadid iyo socod badan.
• Guriga cusub aad buu uga weyn yahay kan hore. Xaaskeyga ayaa ku kaftameysay inaan heli doono tillaabooyin tiro badan oo kan cusub.
• Dhab ahaantii dhaqaaqista alaabtayadu waxay sidoo kale u baahneyd dhaqdhaqaaq badan.

Tani waa sida aan ugu suurtagashay in aan gaaro 10k ee lagu taliyay xadka maalintii, inkasta oo mashquulka Diseembar^(December) ee heerkulka qaboojinta ee ka baxsan. War wanaagsan!

Marka la eego kalooriyeyaasha gubtay, waxaa jira hoos u dhac yar marka loo eego bilihii hore. Waxa aanu haysanay 2 todobaad oo hakad ah oo aanu ku jirnay tababaradayada Qwan Ki Do^{(Qwan Ki Do)} , manaan helin wakhti aan ku magdhabo kaligay. Arrimuhu sidii hore ayay ku soo noqdeen January in kastoo!

Miisaanka

Si ula kac ah ayaan miisaanka uga tagay dhamaadka 2 sababood dartood: Marka hore, waa sababta oo ah maan xisaabin nafteyda inta lagu jiro fasaxyada si aan u maareeyo miisaankayga. Waxa kale oo aan si xad dhaaf ah u qiyaasayay qaadashada si adag. Wadnaheyga hore ayaan ugu ogaa, laakiin markaan arkay xogta ayaa igu qancisay inaan beddelo hab-dhaqankayga.

Wadarta guud ee qaadashadayda waxay ka badan tahay wadarta kalooriyada gubtay, laakiin wali xoogaa miisaan ayaa iga lumay.

Waxaa jira 2 sababood oo tan:

• Waxaan joojiyay cunista Wasa Crispbread iyo pretzels, kuwaas oo qani ku ahaa sodium. Markaa waxaan bilaabay inaan tirtiro xoogaa biyo ah oo jidhkayga lagu hayo.
• Qiyaasta xad-dhaafka ah ee gardarrada ah. Xitaa 10% dheeraad ah ayaa muhiim u ah muddada dheer.

Waxaan isku dayi doonaa in aan aad uga taxadaro jaristayda hadda wixii ka dambeeya.

Waxa aan bartay December

Aad ayaan ugu faraxsanahay inaan tan sameeyay. Marna uma malaynayn in xogtu ay taajir noqon doonto. Gabagabadayda ugu weyn ayaa ah in inkasta oo habdhaqankeenu uu aad uga duwan yahay Diseembar^(December) , kala duwanaanshaha guud ee waxa aan cunno, sida aan u seexano iyo inta aan dhaqaaqno way yar yihiin. Sawirka weyn, dabcan.

Ma buurnidin sababtoo ah ciidaha kirismaska^(Christmas) , laakiin sababtoo ah qaab nololeedkaaga jira awgeed. Sida aan soo sheegay, waxaynu u jeednaa inaan si dhow u fiirsanno miisaankeena inta lagu jiro wakhtigan, waana marka aan ogaano waxa dhacaya sanadka dhexdiisa.

Dhinaca hore ee tirooyinka, waxaan si xad dhaaf ah u qiimeyn doonaa cuntada si taxadar leh. 9 bilood waxay u egtahay xog badan marka hore, laakiin waxaan si dhakhso ah u ogaaday inaad u baahan tahay wax badan.

Hal mitir oo aan jeclaan lahaa inaan arko waa qaadashada biyaha. Waxaan bilaabay inaan dhawaan galo, laakiin aad uguma fiicni wali. Waxaan ogaaday in marka aan diyaafad samaynayno, aan isku mar wax badan cunno oo aan cabno wax yar. Waxaa jirta aragti ah in inta badan dareenkeena gaajo dhab ahaantii uu yahay haraad, laakiin si sax ah uma kala saari karno.

Waxaan jeclaan lahaa in aan ku soo afjaro maqaalkan aniga oo kuu rajeynaya Sannad Cusub^{(Quantified New Year)} oo Tiro leh oo Farxad leh ! Laga^(May) yaabaa in dhammaan cabbiradaada ay u kacaan loolanka 2015.

Andrei Ismail waa injineer khibrad leh oo software ah oo khibrad bilow ah ku leh suunkiisa iyo shahaado PhD ee sirdoonka macmal. Waxa uu lumiyay 50 rodol 6 bilood gudahood wuxuuna hadda ka shaqaynayaa barnaamijka tababarka jirdhiska ee geeks, oo laga heli karo LULINTA CULUS EE ENGINEERS^{(WEIGHT LOSS FOR ENGINEERS)} .^{(Andrei Ismail is an experienced software engineer with startup experience under his belt and a PhD in Artificial Intelligence. He has lost 50 pounds in 6 months and is currently working on a fitness coaching program for geeks, available at WEIGHT LOSS FOR ENGINEERS.)}

Christmas Doesn't Make You Fat, The Rest Of The Year Does

We've all been through thе Christmas holidays, and are thinking of ways to comрensate for the sudden change in lifestyle for 2 weeks. Everyonе seemѕ to be worried about the weight put on during thе holidays, so I decided to have the first quantified Christmaѕ and New Year. After getting the data from paying аttention to my activity, sleep and food, I have drаwn some very interеsting conclusions. In this article, I will share with you the data from December 2014, compared to the rest of the year. The surprising insight is that the holidays are, in fact, not that significant compared to the rest of the year when looking at the aсtual data. Here's what I have learned:

What Was I Tracking?

Because I knew I was moving to a new apartment in December, I chose to restrict myself to several types of metrics that were already easy to track for me:

• Food-related metrics: I keep a detailed food log, that focuses on the main macronutrients - carbs, proteins, fibers, and fat - in addition to calories
• Sleep-related metrics: sleep quality (as measured by my BodyMedia Link armband), sleep duration and time to fall asleep
• Activity-related metrics, as reported by my BodyMedia Link armband (number of steps, calories burned)
• Weight measurement during the morning and evening

Note that there is an error in tracking everything. From the weight (the scale might have an error), to estimating the food quantities and the measurement of the BodyMedia Link sensor. However, that only implies that the data is not correlated correctly in some situations, as you will see in this case study. Despite all errors, interesting conclusions can still be drawn.

Preliminary Conclusions

My main conclusion is that the lifestyle in December is mostly the same lifestyle that I have during the rest of the year, exacerbated a bit (10-15%) by the holidays. So if you gain weight, it's because you are maintaining the unhealthy lifestyle from the rest of the year and only amplifying it: eating a bit more, sleeping a bit more, moving a bit less. But most of us only tend to pay attention to our weight during this period, so a false impression that the problem lies in the holidays is created.

I tracked my own weight during this period, and even though there was literally no limit on what I ate, I only gained 1 kg (2 lbs) during the holidays, which is slowly coming off now. That is unbelievable at first sight - are holidays only 10% worse than the rest of the year? Looking at the data, it is true.

Here is the aggregated data for the last 9 months of 2014. Notice how the weight is still trending down slowly, despite the fact that my calories burned are below calories eaten. That is because I have been over-estimating food more aggressively lately (will have to stop that). I also started drinking more water, while eating less sodium, making the total quantity of water in my body decrease.

Small changes in the data sometimes reflect huge changes in life. Now, let's go through the individual categories of metrics mentioned before (food, sleep, activity, weight) in order to see how they varied throughout the holiday season.

I considered the whole month of December as the holiday season. I chose the whole month because the first half is usually busier in order to make arrangements for the second half. So the whole month is a disruption from our normal routine.

Food

My first reaction when seeing the data was: "It wasn't that bad!". My average calorie intake for December was about 3700 kcal per day, compared to the 3330 kcal per day average for the past 3 months (September-November). Interestingly enough, that is an 11% increase! In absolute numbers, it's quite significant, of course.

If you're wondering why I'm eating so many calories, it's because I also burn a lot (as measured by the BodyMedia Link). My current weight goal is to lose about 1 kg (2 lbs) per month for the next 3 months, so I will pay more attention. During the last months, I've over-estimated my food intake more aggressively than usual, so the actual numbers are not that high to begin with.

Leaving calories aside, the other food metrics look pretty good. I've been having a problem with fat intake since May 2014, as my fat intake has been somewhere between 40% and 45% of the calorie intake. This is bad, and leads to increased heart disease risk on the longer term, I know. This is because of the following changes:

• I practice intermittent fasting (eating only breakfast and lunch); this means that I am eating foods that are denser in calories. Those tend to contain more fat.
• I gave up meat (except for fish meat) sometime in June 2014; the reason is because I do not trust that you can find a reliable, constant source of healthy meat. This further complicates my fat intake, as I am struggling to find a low-fat way to bring enough proteins into my diet. They are required for tissue growth, and I am currently taking them from vegetables and cheese.
• I started eating one avocado per day (well, almost - about 200 in the past 9 months). It contains quite a lot of unsaturated fat. Even though it is believed to lower heart disease risk, the overall metric is still quite problematic.

But the good thing is, fat intake during December wasn't worse than the usual. Another thing that I had been closely monitoring since November 2014 was sodium intake. You see, I had been eating salty foods for months without paying too much attention. Too much sodium leads to increased risk of cardiovascular disease:

• Wasa fiber-rich crispbread in order to help keep my fiber intake high. But I never considered checking the salt as well.
• Olive Oil Pretzels in order to halt my weight loss with its calories by introducing a healthy snack (or so I thought).

I eliminated both from my diet in December 2014, and you can see that even though I was feasting on certain days (my personal record being 7000 kcal eaten in the Christmas day), the monthly sodium average is much better.

Since my wife and I are both not eating meat anymore except fish, we have to be very careful about our protein intake. Happily for us, our moms took notice of that when we visited our families for the holidays, and the big meals we took part in were rich in fish meat. So in December, I had a 13.26% average intake from proteins, highest ever since I quit eating other types of meats.

For me, logging a feast makes me feel more relaxed and enjoy it more. This is a bit counterintuitive, but the reason is that I know I can now evaluate my excess and compare it to what happens to the rest of the year.

Finally, even though holiday food is mostly cooked and lacks fiber, I still managed to pull of a 45 grams per day of fiber average in December. Despite the fact that I stopped eating the Wasa Crispbread.

Sleep

The two sleep metrics that I closely follow are: Sleep Score (0-100, the higher the better) and Time to Fall Asleep. I measure both by wearing my BodyMedia Link with me to bed. The Sleep Score is the ratio between the time it you were sleeping (according to the sensor), and the time spent in bed. One night's data might look like this:

While it's easy to understand why I use the sleep score, Time to Fall Asleep is important to me because I am a hyperactive person with problems falling asleep. To improve that, I employ a number of different tricks: read before bedtime from my Kindle without my glasses on (to make my eyes tired), sleep on an empty stomach so that I have less energy during the evening (intermittent fasting), avoid coffee altogether. Over time, it has proven a very good measure of how well I am doing.

During December 2014, my Sleep Score average was back up to 86%, a stellar performance I had not achieved since the beginning of summer, when I was walking daily plenty of miles per day in fresh air and relaxing more. The score was good despite the stress associated with searching for a new apartment and moving all the things into it (we filled a generous van with them).

The Time to Fall Asleep was at an all-time low. Basically, whenever I had time to hit the bed, I would fall asleep immediately. I did not have energy to read from my Kindle at all, which was a good sign but it got me thinking about my precious books and changing my reading routine.

Slept minutes were about the same as the last 2 months (October and November) - 370 minutes. This was significantly higher than September (which had 357). In September I started working on Programmer Fitness, and I did not know how to organize my time yet. This led to a lot of late nights, and at the end of the month, I decided to get a bit more sleep and a more regular schedule.

My sleep score is usually 85%, which means I spend 7 hours in bed, and sleep 6 of them. That is an average which includes weekends and holidays. If it sounds like a low value, please know that I tried to increase it, but wasn't convinced about the results.

Activity

While working on Programmer Fitness, I noticed that the only meaningful amount of burned calories an average person can control is proportional to the number of steps we make. Below are two graphs from an actual client to prove that. The first is the breakdown of burned calories into the Basal Metabolic Rate, Moderate Activity and Intense Activity (adding up to the total number of burned calories).

The second one is the scary correlation of Moderate Activity with the number of steps.

That makes me care about the number of my steps more than you'd expect. And surprise: the number of steps I made in December were not the lowest of 2014. It can be explained quite simply:

• We had to move to a new apartment this month. This meant viewing 15-20 apartments before choosing the one we moved in. That required a lot of driving and walking.
• The new apartment is substantially bigger than the older one. My wife was joking that we will get a larger number of steps in the new one.
• Actually moving our things also required a lot of movement.

This is how I managed to achieve the recommended 10k per day limit, despite the busy December with freezing temperatures outside. Good news!

In terms of burned calories, there is a slight decrease compared to the previous months. We had a 2-week pause in our Qwan Ki Do trainings, and I did not have time to compensate for that on my own. Things are back to normal in January though!

Weight

I intentionally left the weight at the end for 2 reasons: first, it's because I did not quantify myself during the holidays in order to manage my weight. I was also over-estimating the intake too aggressively. I knew it in my heart already, but seeing the data convinced me to change my behaviour.

My total intake is higher than my total calories burned, but I still lost a bit of weight.

There are 2 reasons for this:

• I stopped eating the Wasa Crispbread and the pretzels, which were rich in sodium. So I started to eliminate a bit more water, which was being held in my body.
• The aggressive over-estimation. Even an extra 10% is important on the long term.

I will try to be more mindful of my logging from now on.

What I Have Learned This December

I am so glad I did this. I never imagined the data would be so rich. My main conclusion is that even though our behaviour differs quite a lot in December, the overall differences in what we eat, how we sleep and how much we move are small. In the big picture, of course.

You don't grow fat because of the Christmas holidays, but due to your existing lifestyle. As I mentioned, we tend to pay closer attention to our weight during this time, and that is when we notice what had been happening during the year.

On the quantifying front, I will over-estimate food more conservatively. 9 months seems like a lot of data at first sight, but I quickly realised you need more.

One metric that I would have liked to see is water intake. I started to log it recently, but I'm not very good at it yet. I've noticed that when feasting, we simultaneously eat more and drink less. There is a theory that most of the time our feeling of hunger is in fact thirst, but we cannot correctly distinguish between them.

I would like to end this article by wishing you a Happy Quantified New Year! May all your metrics rise to the challenge in 2015.

Andrei Ismail is an experienced software engineer with startup experience under his belt and a PhD in Artificial Intelligence. He has lost 50 pounds in 6 months and is currently working on a fitness coaching program for geeks, available at WEIGHT LOSS FOR ENGINEERS.

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