Losing Weight with Google Forms

Peter Drucker is credited with saying "What Gets Measured, Gets Managed". If you have a Gmail account, you have access to Google Sheets and Google Forms two free cloud based applications that you can use to manage anything, including your weight or your blood glucose and ketone measurements.

Creating a Google Form

If you are logged into Chrome, creating a Google Form is as simple as visiting forms.google.com from your PC or mobile device. You have slightly more control over the format from the PC interface, but the features you need are available on the mobile version. Give your form a name and start adding questions. Your responses can be in the form of Short Answer, Paragraph, Multiple Choice, Checkbox, Drop Down, Linear Scale or Multiple Choice Grid. You can even choose if the response is required or not.

Using a Google Form

My morning routine includes filling out two Google Forms: blood glucose and ketone measurement and body weight measurement. Even though the Abbott Precision Xtra does have a data cable, my in vitro acetoacetate strips are analog so that data needs to be recorded manually. Even though Fitbit tracks my weight automatically through my Aria WiFi scale, Fitbit is missing one thing that I wanted to see: am I trending?

Am I Trending?

As I posted in my Thanksgiving and Water Weight post, body weight can fluctuate wildly just based on how much glycogen you have stored and how hydrated you are, not to mention fluctuations is GI motility. I think that this discourages so many people when they set out to lose weight and they do not see consistent progress on the scale. So, I wanted to plot a trend line to ensure that my weight loss was trending in the right way.

Trending with Google Sheets

The data you collect with Google Forms is easily accessed through Google Sheets. From Google Sheets you can use your data to make calculations and display charts. I use an equation in Google Sheets to calculate my daily weight loss goal based on a two pound per week goal and plot this line against my daily weight data to help me see if I am trending. 

Converting Units with Google Sheets

I also use an equation in Google Sheets to convert the beta hydroxybutyrate (g*mol^-1) to (mg/dL) so that my ketones and glucose can be plotted on the same scale. This way I can also verify that my glucose is trending downward and my ketones are trending upward. With Google Sheets and Google Forms the possibilities are endless. 

Stay well engineered,

Devon

These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. These statements or products referenced are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Hacking Blue Light, Part 2

I have previously written on how I hack blue light at night with tinted sunglasses. The next step in hacking blue light has been the introduction of several ILUMI bulbs in my house. This lamp sits on bay window in my bedroom. I have it set to run through a predefined Sunrise sequence which starts dimly red and eventually a cool bluish white light in the morning and red again at night to help me fall asleep.

The other illuminates my wet bar with red light in the evening only ;-)

Stay well engineered,

Devon

These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. These statements or products referenced are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Greens on the Go

I have previously posted about the importance of consuming leafy greens, especially on a Ketogenic diet. While I do enjoy experimenting with different recipes, fresh ingredients are hard to keep on hand when you work as much as I do. A more efficient method of consuming greens is sometimes warranted. I like what Living Fuel's Supergreens has to offer, but at 24.5g of carbohydrates per serving, a lower carbohydrate option is required.

Enter Organifi

Organifi is a green drink powder consisting of Chlorella, Moringa, Spirulina, Mint,  Beets, Macha Green Tea, Wheat Grass, Ashwagandha, Turmeric, Lemon and Coconut Water. This combination of greens and herbs tastes great. Shaker bottle optional, this powder dissolves very easily. The single serving Go Packs are great for getting your greens wherever you are, simply tear off the top and add to water. If you struggle to get your greens each day, I strongly recommend Organifi.

Stay well engineered,

Devon

These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. These statements or products referenced are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Hacking Flow State

Tempus Fugit

People have said for years "time flies when you are having fun," even the Romans spoke of "Tempus Fugit". Devoted holy men have claimed feelings of "being one with the universe." Even athlete's like Brazilian soccer player Pele have described a state where they felt that they could not fail. All are man's attempt to describe the sensation of Transient Hypofrontality.

Welcome to Flow State 

"Flow State" is the common vernacular for Transient Hypofrontality. Literally, you temporarily have low frontal brain activity. This results in ambiguity in things like time and space. During this time your body's "firmware" takes control, and according to Steven Kotler you are in a state of "near perfect decision making". After all, one of the triggers of Flow State is the so-called "fight or flight response", an incorrect decision to fight or flee might result in your death. This state was even mentioned in the recent movie Whiskey Tango Foxtrot. About 57 minutes into the movie, Christopher Abbott's character tells Tina Fey's character the following:

“The human body produces its own heroin….in fact, when the fight or flight instinct is activated…it releases endorphin, dopamine, and norepinephrine…heroin, cocaine, amphetamine all at once.”

These are the “gateway drugs” to Flow State, that optimal state of human performance, when failure to make the right decision usually results in death, as it does in Extreme / Adventure Sports.While Steven focuses primarily on the triggers of "High Consequences" or "Risk" in his book The Rise of Superman: Decoding the Science of Ultimate Human Performance, There are in fact over a dozen triggers to Flow State which are being studied in greater detail by Jamie Wheel of the Flow Genome Project.

What if You Could Flow on Demand?

While the experience of Flow State is a neurochemical cocktail, it should be noted that these triggers are all physical and mental states available to anyone, not even a precision dose of illicit drugs can duplicate what a genuine Flow State experience is. Try incorporating one or more of these triggers in your day and see how Flow State can change your life.

Stay well engineered,

Devon

These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. These statements or products referenced are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.