December Weight Loss Summary

December was the second full month of weight tracking. I weigh myself every day. That number is entered into a spreadsheet, which calculates my seven-day and twenty-day moving averages. The reasoning behind this is that while my daily weight may vary to a great degree, averaging out my weight smooths out the bumps.

The numbers also serve a useful purpose when show together on a chart. The twenty-day average is very smooth and doesn't change much from day to day. The seven-day average is a little bumpier, and is a close approximation of what direction my weight is trending. The interaction between the two trend lines further reveals trends. For example, when the seven-day moving average crosses the 20 day, there is a confirmation of a trend in that direction.

On December 1, my seven-day average was 186.31. Today, my seven-day average was 185.09. This represents a loss of 1.22 lbs for the month. There were thirteen days with a weight gain, fourteen days with a weight loss, and four days of no change. There was a ten pound difference between my actual weight of 192 on December 3, and my actual weight of 182 on December 23. My highest rolling average weight was 187.29, lowest was 184.26.

The main thing that I learned about myself is the need to go to bed hungry. I don't know if it is better to eat three large meals of five small meals. I'm still learning. But I do know that the closer to bedtime that I eat, the poorer my performance. There have been days when I have had two thousand calories before noon, yet still manage to squeak out a loss. Considering my usual early bedtimes, the best time to stop eating is five p.m.