Creating a Health Decision Scorecard

September 23, 2008 · 15 comments

I’ve written before about how important it is to focus on your decisions and not the results. With good decisions will come good results over time. Results can be fleeting and it is very easy to get frustrated when you don’t see the immediate results to what you thought were good decisions.

The primary scorecard I use right now is my weight loss graphs page, which is primarily a scorecard of results. My weight trends, BMI, body fat, waist measurement, etc. I think it is very important to track your results and in fact I don’t track nearly as many measurements as I would like. It’s hard to track things when you aren’t going in the direction you would like but I’ll tell you it sure keeps you motivated on keeping up with it. My problem is I need more and more motivation, but eventually I will get those damned charts going in the right direction! That is the power of using a scorecard of results.

However, as I mentioned it is important to focus on decisions. Did you do the things you need to do to achieve the results you are looking for? To that end as of yesterday I started a simple Excel database where I will track on a daily basis my decisions from an overall health perspective. This is a work in progress and I see it changing over time, because right now it is really, really simple.

Here are the fields I am currently tracking:

Brush Teeth
Floss
Mouthwash

Remember, this is a health scorecard not just diet and exercise.

Vitamins

I’m just taking glucosamine and chondroitin right now.

Water

Measured in ounces. I’m looking for at least a gallon a day.

Sweat

This is the one part I need to flesh out more but to start with I’m just tracking whether I broke a sweat (as part of exercising) or not.

Breakfast
Morning Snack
Lunch
Afternoon Snack
Dinner
No Food After 8

I’m still working on the formula I’m going to use to determine my overall daily score but I didn’t want that to hold me up from starting to record my results. I know I was more diligent yesterday knowing I was keeping a scorecard. I’m hoping I can keep that up.

How about you? Do you keep track of just your results? What daily decisions do you/would you track?

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{ 15 comments }

MizFit September 23, 2008 at 7:14 am: LOVE that youve added in oral health—-the flossing HEART connection is a powerful motivator (for me anyway)
IAAdmin September 23, 2008 at 9:33 am: It’s amazing what the power of tracking can do. I’ve recently started tracking my walking mileage, and the increase in self-confidence I’ve experienced has been great. I always knew I walked a lot, but seeing the mileage down on paper, so to speak, has been very motivational.
Losing Weight and Getting Healthy September 23, 2008 at 10:13 am: This sounds like an interesting idea. I tend to write out daily the food I have eaten and the calories as well as the amount of exercise I have done. It is interesting to focus on other health issues such as teeth as well. My weight loss is for health reasons so I too should be looking for non diet things to also be focussing on.
Will @ 4XLT September 23, 2008 at 1:51 pm: The tracking of all fitness and health related metrics can be a really powerful tool. I’m not using a system that’s quite that detailed (but I very well might start).

I might suggest adding in a few sleep categories: To Bed, Wake Up, Time Slept.

A good night’s sleep is more powerful than we give it credit.
Andrew is getting fit September 24, 2008 at 3:51 pm: Great idea John. I think I need something like this as well.
Leo (Healthy Tips For A Healthy Lifestyle) September 25, 2008 at 4:31 pm: Oh, keeping track.. Never did it! But sounds like a good idea!
Will @ 4XLT September 25, 2008 at 6:58 pm: Alright, so with my last couple of minutes at work, I’m putting something like this together for my own health recording.
Joe S. September 25, 2008 at 9:38 pm: A little time consuming but ultimately it will provide you with information to reflect on and hold you accountable.
Twisted Cinderella September 26, 2008 at 8:35 am: What a good idea!
Build Muscle Guy September 26, 2008 at 10:14 am: A balance score card is a great idea because it will help you do all the little things you need to do to reach your goal. I talk about how much weight you should lose in one of my posts. If you keep up a steady pace of 1-2 lbs per week, you’re doing really good. You can do it.
asithi September 26, 2008 at 11:03 am: I find once I start tracking things, I tend to become obsessive with it. Hence, I find it hard to keep a food journal. I start thinking about it more and how to cheat. I follow the 80/20 rule. If I am doing good once most of the time, then I don’t sweat the small stuff.
Skinny Guy October 1, 2008 at 8:33 pm: I have about a year and a half’s worth of food journals around here somewhere; I used them when losing but not after I reached my goal. I still weigh myself every day, but only keep track of my official WW weights.
going green October 2, 2008 at 7:49 am: This is a great idea. I like how you include all aspects of your diet including your oral health.
steve@weightlossweapons.com October 5, 2008 at 7:31 pm: That is a great idea John. Being healthy is about more then just calories.

I’d add Sleep to your list as well. Minimum of 6 hours so do it
Sadie October 6, 2008 at 8:33 am: Thanks for the comment on my blog! I wanted to invite you to join me at my new home! It’s still a work in progress, but I hope to have it up in full swing in the next few days. The website is http://sadies-skinny.com. The direct link to the new site to my blog is http://blog.saides-skinny.com. I’m excited about my new project, and I could use all the support I could get! I’m going to bookmark your page, and, if you don’t mind, I’d like to add you to my list of links on my new site! Please let me know if that’s okay with you. My email is sadiessayso@gmail.com.