Tom Demarco, a well-known speaker on software engineering, wrote this in his 1982 book, Controlling Software Projects, Management Measurement & Estimation. It’s true in business and it’s true in health. If you want to improve your health, you have to find a way to measure your inputs in order to get your desired outputs. When I was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes back in 2015, one of the first things I did was start looking for tools to help me manage the elevated blood suger that was slowly killing me. I reviewed a number of great blog posts from others and found out about a free website/service that helps in recording nearly all your health factors (food, exercise and more) called My Fitness Pal. They have a website along with dedicated iPhone, iPad and Android apps. (click on your desired platform to go to their page)
It allowed me to start seeing into the invisible world of the foods I ate. It has a great community and generally helpful blog posts (careful, not all recipes and suggestions are appropriate for those dealing with elevated blood sugar). Best of all, it was easy to use.
No longer did I have to guess at what was the best food for me to eat at a restaurant or make an uninformed decision on what was the best snack to eat based on what else I’d eaten that day. I now had visibility into the leading factors that would determine my health and adjust them accordingly. I had my dashboard. It is immensely helpful in business and in personal health. I’d highly recommend trying it out.
To give you an idea of what it looks like, see the screenshot of my breakfast below.
Here’s what it looks like in the app,
And here’s what it looks like on the plate,
Who said eating healthy was boring? Here’s to your health!
FYI – The salt substitute is used not to reduce my sodium intake but increase my potassium intake. Potassium is an essential electrolyte that is easily lost when eating a ketogenic diet like I am. Bonus Tip!
P.S. This is the first post in a theme I’ve planned called Tool Tuesday. I plan to post against a different theme each weekday and at least once on the weekend. Check back often and share with others working to take back control of their body!
not2long 
You can’t manage what you won’t measure. Guessing or succumbing to personal or peer bias is like flying in a thunderstorm without navigation equipment.
Those pumpkin spice muffins (wheat belly recipe) are a staple at our house. The blue berry muffins are equally tasty .
Excellent post Jason, you’ve come a long way.
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