Tracking these elements effectively will ensure you stay aligned with your health and wellness goals. Here’s how to get started, the equipment you’ll need, and steps for ongoing monitoring.
Metabolic Disease develops in genetically predisposed individuals once they have crossed their individual 'personal fat threshold'.
Accumulation of visceral belly fat, loss of muscle, loss of fitness, gut microbiome dysbiosis, hormonal imbalance and chronic inflammation lead to metabolic dysfunction.
Learning what causes metabolic dysfunction is the first step in reversing it. The next is to take measurements, take stock of where you are so that progress to a set goal can be measured.
Snap Calorie and Cronometer are apps on which
-you can connect devices for biometric tracking of weight, body fat percentage, blood pressure, waist circumference, step counts, sleep quality etc
-you can log and track exercise, fasting, calorie, macronutrient intake etc
In order to do this effectively it is important that you download the App from
Snap Calorie is a AI based Calorie tracking App which allows pictures and description of food to estimate calories. Up to three pictures per day are allowed on the free version and other options include barcode scanning, label scanning etc
Cronometer is a more detailed App which allows integration with body fat percentage scale, BP monitor etc however lacks picture / AI capability and therefore requires more motivation.
Initial Settings within Snap Calorie App:
The App will ask you for basic demographics such as Age, Gender, Weight, Height
Select ‘sedentary’ under activity levels ( do not be sedentary, just mark it as such ) . The App will then import activity data from your native health tracking app such as Apple Health
Choose weight goal loss / maintanance goal up to max of 0.5 KG / 1 LB per week
The App will then calculate your goal calorific intake per day
Macro Breakdown: Choose protein as 30 % as calories
Fat and Carbs can be chosen as per cultural and habitual factors
eg vegans and vegetarians may choose 20% fats and 50 % carbs
low carb omnivores may choose 35% fats and 35 % carbs
The more important determinant is that protein should consist of 30 % of calorie intake
Initial Settings within Cronometer App:
Provided that you have paired your devices, parameters which will be collected automatically include
-body weight
-body fat percentage
-sleep
-step count
-Blood Pressure
Ensure that you input the following regularly
-Fasting
-Exercise
-Calorie counting is desirable but optional.
Settings for Calorie Tracking
Set speed of required weight loss at 1 lb per week or 0.45 kg / week
On this programme we treat calories consumed through exercise, non exercise activity and thermic effect of food as 'extras' or 'bonus'. This is calorie estimation is inherently inaccurate and we would rather under estimate calorific targets than over estimate. For this purpose
-mark yourself as 'sedentary' on the App
-untick the box for 'include exercise'
-untick the boxy for 'thermic effect of food'
-under settings for fasting enable 'ask to stop fast when adding food
Fat and Carbs can be chosen as per cultural and habitual factors
eg vegans and vegetarians may choose 20% fats and 50 % carbs
low carb omnivores may choose 35% fats and 35 % carbs
The following items are recommended for successful tracking of progress
Click on Amazon Links to Purchase
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Smart Scale for Daily Weigh-ins
Track weight, body fat percentage, and BMI for accurate progress monitoring. -
Biometric measuring devices for sleep, step, blood pressure monitoring etc will also improve the effectiveness of tracking and are excellent long term investments for your health
Activity Tracking Wearable
Wearable devices allow for easy tracking of daily steps and sleep quality at start from $85 ( click on link below )
3. Blood Pressure & Pulse Monitor
Check your blood pressure weekly to keep tabs on cardiovascular health.
4. Food Scale for Weighing of Food
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- Click to Explore Display and Protective Tray, 5kg x 0.1 for Baking Cooking Meal Prep Parcel, Large Stainless Steel Weighing Platform
- Click to Explore NEXT-SHINE Digital Mini Pocket Size Kitchen Series Scale 500g Multi-Functional High Precision for Cooking Baking
- Click to explore RENPHO Food Scale, Kitchen Scale for Food Ounces and Grams, Smart Cooking and Coffee Scale with Timer, Nutritional Calculator for Keto, Macro, and Calorie with Smartphone App, White
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5. Food Volume Estimation
- Food Volume Estimation Cups and Spoons: Volume estimation is the second best option to guage calories after food weight measurement
Visual Volume Estimation:
Food can also be estimated visually using the following visual guide
One Thumb Nail is approx 5 mls / 5 grams / 1 Teaspoon
One Thumb is approx 15mls / 15 grams / 1 Tablespoon
Two Thumbs is approx 30 mls / 30 grams / 2 tablespoons
Cupped Palm is approx 60 mls / 60 grams / 1/4 Cup
Whole palm of hand is approx 75 mls / 75 grams
Half Fist is approx 125 mls / 125 grams / 1/2 Cups
Full Fist is appro 250 mls / 250 grams / Full Cup
Quarterly Blood Test Checklist
Every three months, please arrange the following fasting blood tests and share the results both with your primary care physician and with Dr Rawat MD using the Cronometer 'add note' and direct messaging option. Clients who are regular patients of Dr Rawat MD may book a standard OHIP consultation for this.
The following fasting early morning blood test is recommended every three months:
Glucose, HBA1C, Creatinine ( eGFR ), Uric acid, Sodium, Potassium, ALT
Lipids, Albumin / Creatinine Ratio ( Urine )
CBC
TSH, Vitamin B12, Ferritin, CRP
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