The Experiment Begins

Like any properly designed experiment, there has to be a control group alongside the experimental group, or that which is being tested.

And so today my 'control' month began. This is the month where I will eat the way I've been eating, but will monitor myself. Data on weight, blood pressure, total cholesterol and blood glucose will be collected. I will also do some low/no-impact aerobic exercise 5 days/week in the form of either 45 min. on a recumbent bicycle or 30 min of aerobic exercise equivalent to a 2-mile walk.



Weight will be recorded once a week in the morning before breakfast. Blood pressure will be measured nightly before going to bed, in a relaxed state. Total cholesterol will be measured once a week in the mornings, before breakfast. Blood glucose will be measured 4 times a week in the mornings, before breakfast. Exercise will be Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, & Sundays.

For my bloodwork monitoring I've purchased the CholesterolChek Biometer for Home Cholesterol Testing manufactured by Biomedix, Inc. This meter can also measure blood glucose. You just need to get the different strips for each purpose.

The kit only comes with 1 cholesterol strip - you have to purchase all strips separately. 

   

Everything all zipped up.

For my blood pressure monitoring I have a wrist-style monitor which I purchased at CVS:

To log all the data, I will be using a table system like this one, one table for each week:

Control - Week 1
	MONDAY	TUESDAY	WEDNESDAY	THURSDAY*	FRIDAY	SATURDAY	SUNDAY
Weight
Blood Pressure
Cholesterol
Blood Glucose
Exercise

(the asterisk denote the day of the week that Week 1 started)

So with everything set, on with the experiment!