Thursday, April 4, 2013

Microsoft Excel to Help You Lose Weight

Hello again. It has been a long time since I last wrote about my fascination with Microsoft Excel, but now I am back. I wanted to share a simple template (see link below) I developed to track my daily food intake. By doing so, I am much more aware of what I eat and whether I am getting the required nutrients we need each day as well as the components in food we should decrease and avoid (saturated fat/sugars). It is far from perfect, but it is the beginning of a much greater dieting tool. What I have realized since loosing almost 40lbs over the past year is that the hardest part is not losing weight, but rather keeping it off. I very often have an all or nothing mentality. In the case of food, it is usually don't eat anything or eat way too much. Either way, by tracking what I eat I can avoid doing either because I have a complete record of where I am at for that day and/or week.

Diet Tool


Why a week?

Because we are human and we sometimes make mistakes. I don't know about you, but I can sometimes eat a little too much in one sitting and easily go over my daily allowed intake. For this reason, if I eat too much one day I can just reduce the amount I eat the next day. This way I stay under the allowed amount for the week and will not feel bad, which might make me give up. By only focusing on a day it is much easier for the all or nothing mentality to take over and cause you to lose sight of the fact that it is ok to mess up. Just know, you always have the rest of the week to correct your over/under indulgence.

But isn't eating too much or too little unhealthy?

Some say eating alot one day and not eating much the next is unhealthy. I couldn't agree more, but it is the lesser of 2 evils for me.

If you have any suggestions on what you would like added please feel free to post comments below. I am all ears (all eyes in this case).

Thanks for stopping by! Until next time.

Saturday, June 23, 2012

The God of Software

First off, I'd like to convey a little history of my experience with Microsoft Excel. I began using Excel in college. At first glance, I was mesmerized by all the many available tools and options. However, it wasn't until I started using Excel regularly, that I realized the power of what was before me.

Well - that is it. I told you, it would be short.

The first thing I want to say is that you can learn excel. And not only learn it, but improve the quality of your life. After this first lesson, I am hoping that you will see just what I am talking about.

The first lesson will cover a fun exercise. Analyzing my energy bill! You can follow along by using your own.

Turning One Month Into a Year

Type the word "January" in cell B4. Now see the screen shot below. See the spot the arrow is point to. I want you to place the curson right at the lower right corner of cell B4. You should see a "+" sign appear.


Now right click and hold the "+" sign and drag it over 11 columns. You should see all twelve months of the year appear in chronological order. Wow! For those who didn't know about this, think about how much time you just saved. This is only the tip of the iceberg. When we are finished with our analysis, you will be amazed at how much you learned, about both Excel and the energy your house uses over a year.

Please stay tuned for the next lesson, which will cover the SUM function as well as my favorite function in Excel, the VLOOKUP function, which I feel is one of the most useful and powerful Excel tools. Until next time!