[NERD ALERT] Clive at Five's Most Anticipated Games of 2012

This year's list is a complete and utter cop-out and I'm sorry. I'll explain why I say that at the end, but for now let's get to the games!


5) Prison Architect - Introversion Software

Either Introversion is a completely amazing Indie game studio, or I'm just a shameless IV fanboy. I'm starting to think the latter. After last year's #3 pick, Subversion, got placed on hold, I was pretty upset. I know, delays happen _all the time_ with Indie studios, but I've been drooling over whatever little scraps of the game I could get my hands on for about 6 years. So maybe I'm just heartbroken and looking for something to fill the void, and maybe Prison Architect is just another pretty face, but boy am I intrigued!



(video)
Few facts are known about Prison Architect, but how can I resist something that looks like an evil SimCity? I SIMply can't. Bahahahaha.


For the complete list, read on!

Six Sigma Fitness: Project Y and X's (Measure, Part 1)

You know, I liked the idea of turning fitness into a six-sigma project, so I'm going to carry this through.

Last time, I worked on setting a "S.M.A.R.T." goal:

"I want increase ab-visibility by reaching a BF% of 10% by June 1st, 2012."

In a typical Six Sigma project, this Goal Statement would have been preceded by a "Problem Statement," which I didn't spend any time on, mainly because we all implicitly know the problem statement: Poor diet and exercise habits increase one's likelihood of developing a number of health complications, it limits us in physical ways, it shortens our lives, etc. It's pretty much a no-brainer, but I did want to at least acknowledge that it's a critical step in the Six Sigma process. Without a problem, there's no reason to pursue a solution. And since we're all being constantly bombarded with the warnings of unhealthy diet and exercise, I felt it unescesary to go into that detail on the subject.

The Problem Statement leads us to our Goal Statement, and then the Goal Statement leads us to the next component of our Six Sigma journey: the "Predictive Equation" and our "Project Y". The Project Y is the result that we would like to achieve. For me, it's a Lower Body Fat %. The Predictive Equation expresses that our Y is a function of a number of Xs.

Y = f ( X1, X2, X3, X4 ...) 

hahaha.... I think they meant *too

To any non-n3rds who may be reading, DON'T WORRY! It's not nearly as scary as it looks! All it means is that the Xs are the predominant factors that determine the outcome of our Y. As we will find out in the following example, sometimes your Xs can be functions of yet more precise Xs, but that won't make your formula any more complicated.

-- Identifying the Xs --

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that the formula for weight loss is "diet and exercise," but that's rather vague, and can mean different things to different people. What is really meant by "diet and exercise" is maintaining a healthy calorie deficit. Simply put, we want to burn more calories in a day than we ingest. If you eat a lot, you have to burn a lot. Some people may burn a lot of calories without exercise, while others need to run a mile if they happen to glance at a danish.

What it all comes down to is Metabolism - specifically, having one that burns those calories faster than you can shovel them in.

-- Metabolism's Four Components --

Metabolism, as we understand it today, has four components:

1) Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) - This is the energy required by your body to keep itself functioning. If you spent an entire day in bed, not moving, you'd still burn a remarkable number of calories. Sounds pretty nice, doesn't it? Here's the best part: Your RMR makes up between 50% and 75% of your daily caloric burn!

2) Physical Activity Level (PAL) - Good old-fashioned exercise... or any movement at all, really. When you contract your muscles, they demand energy, and that burns calories. So whether it's running on the treadmill, or getting up from the sofa to walk to the fridge to stuff your face, at least you're burning something in the process! PAL can account for 10% - 30% of your daily calories burned.

3) Thermic Effect of Feeding (TEF) - Speaking of stuffing your face, you'll be happy to hear that the process of eating burns calories! Each food differs, but some foods are easy to digest and others are difficult. Combine that with low-calorie-foods like celery, and you'll actually have a net-negative calorie-intake from eating it. TEF burns between 5% and 15% of your daily calories.


4) Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT) - Very simply, involuntary motion... fidgeting! While fidgeting seems to be something you either have or you don't, it only accounts for about 5% of your total caloric burn, so getting yourself wired up on caffeine pills isn't exactly recommended. And not just for NEAT reasons...

So now we've identified four Xs to effect change on our Y!

Y = f ( X1, X2, X3, X4) 

where: 

X1 = Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR)
X2 = Physical Activity Level (PAL)
X3 = Thermic Effect of Feeding (TEF)
X4 = Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT)


In Part 2 of Measure, we'll take a closer look at these four components of Metabolism, identify which factors to manipulate, and determine how to go about doing so.


Until next time, n3rds!


-Clive


(For more information on the four components of metabolism, see "The Four Components Of Metabolism" on woldfitness.com. It's a pretty great site too!)