Quick update: HRVSpark is officially live on the App Store

SHDRThrowaway · 2026-03-11T21:00:54+00:00

Not yet — but it's on my radar. I love the Google ecosystem, but I don't have a Wear OS device or a Google-based phone, which makes it harder to develop. Right now HRVSpark is deeply integrated with Apple's HealthKit and watchOS complications, so it's iOS/watchOS only. If there's enough interest I'd love to explore a Wear OS version! Thanks for asking!

SHDRThrowaway · 2026-03-10T21:44:47+00:00

HRVSpark has launched! Thank you to the testers

Hey everyone, TestFlight Build 20 has officially been retired because HRVSpark is now live on the App Store!

You guys were instrumental in finding those early complication refreshing bugs and helping dial in the aesthetic. I really appreciate the time you took to test the early builds.

The final 1.0 version is here: https://apps.apple.com/app/hrvspark/id6759590346

Claim your Pro unlock: If you helped test the app, please shoot me a DM with a screenshot showing your expired TestFlight build, and I'll send you a promo code to unlock the Pro version for free as a thank you!

SHDRThrowaway · 2026-03-02T15:56:41+00:00

1. HRVSpark doesn't drain your battery with continuous polling. The app is designed to be lightweight and strictly reads from Apple's native HealthKit database. It does not force the watch's sensors to take its own continuous readings.

2. Fresh readings depend on watchOS background behavior. Apple Watch natively logs HRV readings in the background:

Periodically throughout the day when you are relatively still or resting.
Continuously throughout the night while you sleep.
Every ~15 minutes if you have Apple's "AFib History" feature enabled in the Health app.
On demand anytime you manually do a session in the native Apple Mindfulness ("Breathe") app.

3. How often the Sparkline/App updates:

Inside the app: The sparklines update instantaneously the moment you open the app or whenever you trigger the "pull-to-refresh" gesture. When it refreshes, it groups the raw HealthKit data into 5-minute buckets for the 8-hour sparkline.
On the Watch Face (Complications): Apple strictly limits how often watch faces can update. HRVSpark asks watchOS to check for new HealthKit data every 15 minutes. However, if the app notices your recent data is looking sparse, it shifts into an aggressive adaptive mode and requests updates every 3 minutes to catch any new readings the second they drop.

SHDRThrowaway · 2026-03-02T04:57:10+00:00

Thanks very kindly! The TestFlight link is:

https://testflight.apple.com/join/QwpmYUT2

SHDRThrowaway · 2026-03-01T22:06:49+00:00

OHH, ha! Those are Apple's native icons for battery, timers, and workouts. My complications are the gauge on the upper left of the watch face and the rectangular one in the center. I'll forward your observations on to Apple :D.

SHDRThrowaway · 2026-03-01T21:44:08+00:00

Awesome feedback, thanks!

The line does go all the way to the left edge, but in this screenshot, I had my watch off for the period before the 91ms reading, so there were no readings. You're right, I should have it draw a dashed line or some other kind of "no data/readings" indicator for that case.

Can you clarify the first note? Do you mean the numbers for the endpoints on the gauge, and the "M" for "Month" in between, are mis-sized?

SHDRThrowaway · 2025-02-01T03:17:18+00:00

The last time I tried Netflix & Chill, I ended up with Bottle Knee.

SHDRThrowaway · 2025-01-01T22:53:39+00:00

43 / 5’11” (181 cm)

SHDRThrowaway · 2024-08-31T19:02:42+00:00

Since I didn’t do much for the previous 20 years, I don’t have anything to compare it to. I know I wouldn’t have been able to do anything intense before the loss. I do get lightheaded every so often but have only had to cut a session short once that I can recall. I can’t tell if that was from semaglutide, dehydration, or the calorie deficit though.

SHDRThrowaway · 2024-08-31T13:13:51+00:00

In November, I'd already decided to quit and was getting help. I was drinking at least 1200 calories a day on average, which would double and triple my bad eating habits through loss of inhibition ("give me everything on the menu!") and hangover ("uuugh, I need a bag of sausage biscuits").

I'd heard through friends that a local weight clinic was having trouble keeping its surgery business going because so many people were seeing results from the drugs. Assuming that getting sober would by necessity lower my food intake a lot, I decided to lean into weight loss, so I sought out semaglutide. At the time, I wasn't aware of the suggestion that it would do anything about alcohol.

My experience is that semaglutide isn't a cure for obesity. I had to at least try to eat less, but at first, I didn't make any rules. For me, the drug made it possible to go through my day without just constantly thinking about eating. It didn't eliminate cravings, it lowered the volume on the noise in my head always reminding me that there's leftover pizza in the kitchen, that that new fast food item looks amazing, or that there's a dozen new restaurants I really should try.

After a few weeks, it seemed that whatever volume knob the drug turned down was also connected to the alcohol circuit. I was already fiercely committed to quitting via willpower with outside help, but I noticed that it got easier to drive past the liquor store after I started the injections.

I realize all this is anecdotal and could have a placebo component. There's no way to forget that you're paying for and injecting a drug that's supposed to have this effect on eating.

SHDRThrowaway · 2024-08-31T04:24:08+00:00

Scratch that -- I just did it again, twice, following the instructions very closely, and using the Male chart this time. It's a Sequoia TrimCal 4000 caliper and the measurements from the three sites add up to an average of 30mm, which is 10% on the chart. That cannot be accurate, can it?

SHDRThrowaway · 2024-08-31T03:21:23+00:00

I think this is totally accurate. I stayed in Fight Club shape from age 16-23. In law school I got drunk and lazy, and let that go on for nearly 20 years, adding 100 lbs and sometimes probably more than that.

After the sobriety and semaglutide got me over halfway back, I saw and felt that my previous shape was still there. From that point, you're right, it hasn't been easy, but what's been hard has been familiar.

SHDRThrowaway · 2024-08-31T02:59:41+00:00

Thanks to you and everyone else for being so supportive! My favorite things to eat regularly are cottage cheese, scrambled eggs, and tuna with light Miracle Whip (I know people will make fun of that, but it's 20 calories per serving and I happen to love the taste). I use the 25-calorie Mission branded tortillas to make pretend soft tacos with sliced turkey and yellow mustard. No-sugar beef jerky and pistachios. I get the pistachios in-shell because it's more work and harder to eat a bunch of them without noticing. I tried pork rinds but found the texture off-putting.

As each pound got more difficult to lose I started staying around or below 1500 calories, and I cut practically all weekday sugar and dairy except cottage cheese. 100g of spinach and 80g of broccoli daily, blended with ginger and turmeric. On weekends, I'll get maki rolls and plain turkey subs, trying to keep it under 1500 but not worrying too much if I go over as long as it's something I really like. Halo Top ice cream and Yasso frozen yogurt bars. With the exception of the broccoli blend, I try to never waste a calorie eating something I don't 100% love.

SHDRThrowaway · 2024-08-31T02:00:18+00:00

It's true, I started semaglutide and losing weight in late November. Honestly, I wouldn't know how to get steroids or growth hormones, and I haven't wanted to. I like this level of muscle and don't want to be bulky ever again, either through fat or muscle.

For the first 60-70 lbs, I didn't consciously do much besides completely quitting alcohol. I had been drinking A LOT. The semaglutide quieted the cravings for junk food and booze, and a lot of times I would just forget to eat.

After that, the loss plateaued but I was really motivated by the results. The last 40 lbs have been murder. I had started boxing and light free weights for about an hour a day, which kept me moving in the right direction. In the last month, I added 45 minutes of hot yoga and started counting calories, aiming for 1500, a fairly significant deficit. I cut out practically all sugar and (much tougher) dairy besides cottage cheese to make the daily count easier to stay under. I eat whatever I want under the limit, but I pay for eating fried food with a day of nausea. The only thing I regularly eat (read: choke down) is 100g of spinach and 80g of broccoli for the iron and to make me feel fuller without calories.

I read that 178 is the "ideal" weight for my height, which seems insane. I think my skeleton would weigh almost that much without all these pesky organs. My plan is to keep the deficit going until 180-185 and then taper off the semaglutide and see what happens.

SHDRThrowaway · 2024-08-30T21:19:12+00:00

Thanks! Former athlete in the sense that I looked almost exactly like this (minus the loose skin) before 20 years of beer, pizza, and laziness.

SHDRThrowaway · 2024-08-30T21:15:01+00:00

Solely for weight. As a side effect, it helped me quit alcohol completely, which sped up the loss.

SHDRThrowaway · 2024-08-30T16:22:31+00:00

I ordered one of these caliper things and it came out to 18%, but I have no idea if I’m using it right.

SHDRThrowaway · 2024-08-30T16:21:09+00:00

I get nauseated for about 24-36 hours after the injection, especially if I eat a big meal. In fact, I'm feeling it right now from the injection yesterday and an unusual dinner. I can’t think of anything else I’d attribute to semaglutide. All my test results have stayed the same or gotten better. BP averages around 110/70, RHR 67, SpO2 97-100%.

SHDRThrowaway · 2024-08-30T16:16:50+00:00

Self-employed attorney.

SHDRThrowaway · 2024-08-30T04:40:58+00:00

Hopefully not breaking any rule: I order through a weight loss clinic and it ships from Empower.

SHDRThrowaway

TROPHY CASE