Graphing weight loss

[SadieJack]

I would like a visual representation of my weight loss so I can print it and put it on my fridge.

Any software suggestions??

[Ntombi]

I just use Numbers, which is Apple's version of Excel. Any similar program will do the job.

[SadieJack]

Thanks Ntombi! I have Excel and just didn't think about it! DUH

[Ntombi]

I love it. I graph and chart everything, and keep the info handy. I even have my charts from the first time I lost, in 2002-2003.

[SadieJack]

Originally Posted by Ntombi

I love it. I graph and chart everything, and keep the info handy. I even have my charts from the first time I lost, in 2002-2003.

Cool! I am just trying to be more accountable to myself. If the numbers are staring me in the face, I can't discount that. Numbers don't lie, but my brain lies to my brain. Huh? You know what I mean

[Ntombi]

It won't go longer than two months, I don't think.

[margame]

i use the one at livestrong. the graphing component allows you to put in which period you want represented on the graph; you can use the first day you logged your weight up to today's date if you wish, or any other date parameters.

[voj]

Originally Posted by Ntombi

It won't go longer than two months, I don't think.

Can you still enter your food and have that record kept longer than two months?

[metqa]

Originally Posted by voj

Can you still enter your food and have that record kept longer than two months?

Yup, I looked at something from last year. but the chart is only for a couple of months. It used to show a whole year but I guess they changed it.

[brimmy]

I loved using Excel to graph my progress. I could create macros to track total loss, maximums, minimums, and even color code cells based on their values (red was obese, yellow overweight, and green normal weight). I am such a data nerd and it was so much fun.

These days I have a Withings WiFi scale that has been uploading my daily weight online for the past 3 years, and I love it.

[Strawberry]

Someone here just used Excel, but did it as a rolling 3 day average (I.e. each day's number is the average of the past 3 days). It helps to just see the trend and sort of decrease the daily fluctuation due to water weight changes.

[Ntombi]

Originally Posted by brimmy

I loved using Excel to graph my progress. I could create macros to track total loss, maximums, minimums, and even color code cells based on their values (red was obese, yellow overweight, and green normal weight). I am such a data nerd and it was so much fun.

Wow, you're even more of a numbers geek than I am!

Originally Posted by brimmy

These days I have a Withings WiFi scale that has been uploading my daily weight online for the past 3 years, and I love it.

I've been wanting one of those scales for a while now, but I can't justify the expense. I already have two scales, both in perfect working order, so I've been able to talk myself out of buying it so far.

But I have a feeling that I'm going to cave fairly soon.

[SadieJack]

Originally Posted by brimmy

These days I have a Withings WiFi scale that has been uploading my daily weight online for the past 3 years, and I love it.

I just looked up the price of one these puppies....COUGH!

Back to Excel for me!!

[peanutte]

I'm old school; I just write down my weight each week in a notebook. (Or during the week too, if I'm weighing daily, which I don't usually do.)

I can always flip through the pages and see those columns of numbers going all the way back to the beginning, and I like having the date, weight, and then also any short note I might have added that might apply to that week (new foods added in OWL, an unplanned indulgence, good exercise, out of town, had a cold, whatever). I do have a built-in line graph on my tracking site, but I never look at it because frankly at this point there's nothing to see except this: ___________________________________ . So my notebook is a little more personal that way.

If you felt like doing a more personal record, you could also do a graph and print that out for your fridge.

[brimmy]

Originally Posted by Ntombi

Wow, you're even more of a numbers geek than I am!



I've been wanting one of those scales for a while now, but I can't justify the expense. I already have two scales, both in perfect working order, so I've been able to talk myself out of buying it so far.

But I have a feeling that I'm going to cave fairly soon.

I bought it 3 years ago and although it was spendy (i also have their blood pressure cuff) it's been probably the second best piece of equipment i've ever used for weight loss (my iPhone being #1). It's amazing to see pictures taken of me over the years, and be able to go back and pinpoint exactly what I weighed that day as well as an approx Body Fat %. I loved it so much that when my best friend got married who is also into fitness like me, I bought one for him and wife as a wedding gift. (I warned them ahead of time so they didn't take it as an insult) They love it.

[brimmy]

Originally Posted by SadieJack

I just looked up the price of one these puppies....COUGH!

Back to Excel for me!!

Yeah they're pretty spendy. But mine is pinpoint accurate pretty much with the doctor's scales, and I've had it for 3 years which means I have 3 years of daily weights and approximate Body Fat measurements. The ability to look at any picture taken in the last 3 years and identify my weight has done WONDERS for my self esteem to see differences, and just how much each pound can impact what I look like.

It also helped me see that although 2 years ago I weighed the same as I do now, weight training over the last year and a half has made me look CONSIDERABLY skinnier, than I ever did back then. I wouldn't trade my scale for anything, and if it ever broke down, I'd save my pennies and buy another one in a heartbeat!

[Ntombi]

Yeah, I know I'll be getting one eventually.

I'm debating whether to bother to get the BF% option, since I already have a Tanita, and I get the hydrostatic test done a few times a year. If I do, it would mean getting on the scale twice a day. Or do you use the flawed morning reading?

[brimmy]

Originally Posted by Ntombi

Yeah, I know I'll be getting one eventually.

I'm debating whether to bother to get the BF% option, since I already have a Tanita, and I get the hydrostatic test done a few times a year. If I do, it would mean getting on the scale twice a day. Or do you use the flawed morning reading?

I don't use the BF% as an absolute, that's why i constantly referred to it as an approximate. I could care less what the actual number is, but instead just compared to was it was yesterday. Every single day I wake up, use the restroom, then weigh myself. That way the conditions are ALWAYS identical. Same relative level of hydration, same relative time of day. I'm only using it for comparison sake, not actual numbers. That way it's not flawed readings, because the difference is the only thing that matters, not the actual values.

If you do hydrostatic tests done throughout the year, I wouldn't even bother with the BF% version since you're getting relative benchmark progress measurements that way.

[Ntombi]

Yeah, that was my thinking too.

With my Tanita, the morning BF numbers are way way way off, so I can't even use them as a flawed tracking device, I have to do it in the afternoon. When I do, it's within range enough for me to feel it's worth the bother.

Honestly, though, the hydrostatic tests do a better job all around, and they're cheap enough for me to feel good about doing it every four or five months (and adding the info to my graphs, natch). It's only $40 a pop.

[brimmy]

That's good to know. One of these days when I'm a bit slimmer I might have one done just to get an actual accurate number.

[Ntombi]

Let me know if and when you want the info. I was close to my highest weight ever when I first did it. Not fun, but worth it.