Since I started this WOE in late November of 2007, I have recorded my weight in my dayplanner and graphed my weight changes on fitday. What I have learned is that my weight is somewhat erratic day to day, but the trend is amazingly consistent. I am losing at a rate of slightly over 2 pounds per week.

Why does the graphing help? There are several reasons why it is helpful for me. First: short term motivation. When I stay at the same weight for 6 or 7 days, that seems like a long time. Doubts creep in. Maybe too much coffee, or too much Splenda, or calories have crept up. Or maybe I have entered a stall, and not just any stall, one of those 6 month ones that folks sometimes have posted about. But when I look back at the graph I see that a week at the same weight is not unusual for me. And after staying at a weight for a few days, I usually lose 1 to 3 pounds in the next 3 days.

Second: the visual feedback. Even though I have only been at this WOE for a little less than 5 months, I have lost 49 pounds. If I set that graph at 1, 2, 4, or 6 months, I see a nice downward trend. That not only shows the past, but it is a visual representation of the future expectations.

Finally: long term motivation. The graph gives me faith in the plan. This has CONSISTENTLY worked for me over the last 5 months. That means it should CONSISTENTLY work the same way over the next 5 months. That is about meeting longer term goals. A few years ago I lost down to 260 by low carbing. Then it quit working for me. Or did it? What really happened is that I had a stall and I quit working. The WOE was just fine. It was ME that quit working. The graph is PROOF that this WOE works. And it is strong evidence that it continues to work.

Tracking weight (graphing), tracking / recording foods, planning, education, and motivation are all tools which we can use to help make this journey smoother and more effective. Good luck with your efforts!

Steve

You are right, I think I'll start graphing. I tend to not lose for a week, then 2 lbs off then 1 on, 2 more off. It gets frustrating. I tend to have a cheat when I don't lose for a week. This should help keep me on track. Thanks!

Here's another benefit of graphing:

When I had an appointment with a new doctor last week, I added a screenshot of my FitDay weight graph to the medical history I provided for her. She was really impressed and asked permission to show it to others. Why? Because there are lots of ups and downs, a few places where my weight didn't drop for days, yet there's still a clear downward trend of almost 2 lbs per week. "This is what real world weight loss looks like." She mentioned that she has patients who get upset (and then cheat, binge, quit) because they don't drop weight like contestants on The Biggest Loser. If they go up a few ounces one morning, they panic.

This was a clear way for me to communicate with my doctor: "Look, I'm losing weight at a reasonable rate, consistently, and I'm doing it in a way that I believe is the best. Don't rush to 'correct' me because you prefer another method." After all, I was a new patient, and to hear that I had dropped more than 30 lbs since the beginning of the year might have sounded unhealthy without seeing that it was done a little at a time.

I'm going to keep providing her updated graphs at future appointments.

One of the best things graphing your weight loss does is to remind us that weight loss isn't linear! It's not going down by exact increments day by day. Our weight goes up and down and up and down, but the graph shows us that it's going down on average!

I do that, too. I've been entering my weight into My P.L.A.N. daily since the end of December, and it's helpful to see that graph with the pattern (or lack of pattern) of steps and slides, with the odd upward spike for no apparent reason. I also post a weekly progress report in my journal, partly for me and partly for anyone who is interested. I got the idea from MizKitty (Karen) because it was incredibly helpful for me to see her results. (I think that our stalls if we are doing well overall are more encouraging to others than our losses.) Karen also came up with the interesting observation that her rate of loss as a percentage of her weight at a certain points along the way was consistent, so that although she lost fewer pounds per week as she approached goal, she continued to lose at the same rate.

In the first 13 weeks of the year I lost 32 pounds, which is 11.8% of my body weight (32/272). According to that, by July 1, I should have lost another 28 pounds (240 x 11.8%). It's nice to have a figure in mind that may be a better prediction than a monthly average.

I've been graphing my weight here on the lowcarber forum using the My P.L.A.N. tool. It really is helpful for all the reasons stated above. I like the idea of adding the graph to my medical records.

I had a really good run of weight loss from January-November of 05, from 252 to 165 (+/-). I am so grateful now for the data I kept, which shows me dropping about 10 pounds a month (9 here, 11 there, but it averaged out) until I got under 200.
If I didn't have this record, I'd just be winging it.
I'm keeping records now on an excel spreadsheet, and it's a real source of encouragement to see my drop, since right now I'm feeling like I'm just twiddling my thumbs. It's taken longer this time, but I really didn't do an induction this time around, either. Bottom line--yet another helpful tool.

I think fit day has been a wonderful tool. It helps me stay accountable.

I record my weight on fitday too. Great snapshot of what's going on. But could I also make a suggestion, especially to those just starting out--Take your measurements too! If the scale ain't moving the tape measure might be!

I've graphed my weight during every period I've been on lowcarb. Just as interesting though, is the graph from the times I've been OFF lowcarb. I don't track my weight then -- usually, anyway, or not often -- but I certainly record it at the point when I am cycling back into lowcarb again.

The up-close is like you describe; the line is very erratic but has a clear downward trend.

The macro view of ON vs. OFF lowcarb is even more telling: it looks like /\/\/\/\/\ depending, and I bet you know which lines represent the low-carb eating. ;-) It makes clear not just that lowcarb clearly helps me lose weight; but that high-carb eating clearly puts it back on me.

I had linear weight loss for a couple of months earlier in the summer (no ups, just downs, day after day) and it was not a fantastic thing. I am finding it much better to go up and down - I feel much better. I am not losing as quickly but I'm healthier.

I totally agree. I just started using Fit Day a few weeks ago after being frustrated for the 50th time about the stops and starts. It is SO helpful when I am frustrated to see the graph of how far I have come. I am seeing the pattern and haven't been getting quite so frustrated when I see the scale read the same thing for a few days. I also look back at where I was a week ago and (usually) see progress. Sometimes what felt like forever was really only a few days at the same weight.

I find it also helps a lot to stop and think about my past results on other "diets". I remember doing WW and being happy with a .5 lb weight loss over a week, thinking well it wasn't a gain. I think I got so used to seeing the weight fall so fast in the beginning of my LC WOE that I am spoiled! I am not known for my patience!