Weight loss flow chart- feedback needed!

lemonlionheart
lemonlionheart Posts: 580 Member
edited November 11 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi everyone!

I had this idea a little while ago since there are always so many people on here asking why they're having trouble losing weight. I'm working on a flow chart that might help some of these people pinpoint the problem. I was hoping that some of the more knowledgeable MFP-ers could have a look and give me some feedback? I'm sure there are some areas that could be more concise and helpful, or perhaps things I might have missed! Hopefully this could become something of use to people around here, and I haven't seen anything like it made before (though please let me know if something like this already exists, haha).

It's a bit of a rough draft at the moment. If anyone is keen on collaborating let me know and I can share it on google docs, also if anyone is good at graphics-y stuff and wants to help me make it all pretty that would be cool too! :)

guue2jpr1xe7.jpg
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Replies

  • JenniDaisy
    JenniDaisy Posts: 526 Member
    I think it should go 'if you're a woman...' > 'No' > 'Are you pregnant?'
    Because that question is asked a lot :joy: I've asked it once already today!
  • lemonlionheart
    lemonlionheart Posts: 580 Member
    JenniDaisy wrote: »
    I think it should go 'if you're a woman...' > 'No' > 'Are you pregnant?'
    Because that question is asked a lot :joy: I've asked it once already today!

    Ha, good point! I saw that thread haha. Could put something like "have you ruled out pregnancy?" :)
  • ceren23
    ceren23 Posts: 19 Member
    Love this! it's a good summary :)
  • mtsang1981
    mtsang1981 Posts: 9
    Great chart, if everyone that starts a new thread read this before hand, maybe the forum may become quiet? ;-)

    The only thing I've noticed, and I'm a new user of MFP (1 month), is that so many entries are wrong. Some are incomplete. I dont just look at the calories but the micronutrients...

    For example, search for "Steamed Rice", clearly the first entry is incorrect. It should state that its uncooked, not steamed. 0.5 cup of steamed rice is NOT 320cal!

    1. Steamed Jasmin Rice 0.5 cup, 320 cal
    2. Chinese White Rice 0.5 cup boiled/steamed, 125 cal
    3. Boiled/Steamed Rice 1 cup, 199 cal
    4. Steamed White Rice 1 bowl, 200 cal

    For me, I found that by meeting my vitamin A, C , Calcium, Iron, protein, carb, fibre goals... there was no other way to do it , but to eat healthy. Its pretty hard to eat junk and still come within 20% of those goals and to be in calorie deficit.


    Happy to make it all pretty for you once its all done, it'd take 15 mins to do it up in visio all pretty. The less words and prettier it is, the more likely it would be used imo.

  • lemonlionheart
    lemonlionheart Posts: 580 Member
    mtsang1981 wrote: »
    Great chart, if everyone that starts a new thread read this before hand, maybe the forum may become quiet? ;-)

    The only thing I've noticed, and I'm a new user of MFP (1 month), is that so many entries are wrong. Some are incomplete. I dont just look at the calories but the micronutrients...

    For example, search for "Steamed Rice", clearly the first entry is incorrect. It should state that its uncooked, not steamed. 0.5 cup of steamed rice is NOT 320cal!

    1. Steamed Jasmin Rice 0.5 cup, 320 cal
    2. Chinese White Rice 0.5 cup boiled/steamed, 125 cal
    3. Boiled/Steamed Rice 1 cup, 199 cal
    4. Steamed White Rice 1 bowl, 200 cal

    For me, I found that by meeting my vitamin A, C , Calcium, Iron, protein, carb, fibre goals... there was no other way to do it , but to eat healthy. Its pretty hard to eat junk and still come within 20% of those goals and to be in calorie deficit.


    Happy to make it all pretty for you once its all done, it'd take 15 mins to do it up in visio all pretty. The less words and prettier it is, the more likely it would be used imo.

    Great! Maybe I can put some general logging tips down the bottom, or refer to the sticky threads in the forums :)
  • Wiseandcurious
    Wiseandcurious Posts: 730 Member
    As someone in for at least a year of weight loss, I would love to see this made a sticky. Fantastic job, thank you!
  • lemonlionheart
    lemonlionheart Posts: 580 Member
    Wiseandcurious wrote: »
    As someone in for at least a year of weight loss, I would love to see this made a sticky. Fantastic job, thank you!

    Great! It's still a work in progress, have a bit of tweaking and editing to do to make it more reader-friendly :)
  • Jruzer
    Jruzer Posts: 3,501 Member
    This is pretty good. Well done!
  • girlviernes
    girlviernes Posts: 2,402 Member
    THANK YOU!!!

    It might be nice to link to some of the sticky threads from the relevant boxes, e.g. the one on how to track accurately.
  • cdcllcga01
    cdcllcga01 Posts: 71 Member
    This is pretty cool! I'm pretty new to this site and it makes complete sense to me. One potential edit though - on the "I'm pretty good at eyeballing . . . " path - shouldn't it be " . . . people underoverestimate their calorie intake."?
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    Cute. Add in the ovulation part as well for women, as many (myself included), retain during that as well.
  • Laurend224
    Laurend224 Posts: 1,748 Member
    Love it!
  • juggernaut1974
    juggernaut1974 Posts: 6,212 Member
    Personally - on the first question, if the answer is less than three weeks, I'd simply stop there with "Give it more time".
  • lemonlionheart
    lemonlionheart Posts: 580 Member
    cdcllcga01 wrote: »
    This is pretty cool! I'm pretty new to this site and it makes complete sense to me. One potential edit though - on the "I'm pretty good at eyeballing . . . " path - shouldn't it be " . . . people underoverestimate their calorie intake."?

    Ah, good catch! Thanks :)
  • lemonlionheart
    lemonlionheart Posts: 580 Member
    ceoverturf wrote: »
    Personally - on the first question, if the answer is less than three weeks, I'd simply stop there with "Give it more time".

    I was considering doing that! Maybe I could just include a little info box about water retention/ fluctuations. Though it might be good to just keep it simple.. thanks for the feedback!
  • lemonlionheart
    lemonlionheart Posts: 580 Member
    Thanks for the feedback, everyone! Going to work on this more today. :D
  • Showcase_Brodown
    Showcase_Brodown Posts: 919 Member
    Pretty good chart. Nice work.

    Much better than:
    Q: Help, I'm not losing any weight?
    A: Must be starvation mode, happens all the time.
  • Delilahhhhhh
    Delilahhhhhh Posts: 477 Member
    What happens if you are using the TDEE method? Also if you haven't done so already check out these links it's all in there and may help.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819925-the-basics-don-t-complicate-it

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think
  • azulvioleta6
    azulvioleta6 Posts: 4,195 Member
    This is a thing of beauty.

    Good job!
  • lemonlionheart
    lemonlionheart Posts: 580 Member
    Delilahhhhhh wrote: »
    What happens if you are using the TDEE method? Also if you haven't done so already check out these links it's all in there and may help.

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819925-the-basics-don-t-complicate-it

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/872212-you-re-probably-eating-more-than-you-think

    Thanks! I'm thinking about putting in something where I refer people to read the stickies :)
  • elphie754
    elphie754 Posts: 7,574 Member
    lemonlionheart wrote: »
    Hi everyone!

    I had this idea a little while ago since there are always so many people on here asking why they're having trouble losing weight. I'm working on a flow chart that might help some of these people pinpoint the problem. I was hoping that some of the more knowledgeable MFP-ers could have a look and give me some feedback? I'm sure there are some areas that could be more concise and helpful, or perhaps things I might have missed! Hopefully this could become something of use to people around here, and I haven't seen anything like it made before (though please let me know if something like this already exists, haha).

    It's a bit of a rough draft at the moment. If anyone is keen on collaborating let me know and I can share it on google docs, also if anyone is good at graphics-y stuff and wants to help me make it all pretty that would be cool too! :)

    guue2jpr1xe7.jpg

    What a great idea. Maybe after you finalize it they can make it a sticky so everyone sees it.
  • lemonlionheart
    lemonlionheart Posts: 580 Member
    elphie754 wrote: »
    lemonlionheart wrote: »
    Hi everyone!

    I had this idea a little while ago since there are always so many people on here asking why they're having trouble losing weight. I'm working on a flow chart that might help some of these people pinpoint the problem. I was hoping that some of the more knowledgeable MFP-ers could have a look and give me some feedback? I'm sure there are some areas that could be more concise and helpful, or perhaps things I might have missed! Hopefully this could become something of use to people around here, and I haven't seen anything like it made before (though please let me know if something like this already exists, haha).

    It's a bit of a rough draft at the moment. If anyone is keen on collaborating let me know and I can share it on google docs, also if anyone is good at graphics-y stuff and wants to help me make it all pretty that would be cool too! :)

    guue2jpr1xe7.jpg

    What a great idea. Maybe after you finalize it they can make it a sticky so everyone sees it.

    Thanks! I was hoping for it to be something people can post when someone makes one of those "I can't lose weight" posts. I will put up the final product when it is done though, sticky-ness is up to the moderators I think!
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
    This is pretty good. From a design perspective, you need to have more consistent decision boxes (yes/no) for each option.
  • segacs
    segacs Posts: 4,599 Member
    Also, how about changes in sleep? Changes in non-exercise activity level (e.g. going from an active to a more sedentary job)? Stress? Heck, even weighing in at various times of the day instead of a consistent time of day can make it seem like you're not losing weight.

    But yeah, for most people they're probably underestimating their food or overestimating their exercise burns (or both).
  • Patrice120
    Patrice120 Posts: 23 Member
    I think this is great. Only thing I'd add is something about sodium on a short term basis will cause the scale to go up. People don't realize how much sodium is in certain foods that don't even taste salty. I'd recommend people drink more water to flush the sodium.
  • lemonlionheart
    lemonlionheart Posts: 580 Member
    Patrice120 wrote: »
    I think this is great. Only thing I'd add is something about sodium on a short term basis will cause the scale to go up. People don't realize how much sodium is in certain foods that don't even taste salty. I'd recommend people drink more water to flush the sodium.

    I think what I'm going to do is just put 'it hasn't been long enough, give it more time' for the 'less than 3 weeks' response, then list a few reasons why scale results might not be happening in the short term e.g. TOM, ovulation, water retention from exercise, water retention from sodium, food in the system. Thanks for the feedback! :)
  • Patrice120
    Patrice120 Posts: 23 Member
    I like the exercise part broken out because it's good for people to know that they may retain water when they first start exercising...instead of thinking they are gaining muscle which is a common misconception.
  • radmack
    radmack Posts: 272 Member
    Do you mean it to say most people overestimate their calorie intake - I thought it should be underestimate?
  • lemonlionheart
    lemonlionheart Posts: 580 Member
    radmack wrote: »
    Do you mean it to say most people overestimate their calorie intake - I thought it should be underestimate?

    Yep somebody above has pointed that out- I drafted this at midnight last night so it was a bit rough! :)
  • radmack
    radmack Posts: 272 Member
    lemonlionheart wrote: »
    radmack wrote: »
    Do you mean it to say most people overestimate their calorie intake - I thought it should be underestimate?

    Yep somebody above has pointed that out- I drafted this at midnight last night so it was a bit rough! :)

    B)

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