Losing weight by numbers... one for the geeks...

Wasn't entirely sure where to post this and couldn't really see a thread that was suitable but I thought some of you might find this interesting.

I record my weight every day, roughly around the same time, not because I'm an obsessive neurotic about my weight but because I like numbers. For some people it's photo's.. for me it's graphs

The graph below shows three things. The line of red dots is MFP's projected weight loss of 2 lbs per week, the blue is my actual weight day by day and the black line is the trend of actual weight loss.



At the beginning I stuck rigidly to MFP's recommended calorific intake and you can see how I rapidly I overtook the projected figures, however as I got closer to my initial goal the two lines begin to converge. Once I reached my goal of 168lbs I eased up considerably and now eat a maintenance diet of around 1800-1900 calories a day

What's interesting for me is looking back at periods where I had "woohoo" moments, or plateaus where I felt I was never going to lose another pound. Christmas 2012 I actually maintained my weight whilst having what at the time felt like the pig-out of the century.

What I also find interesting is this was accomplished without depriving myself of a Captain Morgan's Spiced Rum & (diet) Coke in the evening or undertaking hours of strenuous exercise. In fact apart from walking more regularly, 30-40 minutes, 2 or 3 times a week in the first 3 months this included no more regular activity than I normally do.

Just thought I'd share as for me this has been a useful tool that's helped keep me motivated... a journal by numbers if you like