What is the Weight Chart?
The Weight Chart lets you track your weight loss or gain. It shows you how many
pounds you are losing or gaining per week, and it shows you what your calorie deficit
or excess is.
The beauty of the Weight Chart is that it lets you focus on your overall progress
rather than the individual readings on the scale. You will learn to watch, and appreciate
the blue trend line that shows the moving average of your individual weight entries.
Daily Weight Entries
The points on the tips of the green and red shaded areas are your daily weight entries.
The red area means that for that day, or period of days, your daily weight entries
were above the blue trend line. The green area means that for that day, or period
of days, your daily weight entries were below the blue trend line.
If you are trying to lose weight then you will want to keep most of your daily weight
entries in the green shaded area. As long as your daily weight entries are green,
the blue trend line will continue going down. Even when you hit a plateau, and your
daily weights remain the same for several days or even a week or more, as long as
those weights below the trend line they will continue to pull the trend line down.
The Trend Line
The blue trend line shows the moving average of all your weight entries. Because
of the way the moving average is calculated, it emphasizes the weights in the recent
past over those in the distant past. This makes the trend line the most valuable
part of the Weight Chart.
If your weight changes and goes above the blue trend line you will see the trend
line change immediately. If your weight stays above the trend line for very long,
the trend line will change directions and show you that your weight is increasing.
On the other hand, if you start losing weight at a faster rate the trend line will
also show that change almost immediately.
The trend line is especially valuable when you hit a plateau.
The Black Best Fit Line
The black line is the best fit line. It shows you the straightest line that can
be drawn through all of the points on the blue trend line. It is useful because
it can show you the overall progress of your diet. But it can also be misleading.
If your trend line is not moving in the same direction over time as your best fit
line, then the best fit line should be ignored.
Weekly Loss & Daily Deficit
The weekly loss and daily deficit are both based on the black best fit line. When you
are steadily losing weight, and your blue trend line is continually moving down, then
the black best fit line is used to calculate the average number of pounds you are losing
per week and how large your daily calorie deficit is.
Additional Reading