Ok, so I'm aware that weight-loss is not a linear process. You lose 4 pounds one week and 0.2 for the next two, etc. There are a lot more factors involved than just straight calories in/out during a short time frame, but the overall trend reflects the caloric deficit (or at least that's how it is for me - some of you might manage to march ahead at a steady 2 pounds/week, every week!)

Anyhow, focusing on the "big picture" seems to help me keep on task - if I average 1000 calorie deficit/day (7000/week), over time I will average ~2 pounds/week. With that said, excel is my friend - I love to see the predictions that I'll be X weight by Y date, and, just as importantly, that even if I lose less, I'll still be making major progress as I move down the line. (i.e. if I "only" lose 1.5/week, I'll still be down X-5 amount by Y, instead of X) If you want to hear any more of my ranting on this, I put a big post on my blog, but I don't want to get long-winded here!



So, anyone else do this? Want to share your projections?

whats your blog address?

Hehe...I'm an accountant by trade....you should see how many projection charts I've made made over the years. Unfortunately *for me* I've never followed through on a single one. It's taken *me* the old "one day at a time" slogan to make it as far as I have this time.

i want to learn how to do it!! anyone wanna help me?!

I love this one I found online: http://southbeachcenturyclub.com/goal.php

you can view it as a webpage or in excel.

Whoops! I used to have my blog in my signature, but I lost it!

letstri.blogspot.com

It's more about my is-it-good-or-is-it-bad rambling about the charting, rather than how to do it. But I can sure put up a how-to if anyone's interested. I love this stuff!

Oh, and the vertical line there is my wedding in May.

I am so addicted to my spreadsheets it's not funny.

I love my FitDay charts! I even printed one out to take to my doctor so he could see my progress. He liked it, too!

Of course, I never did hit anything like the projections... my actual numbers were usually off; I don't think I ever hit a weight goal "on time." But, it gave me a trend to shoot for!

Jay

Spreadsheet Queen here. I have everything in Excel - menus, plans, calorie logs, shopping lists (with pricing), calorie projections, goals, charts ....

Yeah. I'm a geek.

.

OMG. someone help me do this myself. i can do some basic stuff at work in excel (working out percentages of sales to footfall etc) but i would love to be able to do this!

How many times? Three times a day maybe I don't do it on line, or on a spread sheet. I do it the old-fashioned way, writing down the dates and the projected weight, usually in three columns, Possible, Bad, and Whistling Dixie (the 3 pounds a week option).

I know it's silly, but it keeps me from eating Of course, I could be walking....

Ok, it's pretty straightforward, if you know the basics of excel.

My approach is to make a column of weights vs dates, and then create the graph. First cell (let's say A2) - starting weight. Next one down (A3) - " =A2-2". And so on - if you enter the formula (=A2-2), then you can select and drag down to create the column (each one will be 2 less than the one above).

Then do the same with the dates - today's date, then a week from now, then drag.

Depending on the version of excel, you can then do "insert chart" and either create an X-Y graph and "add trendline" or directly create a line-scatter plot in the newest Excel.

Hopefully this makes sense - it's easier to show than explain!

Or the lazy way ... just draw a line

I go a little farther. I have my weight loss projected in a spreadsheet based not on a flat number of pounds per week, but based on my actual current overall rate of loss (0.6% of bodyweight per week). I also have a bodyfat % projection based on my current rate of loss and an assumption about how much of that loss is fat versus lean.

At my current rate, it will take me until around March 2010 to be at goal. I'm mostly OK with that, though I am currently attempting to tweak my exercise and food to raise my rate a little.

someone posted this site one day. you put in a little info and it will do the projection for you. i like to look every now and then to see if i'm on track for my trip to vegas in april

http://losertown.org/eats/cal.php