Its Not About Weight

[MadameLaMinx]

I assumed that they had put their new target date in the start date instead of the goal date, being as the "spring 09" target date would tally with the joining date on the site. I also assumed that they had put on 1/2 a stone since originally joining and thus have a bit more to lose now until they get to their target in "summer 11".

It is confusing, but when I looked, the 179 posts swung the trollometer away for me.

 

[Mini]

Statistics:
Total Weight Loss: -7lb
Weight to Lose: 25lb
% Lost -4.17%

Not sure why it is reading the way it is as I see he has lost 7lb and want to lose another 25lb.

There could be a glitch in the software and I will have Pierce check it out.

 

[fillymum]

Thanks and apologies !!

 

[MadameLaMinx]

I dont think its a glitch - it just doesnt say +7lb. The start weight was less than the "current" weight. Weight loss is written in positive terms, ie how many pounds were actually lost from the start point - so conversely a gain is shown as weight loss minus...

So... he/she started at 168, has gained 7lb since they joined, so now has more to lose and a - % loss because they havent lost since they joined, they have gained.

 

[Leapfrog]

I have to admit to being a little confused at the adverse reaction to the Op's post.

Maybe it's just me, but I kind of understand what he's saying - that the scales are not the be all and end all and there are other indicators of what is a healthy "slim" and what is an unhealthy "overweight".

How many times have we advised people on here who sts to take measurements too, as the scales don't tell the whole story?

My weight hasn't shifted in well over 12 months, but I'm slimmer than I was this time last year. I'm relatively small and weigh around 10 stone - I'm at the top end of my BMI range, yet a well-toned size 10. I don't think it would ever be possible for me to weigh, say, 8 stones and still be healthy, but that weight would be OK for my height, according to the height/weight/BMI charts.

 

[Lucky7]

Lol - I never update my stats, so gawd knows what mine look like to other people!!

 

[Pierce]

I dont think its a glitch - it just doesnt say +7lb. The start weight was less than the "current" weight. Weight loss is written in positive terms, ie how many pounds were actually lost from the start point - so conversely a gain is shown as weight loss minus...

So... he/she started at 168, has gained 7lb since they joined, so now has more to lose and a - % loss because they havent lost since they joined, they have gained.

Hi, yes you are 100% right. Its not smart enough to change the wording from loss to gain and then change it to a +7lb.

Its just a simple line of text with (start-current) math at the end of the line. Of course the point of trying to lose weight is that current doesn't go above start! Lol.

Pierce

 

[Maximus]

Ultimately, when someone comes onto a weight-loss/dieting site extolling the virtues of fitness/body building over weight and/or weight loss well I'm sorry but that causes me to get a little defensive!

I might be wrong, but I'm going to stick my neck out here and suggest the majority of users on these pages are more interested in weight, fat, weightloss and BMI (in any combination) than bulking-up or beefing out.

Not sure if the original post was to get a reaction or get a little debate going.

I'm going to agree to disagree.

No offence meant!

There are many people on here, I've made a lot of friends (people who we'll probably never meet) and receive encouragement - i personally find it an affront to anyone who has struggled with weightloss, had years of anguish, gallons of tears and frustration when all they had to do was go to the gym and pump some iron and lift a few dumb bells (dumb being the operative word here).

 

[Konvictz]

woah ive caused some confusion here.

firstly my stats lol. there is nothing wrong with me stats, its my exercise and regime which is wrong. i have been doing some training (muscle that is) but i have also been drinking alot of coke and fast food, which has meant that my weight has increased, as oposed to decreasing...

my weight at the start of joining this website was, as stated on my profile, 168. my ideal goal weight is about 145ish, because my biceps are getting bigger and im doing alot of ab workouts, so id like to think i am gaining muscle weight, so 145ish is where i want to be in terms of weight. my current weight is 181.

now these figures show that i havent lost any weight, infact the oposite, i have gained weight. how much?...181 - 168 = 13 pounds that i have gained since joinging this site. however the Total Weight Loss section measures weight from begining to current, so it does it the other way round, i.e. 168 - 181 is my weight loss, which is negative 13 pounds. so that explains my it is negative.

however there actually is a mathematical glitch in this website's stats section, and as i am doing a degree in the subject, it bothers me slightly. the % weight loss only accounts for the % of weight loss compared to their original weight. i dunno, this doesnt seem very useful to me as it doesnt track the progress of someone's weight loss. e.g. someone could loose all their weight and their % would only show something like 25%, even though they have lost all the weight they wanted to loose. and that explains why people in this website have such low % weight loss figures, even though they are doing good. i think it would be better to show as a percentage their weight loss in relation to the amount of weight they wanted to loose, so then if someone was at 90% you would know they are close.

and i am not a troll so i dont understand all the hate. my original post applies to everyone, but some more than others. thanks to mini for the articles. but the user leapfrog illustrates my point exactly. she said her weight has not changed in the whole year, yet she is thinner...

i have seen it on here, some people dont loose on certain weeks and they get a little upset or demotivated or whatnot. they may have gained weight that week, AND they may have lost fat at the same time - this is perfectly possible, in reality they have lost fat, but in terms of weight they havent progressed, and the above user leapfrog is an example of this.

 

[alwyn]

I don't agree that the % weight loss stat is useless. You can see from someone's stats how much more weight they want to lose, but I think it is really useful to look at your % loss and think "I'm 20% smaller than when I started".