Weight loss can be super complicated. We’re all so different, what works for one person might not for another.
We think that exercise should help us lose weight. But for some of us, when we exercise we can actually gain weight. We get frustrated when we’re doing the right things but for some reason, the scale doesn’t move or even worse, goes up.
However, we are often our own worst enemies, overthinking and overcomplicating weight loss. Sometimes it’s better to find a way to simplify things!
For decades, I was always confused about why I couldn’t lose weight. However, when I realized that weight gain is due to a broken feedback loop and mine was damaged, I decided to solve my problem by fixing my feedback loop. One of the ways I did this was by creating a new feedback loop for myself. This article discusses how Luuze can be used to do this.
Use Luuze to Simplify Weight Loss
Luuze features detailed charting. If you have a goal, Luuze uses the chart to visualize where you should be at a current point in time. It also provides you with a target weight for the current day. You don’t have to worry about the 5, 10, or 100 pounds you want to lose. Instead, focus on the next micro-goal, which is only a fraction of a pound away.
As long as you stick with the yellow goal line, reaching your goal weight is inevitable. Of course, sometimes being able to do this can feel incredibly difficult. Being above the line (and therefore behind your goal) rarely feels good. But the line gave me a feedback loop that provided some deep honesty: If my weight was above the yellow line, I was overeating. If I was below the yellow line, I would be on track to reach my goal. The line became an accurate feedback loop that directly told me whether or not I was overeating or undereating!
So how do you stick with the yellow line? Create some simple rules! Ones I used for part of my journey were below:
- I had to weigh myself every day.
- No snacks if my scale weight was two pounds over my target weight for the day. Meal portions cut in half. Go out for dinner only if I had an important social obligation.
- On the flip side, eat whatever I want if my scale weight was two pounds below my target weight (if I wanted to). This was an important rule to keep my sanity during my weight loss journey.
Lessons From These Rules
As I went through this process I learned a valuable lesson for myself. My body only feels full when it overeats. It no longer does this to the same level as before, but it did this in the past. This fact is why I became obese in the first place! Reflecting on when my trend weight would go down, it was often after days where I felt a little hungry in the evening. For me, this little bit of hunger actually became a signal that I was eating the right amount of food to lose weight. Listening to my body and the signals that the charts told me helped me better understand how my body worked. For you, the lesson may be totally different!
Note that these hunger pangs eventually went away and my body is now a lot better at managing its hunger cues. I repaired my feedback loop.
An Example Using Real Life Data
I’ll explain further with some real-life data, using my weight chart from back in April 2016:
On April 16th, I was over two pounds ahead of my goal weight, so I ate whatever I wanted and overdid it, even though if you asked me at the time, I probably would have told you I was eating normally. By April 22 I was now over 2 pounds behind my goal weight, so I had to cut back. A few days of cutting back allowed me to get right back on track. Tracking the data daily by weighing myself daily allowed me to keep track of my goal, allowing me to never get too far off track with cheat meals or overeating.
To be clear, I don’t support yo-yo dieting. More often than not, I just stuck with trying to be under the yellow line, which then gave me freedom, and most of the time I didn’t take advantage of that freedom. The rules kept me on the straight and narrow, however, never letting me get too much off track.
Furthermore, what also allowed me to stick with my weight loss journey for so long was that my rule #3 above that let me eat whatever I wanted… but only if I was ahead of my goals. Many people give up on weight loss because they feel so restricted on a diet. I only had restrictions if I was behind on my goal, which then motivated me to stay ahead of my goal!
Simple Rules Make Things Easier to Follow
These simple rules cut out all of the complexity of weight loss and supported my 100 pound weight loss. Yes, finding ways to follow the rules can be challenging. But if you can find a way to stick with the yellow line you will achieve your weight loss goals!
To help you with this, you can add red and green dashed limit lines on the Luuze chart by going into Settings -> Adjust Visuals -> Enable Limit Lines. Change the Limit Line value to one that fits the rules you decide to create.
PS: As an engineer, I can’t help but mention the nerdy side of all of this: a lot of Luuze was designed based on my experience with manufacturing engineering, and dealing with Statistical Process Control Charts. Implementing rules that must be executed when things get off track is the foundation of feedback loop control. Manufacturing lines across the entire world use this concept. It works for making microchips, and it works for supporting weight loss.
Luuze is a Roadmap and Headlights for Your Weight Loss Journey
A weight loss journey can be like driving on a long highway, and sometimes in the dark. You can’t see your destination which may be hundreds of miles away. But as long as you stay on the road and have a map of where you are going, eventually, you will reach your destination. So how do you stay on the road? With rules: stay in the lane, drive the right speed, follow the signs.
Luuze can help you create the road map with its goal suggestions and light up the road with its charting. If you create rules to follow the road and follow them, you will hit your goals. Stick with the process, stay in the lines, and in time, you’ll have reached your destination.