About WeightPlot Resources
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WeightPlot.com answers the questions people ask most often while counting calories and tracking their weight, in plain language, with the source named behind every figure. It is published by WeightPlot, the free calorie counter and weight tracker, and written by its founder, Andre Skeete.
Why this site exists
The same questions come up again and again in weight-loss communities. How many calories should I eat? Do I weigh chicken raw or cooked? Why did the scale jump three pounds overnight? Should I eat back the calories my watch says I burned? Moderators of the largest forums keep standing answers to these questions because people ask them every single day.
Search for any of them and much of the first page belongs to companies selling an app, a program or a product, each answering in a way that leads back to what it sells. The answers are often reasonable. They are rarely complete, and they almost never say where a number came from.
This site takes those questions one at a time and answers each one properly: the short answer first, then the reasoning, the figures and their sources, the common mistakes, and the point where general guidance stops and a doctor should take over.
What is covered
Three subjects, and nothing else:
Calories & Counting
How many calories to eat, how calorie targets are calculated, safe deficits, and how to log food accurately: food scales, raw and cooked weights, restaurant meals, labels and hidden calories.
The Scale & Progress
Why weight changes from day to day, water weight, trend lines, plateaus, body measurements, progress photos, BMI and body fat, and moving to maintenance.
Meals, Movement & Habits
What a day of eating looks like at common calorie levels, protein, hunger, eating out, walking and workouts, water, sleep, and the habits that keep progress going.
What is deliberately not covered
Some subjects belong with a doctor, a registered dietitian or a specialist, not a general guide. These are out of scope here, permanently:
- Prescription weight-loss medications, including GLP-1 drugs.
- Diagnosis or treatment of eating disorders.
- Weight loss during pregnancy or breastfeeding.
- Dieting advice for anyone under 18.
- Medical conditions such as diabetes, thyroid disease or PCOS, beyond a note to speak with a doctor.
- Diets under 800 calories a day, supplements, diet pills and spot-reduction products.
Where a guide touches one of these areas, it says so and points to qualified help. The medical disclaimer explains when to talk to a professional before changing how you eat or exercise.
Who writes the guides
Guides are written by Andre Skeete, the founder of WeightPlot and of SitePlot Media, a web development company in Georgia. He is not a doctor or a registered dietitian, and the guides do not pretend otherwise. Their authority comes from the sources they are built on, which are named and linked so you can check them yourself.
Where the answers come from
Every guide starts from a question people actually ask, found by reading thousands of posts in weight-loss communities. The answer is then built from the strongest sources available:
- Government nutrition data, such as USDA FoodData Central and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
- Public health agencies, such as the CDC and the National Institutes of Health.
- Peer-reviewed research, with the study linked.
Forum posts are used to find the questions, never as the source of an answer. The full method is set out in the editorial policy.
The connection to WeightPlot
This site is owned by WeightPlot, and the guides link to the WeightPlot app, which is free. That relationship is the reason the site exists, so it is stated plainly here and on the ownership and funding page. It does not change what a guide says: a guide about choosing a calorie tracker sets out the features that matter, whichever app has them.
Mistakes
They get fixed, and factual corrections are recorded on the page rather than quietly absorbed. See the corrections policy, or write to [email protected].