2010: Weight Loss Diet Manager
WEIGHT LOSS DIET MANAGER
Executive on Demand Position:
Entrepreneur, President, Vice President Sales and Marketing, Vice President Research and Development
Project Outline:
The weight loss clinic was interested in growing its membership by providing a service using the internet as a medium to assist people who could not or did not want to attend group meetings. In addition if this could be done successfully, the market potential for participants can be expanded significantly as the potential market would grow from capturing clients only from the local Greater Toronto Area (GTA) to basically the world. The project was to identify what technology would be the most suitable and should it include an “APP” strategy for the new smartphone and tablet technology.
Project Outcome:
Working with a weight management clinic I had a firsthand opportunity to gain knowledge and understanding of the key triggers to continued and sustainable weight loss. At the heart of the program was the monitoring of an individual’s food intake including portion sizes. The clinic has been in existence for more than 25 years and has been recognized as a successful and sustainable approach to weight loss. The first thing I noticed when I was asked to evaluate the program was that all monitoring was being done manually. Pen and paper recorded the information which was then reviewed at a one on one meeting on a scheduled basis. This seemed so out of place because when i sat in on the Sunday morning group meetings, almost everyone in the room had one of several smartphones (iPhone, Blackberry, etc…).
The purpose of the project was to develop a strategy that would allow the organization to capture and retain data that could be used to support the research and claims of the clinic. In addition, the program needed to support the users in real time with real support and feedback to be successful. The first phase required developing an information recording and feedback program using MS Office Excel. This program I enabled me to develop an interactive data management and feedback program for the users that did not
require any writing or typing. The paper based monitoring system was recreated as drop windows providing the list of approved food and the portion sizes that best suits the individual. The program monitored and recorded the information into several food group categories to ensure a balanced diet was being maintained.
The second stage had a selected group of members participate in the electronic version of the food management and feedback program. During the following three months users helped to enhance the navigation and feedback presentations to enhance the user experience.
Lastly, a software development company was contacted and brought in to design and support an internet based and smartphone interactive data management and feedback system for the weight clinic.
I was able to successfully prove a software solution using the MS Office Excel program. The result is that a program is in development to collect and manage user information and provide them with better and more timely and accurate feedback.