Even a little data is really useful. I recently learned that my LDL and triglycerides are a little higher than optimal. When that happens, your doctor tells you something like "exercise more" or "don't pig out on carbs and saturated fats".
That's the kind of sound but vague advice that people are really good at doing exactly nothing with. But as luck would have it, I've been counting calories with a web app for the past six months. I went back and saw that on a typical day, 55% of my calories came from carbs, which is known to increase LDL and triglycerides levels.
Telling someone, "You know how DailyBurn says you're getting 55% of your calories from carbs? At the end of each day, I want that number at 33% instead" is so much more effective that it's a wonder people who don't have this data can manage at all.
That's the kind of sound but vague advice that people are really good at doing exactly nothing with. But as luck would have it, I've been counting calories with a web app for the past six months. I went back and saw that on a typical day, 55% of my calories came from carbs, which is known to increase LDL and triglycerides levels.
Telling someone, "You know how DailyBurn says you're getting 55% of your calories from carbs? At the end of each day, I want that number at 33% instead" is so much more effective that it's a wonder people who don't have this data can manage at all.