This part of the program takes 5 to 10 minutes and is available free of both charge and commitment. Even if you decide not to join WeightCoach, your personal strategy document may prove to be very helpful in your efforts to lose weight.

The next step is to decide whether or not to register with WeightCoach.

If you decide to register as a member, you will then be asked to select the foods that you normally eat and the activities that you usually include in at least one of your days in most weeks. You will then spend a few minutes customizing the program for your specific requirements.

When you have completed the customization you will start to receive daily email reminders. These link you directly to your online diary so that you can enter the foods that you actually ate the previous day and the activities that filled your day. Commonly eaten meals and typical days activities can be saved, so that after a week or two the process of filling in your daily diary should only take a minute or two.

Once your day’s entries have been completed, you will immediately get a report that will detail your energy intake and energy expenditure. The report will indicate your intake of fats, saturated fats and fibre and rate other important aspects of your diet. You will also be able to see which foods contributed the most energy and the most fats etc. to your diet.

On the activity side you will see how your energy expenditure has been calculated and how many calories or kilojoules you burnt off with exercise.

A unique feature of the WeightCoach program is the ‘What if..?’ calculator. This allows you to manipulate the foods that you ate by either deleting a food or reducing the amount. This way, you can see the effect that it would have on your energy balance. Similarly, you can see how adding a 30 minute brisk walk or becoming more active at work or in your leisure time will increase your energy expenditure.

Importantly, this will show which combination of changes to your eating and activity habits will allow you to achieve the sort of energy deficit you will need to reach your goal.

The following is an unsolicited comment from a nutritionist:

"I find this online interface impressive. Very well presented, thorough and comprehensive, and its personalised form without the excessive details of prescribing exact quantities and specific foods makes it a very useful program all-round. It addresses food habits rather than requesting a total change in dietary behaviour, which I'm sure will improve the rates of compliance and long-term maintenance. Highly recommended."
Ashraf Saleh (MNutrSci, USyd).

"I started using the Weight Coach to assess the amount of food I was eating and to control my intake. What I found was a growing awareness of the benefit of eating a more balanced diet and becoming more instinctive about the value of different food groups. In four months I lost 15 kilos and found it easy and enjoyable. I also found I was less dependent on the weight coach for support although the graphs dramatically show the effect. I believe it has helped create a major change in my quality of life."
Tony (Sydney, Australia).

"WeightCoach has been a tremendous source of information and support. Having been on the dieting 'yo yo' for years, I enjoy that this is a recording and information mechanism, not 'yet another diet'. It is great also to have real data about energy expended - this is of real benefit. I have lost 10kg in the last 6 months, more to go, but I know that using WeightCoach as a 'keep me honest' tool, will achieve my goals of health and wellness."
Maxine (Christchurch, NZ).