Welcome to S.T.E.M. Weight Loss! This is about the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math of weight loss.In this second video I will focus on the Technology of weight loss. Next month will focus on the Engineering of weight loss and so forth. You should watch the video with this guide and the notebook you prepared with Video Guide One.

ACTION # 1 - Get a package of food such as a frozen Stouffer’s meal, Nature Valley bars, a can of Wolf Brand Chili or any food you like. Check Here

For this first activity, I want you to look at the package of food very closely and record your observations in the space below. These questions may help you.What information is on the package? What material is used in the package?What information is difficult to read and what is easy to read?

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Video Guide Two

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Part 1 - Technology of Food Packaging

Write your observations here:

Most of the print material on a package of food is marketing. They want you to choose this package over other competitors, so attractive pictures and large words describing the positive properties of his product are used. But since you now own this package, I guess the marketing strategies worked. Other considerations are protection of the product, convenance of use and preparation.What I am mainly interested in is the Nutrition Facts box. Here is your source of information about what you are putting in your body. At this time I am mainly interested in the Calorie content. Later I will deal with fats, carbohydrates and proteins. This is where I get the “Calories In” for the “Lose It” web site covered in the next section. Did you notice the barcode? I think it is the most high tech part of the packaging. The barcode technology if very mathematical.

Above I have copied and enlarged two barcodes of two different products from the same manufacturer. The alternating black and white bars contain the same information as the numerical digits below. Notice that it represents a twelve digit number. The one on the right is 016000264700. The first six digits identify the manufacturer (01600). The next five digits identify the specific product (26470). The last digit is a “check” digit. It allows the barcode reader to be sure it has read the correct number. The barcode reader takes the first, third, fifth, seventh, ninth and eleventh digits and adds them (0+6+0+2+4+0 = 12). Then it multiplies the total by 3 (3x12 = 36). It then adds the second, fourth, sixth, eighth and tenth digits (1+0+0+6+7 = 14). It then adds this total to the previous total that was multiplied by 3 (36 + 14 = 50). It then calculates the number needed to be added to this total to become an even multiple of ten. In this case 50 is an even multiple of ten so the check digit is 0. That is some of the math. If you have an interest in more math, go to;

Now for the technology! The barcode reader does this calculation to check it own accuracy in a fraction of a second!What is most important is that the barcode only identifies the product. It does not contain price information. Price and inventory are on the local stores computer. Your local store can change prices at will, so check your bill!

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http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/gadgets/high-tech-gadgets/upc.htm

ACTION # 2 - Calculate the check digit on the left barcode. If you get it correct, Check Here

What does all this have to do with weight loss. To collect data on “Calories In”, you need to know the Calorie content of your food. You must know the units used to determine the amount of food (Video Guide One) and the Calorie content. You also should have a convenient way to record this data. This is where loseit.com comes in. There are a number of websites that allow to download apps to track your “Calories In”, weight, exercise and many other variables. I have been using “lose it” and so far like it. I would urge you to use an app like this. “Lose it” allows you to enter in Calories, search a data base or scan the barcode on the food with your i-phone or i-pad. Remember, that the barcode only identifies the product. The Nutrition Facts come from a computer data base. “Lose it” also calculates a Calorie intake budget based on your BMR data and goals you set for yourself. You can also sync it to other technologiesdiscussed later. We are using the internet and bluetooth technology to make life easier. I have been tracking my “Calories In” for almost 8 weeks now and will share results on the video. To the right is the chart that loseit.com will generate for you. This app is free, but there is an annual fee for the premium version that I am using.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com is another site you may want to explore.

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Part 2 - Technology of “Calories In”.

ACTION # 3 - Download a “Calorie In” tacking app. Check Here

Part 3 - Technology of “Calories Out”. As you know from the first video, your BMR is the number of Calories your body burns if you just stayed in bed and didn’t move. When you get up and walk, talk, drive or move in any way you are burning additional Calories. As we mentioned in the first video, the average person adds on about 45% of your BMR. If you multiply your BMR by 1.45 you get an estimate of the Calories actually burned in your daily activity. This is where technology can help. For this technology you need a fitness tracking device and a website app. There are plenty to chose from. To see what is available, I suggest the website below. I choose a Fitbit Flex.

https://www.ezvid.com/top-ten-fitness-trackers?

The costs range from around $20.00 to a high of $250.00. I don’t feel that a fitness tracker is absolutely necessary, but is sure helps. I will show you how to use math to estimate the “Calories Out” in Video 4 in April.

“Lose It” will give you the number of Calories you were under budget each week. It is estimating the Calories you will burn. For example, above you can see that I was 2934 Calories under my budget for the week illustrated above. The budget was based on my goal of losing 1 pound each week. If it take 3500 Calories to lose 1 pound, I should have lost 1 + 2934/3500 (1.84) pounds that week. This is a guess and I don’t feel it will be to accurate over just 1 week. If you record your data however it should work out over many weeks. We will test that hypothesis in Video 4 which will focus on the math of weight loss. I will compare this estimate of “Calories Out” to what my FitBit tells me.

ACTION # 3 - Calculate the number of pounds you should have lost if you had a daily Calorie budget based on a program to lose 1 pound each week. During this week you were 1750 under budget. How many pounds should you have lost? Show your work below. Check Here

I should have lost _________ pounds that week.

We covered the difference between weight and mass in Video One. The technology of weight is all about making a record of your weight every day. Again you have choices.

Low Tech - Standard bathroom scales + paper and pencil record keeping.

Medium Tech - Standard bathroom scales + computer spreadsheet to record daily weight.

High Tech - Body analyzing bathroom scale that wirelessly communicates to your computer via Bluetooth and syncs to your weight tracking program.

I choose the Withings Body Analyzer scale. It records your weight, BMI, heart rate and air quality wirelessly to your computer every time you step on it. Costs around $150 compared to around $20 for a standard bathroom scale.

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Part 4 - Technology of Weight .

ACTION # 4 - Set up a plan to record your weight every day for the period of time required in the goal you set up in Video Guide One.

Check Here

The table below will help you get started if you are using the low tech plan or until you get the high tech set up. Good Luck and Lose It!

Date Weight Date Weight

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It will be very important to collect data to use S.T.E.M. Weight Loss. The fourth Video and Guide will focus on the Math of weight loss. This is when my theory of Calories In vs Calories Out will be tested. You will need data over several months. I have another table on the next page to help you with this. Copy as many as you need. Keep good records!

Date Weight Date Weight

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Part 5 What about exercise?As you saw in the video, I lost almost 11 pounds in 2 months by recording my Calorie intake with LoseIt and Calories burned with FitBit. I did not do any additional exercise. This was on purpose so I could see the results of changing one variable, my Calories In. Now I will begin to add exercise.If your into gyms and fitness exercise, I recommend “Exercise for Beginners” with Mike Womer. This is a series of podcasts you can subscribe to for free and view in iTunes. Go to:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/exercise-for-beginners-mike/id936234668?mt=2

Another new technology that I have added to track exercise is RunKeeper. This will make your iPhone or Android phone into a fitness tracker and could save you some money if you already have the phone. Go to:

http://runkeeper.com

During the next two months we will see how exercise can add to the Calories Out.

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Part 4 - Self TestI hope you learned some S.T.E.M. concepts in your journey so far. To check that out, I put together a second short quiz. Answers will be given at the end of the Video. You can watch the Video before you do the Self Test. I will tell you on the Video when to stop it, then you can complete your test. After completion, go back to the Video to check your work. Write your answers on another sheet of paper that can added to your notebook. Leave space to record the correct answers from the Video. This time I have included the answer sheets I ask you to make in Video Guide One.

If you make a mistake, it’s OK. We learn from our mistakes! Only you will know the results! Good Luck!

1. What is the manufacturers main goal in food packaging?2. What information is in the Nutrition Facts?3. What information is in the barcode?4. How many digits are in a standard barcode?5. Calculate the “check digit” for this barcode {014900 01270}?6. How many Calories eliminated from your diet result in a pound of weight loss?7. A person has a BMR of 2200 Calories. If they are not very active, how many Calories do

they burn in one day?8. List three values a “smart scale” can record to your computer.9. Name three Brand Names of fitness trackers?10. Why is it important to record your weight every day?

Research Project - List all the apps and devices that “LoseIt” syncs to.

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