Hey guys,
I've been a lurker of HN for a while and thought I'd post up a Show HN thread for my new Android/Web app geared towards tracking body measurements rather than body weight.<p>This is a super early release so there are bound to be issues (see: <a href="http://genius.com/4126912/Genius-the-genius-isms/Take-the-roast-out-of-the-oven" rel="nofollow">http://genius.com/4126912/Genius-the-genius-isms/Take-the-ro...</a>).<p>Really interested in getting some early feedback, so your comments are very much appreciated.<p>The plan is to focus on next implementing goal tracking and then to add some simple social elements (a la Instagram).<p>Cheers!<p>PS: If you don't have an Android device, you can access it via the web at <a href="http://app.hipstat.com" rel="nofollow">http://app.hipstat.com</a>
I may be missing it, but the cool thing about self-quantification usually is that you're not responsible for data acquisition. Things like Fitbit/Aria and Mint give you some automation and make it easier and more fun to track data (and ostensibly turn it into action).<p>Of course, there's no smart tape that I know of, but I think it would be CV-trivial to rescale & superimpose silhouettes of progressive pictures on top of each other to track progress. I know a lot of people would shy away from doing something like that, but it would be pretty cool. As it is, measurement with a tape is a pain and worse, subject to a good deal of human error.
Before you sign up to try it - there's no way to remove your account or indicate you don't want email from HipStat during the sign up process or after you've joined.
There's the very obvious UX problem though, that for weight, all you need to do is step on a block of solid material, whereas this has a lot more friction in the process.<p>Not sure that's solvable, but that's been my main reason for not tracking these measurements for now.
Just a quick suggestion as the husband of a woman who does not like tracking her fitness by pounds. She is always more concerned with which size dress she can fit into. Maybe it would be good to have a conversion mechanism from inches to dress size.
"So you have to wonder, what's really the point in measuring weight? Why not measure what really matters, the size of your body!"<p>I do have to wonder, why is it that the size of your body matters?
UPDATE 21/07/2015:<p>Hi all. I wanted to post a quick update based on some of your fantastic feedback.<p>As of today, I have released a new update (you should get it automatically without needing to update the app). This update includes the following:<p>- Ability to delete your account from the settings screen<p>- Improvements to the way measurements are saved (server side)<p>- Ability to save measurements in cm or inches (more to come on this, including an account settings preference for metrics)<p>I am aiming to change the login screen background this week along with a couple of other minor tweaks before I go away for a long weekend.<p>Thanks again
Tom
In theory, I like the idea of tracking measurements.<p>In reality, I can't take reliable measurements of myself. Even back-to-back measurements vary quite a lot because the tape isn't in the exact same position and orientation.