Easy Eating

A Personalized and Humanized Approach to Healthy Eating

Easy Eating is an interest-driven project. Unlike most fitness apps, Easy Eating focuses on creating a more comfortable and friendly environment for users to better understand what foods are appropriate and nourishing for them. In 2020, Easy Eating won the iF Talent Award for its innovative approach to promoting healthy eating habits.

Project timeline

Dec 2019 - Jan 2020
Sep - Oct 2022

Project type

Personal project

Contributor

Ruoxin You
Xiaoke Pu

My contribution

User research
Product design
Interface Design
User test
Iteration

Motivation

Data Trap in Weight Loss

In today's world, data has become ubiquitous, and we measure almost everything around us using it. From our bodies to our daily lives, we break down everything into measurable, visible data that appears objective and implementable.

However, young adults trying to lose weight and get fit are particularly vulnerable to falling prey to the allure of data. Questions like "Which is more effective, a 40-minute workout or a high-impact HIIT session?" and "What is the ideal calorie intake for a healthy diet, and what should the meal ratios be?" are frequently on their minds. The weight loss industry perpetuates this obsession with data by claiming to offer more accurate information to achieve weight loss goals. However, simply knowing the statistics accurately may not guarantee success, and the obsession with data can create anxiety and hinder progress.

It's time to break free from the data trap and focus on a more holistic approach to weight loss.

Empathy

Get a Quick Look by Open Interview

Mario

"I tried very hard to diet and keep records every day, but I didn't lose any weight. Now I know strict control of diet is impossible for me. It’s too painful. I just eat and fitness regularly without caring weight.”

Doris

"I really want to lose weight lately. I feel so fat. I've been stuck at 56 pounds for a long time, and I really want to lose 50 (kg)."
"My exercise has been quite effective lately, and my weight is really changing!"

Nana

"I was very concerned before and just wanted to lose some weight. So I just ate only one meal a day and kept it for a long time. Then my stomach became bad. I went to the hospital and found out I had chronic gastroenteritis."

Chen

"Many people are unaware of the actual weight of the food they consume. Look at your recorded macaroni intake of 500g. That's the dehydrated weight. In reality, 500g of macaroni is a substantial amount and can be enough (to sustain you) for an entire day."

Dieting: the First Choice to Lose Weight

Research

Understanding Dieters' Concerns: Self-Made Scales on Food Features and Body Changes

We explored what dieters concern when dieting. We designed self-made scales to measure two key variables: concern for food features and concern for body change. After collecting and analyzing 294 valid questionnaires, we gained insights into the relationship between these variables and the tendency to diet for weight loss. Our results showed that dieters prioritize concern for food features (including calories, GI value and comments of KOLs) over concern for body change, indicating that what they eat is more important than how much their body changes.

Understanding Dieters' Choices:
A Competitive Analysis of Existing Diet Products

Function Implementation of Existing Dieting Apps:

Encouraging users to choose only healthy foods and consume fewer calories
Providing detailed data and feedback on users' physical condition
Influencing user behavior through warnings and incentives

Empathy

User journey

Product Strategies

Less Data

Translating complex data into user-friendly language
Visualize units to minimize errors in recording data

Less Comparisons

Evaluating the user's metabolic level through everyday data input
Focusing on individual daily situation rather than comparisons to others or a standard

Humanized Advice

Promoting regular eating habits among users
Encouraging occasional indulgences and providing alerts when users have eaten too little

Positive Feedback

Providing prompt positive feedback to users upon data entry to enhance their confidence in their bodies and lifestyles

Prototype

User flow

Record, review, report

User test

Usability Test: Try to Record Meal

I conducted a task-based usability test with five participants to evaluate the usability and user experience of Easy Eating. After introducing the product and assigning a task to record a bowl of noodles, I recorded the testing process and collected feedback using the System Usability Scale (SUS) and interviews. The results showed that Easy Eating was highly usable and easy to learn.

During testing, I also noted any unusual reactions or difficulties, which were used for follow-up interviews with categorized feedback as follows:

Provide more shortcuts for easier usage, such as direct recording of breakfast, lunch, and dinner on the Today module.
Improve interaction issues, such as the logic of returning to Today's Record page after viewing Single Meal Data.
Address participants' expected functions, including the ability to change meal names and customize the number of meals.