‘The Steak At The Top Has Got To Go’: The Survey Results

A while ago I posted a survey – a little about you. The results of this survey are interesting, but you need to be careful not to come to conclusions from these results. People who participated are self-selected – what would the people who don’t fill in surveys say? We’ll never know. Someone once said about statistics that they’re like a bikini: what they reveal is tantalizing, but what they conceal is vital.

With my caution toward conclusions outlined, here are some of the results as well as my thoughts:

1. A lot of what I’m doing is preaching to the choir. A lot of you already know about low carb and have lost weight doing it – and what you come for is the personal reflections on living low carb and the reflections on living low carb in a high carb world. Living low carb is a little lonely sometimes, and blog posts that reflect on this aspect might help let folks know they’re not alone. I’m sure that a few folks that come along are newbies, but I imagine few of them stick – they soon go on to another diet – maybe Nutrisystem – dang, that pre-fab food looks delish on the commercials, doesn’t it?

2. The overwhelming majority of you folks found Low Carb Confidential through another blog. This source is cited 2-to-1 over search engines. This could mean that the folks that participated in the survey are ‘blog rats’ (think ‘mall rats’), and the people who come in from search engines have come in on a tangent and are less involved in the topic. For example, they are looking for a Tanita scale review, come here, get the info and split – never to return – low carb isn’t for them – for whatever reason. It is doubtful these folks would fill in the survey, it seems.

3. Half the responders try to visit every day. Again, leading to the ‘low carb blog rat’ profile of our survey responders.

4. The longer articles are preferred over the shorter ones. This is a nod to Megamas, most certainly, as my posts have tended to be short as of late. Megamas is currently recuperating from a serious case of cranious constapatus caused by straining his blog muscle. He is resting comfortably and it is hoped that he, and his in-depth articles, will return to Low Carb Confidential in the near future.

5. Most responders lose weight on low carb. While a few didn’t, most did – and they lost significant weight. Here’s the responses:

5. The open-ended questions proved interesting. Here they are, unedited or redacted, of the question: what do you like most about the site?

• makes me feel not so alone as i begin this journey – 8 pounds in seven days so far!
• Very informative and funny
• your personality shines through while also offering great advice
• depth of subjects covered. everything is there somewhere.
  all of it.
• Your sense of humor
• very witty writing..educational..funny…. relative.
• Your writing style 😉 I like science pieces and journal-y pieces – I like all of it.
• Your honesty. I like to read about your personal progress and set backs. Thanks for sharing. I really enjoy your recipes also.
• tone
• Personalization of dieting and tips.
• easy flow to the writing
• It makes me giddily happy that you take a very analytical view in regards to Low Carb. I’m am atheist, and I often feel very ‘alone’ in the Low Carb world, with all the advice to ‘leave it to god’, etc. I feel very comfortable reading your blog in knowing that I’m not all of a sudden going to be subject to a theistic lecture.
• Ideas for recipes, and success stories
• You have a good voice. You know how some people are easy to talk with? You’re easy to read with. So to speak. Casual. Informative. Yours is one of the sites I use to help me keep my focus. And I like that I’m never sure what you’ll talk about. I never know what my best friend is going to talk about either.
• I’ve only read 2 articles so far so don’t know yet.
• reading your experiences with food issues
• Well written and consistently updated.
• Your writing style is intelligent and engaging.
• it’s somewhat quirky
• Recipes, candid stories from the authors.
• the personal advice
• Well written and updated pretty frequently.
• I like the humor most.
• the information
• I am looking for anything else new on the low carb front
• honest and candid opinions….and lcc funny sense of humor..
• I really don’t visit the site. I get the LCC daily message in my email. What I like most is the author sharing his experiences — I have learned so much about the effects of alcohol, etc. – Info I haven’t found anywhere else. On the site, I especially liked the links to other low-carb resources like Viva Low Carb.
• writing style
• Factual like the alchohol test
• The Nutritional information

6. Here’s the answers to the question: what do you like least about the blog?

• Casualness
• When there’s too much debate about other types of diets.
• too much science for me sometimes
• Not a drinker, so those entries are of little interest to me.
• Could use a bigger font…these eyes aren’t getting any younger!
• when it strays from low carb
• Megamas’ sometimes gets a little self-righteous. Also, the alcohol experiment was a little annoying. I suggest he read Marion Nestle’s book What to Eat. http://www.whattoeatbook.com/ . She does a good job of explaining why it is so difficult to attribute any one food or nutrient to a specific result.
• the steak at the top has got to go
• megamas too lengthy
• you dont post each day

7. Answers to the question: what do you think of this survey?

• i wonder if anyone ever sees the results :o)
• okay
• very good
• good. glad someone cares to ask questions.
• good idea
• Will my answers really impact your posting?
• good idea
• It so totally rocks.
• Its a good idea
• Eh.
• it’s cool
• It’s interesting that you want reader feedback – a lot of blogs do not!
• Great idea
• Fine with me. I hope it helps you.
• Kind of neat.
• I understand the impulse to know more about who is visiting.
• Nice starting point.
• should help improve the site
• I appreciate the chance to give some feedback.
• it’s O.K.
• Questions need some other options… for example, I don’t really prefer either the long or the short articles, exactly…it depends what they’re about! And really I read because it’s nice to hear other low-carb experiences, not so much because I’m looking for help exactly.
• I love surveys in general
• it’s a survey
• Good idea to know where your readers are…
• Easy to do. No problem except it asked about the site and I only went on the site once. You need a provision for people who receive the daily blog only.
• short
• Nice One

7. Answers to the question: What questions would YOU have asked on this survey that I didn’t?

• I’d ask what type of diet a person specifically follows.
• hey, got any good recipes?”
• what type of LC diet do you follow? But just bc I’m nosey that way.
• Age/Sex/Location/height/weight for statistical purposes to see what type of audience/market share is reading.
• what subjects would you like to read about?
  My correct response to #4 is that I’ve been on a Low Carb diet for awhile and like to read about the adventures of others that eat similarly. I’m not really looking for advice.
• I cannot imagine making (and keeping) the commitment to maintain a blog. I suspect, though, that you just have to write about who you are and what’s going on in your (low carb) life. Don’t worry too much about what everybody else thinks. And thank you, by the way.
• I don’t have any other questions I can think of, but for question 4, your answers really didn’t fit my category. I’ve been low-carbing since 1997 and I read blogs for entertainment value, not advice. They also keep me motivated to stay low carb and sometimes provide me with new thoughts or recipes.
• Basic demographics…age range, gender.
• anything about how people handle weight loss stalls.
• How do you read the blog? via RSS aggregator or directly from the site.
• how can we help you better!!!!
• “what are you wearing”… just kidding. I don’t know, it depends on exactly *why* I was conducting the survey.
• What topics or information would you like to see covered on this blog?
• No 6 should also have had Low Carbing for health reasons which, as a diabetic is my major reason.

Interesting stuff. Thanks to everyone who filled out the survey.