MFP method actually work for anyone?

sahmom24

MFP has worked very well for me, I've lost over 36 lbs in almost 6 months (factoring in a vacation where I gained and had to relose after) I use a HRM, and food scale, eat clean, make sure I get strength training in regularly. Like the other poster said, I'd rather take the HRM estimate than what my treadmill guesses, or take a stab in the dark at how much I am burning doing other types of work outs.at least it gives me a ball park figure to work with. I do eat back my exercise calories and still lose weight. I am eating above what MFP gave me calorie-wise too. A little lower than TDEE though. I have surpassed my goal weight so weight-loss haa really slowed down, but I am still getting leaner and stronger!

MFP works for me mainly because it keeps me accountable.

_Zardoz_

Just look at my ticker averaging between 2 and 4 pound a week

Lincolnlady217

Oh it works alright, but you've got to do your part as well! You MUST measure/weigh your food, log EVERY morsel you eat, stick to your calorie goals, stick to your macros to ensure you are getting all the nutrients you need and you gotta move more! No app, diet plan, exercise plan, or magic pill (lol) is going to work if you don't do your part, it's really that simple! We all have our ups and downs, but unless there is an underlying medical issue (either known or undiagnosed) the MFP plan will work-be patient and give it your all and you will be happy with the results-I sure am! :happy:

in2theblu

I'm 5'5 I use to weigh 225 but now I weigh 193-196 (it teeters between those) MFP was working for the last 10lbs I lost and now it has just stopped for the past 2 months.. Last month I did lower my calories but no change so I upped them again back I what it was for a 1lb weight loss instead of 2lb weightloss.. And I haven't lost anything..

Please check my diary.. I have no idea where my macros should be. I'd like to be 160lbs

redraidergirl2009

So basically a heart rate monitor is useless when it comes to calorie counting? In that case why log exercise calories at all if no one really knows how many they burn?

redraidergirl2009

I exercise for an hour+ 5 days a week and I work an active job 3-4 days a week for 5hrs at a time. I have my activity set to lightly active should I raise it?

redraidergirl2009

No offense but 2,000+ plus posts and being a member since 2011, I would have thought you would have figured it out.

This.

You'd think right? lol but nope. The only time I ever lost weight consistantly was when I was eating 1200 calories or less and with no exercise because I wasn't able to exercise due to injury. That is the only time I had weightloss success, then life happened and I was put on some drugs that made me fat and I'm off them, but it's been very hard to lose the weight even after I went back to my old eating habits where I weighed 15lbs less.

redraidergirl2009

Site worked best when I was 100% honest about logging.

No offense but 2,000+ plus posts and being a member since 2011, I would have thought you would have figured it out.

BTW. I've found that when you are close to your goal (or if you are at a fairly low bodyfat %), even 1 lb/per week is too much.

I adjusted mine from 1lb to 0.5lb a week and it seems to be working better.

Yea I'm nowhere near close to my goal. I'm 167, my goal is 130 which isn't a bad goal weight for a female, 25, 5'2"

yarwell

So basically a heart rate monitor is useless when it comes to calorie counting? In that case why log exercise calories at all if no one really knows how many they burn?

A correctly set-up HRM is a pretty good measure of exercise calories, but not resting. The reported calories include those that you would have burned lying down so the "background" needs to be subtracted.

MsPudding

I think everyone's body is different and therefore everyone's results are different. I took MFP's suggestion of calorie goals to lose 1lb a week. Do I lose 1lb a week - week in, week out? No. So far I've lost 17lbs and it's taken 5 months to do so - less than the 1lb a week MFP predict. I recently got a Fitbit and that reports that I normally burn around 2,500-2,800 calories a day and I tend to eat in the 1800-1900 calorie range so the deficit there should equal 1lb a week off...but in reality, on the ground, it's not.

I tend to think that you just have to keep playing around with the numbers until you hit a 'sweet spot' where you've got the balance between good calorie intake/calorie expenditure and weight is coming off smoothly. I've not found it yet, but at least the trend is downward, even if not as fast as others.

Paleo_wolf

:indifferent:

MelsAuntie

Works very well for me. I've lost 15 lbs. in less than 4 months, feel good, look good. I watch my calorie goal and stay under every day, but I don't bother with the complicated stuff like TDEE, BMR, any of that, I basically eat what I want to in moderation and get exercise ( living on a farm, that comes with the territory). I don't have a HRM.

99clmsntgr

As I glance down at my ticker, I'd say it worked pretty well.

Without being able to see your diary, I'll throw out the generics -- watch your sodium and fats. Don't worry about sugars if they're natural sugars (i.e. fruits and the like, not processed). Also hard to tell if you're new or if you've been doing this "a while." If you're new (i.e. within the first month or so) give your body time, it will come around.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

It works when used correctly. Most of the time when you see someone say it isn't working it's because they aren't logging everything accurately, they aren't eating back their exercise calories, or they set the wrong goal/activity level. Someone above said that your activity level might be an overestimation, but I found the opposite to be true. I'm a housewife with no kids and chronic illness, I put in sedentary and it turned out to be too low. If you don't have much weight to lose you should have it set to lose half a pound per week, not two pounds, so that will make a big difference also.

tanyadolan1

Only started this week and have lost four pounds so I am really chuffed. I think each person is different so you won`t lose the Sam amount of weight. The main thing is to stick to it and see how you go.

WildcatMom82

I lose a lb a week eating back all my workout cals. I usually take 1 day off from logging during the week, too.

Capt_Apollo

It works when used correctly. Most of the time when you see someone say it isn't working it's because they aren't logging everything accurately, they aren't eating back their exercise calories, or they set the wrong goal/activity level. Someone above said that your activity level might be an overestimation, but I found the opposite to be true. I'm a housewife with no kids and chronic illness, I put in sedentary and it turned out to be too low. If you don't have much weight to lose you should have it set to lose half a pound per week, not two pounds, so that will make a big difference also.

this

fuzzball01

It works. Ive lost over 20 pounds using it. I love it. Holds me accountable for what I eat and do. As well as my friends on here keep me in chk. It def works

Francl27

Been working well for me! although I switched to TDEE-20% but don't always eat it all, so it's still close to MFP's goal.

But as people say, you have to use it properly (log correctly, weigh everything, not overestimating exercise), and you can't expect a 1 lb loss every week. It's an average. I gain sometimes, but overall I've still been losing 5-6 lbs a month.

lonestarb

Most likely it took a while for your body to put on the weight? In my case it took years to "pack on the pounds". It seems only natural for it to take a while for your body to reverse direction and slowly let the pounds slip away. Be patient. This is no fad/crash diet, just a way to keep track of calories in-calories out.

Topsking2010

It definitely works!!!

AlexThreeClaw

The plan I got when I first signed up worked great going from 85kg down to 80kg, some weeks I even lost weight slightly faster than expected, but when I hit 79kg it did some re-calculations and I found my new daily calorie allowance was far too strict for me to stick to. I felt ravenous all the time and I was regularly going over my target. There was no longer room in my diary for a small treat, so every few days I'd crack and binge. I've now gained back one of my lost kilos so I've made some manual adjustments to my plan. I'm only 5ft high but 1200 cals a day doesn't work for me at all.

AiabliamsMommy

Last time I used it (before getting pregnant) I lost 35lbs and came 3 lbs away from my goal weight. It took a good 8 months of consistency, but it worked:)

barbaratrollman

It works very well for me. My life activities fluctuate too much, so I just set my level to "Sedentary" and if I'm doing a lot of extra activities, such as intensive gardening, housecleaning, walking a lot for my job, etc...I add some of that to my diary as exercise.

I custom set my macro nutrient goal levels, as I was not satisfied with MFP's defaults for these. I upped my daily calorie goal level to 1,390, from 1,200, by entering that I only wanted to lose 1/2 pound per week. However, I'm actually losing about 1 pound every 5 days or so, which is perfect for my goals.

I don't sweat it if I go over my calorie goals sometimes, though I must admit, I don't like seeing the red color for that number. My weekly average is always a bit under my goal, so that works for me.
I don't do "cheat" days, but if I have something special going on or I'm just feeling more munchie on a particular day, I indulge in eating more than my goal calories, but I rarely ever eat anything that wouldn't be considered to be healthy foods, because that is where my taste preferences lay anyway.

I can see the difference in my body from week to week and my clothes are fitting more and more loosely from week to week, as well.
I get plenty of cardio from various activities in my exercise and in my personal activities, but I'm also lifting heavy...usually 3 days per week. That is producing amazing transformation results.

Good luck! I hope you can make MFP work for you. I went into it with much skepticism, but have found it to be invaluable toward helping me to reach my goals.

AmykinsCatfood

Lost 50 lbs so far... Yeah. I think it's safe to say it works.

pinkraynedropjacki

Yeah it worked. I'm below goal weight & loving it.

jimmmer

Operator error.

You can't blame the hammer if you keep missing the nail. Sooner or later you've got to pick the tool up by the right end and smack that nail square on the head. Then the nail goes in.

"A bad workman always blames him tools"

brent_woods

It has worked for me so far. If the scale is still reading the same, you may be losing body fat, but gaining muscle mass.

One suggestion is to measure your abdomen, hips, height, and neck and calculate body fat percentage using US Navy method
<<http://www.wikihow.com/Measure-Body-Fat-Using-the-US-Navy-Method>&gt;

helyg

Works for me. I have lost 63lbs altogether, 50lbs since joining MFP.

supadeliux

It's one of my best tools to check out how many calories I need!, and of course, loss weight motivational stories are just amazing here!...l' ve already lost 7 Kg in 2 months! you wont regret it!