Really struggling with MFP

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edoll61
edoll61 Posts: 22 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Not so much inputting the information, but the claim of "I should weigh X amount in X weeks if I keep eating this way" when I finish my journal.

For the purposes of a little background info, I'm 315 lbs, 30, male, and put my initial goal at 300. I put my activity level as light as I work on my feet everyday and do light exercise. I don't have money for a gym membership, work midnights, and have 2 young children, so there's not a lot of extra time in my day.

I'm pretty good with my journal entries and generally stay below my daily nutritional goals. When I complete my entry it says I should weigh anywhere between 304 and 306 within 5 weeks if I keep this up. It's been about 4 weeks and my weight is pretty much the same. I do slack occasionally with some extra snacking, but I still input the numbers and most of the time I'm still within my goals. I'm eating pretty well overall every day and drinking a ton of water.

Is anyone else having similar frustrations? I know it takes time, but I was hoping for at least minimal results.
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Replies

  • edoll61
    edoll61 Posts: 22 Member
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    synacious wrote: »
    If you haven't lost weight in 4 weeks, either you're eating more than you think, you aren't as active as you thought, or it's a combo of the two.

    My calorie goal is about 2900 and some change a day. I'm usually 3-400 below that. I'm also below my fat intake and sugar intake everyday as well. I record nearly everything I eat. With the exercise, I'm not sedentary by any means. I walk a ton at work everyday and do might workouts at home. I'm wondering if working midnights night impact it.
  • runningforthetrain
    runningforthetrain Posts: 1,037 Member
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    Unfortunately, I have found the "you will weigh x amount in 5 weeks" to be totally useless. It would be much more helpful if they averaged for a week. Don't be disheartened though-- keep working at it. I know how frustrating it is but; you need to keep entering amounts and do some of your own calculations-- the site will work for you.

    You are probably eating more than you think. Great job starting!
  • edoll61
    edoll61 Posts: 22 Member
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    pcpop7 wrote: »
    Open up your diary and we can take a look and give help. Are you weighing everything in grams on a food scale ?

    I'm keeping to the serving sizes on the labels, which includes using cups to measure as well as the scale. I use that often for my meats. Even if it's not down to the exact gram on some items, it's a miniscule difference. I'm talking say a carrot stick or two or an ounce of milk. Forgive my ignorance, how do you share your diary on here?
  • edoll61
    edoll61 Posts: 22 Member
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    runningforthetrain wrote: »
    Unfortunately, I have found the "you will weigh x amount in 5 weeks" to be totally useless. It would be much more helpful if they averaged for a week. Don't be disheartened though-- keep working at it. I know how frustrating it is but; you need to keep entering amounts and do some of your own calculations-- the site will work for you.

    You are probably eating more than you think. Great job starting!

    You're likely right. The amount of food or recommends seems really high and I often struggle to meet the calorie goal due to trying to keep my fats and sugars in check. Maybe I do just need to be more meticulous.
  • pcpop7
    pcpop7 Posts: 161 Member
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    edoll61 wrote: »
    pcpop7 wrote: »
    Open up your diary and we can take a look and give help. Are you weighing everything in grams on a food scale ?

    I'm keeping to the serving sizes on the labels, which includes using cups to measure as well as the scale. I use that often for my meats. Even if it's not down to the exact gram on some items, it's a miniscule difference. I'm talking say a carrot stick or two or an ounce of milk. Forgive my ignorance, how do you share your diary on here?

    Ok. Cups can be off by a massive amount you'd be totally surprised. Even packet weights can be of. I once had a pack of nuts that had 25g on the label but when weighed was around 47g that is almost double the calories.

    Almost everything has a substantial margin of error that can and does have a massive impact on your calorie intake.

    If you are saying what you are currently doing is not working for you then it is time to look hard at what could be wrong and the easiest thing to do is start to weigh in grams everything you are eating.
  • edoll61
    edoll61 Posts: 22 Member
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    pcpop7 wrote: »
    edoll61 wrote: »
    pcpop7 wrote: »
    Open up your diary and we can take a look and give help. Are you weighing everything in grams on a food scale ?

    I'm keeping to the serving sizes on the labels, which includes using cups to measure as well as the scale. I use that often for my meats. Even if it's not down to the exact gram on some items, it's a miniscule difference. I'm talking say a carrot stick or two or an ounce of milk. Forgive my ignorance, how do you share your diary on here?

    Ok. Cups can be off by a massive amount you'd be totally surprised. Even packet weights can be of. I once had a pack of nuts that had 25g on the label but when weighed was around 47g that is almost double the calories.

    Almost everything has a substantial margin of error that can and does have a massive impact on your calorie intake.

    If you are saying what you are currently doing is not working for you then it is time to look hard at what could be wrong and the easiest thing to do is start to weigh in grams everything you are eating.

    Fair point. Never really thought there would be any significant margin of error from the label. Good advice
  • edoll61
    edoll61 Posts: 22 Member
    edited May 2016
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    pcpop7 wrote: »
    edoll61 wrote: »
    pcpop7 wrote: »
    edoll61 wrote: »
    pcpop7 wrote: »
    Open up your diary and we can take a look and give help. Are you weighing everything in grams on a food scale ?

    I'm keeping to the serving sizes on the labels, which includes using cups to measure as well as the scale. I use that often for my meats. Even if it's not down to the exact gram on some items, it's a miniscule difference. I'm talking say a carrot stick or two or an ounce of milk. Forgive my ignorance, how do you share your diary on here?

    Ok. Cups can be off by a massive amount you'd be totally surprised. Even packet weights can be of. I once had a pack of nuts that had 25g on the label but when weighed was around 47g that is almost double the calories.

    Almost everything has a substantial margin of error that can and does have a massive impact on your calorie intake.

    If you are saying what you are currently doing is not working for you then it is time to look hard at what could be wrong and the easiest thing to do is start to weigh in grams everything you are eating.

    Fair point. Never really thought there would be any significant margin of error from the label. Good advice


    Just try it for today as an experiment. Log like you do it for a living. I know it probably seems like a pain but after a few weeks doing it on the scale it will become second nature. Even maybe take something you do in cups and compare it. I think you'll be surprised.

    The way I see it, if you are gonna invest the time logging your food and getting healthier then why cheat yourself by not doing the numbers 100% accurate.

    Good luck and let us all know how it works out.
    [/quo]

    I appreciate it. Just needed a pick me up I think. Will try even harder
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
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    synacious wrote: »
    If you haven't lost weight in 4 weeks, either you're eating more than you think, you aren't as active as you thought, or it's a combo of the two.

    ^^ this
  • Shrinking_Erin
    Shrinking_Erin Posts: 125 Member
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    I started back with MFP in Jan. Had already lost a bit on my own. I was 295, 5'10 and 37 years old .. I put in sedentary and got a Fitbit to use for steps etc., so my calories are adjusted. Anyway. My cal goal was set at around 1500. And I did lose steadily, as long as I weighed EVERYTHING I ate. No guesstimating for like 3 months. Even ketchup or butter / oil etc. Weigh everything, if you aren't. And to me 2900 seems high for your current weight.
  • edoll61
    edoll61 Posts: 22 Member
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    eringurl33 wrote: »
    I started back with MFP in Jan. Had already lost a bit on my own. I was 295, 5'10 and 37 years old .. I put in sedentary and got a Fitbit to use for steps etc., so my calories are adjusted. Anyway. My cal goal was set at around 1500. And I did lose steadily, as long as I weighed EVERYTHING I ate. No guesstimating for like 3 months. Even ketchup or butter / oil etc. Weigh everything, if you aren't. And to me 2900 seems high for your current weight.

    The calorie goal has me really confused, but I put in my numbers on a few different weight loss calculators and it came up with a similar number. I'm not sure how that's calculated.
  • duckforceone
    duckforceone Posts: 121 Member
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    yeah using measuring cups, you overeat by several hundred calories a day.. start weighing everything.

    if you can't weigh it all, then just eat less of those cups. and if that doesn't help, eat even less of them.
  • MultipleHigh5s
    MultipleHigh5s Posts: 49 Member
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    If you don't want to adjust how you measure, you can just lower the number of calories. Maybe go for 2500 a day.
  • Sandee_Bee
    Sandee_Bee Posts: 21 Member
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    I agree, the projected weight should be able to be turned off. I feel like I'm setting myself up for disappointment.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    I you weigh over 300 the calorie estimate is probably somewhat high. Eat 1800 for 2 weeks and see what happens.
  • Maxematics
    Maxematics Posts: 2,287 Member
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    Sandee_Bee wrote: »
    I agree, the projected weight should be able to be turned off. I feel like I'm setting myself up for disappointment.

    The keyword of that projected weight thing is "If". It is extremely rare that anyone eats the same exact number of calories per day. I feel like it's just supposed to be a fun fact/slight motivator and people put too much emphasis on its usefulness. Water weight, hormones, sodium, variance in calories, and a whole slew of factors vary. It is not a guarantee, as human beings are not input/output machines with regard to weight loss. If you stick to your goals you will lose weight and that's the gist of it. You may not lose the 10 pounds in five weeks like projected, but if you're doing everything right you may lose five to eight pounds instead and that is still making progress.
  • MultipleHigh5s
    MultipleHigh5s Posts: 49 Member
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    If you don't want to see the projected weight, stop selecting the complete diary option.

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