Anyone else found MFP goals and lbs lost to be way off?
Replies
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WinoGelato wrote: »ninjachicken4000 wrote: »WinoGelato wrote: »OP the reason MFP uses NEAT is so that an individual can calculate a calorie goal that would allow them to lose weight even if they do no exercise whatsoever. If a person does exercise, and they add those calories back in, the numbers should be similar to what you are calculating as a TDEE (which has exercise built in) minus a deficit.
You can set a custom goal which would be Your TDEE less 500 cals, and then if you log 1 calorie when you exercise, the estimates of weight loss should be similar.
Regardless, all of these are just estimates, no matter which one you choose, and the weight loss prediction is an estimate as well. The best solution is to just pick one method and stick with it, log your calories in as accurately as possible, track your calories out if you can, and then monitor the results over a period of time.
That's the thing though. I do no exercise whatsoever yet my TDEE is still 1600 whereas my NEAT is apparently 1250 ish. And I know my TDEE is right because I lose weight at a steady 1lb a week by eating 500 less than it.
Did you try putting in a goal in MFP of "maintain my current weight" with a sedentary activity level? What number does that give you?
It gives me 1450, which is 150 lower than my actual TDEE. But is higher than what makes sense for the calculation projections (under daily log) when I'm eating 1000-1100 calories a day (0.4lbs in 5 weeks) makes no sense.
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dancingonstarz wrote: »If you go to "My Home", then click on the "Goals" tab, where it says, "Daily Nutrition Goals", you can click the green "Edit" button and you can manually set your calorie goal to 1100.
If you do any extra exercise outside of your normal TDEE, you might consider logging that and eating back at least some of those exercise calories if it's a significant burn to make sure you're eating enough.
The NEAT method usually works best for people whose activity level is quite varied from day to day. If your activity level is pretty consistent, then the TDEE method works well.
Hi, you don't seem to understand what the problem is.
I know I can set my own calorie limits for the day.
The problem is the daily projections it is giving me.
My TDEE is 1600, if I input 1100 calories into my log it isn't projecting my weight loss correctly (as it is apparently using NEAT and not TDEE) so instead of it showing me losing 1lb per week (which I should be at with a calorie deficit of 500 per day) it is showing that I should be losing 0.4lbs per 5 weeks. Which obviously makes no sense. So it must think my NEAT is really low, even though I've inputted all my stats correctly and I can't find an option to change it from NEAT to TDEE.0 -
ninjachicken4000 wrote: »WinoGelato wrote: »ninjachicken4000 wrote: »WinoGelato wrote: »OP the reason MFP uses NEAT is so that an individual can calculate a calorie goal that would allow them to lose weight even if they do no exercise whatsoever. If a person does exercise, and they add those calories back in, the numbers should be similar to what you are calculating as a TDEE (which has exercise built in) minus a deficit.
You can set a custom goal which would be Your TDEE less 500 cals, and then if you log 1 calorie when you exercise, the estimates of weight loss should be similar.
Regardless, all of these are just estimates, no matter which one you choose, and the weight loss prediction is an estimate as well. The best solution is to just pick one method and stick with it, log your calories in as accurately as possible, track your calories out if you can, and then monitor the results over a period of time.
That's the thing though. I do no exercise whatsoever yet my TDEE is still 1600 whereas my NEAT is apparently 1250 ish. And I know my TDEE is right because I lose weight at a steady 1lb a week by eating 500 less than it.
Did you try putting in a goal in MFP of "maintain my current weight" with a sedentary activity level? What number does that give you?
It gives me 1450, which is 150 lower than my actual TDEE. But is higher than what makes sense for the calculation projections (under daily log) when I'm eating 1000-1100 calories a day (0.4lbs in 5 weeks) makes no sense.
As I said, these are all calculators based off of algorithms and averages. They are not going to be perfectly accurate for every individual. The weight loss estimate of "if every day were like today" in particular is notoriously inaccurate because most people don't have identical days every single day.
Go with the MFP goal of 1200 and give it 4-6 weeks. If you do start to exercise you should eat some of those calories back. Track your weight loss and if it's on track great, and if not, then adjust accordingly. It's really not necessary to over complicate this.0 -
ninjachicken4000 wrote: »dancingonstarz wrote: »If you go to "My Home", then click on the "Goals" tab, where it says, "Daily Nutrition Goals", you can click the green "Edit" button and you can manually set your calorie goal to 1100.
If you do any extra exercise outside of your normal TDEE, you might consider logging that and eating back at least some of those exercise calories if it's a significant burn to make sure you're eating enough.
The NEAT method usually works best for people whose activity level is quite varied from day to day. If your activity level is pretty consistent, then the TDEE method works well.
Hi, you don't seem to understand what the problem is.
I know I can set my own calorie limits for the day.
The problem is the daily projections it is giving me.
My TDEE is 1600, if I input 1100 calories into my log it isn't projecting my weight loss correctly (as it is apparently using NEAT and not TDEE) so instead of it showing me losing 1lb per week (which I should be at with a calorie deficit of 500 per day) it is showing that I should be losing 0.4lbs per 5 weeks. Which obviously makes no sense. So it must think my NEAT is really low, even though I've inputted all my stats correctly and I can't find an option to change it from NEAT to TDEE.
Just ignore those estimates when you close out your diary. Problem solved.
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WinoGelato wrote: »ninjachicken4000 wrote: »dancingonstarz wrote: »If you go to "My Home", then click on the "Goals" tab, where it says, "Daily Nutrition Goals", you can click the green "Edit" button and you can manually set your calorie goal to 1100.
If you do any extra exercise outside of your normal TDEE, you might consider logging that and eating back at least some of those exercise calories if it's a significant burn to make sure you're eating enough.
The NEAT method usually works best for people whose activity level is quite varied from day to day. If your activity level is pretty consistent, then the TDEE method works well.
Hi, you don't seem to understand what the problem is.
I know I can set my own calorie limits for the day.
The problem is the daily projections it is giving me.
My TDEE is 1600, if I input 1100 calories into my log it isn't projecting my weight loss correctly (as it is apparently using NEAT and not TDEE) so instead of it showing me losing 1lb per week (which I should be at with a calorie deficit of 500 per day) it is showing that I should be losing 0.4lbs per 5 weeks. Which obviously makes no sense. So it must think my NEAT is really low, even though I've inputted all my stats correctly and I can't find an option to change it from NEAT to TDEE.
Just ignore those estimates when you close out your diary. Problem solved.
Haha, I have been doing. It's just a little irritating.0 -
ninjachicken4000 wrote: »WinoGelato wrote: »ninjachicken4000 wrote: »dancingonstarz wrote: »If you go to "My Home", then click on the "Goals" tab, where it says, "Daily Nutrition Goals", you can click the green "Edit" button and you can manually set your calorie goal to 1100.
If you do any extra exercise outside of your normal TDEE, you might consider logging that and eating back at least some of those exercise calories if it's a significant burn to make sure you're eating enough.
The NEAT method usually works best for people whose activity level is quite varied from day to day. If your activity level is pretty consistent, then the TDEE method works well.
Hi, you don't seem to understand what the problem is.
I know I can set my own calorie limits for the day.
The problem is the daily projections it is giving me.
My TDEE is 1600, if I input 1100 calories into my log it isn't projecting my weight loss correctly (as it is apparently using NEAT and not TDEE) so instead of it showing me losing 1lb per week (which I should be at with a calorie deficit of 500 per day) it is showing that I should be losing 0.4lbs per 5 weeks. Which obviously makes no sense. So it must think my NEAT is really low, even though I've inputted all my stats correctly and I can't find an option to change it from NEAT to TDEE.
Just ignore those estimates when you close out your diary. Problem solved.
Haha, I have been doing. It's just a little irritating.
I don't even look at them anymore. I don't know anyone who relies on them.
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those things are wrong you would have to eat the same things and burn the same amount of calories every day for it to probably be close. I never lose what it says I will,if I did I would have been at goal long ago lol dont worry about that stupid thing. they need to remove it anyway its basically pointless1
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OP, you do not have to change any settings to use TDEE instead of NEAT. Just calculate your TDEE, deduct your deficit, then enter that number as your calorie goal and do not log exercise. Mfp will then work to your TDEE figure.
Loads of people do this.
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The projections always been off in the short term, but fairly accurate in the larger picture. Week to week will be off, but look at it in months and it is pretty close.
I also have to say that I had to add exercise to get the numbers moving. At first it was great alone, but not long after I wasn't losing that fast so I had to add walking a few times a week. I eat back most of those calories and it kept kicked things into motion.0 -
Don't close your diary
The only thing that does is give you the spurious "in 5 weeks time" bollocks
Nothing else
So don't close your diary at the end of the day
Problem solved1 -
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ninjachicken4000 wrote: »Also OP, how tall are you? MFP will give you the bare minimum to loose weight. So if you put in 2 pounds, and it basically tells you that you will loose .5 or .6 pounds in five weeks, it is giving you the bare min recommended regardless if you chose 2, 1.5, or 1 pounds a week.
So to be clear if you want to loose 1 pounds and it still says .5 or .6 MFP will not allow you go under the 1200 recommended calories for woman, or 1500 calories for a man.
You can choose to use your own TDEE custom method and not use MFP NEAT setup if you choose.
The app is working as designed, if you have a particular issue with your account, all you have to do is log your issue with MFP Customer/Technical Support. They do respond to open support cases.
Thanks, it seems it not letting me choose 1lb per week because it uses NEAT and I'm not inputting exercise as I am sedentary. So basically NEAT is not a good system for me. But I don't mind so much, I was just wondering why this was happening. I'll still be using the food log as it's great.
I am assuming that you are getting the min 1200 or 1500 (i do not know your gender) calorie goal?
You can use the custom setting and run your stats using for example the IIFYM calculator to get your TDEE, etc.. and set it up that way. There are many folks here on MFP that do not like to use NEAT at all.
That is true. I figured out my TDEE and then chose the activity level and pounds to lose and adjusted until I got what I wanted. For instance, if I pick 1 pound a week to lose MFP chooses 1250 for me. If I want to lose 0.5 pounds a week it chooses 1500. Since my actual TDEE is 1650 that works about right for me except that MFP figures NEAT at 1750.
I have to drop 100 calories off (supposed) NEAT to calibrate my actual TDEE and not add any exercise calories back in because my activity level is somewhat stable. If I eat 1650 I would stall, but MFP won't let me drop 500 calories off 1650 or daily calorie total will dip below 1200 (their minimum allowed).
I think that the closer some people get to goal the more difficult it is to be precise. I read somewhere that the average person underestimates their deficit by an average of 170 calories. That little bit would be close to a stall for me. Someone with a huge deficit of 1000 calories would have more room for error.0 -
CattOfTheGarage wrote: »OP, you do not have to change any settings to use TDEE instead of NEAT. Just calculate your TDEE, deduct your deficit, then enter that number as your calorie goal and do not log exercise. Mfp will then work to your TDEE figure.
Loads of people do this.
That is not what I am talking about. I already input my own calorie goal using my TDEE calculated on another site. That is not the problem. The problem is MFP saying if I eat at my calorie goal I would only be losing 0.4lbs per 5 weeks, which is not the case. At my calorie goal and TDEE I'm losing 1lb per week as I eat 500 below my TDEE a day. That is the problem, the weight loss projections are completely off BECAUSE it is not using MY TDEE.
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The projections always been off in the short term, but fairly accurate in the larger picture. Week to week will be off, but look at it in months and it is pretty close.
I also have to say that I had to add exercise to get the numbers moving. At first it was great alone, but not long after I wasn't losing that fast so I had to add walking a few times a week. I eat back most of those calories and it kept kicked things into motion.
Nope it's completely off for me, like I've said numerous times on this thread. It is projecting my weight loss as 0.4lbs per 5 weeks, when actually m weight loss is more around 1lb per week (as eat 500 below my TDEE a day which equates to around 1lb per week). It is COMPLETELY off. Not even close. And it is doing this because it is not using TDEE in it's calculations, it uses NEAT which in my opinion is a ridiculous system for someone like me.0 -
ninjachicken4000 wrote: »The projections always been off in the short term, but fairly accurate in the larger picture. Week to week will be off, but look at it in months and it is pretty close.
I also have to say that I had to add exercise to get the numbers moving. At first it was great alone, but not long after I wasn't losing that fast so I had to add walking a few times a week. I eat back most of those calories and it kept kicked things into motion.
Nope it's completely off for me, like I've said numerous times on this thread. It is projecting my weight loss as 0.4lbs per 5 weeks, when actually m weight loss is more around 1lb per week (as eat 500 below my TDEE a day which equates to around 1lb per week). It is COMPLETELY off. Not even close. And it is doing this because it is not using TDEE in it's calculations, it uses NEAT which in my opinion is a ridiculous system for someone like me.
We addressed this multiple times up thread. The MFP goals are not off, the end of day projections, you feel are off, based on your own data about your TDEE and your intake.
As advised up thread, most people do not pay attention to those 5 week projections when closing out the diary. They are often inaccurate because people do not have the exact same intake and exact same net calories every single day.
The MFP system uses a different starting point than you did. That does not make it inaccurate. If you are losing at a pace that you are happy with then I'm not sure why any of this is bothering you so much, but your misstatements about what is inaccurate may be confusing other people.2 -
ninjachicken4000 wrote: »CattOfTheGarage wrote: »OP, you do not have to change any settings to use TDEE instead of NEAT. Just calculate your TDEE, deduct your deficit, then enter that number as your calorie goal and do not log exercise. Mfp will then work to your TDEE figure.
Loads of people do this.
That is not what I am talking about. I already input my own calorie goal using my TDEE calculated on another site. That is not the problem. The problem is MFP saying if I eat at my calorie goal I would only be losing 0.4lbs per 5 weeks, which is not the case. At my calorie goal and TDEE I'm losing 1lb per week as I eat 500 below my TDEE a day. That is the problem, the weight loss projections are completely off BECAUSE it is not using MY TDEE.
Can you take a screen shot of what projection you are seeing, because what you are saying also doesn't make sense based on what you posted up thread. You said that MFP calculates your sedentary maintenance at 1450, right? And if your calorie goal is 1200 then that would be a deficit of 250 cals from MFP projection and it should project a rate of loss of 0.5 lb/week or 2.5 lbs in 5 weeks.1 -
WinoGelato wrote: »ninjachicken4000 wrote: »The projections always been off in the short term, but fairly accurate in the larger picture. Week to week will be off, but look at it in months and it is pretty close.
I also have to say that I had to add exercise to get the numbers moving. At first it was great alone, but not long after I wasn't losing that fast so I had to add walking a few times a week. I eat back most of those calories and it kept kicked things into motion.
Nope it's completely off for me, like I've said numerous times on this thread. It is projecting my weight loss as 0.4lbs per 5 weeks, when actually m weight loss is more around 1lb per week (as eat 500 below my TDEE a day which equates to around 1lb per week). It is COMPLETELY off. Not even close. And it is doing this because it is not using TDEE in it's calculations, it uses NEAT which in my opinion is a ridiculous system for someone like me.
We addressed this multiple times up thread. The MFP goals are not off, the end of day projections, you feel are off, based on your own data about your TDEE and your intake.
As advised up thread, most people do not pay attention to those 5 week projections when closing out the diary. They are often inaccurate because people do not have the exact same intake and exact same net calories every single day.
The MFP system uses a different starting point than you did. That does not make it inaccurate. If you are losing at a pace that you are happy with then I'm not sure why any of this is bothering you so much, but your misstatements about what is inaccurate may be confusing other people.
They ARE inaccurate because obviously it projecting me to only lose 0.4 lbs per 5 weeks despite being at a 500 cal a day deficit (and yeah I'm consistent every day) is clearly inaccurate. It makes no sense.
I have been ignoring it, but I was wondering why it was doing this. God forbid I ask a question.
I don't understand MFPs starting point at all.
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WinoGelato wrote: »ninjachicken4000 wrote: »CattOfTheGarage wrote: »OP, you do not have to change any settings to use TDEE instead of NEAT. Just calculate your TDEE, deduct your deficit, then enter that number as your calorie goal and do not log exercise. Mfp will then work to your TDEE figure.
Loads of people do this.
That is not what I am talking about. I already input my own calorie goal using my TDEE calculated on another site. That is not the problem. The problem is MFP saying if I eat at my calorie goal I would only be losing 0.4lbs per 5 weeks, which is not the case. At my calorie goal and TDEE I'm losing 1lb per week as I eat 500 below my TDEE a day. That is the problem, the weight loss projections are completely off BECAUSE it is not using MY TDEE.
Can you take a screen shot of what projection you are seeing, because what you are saying also doesn't make sense based on what you posted up thread. You said that MFP calculates your sedentary maintenance at 1450, right? And if your calorie goal is 1200 then that would be a deficit of 250 cals from MFP projection and it should project a rate of loss of 0.5 lb/week or 2.5 lbs in 5 weeks.
Exactly, so it makes 0 sense. And that is without even taking into account that MFPs maintenance for me is 1450 instead of my actual maintenance of 1600.
My laptop is ancient and doesn't take screenshots sorry.0 -
ninjachicken4000 wrote: »The projections always been off in the short term, but fairly accurate in the larger picture. Week to week will be off, but look at it in months and it is pretty close.
I also have to say that I had to add exercise to get the numbers moving. At first it was great alone, but not long after I wasn't losing that fast so I had to add walking a few times a week. I eat back most of those calories and it kept kicked things into motion.
Nope it's completely off for me, like I've said numerous times on this thread. It is projecting my weight loss as 0.4lbs per 5 weeks, when actually m weight loss is more around 1lb per week (as eat 500 below my TDEE a day which equates to around 1lb per week). It is COMPLETELY off. Not even close. And it is doing this because it is not using TDEE in it's calculations, it uses NEAT which in my opinion is a ridiculous system for someone like me.
I do not understand why you are still taking issue with this and placing the blame on the way MFP works. If you override the calorie allotment given to you by MFP by putting in your TDEE, why would MFP change its five week projection for your weight loss at all? You are rewriting the number it has given you with your own number. If you're listed as Sedentary in MFP's setup and they give you a calorie allowance of 1200 to lose two pounds per week, but you change it to 1800 manually, it will now project you as losing 4 pounds in five weeks instead of 10 pounds because it assumes you have decreased your needed deficit by 600 calories per day which would result in less weight lost.
If you want to see a more accurate projection, don't make your goal weight loss, make it maintenance. Choose the MFP activity level that is closest to your given TDEE number from other sites, when you log make sure you have around 500 calories left on the table every day, when you close out your diary you should have a much more accurate weight loss projection. Problem solved.
TDEE seems easier for some people, sure, but many people do not have the same TDEE daily and would rather not have lower calorie days to make up for inconsistencies. Due to this, they can set a standard activity level for their everyday lives and only add purposeful exercise. This makes it a lot more clear and fluid for many people. I'm active every day at around the same level, so I can use the TDEE method just fine and maintain my weight and have more accurate five week predictions. However, I have a Fitbit so it does all the work for me. In the end, the five week projection means absolutely nothing, doesn't affect your account in any way, shape or form, and there are various ways to project your loss online by using your TDEE vs. your intake, so I really don't see the huge deal.4 -
ninjachicken4000 wrote: »WinoGelato wrote: »ninjachicken4000 wrote: »CattOfTheGarage wrote: »OP, you do not have to change any settings to use TDEE instead of NEAT. Just calculate your TDEE, deduct your deficit, then enter that number as your calorie goal and do not log exercise. Mfp will then work to your TDEE figure.
Loads of people do this.
That is not what I am talking about. I already input my own calorie goal using my TDEE calculated on another site. That is not the problem. The problem is MFP saying if I eat at my calorie goal I would only be losing 0.4lbs per 5 weeks, which is not the case. At my calorie goal and TDEE I'm losing 1lb per week as I eat 500 below my TDEE a day. That is the problem, the weight loss projections are completely off BECAUSE it is not using MY TDEE.
Can you take a screen shot of what projection you are seeing, because what you are saying also doesn't make sense based on what you posted up thread. You said that MFP calculates your sedentary maintenance at 1450, right? And if your calorie goal is 1200 then that would be a deficit of 250 cals from MFP projection and it should project a rate of loss of 0.5 lb/week or 2.5 lbs in 5 weeks.
Exactly, so it makes 0 sense. And that is without even taking into account that MFPs maintenance for me is 1450 instead of my actual maintenance of 1600.
My laptop is ancient and doesn't take screenshots sorry.
Without seeing the same thing you are seeing it is difficult for people to help you.
You could provide us just the numbers:
Current weight
Goal weight
Rate of loss selected
Net calorie goal provided by MFP
Total calories consumed
Exercise calorie adjustment
Net calorie result
Exactly what MFP says when you close out your diary. You keep saying 0.4 lb/5 weeks but that's not what it normally says. Mine says "if every day was like today, you would weigh x in 5 weeks". Are you saying that what MFP says is 0.4 lb less than the current weight I'm asking for above?
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