Perpetual 5 Weight Goal

feistykitteh

Hi,

I have been using this app for a few weeks and while it is a great app I am curious about its goal indicator.
During the first week, when completing the daily food diary, the app would indicate that if everyday was like that day, I would weigh **kg within 5 weeks.
During the second week, I would have thought that I am closer to the goal of the indicated weight but instead the app still suggested the same weight goal in 5 weeks (meaning I am no closer to the goal than thr first week).
This is the end of my third week and the goal weight is still the same (which is fine) but the weeks it'll take to get there is still 5 weeks.
So each week, it will take me 5 weeks to reach the goal weight, meaning that I will not reach that specific weight as it will always be 5 weeks away.

Can anyone explain this to me please. Surely with each passing week I ought to be a week closer to the suggested weight....?

Wendy__D

Have you weighed in and adjusted your weight in the app? If you haven't then it's assuming your weight today is the same as three weeks ago.

The way that calculation works is ALWAYS based on five weeks. What changes is the number it projects you to reach based on how much you intake and exercise subtracting from the weight you most recently put into the app.

SusanMFindlay

The "If every day was like today" message isn't really about working toward a goal. It's about showing the longterm effects of the decisions we make. So, if you have a 500 cal deficit, it tells you that doing that every day will see you weighing 5 pounds less in 5 weeks. If you eat at maintenance, it projects that five weeks of doing that would see you weigh the same as you do today in 5 weeks. It's intended to motivate (and maybe serve as a wake up call if someone repeatedly overeats).

feistykitteh

Thank you both.

Wendy - your response makes total sense. I have only adjusted my weight once (I lost 0.6) during week one but stayed the same last week and this week (why? I am eating 1200 cals to lose weight and execise 426 cals in jogging 45mins).

yirara

What are your stats and how do you calculate the calorie burn for running? If you ran 4 miles in 45 minutes you'd need to be about 160lbs, if you ran 3 miles in 45 minutes then your weight might be around over 200lbs. (use weight in lbs * distance in miles * 0.67 for running burns).

If you are only slightly overweight then weight loss will be very small and you might not be able to achieve the 2lbs per week loss. After all, a 2lbs loss per week would come down to a 1000kcal calorie deficit per day, meaning your maintenance calories would be 2200kcal per day, which seems high for most women. MPF will only ever give you a minimum of 1200kcal per day, regardless of your goal as less is not safe.

Do you use a foodscale to measure all the food you eat, and do you chose a correct database entry?

RoxieDawn

Maybe this will help..

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1318741/in-5-weeks-youll-lose-10lbs-why-is-it-not-working/p1