Am I Losing? Still Confused by Happy Scale :/

kiela64

I've been using happy scale for several months now, but I still don't get when to "believe" it. I had some help from this community before, and it was pointed out I was losing faster than I expected/planned and I hadn't realized because I hadn't really understood the app. I still...don't really get it. I like the graphs and I like the records, but I don't understand the math.

I've been tweaking my intake to be higher so I'll lose slower (and full disclosure slacking to high heaven and eating out more often than I was, though I've made a concerted effort to still log those days so with the exception of general guessing error and a few days I missed, my diary is open and decently accurate - if anything it's underestimating by a bit with meals eaten out).

By MFP math I shouldn't be losing, but in reality I'm...still not sure if I'm losing? I've had new lows on the scale, but I feel like it could be explained away with water/waste, so in my head I feel like I'm "maintaining" or really "slacking" and need to "get back in gear" - but looking at my happy scale data, that isn't what it's telling me.

So I don't really know when I'm supposed to go by what the app says, and when it's just water/constipation (I deal with that a lot, trying to take iron supplements from my dr but it's....not going smoothly....tmi).

I've changed my calorie goal a few times now, it was much lower, and then I went up to MFP maintenance, and now it's in between 0.5lb/week and maintenance because I thought that might be more correct. But I'm still blasting through it most days, at least by 50-100cal so I don't really know what to aim for, based on my scale data (and again if the scale data is even useful? I'm confused....)

I feel really dumb because it seems like it should be obvious?

Edited to add: I want to lose between 0.5-1lb/week, and not more. My current BMI is 29, I'm not obese anymore, and I don't want to be super aggressive. I'd like to be consistent and create more consistent habits - which is what really helped me when I was losing faster, I had a structured routine where I ate a lot of the same things. But trying to add in more calories, and not being totally sure what to aim for, and feeling like I have more "leeway" with my diet is leading to more indulgences with treats & take out (and having some very high days resultantly) rather than a reasonable increase in the same structured meals. I also now feel really hungry I think from the fast foods, so on days where I'm not eating out I want larger portions of things and still go over my current goal.

TavistockToad

Yes, you're still losing weight.

Track accurately and eat more if you want to slow the loss down.

tinkerbellang83

Both your actual weight and trend weight are down after almost 4 weeks so yes you're still losing.

You seem to be losing around the amount you want, so just continue doing what you've been doing.

kiela64

tinkerbellang83 wrote: »

Both your actual weight and trend weight are down after almost 4 weeks so yes you're still losing.

You seem to be losing around the amount you want, so just continue doing what you've been doing.

Thank you! is the trend weight what I should be focusing on with the app?

tinkerbellang83

kiela64 wrote: »

tinkerbellang83 wrote: »

Both your actual weight and trend weight are down after almost 4 weeks so yes you're still losing.

You seem to be losing around the amount you want, so just continue doing what you've been doing.

Thank you! is the trend weight what I should be focusing on with the app?

Yes, it's a trendweight app so that's what you're using it for. It basically lets you cut through the noise of your fluctuations a bit and give you an idea of what your average weight is. My own weight fluctuates as much as 5lbs per day so it's useful to know what the average across the last week is. Before I used trendweight apps and understood my fluctuations I would rage quit after starting to cut calories because I'd see the gain on the scale a couple of weeks later and think it wasn't working.

The rate of loss is also useful as this tells you roughly how much of a deficit you're in compared to what you should be.

Let's say for example's sake your calorie goal was 1600 to give you a 1lb loss per week (500 calorie deficit per day) and it tells you, your average rate of loss is what it says above 0.73lbs per week. That would mean you were actually only averaging a 365 calorie deficit and that your food logging or calorie burns were a little off. You'd then know to cut back a little on food.

apullum

Your moving average is going down consistently. A moving average is, generally speaking, your average weight over the past two weeks. There are ways in Happy Scale to change the calculation (i.e., to prioritize more recent weights or to calculate over a different time period), but overall that's how it works. Your average weight has been steadily declining at roughly your target pace.

kiela64

apullum wrote: »

Your moving average is going down consistently. A moving average is, generally speaking, your average weight over the past two weeks. There are ways in Happy Scale to change the calculation (i.e., to prioritize more recent weights or to calculate over a different time period), but overall that's how it works. Your average weight has been steadily declining at roughly your target pace.

Thank you! I knew the app was supposed to be better for fluctuations, but I knew fluctuations can mask things so it seemed like things weren't necessarily accurate. So I should go by the "current average" section?

kiela64

Thank you for all the help. I guess the question remains what is actually my maintenance if I’m loosing now? I have so many days over 2000 for a sedentary 5’2 person!

pinuplove

kiela64 wrote: »

Thank you for all the help. I guess the question remains what is actually my maintenance if I’m loosing now? I have so many days over 2000 for a sedentary 5’2 person!

Perhaps you're not as sedentary as you think. The numbers show I'm lightly active, despite what a desk job and the butt imprint on my couch would lead you to believe. You could also be a bit of an outlier. If so, at least it's in the direction that means you get to eat more!

apullum

If you’re losing as expected despite eating more than expected, then you’re probably burning more calories than you think. It’s possible but less likely that you’re consistently underestimating your calorie intake.

When you get to maintenance, you can gradually add calories until your weight stabilizes (“reverse dieting”).

kiela64

pinuplove wrote: »

kiela64 wrote: »

Thank you for all the help. I guess the question remains what is actually my maintenance if I’m loosing now? I have so many days over 2000 for a sedentary 5’2 person!

Perhaps you're not as sedentary as you think. The numbers show I'm lightly active, despite what a desk job and the butt imprint on my couch would lead you to believe. You could also be a bit of an outlier. If so, at least it's in the direction that means you get to eat more!

apullum wrote: »

If you’re losing as expected despite eating more than expected, then you’re probably burning more calories than you think. It’s possible but less likely that you’re consistently underestimating your calorie intake.

When you get to maintenance, you can gradually add calories until your weight stabilizes (“reverse dieting”).

Perhaps, although I have been fairly sedentary lately in the months recorded above due to my concussion - I get about 5000 steps most days, sometimes 8 sometimes 3. It's plausible I overestimate a little with restaurant meals, but sometimes for a few they are findable in the database.

It's nice to be able to eat more I guess, but I really would like a solid number to truly know if I'm under or over my maintenance calories, if I'm in the "losing" or "gaining" range for the day. This knowledge has made me slack off a lot, and I'm eating a lot more in evenings when I don't really need to. Eg tonight I felt "peckish" after dinner & had some soup, and then that didn't cut it so I had a protein bar and went "over" - but I don't even know if it's over or not?