I knew something was wrong with my wifes diet plan.

Ok heres the deal. I keep track and log in my wifes info on her eating. Every time she attempted it she got frustrated and walked away. I was the one that set up her account. Today after reading about the 1200 cal concern i felt compelled to look at hers. -2 a week and she was at 1800+ cal. Ok something wrong so i did a check on the info i set her up with. OMG i set her height at 5' 7" instead of 5' 1". I feel like such an *kitten*. However even with my mistake she has still be able to drop -8 lbs in 1 month. But think about what i have done, setting the bar down is not an easy thing to do after being use to eating 500 calories more. Shes at work right now so she doesn't know. Not sure how to err break this error i made to her.
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Replies

  • hzliiz
    hzliiz Posts: 166 Member
    I'm confused...regardless of her height if she has lost 8 lbs in a month why wouldn't she continue doing what she's been doing?
  • AndiGirl70
    AndiGirl70 Posts: 542 Member
    You just be completely honest and tell you made her a "giant" by mistake. lol You can leave it as is, you can ask her to go cold turkey and stop eating the 500 extra, or you can wean 125 calories off her total each week for the next month. Losing 8lbs is still awesome though!
  • 3dogsrunning
    3dogsrunning Posts: 27,167 Member
    I'm confused...regardless of her height if she has lost 8 lbs in a month why wouldn't she continue doing what she's been doing?

    This.
    If she is losing on 1800, why cut it? Wait until she stops losing (for a few weeks, not just one or two) then drop it down a bit. No need to start out at the very bottom if its working at a higher and more managable level.

    I don't understand how it was wrong if it was working.
  • BeachIron
    BeachIron Posts: 6,490 Member
    I'm confused...regardless of her height if she has lost 8 lbs in a month why wouldn't she continue doing what she's been doing?

    This.
    If she is losing on 1800, why cut it? Wait until she stops losing (for a few weeks, not just one or two) then drop it down a bit. No need to start out at the very bottom if its working at a higher and more managable level.

    I don't understand how it was wrong if it was working.

    ^ Another for this. Two pounds a week and you think that she needs to go immediately lower? MFP, like all calorie counters, provides an ESTIMATE. It's not a magic number and if what she's doing is working, leave her alone. If anything consider a few more calories for her, but that obviously depends on her goals and where she is starting from.
  • karlahere
    karlahere Posts: 79 Member
    If it ain't broke, don't fix. it. By the way, how sweet of you to take care of your wife like this. NOW DELETE THIS THREAD BEFORE SHE SEES IT. :D
  • libertygirlfla
    libertygirlfla Posts: 184 Member
    I'm confused...regardless of her height if she has lost 8 lbs in a month why wouldn't she continue doing what she's been doing?


    ^^^^^^^That's a fantastic rate of loss. Don't change anything until or unless she stops losing. Two lbs a week is perfect!
  • chantwizzle83
    chantwizzle83 Posts: 82 Member
    Ya, 2 lbs a week is the most you should be losing. Anything more and theres something wrong.
  • Zaniejane
    Zaniejane Posts: 329 Member
    Ok heres the deal. I keep track and log in my wifes info on her eating. Every time she attempted it she got frustrated and walked away. I was the one that set up her account. Today after reading about the 1200 cal concern i felt compelled to look at hers. -2 a week and she was at 1800+ cal. Ok something wrong so i did a check on the info i set her up with. OMG i set her height at 5' 7" instead of 5' 1". I feel like such an *kitten*. However even with my mistake she has still be able to drop -8 lbs in 1 month. But think about what i have done, setting the bar down is not an easy thing to do after being use to eating 500 calories more. Shes at work right now so she doesn't know. Not sure how to err break this error i made to her.

    Don't change a thing!! It's working.
    ( smh at know-it-all men)
  • BeachIron
    BeachIron Posts: 6,490 Member
    Ok heres the deal. I keep track and log in my wifes info on her eating. Every time she attempted it she got frustrated and walked away. I was the one that set up her account. Today after reading about the 1200 cal concern i felt compelled to look at hers. -2 a week and she was at 1800+ cal. Ok something wrong so i did a check on the info i set her up with. OMG i set her height at 5' 7" instead of 5' 1". I feel like such an *kitten*. However even with my mistake she has still be able to drop -8 lbs in 1 month. But think about what i have done, setting the bar down is not an easy thing to do after being use to eating 500 calories more. Shes at work right now so she doesn't know. Not sure how to err break this error i made to her.

    Don't change a thing!! It's working.
    ( smh at know-it-all men)

    I probably think this post is about me . . . lol :angry:
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    Ok heres the deal. I keep track and log in my wifes info on her eating. Every time she attempted it she got frustrated and walked away. I was the one that set up her account. Today after reading about the 1200 cal concern i felt compelled to look at hers. -2 a week and she was at 1800+ cal. Ok something wrong so i did a check on the info i set her up with. OMG i set her height at 5' 7" instead of 5' 1". I feel like such an *kitten*. However even with my mistake she has still be able to drop -8 lbs in 1 month. But think about what i have done, setting the bar down is not an easy thing to do after being use to eating 500 calories more. Shes at work right now so she doesn't know. Not sure how to err break this error i made to her.

    Don't change a thing!! It's working.
    ( smh at know-it-all men)

    ^^^This except if she doesn't take control and do it herself she wont maintain this....SHE has to want it bad enough not to get frustrated and walk away...you can make it easier for her by setting up her meals and her food for her but beyond that time to walk away from logging her food...
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    I'm confused...regardless of her height if she has lost 8 lbs in a month why wouldn't she continue doing what she's been doing?
    Exactly. As long as it's working, why drop it? She doesn't have to starve.
  • I wouldn't change anything if it's working but I would tell her of your mistake just in case it stops working. That way she'll be prepared if she has to take on a bigger deficit. If this was her first month it's likely much of that 8 pounds was water weight so next month may not be as successful. Yeah, play it out at 1800 but definitely tell her now so that you don't have to tell her after another month of her being used to eating that much.
  • Gianna44
    Gianna44 Posts: 124
    I'm 5'2" and if I could lose 2 lbs/ week at 1800 and you took 600 away I would be unhappy and ungrateful, if you know what I mean.

    If her weight loss begins to stall I would bring it down, but shouldn't we be eating the most calories we can in order to maintain a healthy rate of loss, since the calories will be decreasing as we lose?
  • BeachGingerOnTheRocks
    BeachGingerOnTheRocks Posts: 3,927 Member
    MFP's program presumes eating back exercise calories, and it is pretty terrible with that 1200 calorie thing. When your wife gets closer to her goal weight, maybe lower it, but right now, don't.

    Your wife is 100+ pounds overweight, and she doesn't need to be eating 1200 calories to lose. You're in shape and have probably been through a couple bulk/cut cycles and know what it takes to lose at your body weight. Why would it be any different for her?

    Setting aside the issue that she needs to figure this all out for herself and that she is more likely to fail with you taking care of absolutely everything, keep her at the 1800 calorie level because it's working. She will very likely lose on that amount for a very long time. Don't change anything until she stalls. And by stall, I mean when her rate of loss is zero.
  • onwarddownward
    onwarddownward Posts: 1,683 Member
    My question is, why isn't she doing this herself?
  • Otterluv
    Otterluv Posts: 9,083 Member
    Leave it as is. Really, you want to be able to eat the maximum amount while still losing weight.
  • MsPudding
    MsPudding Posts: 562 Member
    Ok heres the deal. I keep track and log in my wifes info on her eating. Every time she attempted it she got frustrated and walked away.


    Setting up her account, keeping track of her and logging her eating IMO goes way beyond support and well into spoon feeding territory. She needs to be accountable for herself and to herself or whatever she loses under your constant direction is not going to stay off. In my opinion the best support takes the form of encouragement.

    On the setting itself - if she was losing at 1800 a day then I'd say there's nothing to fix.
  • pienthesky32
    pienthesky32 Posts: 142 Member
    If you insist she eat 1300 calories when she's been doing fine on 1800 calories, she's going to turn very b!tchy...if not from you messing it up, then from not eating enough. Too big a deficit will affect everything, especially her mood.
  • mfp gave me a calorie goal that I thought was too low. I upped it several hundred, and still lost 17 pounds my first month. I may lower it later, but for now, I'm staying where I am.
  • _SABOTEUR_
    _SABOTEUR_ Posts: 6,833 Member
    Ok heres the deal. I keep track and log in my wifes info on her eating. Every time she attempted it she got frustrated and walked away. I was the one that set up her account. Today after reading about the 1200 cal concern i felt compelled to look at hers. -2 a week and she was at 1800+ cal. Ok something wrong so i did a check on the info i set her up with. OMG i set her height at 5' 7" instead of 5' 1". I feel like such an *kitten*. However even with my mistake she has still be able to drop -8 lbs in 1 month. But think about what i have done, setting the bar down is not an easy thing to do after being use to eating 500 calories more. Shes at work right now so she doesn't know. Not sure how to err break this error i made to her.

    Don't change a thing!! It's working.
    ( smh at know-it-all men)

    I probably think this post is about me . . . lol :angry:

    You're so vain, I bet you think this post is aboout you, don't you?
  • Mother_Superior
    Mother_Superior Posts: 1,624 Member
    I remember this one time, I bought a car that worked exactly as it should have. I couldn't wait to get it to a mechanic so he could fix it.
  • NaomiJFoster
    NaomiJFoster Posts: 1,450 Member
    My question is, why isn't she doing this herself?


    That's what I was thinking. It's her body, her weight loss. By doing her logging for her, you're depriving her of the opportunity to learn how her own food and exercise choices effect her own weight and health. Are you doing this secretly and controlling her diet without her knowledge? Or is she passively doing what you tell her to do in hopes that you'll fix it all for her? Either way, she should be doing it herself and have total control and ownership of her own life.
  • BeachGingerOnTheRocks
    BeachGingerOnTheRocks Posts: 3,927 Member
    I remember this one time, I bought a car that worked exactly as it should have. I couldn't wait to get it to a mechanic so he could fix it.

    It was a Honda, wasn't it?

    Everyone's always wanting to "fix" the Hondas.
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
    I'm confused...regardless of her height if she has lost 8 lbs in a month why wouldn't she continue doing what she's been doing?

    ^^^ this

    also, the difference in the amount of food shorter people need to eat is not actually all that much, if anything errors in the activity factor would count for much more. And they don't take frame size/lean body mass for height into account (Katch McArdle does, but it also doesn't bother with height) I'm 5'1" and large framed and probably have as much lean body mass as many women of 5'7".

    and the fact that she's succeeding tells me.... if it ain't broke don't fix it... if/'when the number of calories she's set to stops working, then worry about it. It's actually possible that the number for 5'1" could have been too low for reasons other than height (e.g. more activity, greater lean mass for height, etc) and your mistake gave her a better number of calories for her.
  • Mother_Superior
    Mother_Superior Posts: 1,624 Member
    I remember this one time, I bought a car that worked exactly as it should have. I couldn't wait to get it to a mechanic so he could fix it.

    It was a Honda, wasn't it?

    Everyone's always wanting to "fix" the Hondas.

    Get outta my head!
  • MercenaryNoetic26
    MercenaryNoetic26 Posts: 2,747 Member
    Let her take control, man.
  • MyJourney1960
    MyJourney1960 Posts: 1,133 Member
    this:
    I'm confused...regardless of her height if she has lost 8 lbs in a month why wouldn't she continue doing what she's been doing?

    And this:
    My question is, why isn't she doing this herself?


    That's what I was thinking. It's her body, her weight loss. By doing her logging for her, you're depriving her of the opportunity to learn how her own food and exercise choices effect her own weight and health. Are you doing this secretly and controlling her diet without her knowledge? Or is she passively doing what you tell her to do in hopes that you'll fix it all for her? Either way, she should be doing it herself and have total control and ownership of her own life.
  • oldandhealthier
    oldandhealthier Posts: 449 Member
    After 46 years of marriage I have learned it is best to blame it on someone else like a computer glitch.:wink:
  • BeachGingerOnTheRocks
    BeachGingerOnTheRocks Posts: 3,927 Member
    I remember this one time, I bought a car that worked exactly as it should have. I couldn't wait to get it to a mechanic so he could fix it.

    It was a Honda, wasn't it?

    Everyone's always wanting to "fix" the Hondas.

    Get outta my head!

    3597_zpse5469a24.jpg

    Seriously, WHY?? I bet there's a nitro tank in the trunk, too. Or a ridiculous sound system.

    *goes off to figure out whether gull wings can go on a C-RV*
  • ThriceBlessed
    ThriceBlessed Posts: 499 Member
    Okay, like everyone else is saying it is working. I'd tell her of the mistake, but also say, "But for now your calorie level is working, lets recalculate if you stop losing."