MFP Loss Predictions Accurate?

Bluejay61

Ok, question for you all: Do you believe the "if everyday were like today" calculations, the ones that pop up when you complete your daily diary? They seem pretty optimistic to me, and have me losing over 10 pounds in 5 weeks, but my daily deficit doesn't add up to 2 pounds a week, which would be 7,000 cals a week. Have you found them to be accurate for you or not so much?

NovusDies

Bluejay61 wrote: »

Ok, question for you all: Do you believe the "if everyday were like today" calculations, the ones that pop up when you complete your daily diary? They seem pretty optimistic to me, and have me losing over 10 pounds in 5 weeks, but my daily deficit doesn't add up to 2 pounds a week, which would be 7,000 cals a week. Have you found them to be accurate for you or not so much?

I am sure it is accurate by happenstance on occasion but it is mostly garbage.

lemurcat2

Bluejay61 wrote: »

Ok, question for you all: Do you believe the "if everyday were like today" calculations, the ones that pop up when you complete your daily diary? They seem pretty optimistic to me, and have me losing over 10 pounds in 5 weeks, but my daily deficit doesn't add up to 2 pounds a week, which would be 7,000 cals a week. Have you found them to be accurate for you or not so much?

It's just math, so if MFP is giving you more than 2 lbs, then your day -- if repeated every day -- is adding up to over 2 lbs according to its calculations. That could be happening because you are eating below your cals or adding exercise that you are not eating (so eating below your cals for that reason).

I hit my cal goal (or came close without going over) consistently when I first started, and I lost pretty consistently too, actually a little higher than MFP predicted. It also comes down to how good the inputs are, how consistent you are, and how close your BMR is to whatever MFP uses as the base of its calculations.