Did your selected weightloss speed match the number on the scale?

cyaneverfat

Sorry if this has already been asked.

In your diet profile, you can select how fast you want to lose weight, for example "maintain weight" "lose .25kg per week" "lose .5g per week" "lose .75g per week" or "lose 1kg per week".

Did the amount you selected to lose turn out to be the same that you actually lost, or did you lose weight faster because by sticking to a calorie amount, you weren't binging?

Thank you

NovusDies

cyaneverfat wrote: »

Sorry if this has already been asked.

In your diet profile, you can select how fast you want to lose weight, for example "maintain weight" "lose .25kg per week" "lose .5g per week" "lose .75g per week" or "lose 1kg per week".

Did the amount you selected to lose turn out to be the same that you actually lost, or did you lose weight faster because by sticking to a calorie amount, you weren't binging?

Thank you

For most people it will be close if you can consistently hit around your calorie goal.

The amount you have to lose dictates how fast HEALTHILY you should try to lose it. For about every 10kg you have to lose you go up a speed. So .25kg is for people with 10kg or less to lose.

However, healthily is not always sustainable and some people elect to lose slower so they can improve adherence.

You lose weight the fastest by not trying to lose weight the fastest. It is more important to lose weight in a way that you feel is easy and as normal as possible. This will improve your chances that you can see it all the way to the end. 95 percent of all weight loss efforts fail and 100 percent of mine that focused on speed failed.

Also understand that you will not be perfect and that you will likely have some weak days. You will have weeks that you do not lose as much as you target. Try to accept that it is okay. You do not need to lose weight every day you need to lose weight most days.

Lastly the rate of loss you select will not show up on the scale in a linear fashion most of the time. You won't show .5kg loss each Friday morning at 6:30a when you step on the scale. You may show no losses or even small gains for weeks. This happens because your body weight fluctuates for reasons other than fat. If you are in a deficit you will lose weight and it will EVENTUALLY show up on the scale.

sijomial

Pretty close for me, perhaps only out by about 1,000cal a week. After I adjusted my calories I lost at my chosen 1lb/week consistently.

I never sought to accelerate my chosen rate of loss, that would have been counter-productive to my over-arching goal of optimal health and fitness, make something hard even harder and increase chances of failure. I picked my rate of loss with some care, neither too fast or too slow.
Binging isn't an issue for me, if it is for you then avoidance of excessive restriction would seem sensible.

My results were despite what I now know were slightly exaggerated exercise burns and slightly casual (but consistent) food logging. What I can't tell though is if all the various components of this maths puzzle were fairly accurate or if inaccuracy both ways cancelled each other out to a degree.

Lietchi

I lost weight at a slightly faster rate than expected.

My personal context:
- I intentionally chose a slower rate of loss, to make my weight loss sustainable and not feel deprived (and minimize the risk of loose skin)
- very precise logging of my intake where possible, with the occasional guesswork when eating out (fairly rare occasion)
- for my calories out, I relied on my fitness tracker for my daily activity burn and exercise calories (all of which I ate back)
- I like data, I have a spreadsheet with my weight trend, caloric deficit, total calories burned etc.

The fact that I lost slightly faster than expected could be due to my metabolism being slightly faster than average, or due to my tracker slightly underestimating my calorie burns - no way of knowing, but following my weight trend and other data ensured that I stayed on track.

coffee_n_weights

I lost at a slightly faster rate on average - it wasn't always a linear loss - probably because I was working out pretty hard (for the first time in a really long time) and not eating back all of my exercise calories. I also logged every bite and drink and overestimated calories when in doubt.
That being said, I highly recommend eating back your exercise calories if hungry or needed (sometimes I was a little hungry) because I feel it makes both losing and maintenance easier.

NovusDies

Oh and to answer the question most of the time I lost just ahead of my chosen rate. If I selected to lose 2 pounds per week I would often lose 2.2. This is primarily because of my logging style. Because I use some shortcuts I end up overcompensating and logging slightly high.

charmmeth

I think this might also depend on where you are in your journey. When I had mfp set to 0.5 kg / 1lb per week, I was averaging 2 kgs or a little more per month (monthly averages: 87.15kg, 85.31kg, 83.12kg, 81.07kg), so this was spot on. I am getting towards goal, so then switched to 0.25 kg per week; however, I am currently still losing 1.5 kg or a bit more per month rather than 1 kg (79.59 kg, 77.81 kg), and that is despite having had a couple of weekends eating at or above maintenance.

AnnPT77

MFP is giving you a statistical estimate**, based on reasonable research studies, that's essentially the estimated population average value for people who are similar to you on a tiny number of data points (height, age, weight, etc.). That estimate will be close for a lot of people, a bit farther off (high or low) for a few, and surprisingly far off for a very rare few. That's the nature of statistical estimates.

Because it's reasonable, and research-based, it's a rational starting point: Better for sure than some other single individual or few people's personal experience.

So, you pick accurate MFP profile values, a reasonable/moderate weight loss rate for your current body size, and try it for 4-6 weeks (whole menstrual cycles for pre-menopausal women, to compare body weight at the same relative point in at least 2 different cycles). Based on the actual average scale-weight results, adjust calorie intake as needed, to achieve that sensible loss rate (assuming roughly 3500 cumulative calories = 1 pound). That's a process that can work, even for people who are far off the statistical average . . .

. . . like me. I lost weight *substantially* faster at first than I should've on MFP's estimated calorie goal, even while eating back all of my carefully-estimated exercise calories. That's quite unusual, but it can happen. Then I adjusted intake, and found that my loss rate (with the adjustment) tracked quite closely with a long run (multi weeks to months) average of roughly 3500 cumulative calories = 1 pound of fat. I've been logging for over 5 years, now maintaining a healthy weight for most of those 5 years, after around 3 *decades* previously of obesity. My calorie requirements continue to be much higher than MFP estimates they "should" be. Doesn't matter. I know how to maintain my weight.

** TDEE calculators and even fitness trackers (Fitbit, Garmin, etc.) are also doing that same basic thing, giving you a statistical estimate of the populate average for similar people. The fitness tracker version uses more data points, but still may be not dramatically more accurate. (My good brand/model, one that others here say is accurate for them, underestimates my calorie burn by about the same percentage MFP does, around 25-30%. There's nothing wrong with the calculators or the device; I'm just statistically weird for some reason. 🤷‍♀️)

Oliveciabatta

I've posted elsewhere I'm only newish to map but despite consistently tracking everything and staying below the target it set me i haven't shifted a single pound all month. I know weight loss fluctuations can be normal but expected the usual water dip mist people get at the start at very least. My goal is only 2 to 3 stone loss by next ski season so March April ideally. I dont think that's unreasonable but after a month I'm no lower than I started.

Redordeadhead

xtineart wrote: »

I've posted elsewhere I'm only newish to map but despite consistently tracking everything and staying below the target it set me i haven't shifted a single pound all month. I know weight loss fluctuations can be normal but expected the usual water dip mist people get at the start at very least. My goal is only 2 to 3 stone loss by next ski season so March April ideally. I dont think that's unreasonable but after a month I'm no lower than I started.

Depending on your starting weight, 28-42lbs in the next 3-4 months might indeed be unreasonable. You should be aiming at maximum 2lbs per week, slower than that if you're not very obese or very sedentary.

cwolfman13

On average over the course of months...pretty much. Day to day and week to week is just a pipe dream.

Also depends on how much you actually have to lose. People who have a significant amount of weight to lose will drop pretty quickly initially...not so much if you're already at a reasonable weight.

cyaneverfat

I've pretty much lost 4kg in 4 days because I've been sick and food has pretty much gone right through me. I'm not looking forward to putting it all back on. It was probably water or something.

Dogmom1978

I lose pretty consistently at the 1 lb I selected if I stay within my calorie goal. I have it set to 1 lb a week as I have additional fitness goals and I would be too hungry/lack energy at a higher rate of loss. Sometimes I might lose 1.2 or 0 (depending on TOM) and sometimes I lose up to 3 lbs (water weight from having take out the week before).

lemurcat2

When I first started it was faster than expected given the chosen rate because I underestimated my activity level. Once I adjusted that it was about as expected.

AndreaTamira

Over the course of the last 15 weeks I lost, on average, 0.6kg a week, so a tiny bit more than the planned 0.5. There were weeks of far higher loss and weeks of stalling or even gain, though.