if ... then weight statements at the end of each day

4leighbee
4leighbee Posts: 1,275 Member
in Getting Started
These are silly and arbitrary, right? I'll never weigh 131 pounds again, lol (that one makes me laugh) ... and because I'm lifting and generally pretty solid, I can't imagine I'll lose weight as rapidly as they suggest I will, only due to my caloric intake and daily exercise. Should I just ignore these statements altogether?
«1

Replies

  • skinnyinnotime
    skinnyinnotime Posts: 4,078 Member
    Yep, ignore, it's a lie I tell ya!!!
  • 4leighbee
    4leighbee Posts: 1,275 Member
    lol! okay ... it's motivating for about a half a second, until my brain says, Leigh ... get real. ;)
  • keeptehpeace
    keeptehpeace Posts: 189 Member
    Yup!
  • awasko1218
    awasko1218 Posts: 15 Member
    I just use mine as a guide that I'm on the right track. So, as long as my if...then statement says the same thing or less than it did yesterday, I consider the day a success (I must have stayed within my calorie budget, for example) If my if...then statement tells me that in 5 weeks I will be 2 pounds heavier than it did yesterday, then I probably had an over-indulgent day... which happens, but that statement helps motivate me to stay on track for some reason. I'd rather see that than a "good job" at the end of the day, even if it is a ridiculous number. lol. Whatever games I need to play with my brain, I guess.
  • lsorci919
    lsorci919 Posts: 772 Member
    LOL I tested it, to see how accurate it is..... WAY off. "In 5 weeks you will weigh 154....." Those 5 weeks were up before Christmas and I'm just now closing in on 156. I think it's purely for motivational purposes.
  • firstsip
    firstsip Posts: 8,399 Member
    Not necessarily silly: they can forecast a decreased or increase trend on your weight depending on what you're eating. But to expect in five weeks to be exactly where the app predicts, with all things tracked accurately and consistently, is definitely silly. Weight-loss is not perfectly linear. Nor is weight loss the only indicator of progress (as, like you said OP, lifting will throw this number off).
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
    These are silly and arbitrary, right? I'll never weigh 131 pounds again, lol (that one makes me laugh) ... and because I'm lifting and generally pretty solid, I can't imagine I'll lose weight as rapidly as they suggest I will, only due to my caloric intake and daily exercise. Should I just ignore these statements altogether?

    Unless you're running some ridiculous calorie deficit, the projection should only be a couple of pounds away from where you are now. Why would you never be 131 pounds again?
  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
    You don't have to press the close diary button.

    It's not a crystal ball, its a computer algorithm.
  • tesha_chandler
    tesha_chandler Posts: 378 Member
    Truthfully, I take it as more of a suggestion and somewhat of a motivation, but I have a little more weight to lose than you do so it may be more accurate with me.
  • sarahmichel101
    sarahmichel101 Posts: 158 Member
    I just use mine as a guide that I'm on the right track. So, as long as my if...then statement says the same thing or less than it did yesterday, I consider the day a success (I must have stayed within my calorie budget, for example) If my if...then statement tells me that in 5 weeks I will be 2 pounds heavier than it did yesterday, then I probably had an over-indulgent day... which happens, but that statement helps motivate me to stay on track for some reason. I'd rather see that than a "good job" at the end of the day, even if it is a ridiculous number. lol. Whatever games I need to play with my brain, I guess.
    I am not even sure this is true. If it says that you will weight 2 lbs more the next day, it just means that you ate 200 more calories than the day before (200 calories times 35 days = 2 lbs). If it goes down each day then each day you would have to be eating at least 100 calories less than the day before. This could get dangerous pretty fast, eh?
  • sarahmichel101
    sarahmichel101 Posts: 158 Member
    All that it is good for is to see if you will weigh less in 5 weeks than now. What this means is that you burned more calories than you took in. In reality you might even weigh more in 5 weeks of burning more calories than what you take in, but it would be weight from muscle. Keep up the good work! Don't let the scale rule the roost, let your body!
  • rockmama72
    rockmama72 Posts: 815 Member
    One day I logged a particularly high amount of calories. Like REALLY high. When it said my weight in five weeks would be higher than my start weight, it gave me a good hard slap in the face!
  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
    It's good to get a 'general' idea of where you will be in 5 weeks if you keep eating at your deficit. Mine is usually within 2 lbs... depending on water retention and ToM and such. Today for example, even though I'm retaining water from Monday's exercise, was spot on, lol. I like to keep track of it, just so I have an idea of where I'll be. :)
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    LOL I tested it, to see how accurate it is..... WAY off. "In 5 weeks you will weigh 154....." Those 5 weeks were up before Christmas and I'm just now closing in on 156. I think it's purely for motivational purposes.

    Then you probably didn't eat that way everyday, or you ate more than you logged (thought you did) or you would be within a lb or so of the amount.
  • Shuuma
    Shuuma Posts: 465 Member
    I kind of like seeing if I'm heading in a downward trend by that statement, but ultimately, I generally end up yelling "You can't tell me what to do!!"
  • GothyFaery
    GothyFaery Posts: 762 Member
    I've found it to be pretty accourate. Most my weekdays look the same though. The weekend days are the ones that are off because I eat more on the weekends. If anything, I've noticed the predictions to be on the cautious side. I've met some of my predictions in just 2 weeks. I think it varies for everyone. If your days are not all nearly identical, it's going to be a little off.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    These are silly and arbitrary, right? I'll never weigh 131 pounds again, lol (that one makes me laugh) ... and because I'm lifting and generally pretty solid, I can't imagine I'll lose weight as rapidly as they suggest I will, only due to my caloric intake and daily exercise. Should I just ignore these statements altogether?

    If MFP estimated your maintenance correctly based on your selection of activity level, and you ate with as much deficit to that everyday for the next 5 weeks like you did today - yes the math would be correct.

    Obviously several assumptions in there - you picked correct activity level, maintenance ended up correct, you eat the same amount daily with same logged exercise to create the same amount of deficit daily.

    Does it make you wonder why it was so big though - like did you log exercise but don't understand how MFP works?
  • SerenaKitty
    SerenaKitty Posts: 142
    LOL I tested it, to see how accurate it is..... WAY off. "In 5 weeks you will weigh 154....." Those 5 weeks were up before Christmas and I'm just now closing in on 156. I think it's purely for motivational purposes.

    Then you probably didn't eat that way everyday, or you ate more than you logged (thought you did) or you would be within a lb or so of the amount.

    Exactly. That is the whole point of "if you ate this way everyday". It's not "if you ate this way today and a different way tomorrow..." ;)
  • Holly_Roman_Empire
    Holly_Roman_Empire Posts: 4,440 Member
    LOL I tested it, to see how accurate it is..... WAY off. "In 5 weeks you will weigh 154....." Those 5 weeks were up before Christmas and I'm just now closing in on 156. I think it's purely for motivational purposes.

    It says "If every day were like today, you would weigh ___ in 5 weeks." I'm assuming every day wasn't like that day, or did you eat the exact same thing for 5 weeks?
  • Holly_Roman_Empire
    Holly_Roman_Empire Posts: 4,440 Member
    double post
  • lsorci919
    lsorci919 Posts: 772 Member
    LOL I tested it, to see how accurate it is..... WAY off. "In 5 weeks you will weigh 154....." Those 5 weeks were up before Christmas and I'm just now closing in on 156. I think it's purely for motivational purposes.

    It says "If every day were like today, you would weigh ___ in 5 weeks." I'm assuming every day wasn't like that day, or did you eat the exact same thing for 5 weeks?

    Pretty dang close..... May not have been the exact same foods but close on the exact same calorie intake.
  • lsorci919
    lsorci919 Posts: 772 Member
    LOL I tested it, to see how accurate it is..... WAY off. "In 5 weeks you will weigh 154....." Those 5 weeks were up before Christmas and I'm just now closing in on 156. I think it's purely for motivational purposes.

    Then you probably didn't eat that way everyday, or you ate more than you logged (thought you did) or you would be within a lb or so of the amount.

    We can also take into account that MFP sometimes over or under estimates your calories burned when logging workouts and your activity level (TDEE) can change from day to day resulting in a varied calorie deficit.
  • 4leighbee
    4leighbee Posts: 1,275 Member
    I love your responses - thanks!

    I'm at 150, only 5'4" and on the curvy side (lol - like the positive spin on that?) - I don't think I *want* to weigh 131 again ... ;) I like my muscles and my curves, and at 131, I'd probably be sacrificing some of that.

    You guys are inspiring ... have a great afternoon!
  • Debbjones
    Debbjones Posts: 278 Member
    I don't know... I don't put much credence to the number! For the last 690 days I have eaten virtually the same foods (for the most part... lets just say approximately 90% of the time over nearly the last 2 years my food consumption has not changed...). I log everything I eat except for a few sugar free, 0 calorie, flavor additives to my bottles of water and zero calorie tea.

    Throughout all this time I NEVER reach the number factored to be my weight after 5 weeks of the same diet. I do not come close to the number factored and have consistently weighed in, on average, 5 pounds greater than advised.

    Each persons metabolism is different and as another poster to this topic noted... this number is calculated by a computer algorithm. This algorithm could never factor in all the variables. As with most information presented and used in this app, there are variables... counting calories and predicting future weight cannot be an exact science.

    :smile:
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
    I love your responses - thanks!

    I'm at 150, only 5'4" and on the curvy side (lol - like the positive spin on that?) - I don't think I *want* to weigh 131 again ... ;) I like my muscles and my curves, and at 131, I'd probably be sacrificing some of that.

    You guys are inspiring ... have a great afternoon!

    If you're 150 lbs and MFP is telling you that you'll be 131 lbs in 5 weeks, you're running 1900 calorie deficit a day.

    You are eating far, far too little.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    I love your responses - thanks!

    I'm at 150, only 5'4" and on the curvy side (lol - like the positive spin on that?) - I don't think I *want* to weigh 131 again ... ;) I like my muscles and my curves, and at 131, I'd probably be sacrificing some of that.

    You guys are inspiring ... have a great afternoon!

    If you're 150 lbs and MFP is telling you that you'll be 131 lbs in 5 weeks, you're running 1900 calorie deficit a day.

    You are eating far, far too little.

    I agree, if they are recording correctly. But am going to guess that they are eating much more than they think or burning less than they think, otherwise they would be losing like that in 5 weeks, assuming they eat like that most days.
  • 4leighbee
    4leighbee Posts: 1,275 Member
    131 was an anomaly and was funny so I mentioned it. Usually it says somewhere in the low 140s. I am often about a hundred calories short ...
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
    131 was an anomaly and was funny so I mentioned it. Usually it says somewhere in the low 140s. I am often about a hundred calories short ...

    I strongly suggest you reconsider your strategy. You really, really need to eat more. A lot more. Assuming you are logging accurately, you are consistently running large calorie deficits to get these numbers.
  • 4leighbee
    4leighbee Posts: 1,275 Member
    your response confuses me a bit. If it says 142 in 5 weeks, then that's 8 pounds in 5 weeks. Its aggressive, but not outrageous. Hence the reason for my post in the first place. I don't expect to be 142 in 5 weeks. I eat close to what it suggests in calories. I work out every day. I think I'm doing the right things. Maybe I misunderstand what you are saying.
  • jonnythan
    jonnythan Posts: 10,161 Member
    your response confuses me a bit. If it says 142 in 5 weeks, then that's 8 pounds in 5 weeks. Its aggressive, but not outrageous. Hence the reason for my post in the first place. I don't expect to be 142 in 5 weeks. I eat close to what it suggests in calories. I work out every day. I think I'm doing the right things. Maybe I misunderstand what you are saying.

    You're looking at a loss of aroudn 2 lbs a week on average. You're only 150 lbs. That's an overly aggressive goal since you have little weight to lose. Your diary is closed, but I suspect you're not getting nearly enough protein and perhaps not enough fat either.

Categories