Does myfitnespal make anyone else feel like a failure?

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  • ScottH_200
    ScottH_200 Posts: 377 Member
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    No, MFP doesn't make me feel like a failure at all.
  • SunofaBeach14
    SunofaBeach14 Posts: 4,899 Member
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    According to your ticker, you only have 5 lbs to lose! You should be aiming to lose 0.5 lb a week. 1200 cals is the minimum MFP gives to people who have a lot of weight to lose.

    From http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/819055-setting-your-calorie-and-macro-targets
    More than 75 lbs: 2 lbs/week
    40-75 lbs: 1.5 lbs/week
    10-40 lbs: 1 lb/week
    Less than 10 lbs: 0.5 lb/week

    Someone is going to finally post all the great links to carefully crafted advice such as the roadmap and sexypants. When they do, OP, I highly recommend that you read them and follow the directions.



    Here ya go!
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1175494-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants

    ^ Here. Start reading, OP.
  • SunofaBeach14
    SunofaBeach14 Posts: 4,899 Member
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    Someone is going to finally post all the great links to carefully crafted advice such as the roadmap and sexypants. When they do, OP, I highly recommend that you read them and follow the directions.
    I already posted one of them and nobody noticed. :frown:

    Apologies. I skimmed down the page but have the attention span of your average fruit fly . . .
  • GreenIceFloes
    GreenIceFloes Posts: 1,491 Member
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    Someone is going to finally post all the great links to carefully crafted advice such as the roadmap and sexypants. When they do, OP, I highly recommend that you read them and follow the directions.
    I already posted one of them and nobody noticed. :frown:

    Apologies. I skimmed down the page but have the attention span of your average fruit fly . . .
    Accepted. :happy:
  • Lleldiranne
    Lleldiranne Posts: 5,516 Member
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    Read everything in the sexypants link a couple of people have posted. That's full of good advice (the quoted original post that's very first ... not sure about all the comments). Basically, though, there's probably little reason to be restricting yourself to 1200 calories. How many pounds do you have to lose overall, and what did you set as your weekly goal? (If you have 25 pounds or less to lose, go with 1/2 pound per week). Make sure your activity level is accurate - a lot of people just put in sedentary when they really aren't.

    Also remember that MFP already has a deficit in the goal. So if you go over by 50 or 150 calories, you're still in a deficit (at 1/2 pound per week, the deficit is 250, so you have less wiggle room, but more calories to work with to start ... if you're at 2 pounds per week, you are given a 1000 calorie deficit so going over by 150 calories isn't bad). Going over may slow down your loss, but feeling frustrated doesn't help it much either, right? :wink:
  • blakebailey87
    blakebailey87 Posts: 13
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    MFP only makes me feel like a failure when I see my sodium levels at the end of the day and how much I've went over on it, lol.
  • krisg71
    krisg71 Posts: 34 Member
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    Here's another non-scientific response. 1200 is what my plan defaults to, but I reset it to 1500. At 1200, I struggled to stay under everyday and the weight barely moved because my body entered starvation mode. That is one thing about MFP that bothers me, along with every other weight loss tool. Everyone always wants to default to 1200 calories. A smaller thinner person will do fine on 1200, but a taller larger person will struggle. There is no magic calorie number. Instead, you need to calculate what you need daily based on your weight, age, and activity level. Then, opt to stay as far below that as you need to achieve your goals. My body burns 2300 calories a day at my current weight. At 1500 calories, I've created enough deficit to lose a pound every 4/5 days. This past week, I lost 3 pounds. I guess I burned more than I thought. Anyway, lots of words. Do what you need to do for you and good sweatin'!
  • Calliope610
    Calliope610 Posts: 3,775 Member
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    When I joined MFP, I diligently followed the 1200 calorie default setting. For about 6 weeks, I felt so superior to other dieters because here I was, eating "diet food", low calorie small meals and losing weight. Then I got sick of denying myself the food I enjoy (and I'm not talking the sweets, etc. I'm talking about good, nutritious filling foods) because I was eating Laughing Cow cheese and fiber muffins for breakfast, salads w/ little protein for lunch and packaged "healthy" frozen dinners. Sure I was losing some weight, but it was almost worse than just staying fat.

    Then I ran across a post in the forums that changed my life! http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/975025-in-place-of-a-road-map-short-n-sweet

    I learned about TDEE and grabbed it. I started eating about 1800cals per day (I was walking 3-4 miles a day, strength training) and losing weight. Not more "diet" for me. I adopted the "lifestyle" mentality. My plan HAD to be something I can (and will) do for the rest of my life. It doesn't matter how long it takes (ok, I'm giving it 2 years) to get to my goal weight, but I have to be able to maintain that weight. 16 months in, I'm down 46lbs (from 232 to 186) and still losing. Albeit slowly, but it is steady consistent weight loss.

    And I'm not miserable and I don't feel like a failure. Actually, I'm rather proud of my success.
  • AudreyMari
    AudreyMari Posts: 5
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    Thank you all so much. I checked out the Scooby Sight, flled out the prompts, and it says I burn 1336 Basal, so already I know that I can eat more. Coach Calorie also suggested a device called the BODY MEDIA LINK BODY MONITORING ARMBAND, which I ordered a few days ago from Amazon, and am waiting to arrive. I'll let you know how this helps the process and aids encouragement instead of the lingering feeling of disappointment. It has very good reviews!!!

    Truly Yours,

    Feeling Hopeful

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