Anyone know? I am curious..

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alexdoerflein
alexdoerflein Posts: 5
in Getting Started
Does anyone know if this is usually true? I am new on here but I have done everything to a T. I was wondering if it gave you this statement and was accurate? -- "If every day were like today... You'd weigh 175.4 lbs in 5 weeks" I want to continue like this but am curious if it is correct.

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  • walktheweightaway
    walktheweightaway Posts: 5
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    I'd say its more of an automated guess based on your weight and intake. I mean, its definitely something to go by but I wouldn't put too much stock into it. It will have to adjust as you lose/gain weight as well :)
  • my_2_cents
    my_2_cents Posts: 109 Member
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    I believe its automated based purely on calories. I highly doubt anyone will do the exact same exercise and eat the exact same diet for 5 weeks to test it, but even if they did, one person could not determine if it was accurate. You would need a group of people to do everything exactly the same for 5 weeks to see lol.
  • alexdoerflein
    alexdoerflein Posts: 5
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    Thank you! :)
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 17,959 Member
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    It works on the 3500 calories = 1 lb calculation, so it calculates your deficit over 5 weeks and does the math from your TDEE. But MFP is notoriously wrong on its TDEE calculations, so people see some very different results to the predictions!

    I've always been tempted to commit to the same day for 5 weeks and see how right it gets it, but life kinda gets in the way :D
  • SnuggleSmacks
    SnuggleSmacks Posts: 3,732 Member
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    It's automated, but it's based on the fact that a pound of fat equals 3500 calories. If you have a 500 calorie deficit, you will lose a pound in a week (500 calories x 7 days). If you have a 1000 calorie deficit, you will lose two pounds in a week (1000 x 7 days = 7000 calories = 2 pounds).

    So, MFP can predict with some accuracy how much you would weigh in the future if you kept the exact same caloric deficit every day. Of course, keeping it exactly the same is pretty much impossible, but it at least gives you an idea of what the future could hold, and some motivation.
  • alexdoerflein
    alexdoerflein Posts: 5
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    I usually do the same workouts daily. Strength and cardio. I do sometimes up my reps or sets because things are easier. I never exceed my nutrition goal. I was just surprised for it to say if I kept it this way I would lose 20 pounds in 5 weeks. I know it is an estimated like many things on this app but I didn't know if anyone actually found it to be fairly accurate. :) Thank you guys though. I figured that.
  • alexdoerflein
    alexdoerflein Posts: 5
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    Thank you Snuggle. I thought so. :) I will be trying to reach that same mark as much as possible. :happy:
  • SnuggleSmacks
    SnuggleSmacks Posts: 3,732 Member
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    So, you're saying that you have a 2000 calorie deficit per day? Are you sure that's accurate? You are burning 2000 calories more than you eat? Either you're burning an extraordinary amount (like, daily marathons) or you're eating a dangerously low calorie diet, or else you're not tracking one or the other correctly.
  • mathjulz
    mathjulz Posts: 5,514 Member
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    Well, most of us don't have "every day" like "today" ... so it's hard to tell how well that would work. Like others have said, it's just a math equation based on the numbers. How accurate it is will depend a lot on how accurate the numbers are (The calories MFP calculates as your need are estimates ... exercise calories are estimates ... to a point, even food calories are an estimate).

    Still, it is a bit of a way of gauging if you were on track for the day. I glance at it and see how it looks, but I also look at my calories and macros as another way to judge my day.
  • alexdoerflein
    alexdoerflein Posts: 5
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    Nooo... I eat no more than 1500 calories. I also workout and have a job with a lot of walking. I cal. deficit for today was 900, not 2000..
  • SnuggleSmacks
    SnuggleSmacks Posts: 3,732 Member
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    Nooo... I eat no more than 1500 calories. I also workout and have a job with a lot of walking. I cal. deficient for today was 900, not 2000..

    Weird...20 pounds in 5 weeks would be 4 pounds per week, at 3500 calories per pound, that would leave a deficit of 2000 calories per day, so something is definitely off.
  • my_2_cents
    my_2_cents Posts: 109 Member
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    Nooo... I eat no more than 1500 calories. I also workout and have a job with a lot of walking. I cal. deficit for today was 900, not 2000..

    I think you should look at your numbers again. First, if the calorie deficit on your settings is already set for you to lose 2 lbs per week, then you are already having a 1000 calorie deficit built into your calorie goal for the day. If at the end of the day, MFP tells you that you had 900 calorie deficit, that means you actually had a 1900 calorie deficit, which comes pretty close to 20 lbs in 5 weeks. This is bad, it means you are likely to lose significant muscle mass, and not lose weight in a healthy way.

    Go to your settings page, choose update diet/fitness profile, and set your settings at the bottom to lose 2 lbs or less per week, many people on here would recommend setting it lower than 2 lbs, likely 1 lb per week. Your calories showing on your diary of what you have burned vs eaten will then have the built in calorie deficit you choose and you can eat right up to the calorie limit and still lose weight.

    As an example, I have mine set to sedentary with a deficit of 1000 calories per day (2 lbs per week) and MFP says I should eat 1600 calories per day. I also have a fitbit, so any walking or running I do adds or subtracts calories from my menu based on my activity level. If I'm completely sedentary for the day, then MFP ends up suggesting I eat only about 1200-1300 calories for the day. If I do a long run (45-60 min) I may end up eating close to 3000 calories in the day. On a day when I did hay for 10 hours, MFP suggested I should eat approximately 4500 calories.

    One tactic many users on here suggest is to eat all of your suggested menu calories when it is set at sedentary, then 50% of any activity calories that MFP credits you. I'm on the fence with that one, I just eat somewhere in the middle and if I'm not hungry I stop eating.

    It sounds to me like you've been having a massive calorie deficit accidentally.
  • MissJay75
    MissJay75 Posts: 768 Member
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    As others have said it's a calculation. How accurate it is depends on how accurate your input is. And even with very accurate input, it will be wonky due to natural body fluctuations. Over time however, your results should reflect the prediction.

    For example I wear a heart rate monitor, and weigh all my food. I try to be as accurate as possible with the data I input into MFP. I am never on target at each 5 weeks with what is says I should weigh, but that is neither here nor there. I have set my deficit to 1 pound per week, and in 26 weeks I have lost 25 pounds.
  • my_2_cents
    my_2_cents Posts: 109 Member
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    As others have said it's a calculation. How accurate it is depends on how accurate your input is. And even with very accurate input, it will be wonky due to natural body fluctuations. Over time however, your results should reflect the prediction.

    For example I wear a heart rate monitor, and weigh all my food. I try to be as accurate as possible with the data I input into MFP. I am never on target at each 5 weeks with what is says I should weigh, but that is neither here nor there. I have set my deficit to 1 pound per week, and in 26 weeks I have lost 25 pounds.

    I have mine set for 2 lbs per week, I've lost 34.4 lbs in 12 weeks, but I've had lots of days where I had 500 or more calories left over as I don't eat right up to the limit if I'm not hungry. It's pretty close to accurate, but obsessing about what you will weigh in 5 weeks isn't going to get you to your goal easily. Instead just focus on your calorie goal for today, and once you're hitting your calorie goal no problem, then focus on the balance to ensure you're getting the right nutrients, and the right balance of carbs, fat and protein.
  • MissJay75
    MissJay75 Posts: 768 Member
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    As others have said it's a calculation. How accurate it is depends on how accurate your input is. And even with very accurate input, it will be wonky due to natural body fluctuations. Over time however, your results should reflect the prediction.

    For example I wear a heart rate monitor, and weigh all my food. I try to be as accurate as possible with the data I input into MFP. I am never on target at each 5 weeks with what is says I should weigh, but that is neither here nor there. I have set my deficit to 1 pound per week, and in 26 weeks I have lost 25 pounds.

    I have mine set for 2 lbs per week, I've lost 34.4 lbs in 12 weeks, but I've had lots of days where I had 500 or more calories left over as I don't eat right up to the limit if I'm not hungry. It's pretty close to accurate, but obsessing about what you will weigh in 5 weeks isn't going to get you to your goal easily. Instead just focus on your calorie goal for today, and once you're hitting your calorie goal no problem, then focus on the balance to ensure you're getting the right nutrients, and the right balance of carbs, fat and protein.

    Yeah, you've likely lost more because you are adding in an additional calorie deficit. Additionally, it's possible your TDEE is higher than MFP thinks creating even more of a deficit. For the most part, I average out even with the calories I am 'supposed' to eat at the end of a week. Whatever you are doing seems to be working for you, so good job!
  • tracymayo1
    tracymayo1 Posts: 445 Member
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    Does anyone know if this is usually true? I am new on here but I have done everything to a T. I was wondering if it gave you this statement and was accurate? -- "If every day were like today... You'd weigh 175.4 lbs in 5 weeks" I want to continue like this but am curious if it is correct.

    If that were true, then I would scheduled to drop another 25+ lbs in the next week.
    I have been here for 25 days, and lost 3 lbs.
    According to the "if every day" comment at the end of each log, I should weight much less than I do - unless I drop 25 lbs in the coming 7 days - which isn't likely :)

    Take it with a grain of salt. your body fluctuates everyday so there is no way a computer could know what is going on!

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