STOP THE INSANITY!!

Scott613

Who is Susan Powder?

Really?! Super awesome workout guru from the 80's/90's....like the original Jillian Michaels...same raspy voice and everything!

Thanks for the info...... I would have known if they said Billy Blanks Tae Bo

kevinlynch3

My question is: are you a professional or just throwing out opinion like everyone else?

This is one of my questions, as well. My other question would be: Are you one of the creators of MFP? I only ask because you make some very definitive statements about the way the site has been designed to work.

No. I'm not a creator of the site. And my post doesn't make a definitive statement about the way the site is designed. I have seen others make definitive statements about the site and my post was meant to debunk that theory.

2. As you eat and exercise throughout the day, you need to log your meals and exercise in our Food and Exercise diaries. MyFitnessPal will calculate the number of calories you've consumed and burned from exercise and let you know how many calories you have left to eat for the day. If you stick within your calorie limits, you should achieve the weight loss you're looking for.

Not one part of that sentence implies that you have to eat back calories burned from exercise. That sentence simply state that exercise will increase your goal for the day and that if you do not exceed that goal (with or without exercise) then you will lose weight. Hence, eating back exercise calories is optional and NOT intended by the site.

Do some searches on the forum...there are many posts where this exact issue is discussed and in fact the site is based upon you eating back your exercise calories...at least to the level that your body is not in starvation mode. Quite a few of the professionals you mentioned in your original post have collaborated with the mfp staff to figure out how they come up with their numbers fo BMR/deficits etc. Steve Troutman for one.

I also don't agree with your statement on HRM's.

Another semi useful post propogating some useful and less than useful info. Thanks for that.

People will believe what they want to and this is an individual journey. If reading the forums annoys you..well don't read the forums.

sjcply

I thought this was going to be about Susan Powter.

Me too....Don't see her enough these days

What happened to her?

TO THE INTERNET!

haha I thought it was about Susan Powter too. I still own her "Stop The Insanity!" book. Good times. And the guy who said "who's Susan Powter?" made me giggle. :laugh:

I still have this book in my closet!!! :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

Rae6503

Things like body bugs are slightly more accurate than HRMs but they are expensive. There is some special water that tells you how many calories you ate too. (I read about that from Stoutman). But yes, for most of us, HRM are the "best" way. But really they are not exact.

princessthecat22

Is it just me or is the girl who is wanting everyone not to argue causing a huge argument? :laugh:

RedheadHen

Well posted.
many of the common posts and their answers should be displayed before someone is allowed to post for the first time.

I do have to take exception with 3. HRM's are the most accurate way to determine calories burned.

heart rate is a good estimate of calories burned, it is not 100% accurate, however if it is not the most accurate what is?

just my opinion but my HRM does a good job of telling me if I am putting forth the same or better effort on a given day as well.

^^ I agree. I find the calories burned that MFP spits out seem to be off. I also like the fact that I can "see" how my workouts differ by how much energy I put into them!

Honestly ... there is no way to say that that carrot stick will ALWAYS be xx calories. Just like there is no way to say doing jumping jacks for 5 minutes burns xx calories. It's not an exact science. But it's a great guide.

But this too is just my personal opinion. Is a HRM a necessity? No. But it's a fun gadget to have in my arsenal in my war against fat and crummy metabolism.

kennethmgreen

You are certainly welcome to your opinion. I agree with some of what you wrote.

But when you reply:

No. I'm not a creator of the site. And my post doesn't make a definitive statement about the way the site is designed. I have seen others make definitive statements about the site and my post was meant to debunk that theory.

You are doubly wrong. Wrong once because you did, in fact, make a definitive statement about the way the site is designed. From your #4 in original post:

MFP is not set up for you to eat back your exercise calories either.

I'm sorry, but that is a definitive statement about the way the site works.

And wrong about the statement itself. MFP moderators have posted numerous times that the site is, in fact, designed around eating back your exercise calories. The whole concept of "Net calories" implies eating back your exercise calories.

If you don't want to eat back your exercise calories, that is your choice. I'm not telling you how to diet. But one of the things that makes MFP different from other calorie-counting sites is that it focuses on net calories. For me, this is good, because it means on days when I do not exercise, I get a more accurate calorie allowance.

With regard to heart rate monitors. Of course, they are not absolutely accurate for calories burned. It's all just estimates. But no one here (that I know of) is logging their food and exercise while in a controlled environment lab. It's all about making educated guessing. A HRM and food scale are two of the best tools people can use to help them make *more accurate* estimates.

erickirb

The following is a list of misinformation that gets tossed around so freely on these boards:

1. If you lose too fast, then you will gain it back. (This is only true if you choose to return to your old eating habits. I think everyone is intelligent enough to know that their old eating habits are what made them fat in the first place. How quickly they lost the weight had absolutely nothing to do with how fast they gained it back.)
2. The whole muscle/fat debate. (The same volume of muscle is heavier than the same volume of fat. Everyone understands that. No further explanation is required.)
3. HRM's are the most accurate way to determine calories burned. (No! Simply put, this is what the companies that make the HRM's want you to think. HRM's track heart rate. Calorie burn is achieved by your metabolism and everyone's metabolism is different. Calculating calories burned from heart rate is still only an assumed calculation.)
4. You have to eat back your exercise calories because that is how MFP is set up, therefore, it must be right to do that. (MFP is only a guide, a tool, to help each individual structure their own diet/fitness program. There is no right or wrong about eating back exercise calories. MFP is not set up for you to eat back your exercise calories either. The "starvation mode" warning only appears when calories consumed are below 1200. Not when net calories are below 1200.)

1. Not necessary what you said. If you lose weight fast because you cut calories too fat for too long you will lose muscle, which slows the metabolism down. So then if you go to eat, what you think is maintenance, you may gain back as you BMR is lower than MFP calculated due to your loss of muscle.

3. HRMs are the most accurate way as if you include all the inputs into the HRM (age, weight, gender, height, gender) account for over 70% of calories burned. the other 30% is estimated based on the info and is usually 90+% accurate for steady state cardio. If you HRM have your known V02 Max, this number goes up closer to 85%, so only 15% is estimated making them 95+% accurate for steady state cardio.

4. In order for you to lose your goal amount of weigh you must eat them back, as you need a cumulative deficit of 3500 cals to lose 1 lb.

Tobi1013

You are certainly welcome to your opinion. I agree with some of what you wrote.

But when you reply:

No. I'm not a creator of the site. And my post doesn't make a definitive statement about the way the site is designed. I have seen others make definitive statements about the site and my post was meant to debunk that theory.

You are doubly wrong. Wrong once because you did, in fact, make a definitive statement about the way the site is designed. From your #4 in original post:

MFP is not set up for you to eat back your exercise calories either.

I'm sorry, but that is a definitive statement about the way the site works.

And wrong about the statement itself. MFP moderators have posted numerous times that the site is, in fact, designed around eating back your exercise calories. The whole concept of "Net calories" implies eating back your exercise calories.

If you don't want to eat back your exercise calories, that is your choice. I'm not telling you how to diet. But one of the things that makes MFP different from other calorie-counting sites is that it focuses on net calories. For me, this is good, because it means on days when I do not exercise, I get a more accurate calorie allowance.

With regard to heart rate monitors. Of course, they are not absolutely accurate for calories burned. It's all just estimates. But no one here (that I know of) is logging their food and exercise while in a controlled environment lab. It's all about making educated guessing. A HRM and food scale are two of the best tools people can use to help them make *more accurate* estimates.

THIS!!!!!

UsedToBeHusky

You are certainly welcome to your opinion. I agree with some of what you wrote.

But when you reply:

No. I'm not a creator of the site. And my post doesn't make a definitive statement about the way the site is designed. I have seen others make definitive statements about the site and my post was meant to debunk that theory.

You are doubly wrong. Wrong once because you did, in fact, make a definitive statement about the way the site is designed. From your #4 in original post:

MFP is not set up for you to eat back your exercise calories either.

I'm sorry, but that is a definitive statement about the way the site works.

And wrong about the statement itself. MFP moderators have posted numerous times that the site is, in fact, designed around eating back your exercise calories. The whole concept of "Net calories" implies eating back your exercise calories.

If you don't want to eat back your exercise calories, that is your choice. I'm not telling you how to diet. But one of the things that makes MFP different from other calorie-counting sites is that it focuses on net calories. For me, this is good, because it means on days when I do not exercise, I get a more accurate calorie allowance.

With regard to heart rate monitors. Of course, they are not absolutely accurate for calories burned. It's all just estimates. But no one here (that I know of) is logging their food and exercise while in a controlled environment lab. It's all about making educated guessing. A HRM and food scale are two of the best tools people can use to help them make *more accurate* estimates.

THIS!!!!!

That was actually my point in the first place. I believe I already stated that I may not have worded myself well.

BobinNC66

I got on this through work and we have a certified professional trainer that suggested using this site as well as using a HRM for counting calories, losing weight in its most simplest form is less calories taken in than calories burned and MFP just expands on that principle and helps give you the tools (i.e. the food diary), or suggest tools for doing this, like HRMs. HRMs are great for counting calories and much better than putting your hand on a exercise machine's sensor for a minute or two out of a 30 minute work out because it is constantly calculating, whether you slow down, or increase intensity. Why would you or anyone who is losing weight not want a tool to help with that, that does indeed work. No you don't HAVE to have one, but it sure makes my counting a lot easier.

You sound a little bitter, let the people whom use this advice (eating calories and using HRMs) find out for themselves if it works, I took it and it seems to be working for me. Sure I might have to not eat my calories if I plateau, but it is nice to know I am in control. Is there some bad advice on here, absolutely! Most though are stating it as what works for them and not saying you have to do this or you have to that. Ray Charles can see the site is definitely set up for eating your calories back or else there wouldn't be a reason to have a NET calorie reading as you log food and exercise.

It is a place for ranting, so more power to you, but I personally pass it off as one of the "bad advice" threads.

UsedToBeHusky

I got on this through work and we have a certified professional trainer that suggested using this site as well as using a HRM for counting calories, losing weight in its most simplest form is less calories taken in than calories burned and MFP just expands on that principle and helps give you the tools (i.e. the food diary), or suggest tools for doing this, like HRMs. HRMs are great for counting calories and much better than putting your hand on a exercise machine's sensor for a minute or two out of a 30 minute work out because it is constantly calculating, whether you slow down, or increase intensity. Why would you or anyone who is losing weight not want a tool to help with that, that does indeed work. No you don't HAVE to have one, but it sure makes my counting a lot easier.

You sound a little bitter, let the people whom use this advice (eating calories and using HRMs) find out for themselves if it works, I took it and it seems to be working for me. Sure I might have to not eat my calories if I plateau, but it is nice to know I am in control. Is there some bad advice on here, absolutely! Most though are stating it as what works for them and not saying you have to do this or you have to that. Ray Charles can see the site is definitely set up for eating your calories back or else there wouldn't be a reason to have a NET calorie reading as you log food and exercise.

It is a place for ranting, so more power to you, but I personally pass it off as one of the "bad advice" threads.

Wow! Bitter? Really? That seems a tad harsh. Frustrated, yes. But not bitter. You can pass it off as whatever you want. I have purchased two HRM's and found them totally useless. And as far as eating back calories, the only thing that I said is that it is optional. We aren't going to fall over and die if we decide not to.

kennethmgreen

That was actually my point in the first place. I believe I already stated that I may not have worded myself well.

Fair enough. And I don't want to belabor the point. But don't you think a thread that talks about misinformation on MFP and sets out to explain the "truth" should be worded carefully?

[ETA] For anyone who has lost 60 lbs, you are doing something right. Congratulations on that. Seeing 60lbs lost, I think your words have some power to people that may be new to weight loss. My comment above wasn't meant to be snarky - only to encourage you (and anyone else) to think about what they are posting. If you are stating opinion, make that clear.

UsedToBeHusky

That was actually my point in the first place. I believe I already stated that I may not have worded myself well.

Fair enough. And I don't want to belabor the point. But don't you think a thread that talks about misinformation on MFP and sets out to explain the "truth" should be worded carefully?

Yes. I realize that and truly regret leaving myself open for the condemnation I obviously set myself up for. I wasn't trying to claim truth. I got frustrated because a friend was discouraged because of one of the statements that I listed. It started to be about that and turned into a rant.

BobinNC66

OK fair enough, bitter was too harsh and frustrated works better. You have lost 60lbs so you must be doing something that works for you so keep it up. Just try not to rain on everyone else's work at it too!

CrisN99

Most people understood what you were trying to say swhitney2. Lots of people get on forums to argue with other people because they don't have friends in real life.



Don't take it personal! Congrats on your 60 pounds! Fabulous job!

redhead91

Most people understood what you were trying to say swhitney2. Lots of people get on forums to argue with other people because they don't have friends in real life.



Don't take it personal! Congrats on your 60 pounds! Fabulous job!

^^This^^ I thought she was very polite and worded herself well. Anyone with half a brain would completely understand her. Most people on here argue simply for arguement's sake.

sjcply

Most people understood what you were trying to say swhitney2. Lots of people get on forums to argue with other people because they don't have friends in real life.



Don't take it personal! Congrats on your 60 pounds! Fabulous job!

I ditto this!! Cant a person make a comment without getting criticized! geez!:noway:

kennethmgreen

Cant a person make a comment without getting criticized! geez!:noway:

No. Your smiley is too close to the end of your sentence.

UsedToBeHusky

Cant a person make a comment without getting criticized! geez!:noway:

No. Your smiley is too close to the end of your sentence.

LOL!