Does anyone really lose amount MFP says you will?

free2roam66

I've been following my calories very strictly since beginning of May and I am supposed to be losing about 1.5 pounds a week. However, I'm only actually losing about 1.5 pounds every TWO weeks. Does anybody actually lose what you are supposed to lose?

I'm 38 years old, 5 feet 7 inches tall, and current weight is 169 pounds. My baseline calories are 1200, however, I exercise every single day and only eat back about 70% of my exercise calories.

What am I doing wrong?

SHBoss1673

I did. Losing how much MFP says you should is more a function of you correctly gageing how much you SHOULD be losing than how big your calorie deficit is. In other words, If you have 20 or 30 lbs to lose, you can't expect to lose 1.5 to 2 lbs a week, it's just not something most people can do under regular life circumstances. What I and many others have been saying for years on here is that you need to understand your body, your metabolism, and how they work. You do that, and you fit your expectations to your situation and more often than not it will work out exactly as you planned it.

jeterbeater

Nope never, but I am losing and that's what matters most

MDF08

I wasn't until I cut out alcohol. I have maybe one-two cocktails a week versus having one or two a night.

That, and I'm not focusing on the poundage as much as defining muscles and burning fat. In the past week, I dropped 5 pounds. But, that's also because I have about 50 to lose to be in a healthy range.

I suggest not focusing on the actual number your losing, but on all the little successes you're having. Consistant workouts, avoiding "bad foods" even if they "fit" in your caloric range, etc. That, and I've read a few pretty interesting articles about "zig-zagging" your calories day to day. Not sticking to the exact number every day.

Basically, it's like the "muscle confusion" that makes P90X so popular. You're confusing your body and metabolism constantly so that your body doesn't settle back into a routine.

:drinker: Mix it up and don't get discouraged! :drinker:

abatres7

Mine varies, sometimes I do and sometimes its more or less. I do better when I do eat all of my exercise calories.

1Sweets

Your working out so muscles weighs more than fat.

Soon it will drop off if you keep with the program. It's just keeping with the program:laugh:

vickim26

I have been doing this since Feb and I have consistently lost each week except for 1 or 2. I do not eat my exercise calories. I know this is a big controversy but I have read and I believe each person is different. If I eat my exercise calories I do not lose. Good luck. Just keep trying until you find what works for you.

arewethereyet

I have been doing this since Feb and I have consistently lost each week except for 1 or 2. I do not eat my exercise calories. I know this is a big controversy but I have read and I believe each person is different. If I eat my exercise calories I do not lose. Good luck. Just keep trying until you find what works for you.

I think that has a lot to do with metabolism and how hard you are working out. I am 48 and 8 yrs post mentalpause( ) and my metabolism is slow as mollases. I lose 1 pound every month or so and I am happy with that because I am in my healthy weight zone now.

When I started at 170 or so, I did exactly as MFP set out for me. I consistently lost 1-2 pounds every week, and ate every exercise calorie I earned.

The closer to goal, the less I lost.

:drinker:

havingitall

Mine doesn't go down evenly. I will drop 3 or 4 pounds one week and then nothing the next. Sometimes it even goes up a pound and then down two. It is not exact, MFP is just doing the basic math....eat 3500 calories less or burn 3500 calories more and you lose a pound. Unfortinately my body isn't good at math!

JStarnes

I think it all depends on how much you have to lose. If you've got 100+ to lose than of course a big calorie deficit is going to yeild much higher results (2+ lbs per week) but if you only had 50lbs or so to lose than a calorie deficit alone will not do as much because you'll be closer to your BMR. If that made sense?

briblue72

Yep! I lost 1 - 3 lbs consistently for 6 months. I've been "maintaining" more and have kind of slacked off on those last 5 - 10 lbs, but when I was monitoring every little bite of food, I lost exactly what MFP said I would.

I found a post I made on 2/21/09 with my "tips" - check out #11...

"1. BE HONEST WITH YOURSELF. Why are you losing the weight? How do you want to feel? Why are you overeating? How many cookies did you *really* eat? Be honest with your food log, your exercise log, and with your emotions.

2. Take your time. It has taken me over a year to lose 60 lbs. And I knew it would. If you want the weight to stay off once you've lost it, take the time to lose it right the FIRST time.

3. Set realistic goals. I'm never going to be 115 lbs, size 2. It's just not for me. But I can be healthy, in a normal weight range, with increased energy, positive attitude, and confidence. I also didn't gain all the weight in 6 months, so why should I expect to lose it in that time?

4. Make your goals known to others. Tell your friends, family, coworkers, whoever you trust of your goals. One of the things that helped me out tremendously was a positive support system when I started. People invited me to go hiking, not to dinner. My husband offered to go grocery shopping with me so I wouldn't stock up on crap (wish he still offered to come...), and my family would expect my weekly weigh-in results. It helps! It takes a village...

5. It's all about portion control. If you want a cookie, for the love of god, eat a cookie! If you don't, all of those cravings will build up and you'll be elbow-deep in the Thin Mints before you know it. Be honest about how much you eat (see #1), LOG IT, and move on with your life.

6. Get off the scale!! I didn't even own a scale when i started. I joined my work's biggest loser challenge and those weekly weigh-ins were the only time I weighed myself. And I consistently lost 2-4 lbs per week. Of course, I don't have as much to lose anymore, so it's coming off slower, but I still don't weigh every day. Pick a time each week to weigh yourself, and stick to it. Or, every two or three weeks! It's just a number, people.

7. If you're not sweating, you're not exercising. In my opinion, too many people count light activity as their "workout." Grocery shopping is not working out. Cleaning the house is not working out (sorry if I'm offending anyone). The way I see it, I was cleaning and shopping when I weighed 215 pounds and it wasn't helping, so why would it help me now? I only count workouts where I break a sweat, and do it for the intentional purpose of exercise. Now, raking leaves or shoveling snow... I get sweaty and my heart rate is elevated - so it's exercise with the added benefit of productivity.

8. Eat breakfast. It's the kindling that is necessary to get the metabolism fire burning each day.

9. Don't reward yourself with food.

10. You have to want it. You have to want it bad enough to sweat, get dirty, and use up some precious time. Of course I'd rather be sitting on the couch instead of fighting traffic to the gym. But it's not going to help me out in my fitness goals. Get your whole family involved. Take some frisbees to the park, get a dog, find a new trail to hike... you don't have to do this alone!

11. Trust MFP. I knew very little about weight loss when I started. I put loads of blind faith into this website and it has paid off. The more I've learned, the more I've come back to the realization that this website is right. You have to be honest with the numbers (refer to #1), but if you are, it will work for you!


Most of these are reiterations of other posts... It's no mystery why all of the "success stories" have the same tips. We know what works."

bikegirl777

havingitall -- you said it! My body sucks at math, too!

I spent three weeks at a plateau, eating about half my exercise calories. Nothing happened, and then all of a sudden I'm down almost 4 pounds this week.

shannar78

I agree, my body sucks at math too!!
That is some great advice briblue!

Cynder

Yep! I lost 1 - 3 lbs consistently for 6 months. I've been "maintaining" more and have kind of slacked off on those last 5 - 10 lbs, but when I was monitoring every little bite of food, I lost exactly what MFP said I would.

I found a post I made on 2/21/09 with my "tips" - check out #11...

"1. BE HONEST WITH YOURSELF. Why are you losing the weight? How do you want to feel? Why are you overeating? How many cookies did you *really* eat? Be honest with your food log, your exercise log, and with your emotions.

2. Take your time. It has taken me over a year to lose 60 lbs. And I knew it would. If you want the weight to stay off once you've lost it, take the time to lose it right the FIRST time.

3. Set realistic goals. I'm never going to be 115 lbs, size 2. It's just not for me. But I can be healthy, in a normal weight range, with increased energy, positive attitude, and confidence. I also didn't gain all the weight in 6 months, so why should I expect to lose it in that time?

4. Make your goals known to others. Tell your friends, family, coworkers, whoever you trust of your goals. One of the things that helped me out tremendously was a positive support system when I started. People invited me to go hiking, not to dinner. My husband offered to go grocery shopping with me so I wouldn't stock up on crap (wish he still offered to come...), and my family would expect my weekly weigh-in results. It helps! It takes a village...

5. It's all about portion control. If you want a cookie, for the love of god, eat a cookie! If you don't, all of those cravings will build up and you'll be elbow-deep in the Thin Mints before you know it. Be honest about how much you eat (see #1), LOG IT, and move on with your life.

6. Get off the scale!! I didn't even own a scale when i started. I joined my work's biggest loser challenge and those weekly weigh-ins were the only time I weighed myself. And I consistently lost 2-4 lbs per week. Of course, I don't have as much to lose anymore, so it's coming off slower, but I still don't weigh every day. Pick a time each week to weigh yourself, and stick to it. Or, every two or three weeks! It's just a number, people.

7. If you're not sweating, you're not exercising. In my opinion, too many people count light activity as their "workout." Grocery shopping is not working out. Cleaning the house is not working out (sorry if I'm offending anyone). The way I see it, I was cleaning and shopping when I weighed 215 pounds and it wasn't helping, so why would it help me now? I only count workouts where I break a sweat, and do it for the intentional purpose of exercise. Now, raking leaves or shoveling snow... I get sweaty and my heart rate is elevated - so it's exercise with the added benefit of productivity.

8. Eat breakfast. It's the kindling that is necessary to get the metabolism fire burning each day.

9. Don't reward yourself with food.

10. You have to want it. You have to want it bad enough to sweat, get dirty, and use up some precious time. Of course I'd rather be sitting on the couch instead of fighting traffic to the gym. But it's not going to help me out in my fitness goals. Get your whole family involved. Take some frisbees to the park, get a dog, find a new trail to hike... you don't have to do this alone!

11. Trust MFP. I knew very little about weight loss when I started. I put loads of blind faith into this website and it has paid off. The more I've learned, the more I've come back to the realization that this website is right. You have to be honest with the numbers (refer to #1), but if you are, it will work for you!


Most of these are reiterations of other posts... It's no mystery why all of the "success stories" have the same tips. We know what works."

All very important, thank you!

slimmingmom

I wasn't losing what it said until I started making sure that my calories ONLY came from healthy options. One place I go to to make sure i'm eating healthy options is www.mypyramid.gov. AND also started drinking ATLEAST half my body weight in ounces. It may sound hard drinking that much water, but it gets sooo much easier and especially if you have the water in a bottle right next to you ALL DAY. I usually drink about 20 8oz cups of water a day right now since it's summer though (you need more in the heat, lol) So, before doing those things I was losing about 1 pound a week where it was set as 2....and now i've been really steady with a 3 pound loss every week now. It's been -3 for the past 5 weeks now! But back to the water intake being hard...you just have to ask yourself "is drinking this water worth losing some weight?" :laugh: YES, yes it is, lol! And I use to be into the fad diets too...if only I knew not to spend my money on that stuff and just drink FREE water!

chgudnitz

One, you might not be eating enough. 1200 calories is like a bottom of the spectrum, and you're neither short nor at goal weight. But you're also not tall or very overweight. You may need to eat more.

Then are you 100% on with portion size, caloric intake, calories burned during exercise? Little cases of being off here and there can really change your numbers. Did you set your profile up right at the beginning? That's the whole base for the formula for yourself anyway. If that's not accurate, neither will anything else.

As to the ? I lost what I was supposed to lose. I play with the numbers and see matching results to go along with them. When I up my calories, I lose less, when I lower them, I lose more.

Remember MFP uses averages, what happens to the average person most of the time if they do what it says. If you don't see those results, your body is different. The only true way to know what your BMR is is to go to the doctor and get tested.

Good luck... :drinker:

free2roam66

One, you might not be eating enough. 1200 calories is like a bottom of the spectrum, and you're neither short nor at goal weight. But you're also not tall or very overweight. You may need to eat more.

Then are you 100% on with portion size, caloric intake, calories burned during exercise? Little cases of being off here and there can really change your numbers. Did you set your profile up right at the beginning? That's the whole base for the formula for yourself anyway. If that's not accurate, neither will anything else.

As to the ? I lost what I was supposed to lose. I play with the numbers and see matching results to go along with them. When I up my calories, I lose less, when I lower them, I lose more.

Remember MFP uses averages, what happens to the average person most of the time if they do what it says. If you don't see those results, your body is different. The only true way to know what your BMR is is to go to the doctor and get tested.

Good luck... :drinker:

You were EXACTLY right (about the not eating enough part). For the past week or so, I have tried eating more (about 200-300 calories more) and the scale is going down a LITTLE faster.

I try to measure everything I put in my mouth EXACTLY. I have tons and tons of measuring cups and spoons that I use all the time. The only trouble is with meat. I don't have a food scale yet and so I just estimate one serving of meat is about the size of a deck of cards. I plan to buy a food scale to weight my meat soon though.

Also, I forgot about gaining muscle. I can tell that my arms and legs especially look a lot more muscular than before. I have actually started to decrease by resistance workouts some because I don't want to get too muscular. (I know a lot of people say its impossible for a woman to get so muscular that she looks like a man, but for some reason I gain muscle very easily. Maybe I have a little more testosterone than most women, I don't know.) Anyway, I do not want to look more masculine, so I have decreased the resistance training.

As for the exercise being accurate, I just trust MFP on that. I enter the exercise and time and trust MFP to get the calories right. The question about inaccuracy in workout calories is exactly why I was only eating back 70% of my workout calories instead of 100% that other people do. For the past week or so I've been eating back about 90% of those calories and it seems the scale may be moving a little faster, so I guess this week I'll try eating back 100% to see what happens. I guess I just have to play with the numbers, like you said, and see what works best.

Anyway, thanks for your post. It was very helpful.

chgudnitz

You're welcome.

And remember, we always assume MFP might be over-estimating our calories burned during exercise. BUT, what if it is UNDER-estimating? Then eating only 50% or 70% is really not enough... just some food for thought. :drinker:

sjmay

bump