how accurate is the "in 5 weeks" ?

i've always heard the last 15 lbs is the hardest to lose. so as you get closer to your goal you will have to keep making minor changes. i've also read that some people recalculate how many calories they can have everytime they lose 10 lbs. it sounds strange, but the bigger you are the more calories you can have. maybe your at the point that you need to lower a bit. unless you're at 1200, i hear that's the minimum anyone should have.

good luck! don't be discouraged. remember as you were gaining, there were weeks that you maintained. the same will happen as you lose. keep it up! you're doing something right!!!!!!!!!

IMHO...that's based on a mathematical formula....unfortunately our bodies don't do math the same way...or perhaps as accurately....our bodies love to play these games such as water weight, starvation mode, muscle building, and just plain old being stubborn. It's statistics....and while they may reflect the population in general, you and I are unique, not statistics.

Sometimes it does act as a wake up call for me.....if I eat the way I did today I'm gonna weigh WHAT:noway: in 5 weeks!!! (Honest I didn't know 2 Coney dogs were my whole daily calorie count.....)

It totally depends on you. If you were to eat EXACTLY the same way today for the next five weeks, and maintain the same exercise level and do all the things that aid weight loss - drinking enough water, getting enough sleep, keeping sodium levels down, eating a good balance of fat/protein/carbs, etc., then chances are this "What you would weight in 5 weeks" would be fairly accurate. However, I don't know anyone who is that precise, and most people find that even when they track calories in/out fairly accurately, it doesn't always equal what you actually lose. For me, sometimes I lose more than I "should" based on my calorie deficit for the week and sometimes I lose less. This kind of simple calories in vs calories out doesn't take into account the quality of the calories, which can impact your health and your weight loss efforts. There are so many things that impact your weight loss - bodies are very complicated!

I think the "in 5 weeks" was meant to be a general guide to show you how quickly/slowly you would lose weight if you were to eat what you ate today for the next 5 weeks. If you went over your calorie goal, then it will show you losing weight more slowly than you picked as your target weekly weight loss. If you have calories left over for the day, then it will show you losing weight more quickly than your target weekly weight loss.

Your BMR is the calories you burn by simply being alive (find yours in "tools"). If you eat 3500 less calories than your BMR you will loose a pound. As far as I can tell, this is what the "5 weeks" number is based on. So if the calories you have taken in today extrapolated over 5 weeks show that you will loose 10 pounds (if you eat the same number of calories each day) that is what you theoretically will loose. Your BMR will go down as you loose more and more weight, so you really need to exercise to obtain your goal.
Hope this helps!
Hugs!:flowerforyou:

I think its a general guide. Like when I have a cheat day and ate pizza it told me i'd GAIN like 6lbs in 5 weeks if i ate that way, and obviously I dont eat that way EVERYDAY, or if i didnt feel good and barely ate it'll say i'd lose like 15lbs, so i think if you basically eat the same everyday its a good estimate. Like if it says 1200 and you ate exactly 1200 and worked out exactly the same amount everyday it'd prob be closer to the truth. My GOAL says lose 1.5 lbs a week and i feel lucky if i lose 1/2 lb so i dont really believe what it says anymore

Hi. I am not "new" to this site, just hadn't been as dedicated as I am more recently and I was wondering how you don't get discouraged when you see that number increase just with adding more calories. For example, my first few days, I was way under my 1200 calories (not to mention adding on the exercise calories) and I was short by at least 500 calories the first few days and that "in 5 weeks" number would be exciting to me and give me hope. But then I started reading all the postings about making sure to consume all of your calories and now when I do that, the "in 5 weeks" number increases. I understand the chemistry behind how the calories work with our bodies, but it still makes me not want to eat all those calories just so I can see that low number. I know that number really doesn't mean anything in the whole scheme of things. It is purely psychological, but it is still frustrating.