***I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS----HELP!***

With only 20 lbs to lose you should be happy with a pound a week. Although MFP works mathematically, your body does not. There are many variables that may not allow you to lose the weight exactly as it says.

Be patient. You didn't gain the weight that quickly, it takes time to take it off in a healthy way.

I have lost 85 lbs but that has taken 13 months. I still have more to go but I don't expect it to be one quickly

Good luck

1 - yes, I logged every bite when I started, and yes, the "in 5 weeks" is pretty accurate (or was for me)
2 - max 'healthy' amount to lose is supposed to be 2lbs, 1lb is more realistic unless you have a ton to lose.
3 - Don't set your goals too high, 15lbs by march is probably doable, but not very healthy. :ohwell:

15 pounds in 3-1/2 weeks,,, Really really bad idea.

Yes, the "in 5 weeks you'll..." thing was pretty accurate for me when I first started. I had gobs o' flab and it just fell off. 2 pounds a week, every week, for months and months. That's how you do it.

I log all my food and exercise like a fiend. I eat ALL my calories and usually have a cheat day every other week where I go over by about 500 calories. I've lost 10lbs in 5 weeks -- but I think that was a lot of water weight. I'm now starting to even out to about 1lb per week. It's a long process!! Just be patient! Worry less about the weight and more about the results and your overall health. Slow and steady wins the race. Good luck to you!

I wouldn't say that 15 lbs in 3.5 weeks is really bad. It just depends on how you do it. I lost 17 lbs in 3 weeks and am under medical supervision so it's not always unhealthy. Maybe you should consult a doctor near you regarding your weight loss.

Most doctors don't have a whole lot of nutrition education. I'm not saying that is the case for your dr., just for most doctors.

I also log everything I eat, even if I'm not happy with the numbers I see.

If you take the weight off slowly, you'll be more likely to keep it off. However, according to Jillian Michaels and other top trainers, there is not medical evidence that says losing more than 2 lbs. per week is unhealthy, AS LONG AS you are doing it in a healthy manner - this means eating the calories recommended for you and be save with exercising. No starving yourself, skipping meals, or working out until you drop; because if you do this, you will not stick with the lifestyle change and all the weight will come back PLUS some.

I also recommend using dailyburn.com to calculate the calories you should be realistically eating. MFP tends to calculate too low, which caused me to gain weight because I wasn't eating enough.

1. Yes, I do, and it is a really good way of keeping myself accountable for what I eat. I even do input for my homemade recipes and portion them out so I know exactly what I'm eating and how much of it I can eat at a time. I haven't been putting too much faith in the "in 5 weeks" thing. Only because I don't eat the same exact thing every day (BORING!). But I do use it as kind of a judge in my overall eating for the day. For example, most of the time it says I'll lose 5lbs in 5 weeks. But every once in a while I'll go over and it'll tell me I'll have gained 3-4lbs in 5 weeks and it kind of shocks me into making sure those days are few and far between.
That being said, i'm not recording what I eat during the Super Bowl and just making sure I exercise and eat well the rest of the week. I'm looking at this as a lifestyle change, and sometimes life calls for parties and celebrations!

2. That would depend on how much you weigh. People who are very overweight seem to lose weight a lot more quickly in the beginning since there is such a decrease in calorie intake. I'm aiming to lose a total of 34lbs and I lost a couple of pounds that first week, but I seem to have leveled out at 1lb a week, and I'm very happy with that. I lost more this week, but I haven't been feeling well and haven't been eating as much as usual, so I wouldn't be surprised if I didn't lose much this week.
I HIGHLY suggest using a tape measure to measure your changes! It can be so much more encouraging than the number on a scale. I started measuring a couple of weeks after I started weighing, so I don't know the real numbers, but since I started measuring I've lost a total of 8 inches! 3 of them are from my waist and 2 from my hips alone! I'm always more excited to see my measurements go down than my weight.

3. I wouldn't suggest aiming for that 15 lbs in just 4 weeks. That would not be healthy in any way, shape, or form. And once you started eating again you'd gain that weight right back. Instead, focus on decreasing your weight in a healthy manner. Maybe set your goals to 1.5 lbs a week, but I wouldn't go much higher than that. Start doing some weightlifting or yoga. It can help build lean muscle, which will make you look nice and trim. Muscle also helps you to burn calories, so it's a win-win!

MAKE SURE you are eating your recommended calories, and eat the calories you burn during workouts. This will help you lose the weight faster. If you absolutely cannot eat all of your calories, at least make sure you are eating 1200+ calories. If you don't then you are putting your body into starvation mode and it will actually store fat instead of losing it.

Best of luck!

Most doctors don't have a whole lot of nutrition education. I'm not saying that is the case for your dr., just for most doctors.

DING DING DING DING DING!
Thank goodness I'm not the only person out there who realizes this. While we're going there, your dog & cat's veterinarian has no clue about nutrition, either (99% of the time, I'd say). :grumble:

As far as 15 pounds in 3.5 weeks goes -- go ahead if you want to be sick and unhealthy and nasty in order to be thin. But if you ever want to eat again, you'll gain the weight right back.

As far as the projection button -- it's been relatively accurate for me in general. But I've done this the HEALTHY way and I've eaten healthy foods and exercised a healthy amount and had healthy calorie deficits (for someone my size). This is a lifestyle change. If you starve yourself to lose 15 pounds in 3 weeks and then start eating the way you did before you're gonna gain back the 15 pounds plus some. Guaranteed.

Rather rude as far as being sick and nasty...don't ya think. I eat just fine and believe me I'm not going hungry so it is healthy. Nasty has nothing to do with it. I happen to work for the same doctor who is supervising my weight loss and he has a medical weight loss program that he runs with a nutritionist. Different things work for different people and your post just seemed really judgemental.