Major Confusion

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tameka1220
tameka1220 Posts: 517 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Ok when i was under my calorie goal by anywhere between 400-500, the note said at the bottom that if I continued to eat like that I'd weigh 209 in 5 weeks, today i ate more and was still under my total but like 35 or so and it said if i continued to eat like that i'll be 210 in 5 weeks. i thought everyone was saying 'eat more, reach your target calorie"... i'm confused now

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  • tameka1220
    tameka1220 Posts: 517 Member
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    correction it said 213!
  • beccasetsfire
    beccasetsfire Posts: 135
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    ignore the "if you ate like this in 5 weeks you will weigh..." its not very accurate at all...
  • sassyg
    sassyg Posts: 393
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    It's just a calculation, based on your daloric deficit that day. The thing is that if you eat too far under your target for too long, you risk your body holding onto whatever it can get, rather than burning off the excess. that's why, if you ewat more (up to your target) then your body doesn't go into that shock, and is happy to burn fat, not thinking it has to hold onto everything it can get cos it's thinking "OMG the famine is a comin!"
  • lisawest
    lisawest Posts: 798 Member
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    That little button only takes the math into account. It looks at the deficit that you have on that day, figures you do that for the next 35 days. Takes that number of calories and figures how many pounds it should be (3500 cal= 1 lb). So on the days you are under by 400-500, that is an ADDITIONAL pound per week on top of what you are set to lose by MFP.

    Here's and example:
    You are set to lose 1 lb per week. That is a 500 calorie/day deficit. On top of that, you are under 500 today. That is a total deficit of 1000 for today. If you did that everyday for 5 weeks, that is 35000 calories, or 10 lbs down.

    You are still set to lose 1 lb per week. Still a 500 calorie/day deficit. Today you are only 35 under. That is a total deficit of 535 for today. If you do that everyday for 5 weeks, that is 18725 calories, or 5.35 lbs down.

    This formula DOES NOT take into account your body's reaction to the weight loss, or water retention, or TOM. It only relies on MATH. If you have more questions, let me know!
  • tameka1220
    tameka1220 Posts: 517 Member
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    ok, because i made it a point to reach my goal (calorie). to get closer and closer. and my goal is 1200 but they give me xtra for however much i burn in my exercise, then that makes my goal 1500, so do i go for 1500 or 1200?
  • tameka1220
    tameka1220 Posts: 517 Member
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    lisa,

    so continue to be 400-500 under or get closer to the goal
  • lisawest
    lisawest Posts: 798 Member
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    lisa,

    so continue to be 400-500 under or get closer to the goal

    Well, it may work for awhile, but your body may not like it after some time. Generally, the more weight you have to lose, the larger your deficit can be. The closer you get to your goal, the smaller your deficit should be (lots of different reasons for this, read posts by SHBoss, he has LOTS of info on this). Have you been losing the amount you have MFP set to? Have you been eating your exercise calories? Again, SHBoss (aka Banks) knows more about the science behind this than I do. He has some great info. If you look at the top of the "General Diet & Weight Loss Help" board, there are some pinned topics on this stuff.

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