MFP method actually work for anyone?

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Replies

  • molly_grue
    molly_grue Posts: 215 Member
    yes.
  • Winston1717
    Winston1717 Posts: 184
    It definitely works. Log in everything correctly, eat back your calories burned and most importantly....move! Exercise is key. I also found that MFP friends give an added benefit of support...for me this support provides me with added motivation. Good luck with your journey!!
  • mrsnecincy
    mrsnecincy Posts: 115 Member
    Yes but I've played around with the settings loads and cut things out of my diet when I hit a plateau to experiment.
  • tdotgirl
    tdotgirl Posts: 95 Member
    It works for me...I have lost 30lbs since Jan/13
  • postrockandcats
    postrockandcats Posts: 1,145 Member
    There's no way I could have done what I did during this past year on my own or with a Jenny Craig/ WW thing. I learned more here about my eating habits and relationship with food than I have anywhere else.
  • renroc57
    renroc57 Posts: 14 Member
    I lost 9kg very quickly and have spent the last 3 months sitting at the same weight. But have recently lost another 2kg. I think it works for me because it makes me think about what I am eating. A friend has also lost 22kg over a 12 mth period.
  • blackcloud13
    blackcloud13 Posts: 654 Member
    Maybe I've just been lucky - but I've found it remarkably accurate. When I was losing weight, I set my cals to lose 1lb/week, and thats pretty much what happened (clearly not exactly 1lb each and every week - but on average). Now I'm aiming to stay pretty constant - and once again, it seems to be working just fine
  • Mary9921
    Mary9921 Posts: 100 Member
    I like the accountability....I don't snack as much because I don't want to log it and get a red - number....also, I noticed I drank a lot of calories by drinking soda....I switched to iced tea...it helped :happy:

    The exercise gives me extra calories I can eat....but it feels great when I don't go over...:bigsmile: .

    I had my calorie intake amount set by my beachbody coach....and I just weighed in this morning and lost another 2 lbs....

    What a great feeling :drinker: ...

    So yes, for me it's working....good luck
  • ken_hogan
    ken_hogan Posts: 854 Member
    In the long run, I average 1+ a week. I lost .6 this week. I checked my weight this morning, and if I went with todays weight instead of yesterdays, I would have shown a 1.4 pound loss. Sometimes you may be holding onto water if you had too much sodium the day before. There may be other factors also that you may be holding onto water, etc. Don't sweat the program as long as you are LOSING weight. Good luck to you!!
  • redraidergirl2009
    redraidergirl2009 Posts: 2,560 Member
    Most likely it took a while for your body to put on the weight? In my case it took years to "pack on the pounds". It seems only natural for it to take a while for your body to reverse direction and slowly let the pounds slip away. Be patient. This is no fad/crash diet, just a way to keep track of calories in-calories out.

    Not really, in fact the last 15lbs I put on in a two month time period and its very stubborn to come off.
  • redraidergirl2009
    redraidergirl2009 Posts: 2,560 Member
    In the long run, I average 1+ a week. I lost .6 this week. I checked my weight this morning, and if I went with todays weight instead of yesterdays, I would have shown a 1.4 pound loss. Sometimes you may be holding onto water if you had too much sodium the day before. There may be other factors also that you may be holding onto water, etc. Don't sweat the program as long as you are LOSING weight. Good luck to you!!
    I don't really buy the whole water thing. I know for a fact I retain water due to my medication, but I should have lost weight regardless.
  • ihad
    ihad Posts: 7,463 Member
    Eh, I tried it for a while. It works OK I guess.





















    :happy:
  • brillmer
    brillmer Posts: 1,268 Member
    I'd say it worked for me. At least for the first 4-5 months.

    Eventually I switched from using the numbers MFP calculated for me and I calculated my own macros and input them into MFP, and used MFP to track. I ate ate incredibly healthy + added in exercise. But without MFP - I would be nowhere.

    Proof! :)
    yyX7umE.jpg?1?6907
  • determinedbutlazy
    determinedbutlazy Posts: 1,941 Member
    Not for me. I was 240lbs and it wanted me to eat 1200 cals plus exercise calories. I was pissed off and hungry and tired ALL THE TIME.
    I switched to my BMR (around 1650) plus exercise calories for the next 50lbs.

    My last 20lbs or so have been TDEE-20% paying attention to my macros and that's been going ok. My loss has been very slow recently, so I think I need to shake things up.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    I'm just curious if it's worked for anyone or if you've had to alter it to work for you? Mine is set to lose 1lb a week and let me tell you, I'm not losing near that. I lost .3 last week and nothing this week. I eat back some of my exercise calories, not all of them usually because I don't want to eat back that much because I'm not that hungry. I also use a hrm to track and measure my food. I have tried TDEE in the past and that was way too much food and I gained weight.

    The MFP method is burn more calories than you eat. That number varies by person, but it works for everyone.
  • bajoyba
    bajoyba Posts: 1,153 Member
    Yep, I'd say it works.
    So far so good, anyway.
  • ken_hogan
    ken_hogan Posts: 854 Member
    In the long run, I average 1+ a week. I lost .6 this week. I checked my weight this morning, and if I went with todays weight instead of yesterdays, I would have shown a 1.4 pound loss. Sometimes you may be holding onto water if you had too much sodium the day before. There may be other factors also that you may be holding onto water, etc. Don't sweat the program as long as you are LOSING weight. Good luck to you!!
    I don't really buy the whole water thing. I know for a fact I retain water due to my medication, but I should have lost weight regardless.

    I'm sure I didn't lose .8lb of fat overnight either. My Thursday was high in sodium. I got some running in yesterday, after my weigh in, along with drinking extra water.....I'm sure I 'lost' the weight, but was just retaining some water, which I lost yesterday running & getting extra fluids in.
  • chelseascounter
    chelseascounter Posts: 1,283 Member
    Nope. It wouldn't work for me. I use the calorie counter at scoobyworkshop.com
  • TallGlassOfQuirky
    TallGlassOfQuirky Posts: 282 Member
    Although there were some weeks where I lost more or lost less than projected, averaging out, I lost about what MFP said I would lose by eating about what it told me to eat. I've been maintaining a healthy weight for almost 2 years now. I am going to go out on a limb and say MFP works.
  • ken_hogan
    ken_hogan Posts: 854 Member
    Although there were some weeks where I lost more or lost less than projected, averaging out, I lost about what MFP said I would lose by eating about what it told me to eat. I've been maintaining a healthy weight for almost 2 years now. I am going to go out on a limb and say MFP works.

    this
  • LaurenAOK
    LaurenAOK Posts: 2,475 Member
    Weight loss is 95% calories in vs. calories out.

    MFP uses calories in vs. calories out.

    It works.
  • whitecapwendy
    whitecapwendy Posts: 287 Member
    It works for me. For me it comes down to food choices. If I fill the y calorie allotment with good choices (lots of fruits and veggies, whole grains, lean meats, etc), it works beautifully, but if I fill my calorie allotment with poor choices I find I do not lose any w eight. If I step on the scale and have a gain--I usually know exactly why. I know food choices that work for me and make me lose weight. I know people say a calorie is a calorie, but my body says differently. If I fill my calorie allotment with low calorie junk food, I find myself craving more junk food and unsatisfied and suffering a plateau. If I choose the right foods, the cravings subside and I lose weight. consistent exercise and drinking lots of water is another factor. I have lost 52 pounds in 5 months and 11 days, so I am not complaining.

    edited to add--

    I figured out that I have lost an average of 2.26 a week. I started out having my goal set for 2 pounds per week, and have since moved it to 1.5 pounds per week and am eating back most of my exercise. weight loss has slowed down but I am still losing.
  • whitecapwendy
    whitecapwendy Posts: 287 Member
    Eh, I tried it for a while. It works OK I guess.





















    :happy:

    excellent loss. :)
  • Fozzi43
    Fozzi43 Posts: 2,984 Member
    Working for me.
  • luckydays27
    luckydays27 Posts: 552 Member
    I had been counting cals using another site since Jan 2012 to April 2013 and lost a little over 20 lbs in that time. I was yo-yoing and eating way to few cals.

    I switched to MFP in April 2013 and have been here 8 weeks and lost 9 lbs since.

    The difference and why MFP works for me is that I was able to figure out why I was at a plateau for 6 weeks (thanks to the forums it was explained I was not eating enough) and make the change. MFP is more of a fitness site than a diet site to me. I see lots of advice here about working out and eating healthy amounts of food. The other site I was on was all about eating very little cals with no exercise to lose weight

    I tried the TDEE method but it ended up not being accurate enough for me because some days I am even more sedentary than MFP allowed and others I am considered highly active. There is no rhyme or reason so I needed something to help me figure out what my true expenditure is Enter Fitbit (thanks to a post here in MFP).

    I use my fitbit to calculate my daily cal expenditure and my HRM to determine my cals burned during fitness. Both MFP and Fitbit are set to give me 500 cal day deficit. Whatever number if spits out is what I eat. If I eat more, I exercise more. If I want a treat, I fit it in my cals for the day. If I have been slow on the eating thing for the day, I do what I can to get more food in.

    So yes, MFP works but not because it came up with a number of cals for me to eat. It works for me because the forums and the people here showed me a way to determine my true calorie expenditure and the food diary helps me list my calorie intake. When its all said and done, I am losing and I am happy.

    Oh and because of MFP, I have found out that cals are just cals and if I want a cheeseburger and fries, its ok to eat it. So long a I have the cals to eat it. If I dont, I either eat less, make another choice, exercise more, or enjoy the meal and do better the next day.
  • yanniejannie
    yanniejannie Posts: 1,090 Member
    Ok.........I'm female, 61..........started Jan.11,2013 .........as of now have lost 25---YES!!!!! 25lbs....................you better BELIEVE it works!!!!
  • CkepiJinx
    CkepiJinx Posts: 613 Member
    Works fantastic for me :) !
  • 04ward
    04ward Posts: 196 Member
    bump
  • redraidergirl2009
    redraidergirl2009 Posts: 2,560 Member
    Well I guess entering cals burned is useless via my hrm...so I guess since that's not sccurate(apparently) Mfp is doomed to failure
  • egrusy
    egrusy Posts: 196 Member
    It worked for me!