Are the calories on mfp accurate?

JagerLewis
JagerLewis Posts: 427 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
This is only my second week here. Last week I did awesome following my 1200 cal goal, I had lost 4 lbs. I am 2 days away from my next "real weigh in" and I've only lost 1! I'm worried that mfp is not being accurate with their food list. I'm logging everything I put in my mouth, so I don't understand why I'm not at the 2 lb mark. I know 4 is crazy...and it's not the norm, it was probably water weight. But this week is very discouraging! I'm afraid the weight won't come off! Does anyone have any ideas on this? Thanks.

Side note...I do always eat a lot of protein thinking that will help, and keep the carbs within range.

Replies

  • watfordjc
    watfordjc Posts: 304 Member
    Weight fluctuates naturally even if your exercise and diet is identical each week. If you concentrate on a 4-weekly/8-weekly/12-weekly trend and consider each weigh-in as just a data point that you use to look at the overall picture it might be less discouraging.

    I have a goal loss range that is my goal loss +/- 0.25 pounds each week. My first week that was 2.5-3 lb, then 2.25-2.75 lb, then 2-2.5 lb, then 1.75-2.25 lb, then 1.5-2 lb, and for the next few weeks 0.75-1.25 lb. In the last 42 weeks I have been within goal range 11 weeks, above goal range (i.e. lost more than aiming for) 14 weeks, below goal range (i.e. lost less than aiming for) 12 weeks, and gained weight 4 weeks. If I were female, and my dietary/caloric/exercise changes were similar to what they have been, I would expect to have experienced even more variation.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    are you weighing your food? or just guessing or using spoons and cups? If it's the latter you could be underestimating how much you are eating..

    As for the calories you can check the nutrional values and correct as necessary. I always do against the package or if it's fast food the website of that particular resturant...
    Side note
    On a side note I noticed there are lots of days without logging...???

    As well lots of days when you are under 1200 which is not good and you don't eat your exercise calories back....
    If you are using the MFP method you should be eating at least some of those back as they may or may not be accurate.
  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
    Two weeks is not nearly enough time.

    Weight will not come off nice an evenly - it's much better to look at the total weight you've lost rather than compare one week with another.
  • JagerLewis
    JagerLewis Posts: 427 Member
    Thank you all for the responses. On packaged food, I always do check the calories to be sure it matches here. I do not weigh my food, I use measuring cups and spoons. I use the meat method by making sure its the size of a deck of cards...that type of thing. The reason I didn't log for several days was because my daughter was in the hospital..and I know for sure I did not go over my limit while I was there with her. I tend to go under my calories because I'm afraid mfp is going under the real calories..so I'm giving myself extra room..
  • Unknown
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  • trackmyday1973
    trackmyday1973 Posts: 393 Member
    Yes the calories are pretty accurate, you just need to be smart in which search result you use for what you have eaten, some vary A LOT. Also, you're not going to lose 4 pounds every week, the first week was probably a lot of water weight. Stick with it, it gets really easy over time.

    Weigh everything. Measuring cups and spoons are not accurate.

    Perfectly said.

    I use spoons and cups to measure...it's pretty accurate for me. Just make sure it isn't a heaping spoonful or cup. My spoons all have the additonal level additon to it to ensure it is leveled off accurately.

    Seems to be working for me.
  • SezxyStef
    SezxyStef Posts: 15,267 Member
    Thank you all for the responses. On packaged food, I always do check the calories to be sure it matches here. I do not weigh my food, I use measuring cups and spoons. I use the meat method by making sure its the size of a deck of cards...that type of thing. The reason I didn't log for several days was because my daughter was in the hospital..and I know for sure I did not go over my limit while I was there with her. I tend to go under my calories because I'm afraid mfp is going under the real calories..so I'm giving myself extra room..

    I used to measure as well until I saw a video of what a tbsp of peanut butter actually weighs and trust me it's not what the package says....went and bought one that night...has made a huge difference with me...(I was underestimating a lot of foods and over estimating on good foods)

    If you are unsure of the MFP method due to the lifestyle choice try this method

    Total calories consumed+weight loss calories (lbs lost*3500)/total number of days for weight loss=TDEE
    for example
    I have lost 5lbs in 8 weeks and consumed 75353 total calories

    75353+(5*3500)=92853/56(7days*8weeks)=1658 is my TDEE (total Daily Energy expenditure) and since I want to loose weight I take off 20-25% depending on how fast I want to loose...this way exercise calories don't come into it I just eat 1326 (which is a bit under what MFP says) calories regardless of my workout and I will continue to loose .5lb a week maybe more...but try not to substract anymore then 30% of your TDEE.

    I have used the MFP method and ate most of my exercise calories back since joining MFP and have consistenly lost weight so it does work....but I am personally moving to TDEE in September because that's when I start weight training and lifting "heavy" and those calories are hard to calculate.
  • cdjs77
    cdjs77 Posts: 176 Member
    Do you know what your weight maintenance calories should be? MFP won't give you any allowance below 1200 calories as it can be dangerous to your health. So, even if you put in 2lbs/week as your weight loss goal, 1200 calories may not actually yield a 2lb/wk weight loss. For example, my maintenance calories for my current weight are around 1700 (without exercise). If I wanted to lose 2lbs/week, I would have to cut out 7000 calories per week, or 1000 calories per day (1 lb loss = 3500 calorie cut). That would mean my daily allotment of calories for weight loss would be 700 calories per day which MFP (and most other people, icluding myself) think is far too low to be healthy, so it would set my daily calorie allotment to its minimum, which is 1200, only a 500 calorie deficit (1lb/week).

    Other than that, make sure you are accurately measuring and logging your food. Input your own recipes and always make sure you are using the closest match for a food or brand. Most homemade calorie counts in the database are so varied they are unreliable. In addition, nutritional values can really vary between brands and flavors so make sure if you are eating strawberry yogurt from brand x, that you log it as strawberry yogurt from brand x and not strawberry yogurt from brand y or peach yogurt from brand x.
  • karlahere
    karlahere Posts: 79 Member
    Oh, that's totally okay! The good thing is that you're getting closer to your goal. They say that it comes of easily during the first few days, so maybe that's that.

    The nutritional values (at least the generic ones) can also be found in other sites. If you're in doubt, you can weigh your food or look up reference images for portion sizes.
  • Ang108
    Ang108 Posts: 1,708 Member
    You wonder if MFP's food lists are accurate ( sometimes they are and sometimes not ) , but who is actually inaccurate is you. You say you eat 1200 calories, but we don't know if that is right for your circumstances, plus.....and that is what I think keeps you from losing is that most of the time you eat less than 1200 calories ( more like high 800's to 1000's ).
    I myself eat 1200 calories ( due to age and because I am really, really short ) and have to make sure that I do not eat less ( which happens sometimes ) as a general rule.
    I think you should eat at least 1200 calories of a wide variety of foods after making sure that that is the correct amount of food for you. Of course you should also consider some of the good advise given my other members.
    Good luck !
  • leslieschoenle
    leslieschoenle Posts: 47 Member
    When it comes to just searching and not scanning the package i usually go with the highest calorie count or the middle ground... Use your best judgement and the savior for me was buying a digital food scale... so easy to put a bowl on there, zero it out, add your food and you know exactly!!! For example, today i brought canned peaches for lunch and the can says it has 3 1/2 servings per can, but when the peaches are weighed without the juices there was only 2 servings exactly! Feel free to add me! I love having new friends on here! :)
  • MsPudding
    MsPudding Posts: 562 Member
    Weight loss often isn't linear. I can do everything right for 1, 2 or even 3 weeks without a pound coming off (and sometimes 1 or 2 going on!) and then all of a sudden there's a 'whoosh' and I lose a handful of pounds in one go.

    I'd also say weigh everything on digital scales. Spoons and cups are absolutely not accurate. I weigh everything down to the gram and it can often be quite enlightening - for instance my previous 'by eye' idea of 50g of cheddar was more like 80g.

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