a little confused

Mistraal1981
Mistraal1981 Posts: 453 Member
edited November 2023 in Getting Started
Hi, I'm new and am still getting used to how mfp works. You know when you close your diary for the day it says something along the lines of, "if every day was like today you will weigh xx in 5 weeks". Well, my question is; why is that xx number not your target weight and the 5 week bit not the bit that changes according to how long it will take to hit your target weight?

Replies

  • lucan07
    lucan07 Posts: 509
    Probably because some people would see "you will reach your target weight in three years" and that would be demoralising, small steps and a little encouragement I guess a little bit of thought went into the design on how to best encourage people.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    Probably because some people would see "you will reach your target weight in three years" and that would be demoralising, small steps and a little encouragement I guess a little bit of thought went into the design on how to best encourage people.

    This ^^

    I actually find that feature of MFP to be so ridiculous. So, I never hit that button.
  • easto_79
    easto_79 Posts: 102 Member
    I do use that for motivation, I love seeing it every night and interested in what it will say. It seems not to be accurate at all to be honest but I still love it. I'm just focused on getting under 200, and seeing that little popup everynight getting closer to 200 makes me motivated and happy.
  • Mistraal1981
    Mistraal1981 Posts: 453 Member
    Ah, that makes sense. Thank you :)
  • quiltlovinlisa
    quiltlovinlisa Posts: 1,710 Member
    I like seeing the estimated number go down after a loss. Rather fun!
  • Susanne5
    Susanne5 Posts: 10 Member
    This is just a guess to your question. I think it goes off of that day's food diary that has been entered. Yesterday I was under on everything so my weight was 11.5 lighter in 5 weeks. Today, I went over in bad fats so my weight is 10 pounds lighter. So for me to lose more would be to eat less bad fats and I know to increase my veg/fruit intake.
  • Mistraal1981
    Mistraal1981 Posts: 453 Member
    So I guess my next question; is there anywhere where it DOES tell you how long till you hit your goal weight based on, and updates according to, your diary?
  • Mechanikitty
    Mechanikitty Posts: 90 Member
    I'd love to see a 'If every day was like today you'd reach your goal of ***lbs in ***days/months/years' and I'd also like to see a weekly average of the 5 week thing. 'If every week was like this one then you'd reach your goal by...'

    Get to it MFP!
  • aetzkorn14
    aetzkorn14 Posts: 169 Member
    So I guess my next question; is there anywhere where it DOES tell you how long till you hit your goal weight based on, and updates according to, your diary?

    I don't think there is on here but you can look up your BMR and TDEE online and kinda figure it out that way. 3500 calories = 1lb. Your BMR is what your body uses on a daily basis if you were to do nothing all day. Your TDEE is an est. of what your body uses based on your activity level. If at the end of the week your deficit is around 3500 then you will loose about a lb a week. There is no way to know for sure and all of it is circumstantial.
  • Jlennhikes
    Jlennhikes Posts: 290 Member
    I've always thought that was a really stupid feature.
  • orapronobis
    orapronobis Posts: 460 Member
    So I guess my next question; is there anywhere where it DOES tell you how long till you hit your goal weight based on, and updates according to, your diary?
    When you set up your goals, you selected the amount of your weekly-loss goal , 1/2 pound, 1 pound, 2 pounds, whatever. Just look at the goal you set and divide the number of pounds you want to lose by the weekly-loss goal. It won't be completely accurate, but it will give you an idea.

    For example, if you want to lose 10 pounds, and your set your goal at 1/2 pound a week, you should be at your goal in around 20 weeks.
  • lucan07
    lucan07 Posts: 509
    So I guess my next question; is there anywhere where it DOES tell you how long till you hit your goal weight based on, and updates according to, your diary?

    Reading other posts thats a bit like how longs a piece of string the last few pounds tend to be stubborn and don't want to go!
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    So I guess my next question; is there anywhere where it DOES tell you how long till you hit your goal weight based on, and updates according to, your diary?

    Almost impossible to say...the feature itself is pretty ridiculous, though I guess it can provide for some motivation...but it's only a projection that assumes some kind of linear event...and weight loss is in no way a linear event. You don't lose exactly X Lbs in a week...you have small losses and bigger losses and no losses and scale gains due to water retention, etc. Then, once you get to a healthy BF%, things just slow down to a crawl anyway because you don't have the fat stores necessary to lose like you were before. It's best to just focus on the process rather than some time line to get to some arbitrary scale weight.
  • stillnot2late
    stillnot2late Posts: 385 Member
    I've been laughing at that little message for a year I know, I keep messing up so usually when 5 weeks get around, I've lost about 1/2 pound. I think I will lose that XX pounds by the time my medicare rolls around next year. Unless I stop playing with this thing.
  • 1longroad
    1longroad Posts: 642 Member
    Hate it, but hate it even more as I don't lose what it says I will, lol.
  • bridgie101
    bridgie101 Posts: 817 Member
    I love that feature, it's my little friend. It posts a little motivational 'woo hoo' on my profile if I'm under goal for the day, and all my friends come along and say 'great shakes' and 'top stuff' and such. I totally love it.

    If I never hit that button I wouldn't have half the fun I'm having.
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