Numbers Not Adding Up

hellakitties
hellakitties Posts: 27 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Today is my weekly weigh-in day and I've lost two pounds! Just like the past two weigh-ins! This would be fantastic except I've set my weight loss goal to only one pound per week (I only had 20 pounds to lose when I joined the site three weeks ago). MFP gave me 1,200 net Calories per day. As divisive as this amount is, I thought it was reasonable because I'm only 5'1" and have a desk job. I do a fair bit of cleaning and walking, plus I work out six days a week, but even at "lightly active," MFP still thinks I should only be getting 1,200 Calories net. I actually need to designate myself as "very active" before the site will give me 1,410 Calories, which is what I've set it to starting today.

I usually eat pretty close to my goal. I'm aware that I have a tendency to overestimate the amount I'm eating rather than underestimate, but I have a hard time believing that it really adds up to an extra deficit of 3,500 Calories per week. I mean, food is my favorite! Wouldn't I feel hungry if I were getting so much less than what I needed?

The weight loss is really gratifying, especially after over a month of more strenuous workouts (including Insanity) with barely any changes. (I attribute that to not tracking what I ate.) However, I know I shouldn't be losing this quickly, so I want to figure out what I'm doing wrong and how much I should really be eating. My diary is open for your perusal. I'd prefer to keep working with MFP's Calorie allowances rather than my TDEE because I like the feeling of eating back my exercise Calories. (It's like a reward for working out.)

I'm not really the type to ask for help (I detest it, actually; I know that's problematic), but this is the first time I've ever tried to count Calories. I'd be really grateful for helpful advice. Thanks! :)

Replies

  • Mr_Excitement
    Mr_Excitement Posts: 833 Member
    I know you don't want to hear the 1200 calorie harangue, but I'm just going to say... why not up your calories a bit if you're losing so fast?

    As for feeling hungry, not necessarily. I eat a lot of lean meats and vegetables, and eating is a complete drag for me. I'd probably stop 500 calories short of maintenance every day if I didn't consciously make myself eat some more. Healthy food just fills you up so fast. Lots of fiber.
  • CaptainHammer
    CaptainHammer Posts: 1 Member
    Some of it might just be water weight. Did you change your diet in a way that reduced high sodium food? I know when I first started I cut back to healthier stuff, and as a side effect I found I lost water weight from the sodium reduction. A day where I had a particularly salty meal I could count on a higher weight the next day.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    I don't think it's water weight because you've lost 2 pounds consistently for the last three weeks. I notice by your diary that you are eating well below your calorie goals on some days. You might want to eat closer to your calorie goal and see what happens. It just sounds to me like you need to either eat more food and/or up your activity level setting on MFP.

    By the way, what is your activity level set to? If it's sedentary, have you thought of upping it? (I ask this because many of us with desk job set our activity setting at sedentary when it's really not).

    Also, MFP is an wonderful tool for keeping track of calorie, but it's not a perfect system. We all have our own metabolism and genetic makeup, so that probably comes into play too.
  • hellakitties
    hellakitties Posts: 27 Member
    Thank you for the responses!
    I know you don't want to hear the 1200 calorie harangue, but I'm just going to say... why not up your calories a bit if you're losing so fast?

    As for feeling hungry, not necessarily. I eat a lot of lean meats and vegetables, and eating is a complete drag for me. I'd probably stop 500 calories short of maintenance every day if I didn't consciously make myself eat some more. Healthy food just fills you up so fast. Lots of fiber.

    I've decided to up my calories to 1,410 (the "very active" level). And now that I think about it, I guess I haven't necessarily felt hungry, but I've been crazy tired and sleepy at work on some days. That's might be the calorie deficiency showing. Or I need more than six hours' slumber a night. Or both.
    Some of it might just be water weight. Did you change your diet in a way that reduced high sodium food? I know when I first started I cut back to healthier stuff, and as a side effect I found I lost water weight from the sodium reduction. A day where I had a particularly salty meal I could count on a higher weight the next day.

    I've definitely been eating a lot fewer packaged chips (after calculating how much I could eat in the first 20 minutes of a movie--horrific). That might explain the higher weight loss I had in my first week (almost three pounds), but I still consistently lost two pounds in every succeeding week, so that can't be it.
    I notice by your diary that you are eating well below your calorie goals on some days. You might want to eat closer to your calorie goal and see what happens. It just sounds to me like you need to either eat more food and/or up your activity level setting on MFP.

    By the way, what is your activity level set to? If it's sedentary, have you thought of upping it? (I ask this because many of us with desk job set our activity setting at sedentary when it's really not).

    Also, MFP is an wonderful tool for keeping track of calorie, but it's not a perfect system. We all have our own metabolism and genetic makeup, so that probably comes into play too.

    I think that eating a bit below my calorie goal was my attempt to make up for some inaccuracies in my details. I figured that I was probably underestimating my calories (as most tend to do) and that MFP was overestimating the calories I burned exercising (as I heard it tends to do). I've now upped it to "very active" for the extra 200 or so calories. I'll take a look at how it goes for the next week or two and then maybe readjust if needed.

    It's funny. I thought I would really hate the tediousness of counting, but I'm really enjoying myself! But with all these calculations, it makes me feel like there's a really accurate way to go about everything. I guess I may just need some trial and error to figure out my own body and how to keep it in check after letting it do whatever it wanted for so long.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,942 Member
    I admire your no-nonsense approach. You are doing the right things, Forward movement! :bigsmile:
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    It's because this isn't how MFP works.

    Your 'activity' on MFP doesn't include exercise. That would be your normal walking, cleaning etc. You have to add your exercise calories on top of that. So yes you're probably losing far more, because your deficit is much higher than the 500 calories that are recommended, but it's not healthy.

    If you want to not bother with exercise calories, use the TDEE-20% method http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

    You'll see it will probably give you quite a few more calories.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    There is a very good chance that all the weight you are losing is not fat. The 3500 calorie per lb lost is for fat only. You are probably dropping water weight, especially if you've gone from a diet high in processed food to eating more healthily.
  • hellakitties
    hellakitties Posts: 27 Member
    I admire your no-nonsense approach. You are doing the right things, Forward movement! bigsmile

    Thank you! I really hope you're right! ;D
    It's because this isn't how MFP works.

    Your 'activity' on MFP doesn't include exercise. That would be your normal walking, cleaning etc. You have to add your exercise calories on top of that. So yes you're probably losing far more, because your deficit is much higher than the 500 calories that are recommended, but it's not healthy.

    If you want to not bother with exercise calories, use the TDEE-20% method http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/

    You'll see it will probably give you quite a few more calories.

    I log my exercise and eat back the calories so the 1,200 I was doing previously (trying out 1,410 now) were net calories. I actually really like doing that because if I just have to have ice cream, a little extra kickboxing later in the day evens things out. Though I can see why calculating TDEE might be less hassle for others :)
    There is a very good chance that all the weight you are losing is not fat. The 3500 calorie per lb lost is for fat only. You are probably dropping water weight, especially if you've gone from a diet high in processed food to eating more healthily.

    Thanks, that's possible. I haven't had my body fat percentage measured since about 15 pounds ago, so I don't really know what it is right now. Would water weight drop so consistently each week, though?
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
    " I know I shouldn't be losing this quickly,"

    There's nothing wrong with losing 2 lbs. per week. 1-2 lbs/week is pretty universally considered safe. Enjoy it. It will change. Probably sooner rather than later.
  • cevalid
    cevalid Posts: 59
    I've done a lot of reading on these forums over the last couple of weeks, and have found the topic of 'how am I losing so much/not enough' gets a lot of traffic.

    You're probably losing quickly just because you lose quickly. While the -3500 calories over the week to lose 1kg might be true for the average bear, think about how widely varied body composition is amongst the general population. People carry weight in different parts of their body, people struggle with vastly different health conditions. Think about the scrawny ex who worked out endlessly to no avail, compared to the less scrawny ex who could build muscle with ease.

    As has been said previously, 2 pounds is considered safe to lose. If it turned into something like 10 pounds weight loss a week I would suggest getting checked out for tapeworm.
  • hellakitties
    hellakitties Posts: 27 Member
    There's nothing wrong with losing 2 lbs. per week. 1-2 lbs/week is pretty universally considered safe. Enjoy it. It will change. Probably sooner rather than later.
    I've done a lot of reading on these forums over the last couple of weeks, and have found the topic of 'how am I losing so much/not enough' gets a lot of traffic.

    You're probably losing quickly just because you lose quickly. While the -3500 calories over the week to lose 1kg might be true for the average bear, think about how widely varied body composition is amongst the general population. People carry weight in different parts of their body, people struggle with vastly different health conditions. Think about the scrawny ex who worked out endlessly to no avail, compared to the less scrawny ex who could build muscle with ease.

    As has been said previously, 2 pounds is considered safe to lose. If it turned into something like 10 pounds weight loss a week I would suggest getting checked out for tapeworm.

    I was always under the impression that at my size, one should lose weight at a slower pace. I'm just so used to taking forever to lose weight (30 pounds took me about four years--I tracked nothing) that seeing these kinds of numbers were somewhat alarming. Like they just can't be right, especially as they don't match the site's projections. I've already upped my calories, so I'll just see what the results are like. :)
  • astronomicals
    astronomicals Posts: 1,537 Member
    3500 calories would only be accurate if you lost 100% fat...

    Theoretically a 3500 calorie deficit could cause a loss of nearly six pounds if it were all muscle.

    If your losing too fast, eat more. It's that simple. Don't overthink this.
  • hellakitties
    hellakitties Posts: 27 Member
    If your losing too fast, eat more. It's that simple. Don't overthink this.

    But overthinking is what I do!!!

    Thanks. :) Nomming on a pork bun as I type.
  • unFATuated
    unFATuated Posts: 204 Member
    MFPs calculations aren't perfect. There isn't a spot-on way to calculate each individual person's activity output so it assumes some things, like a certain calorie expenditure for each activity setting. I've never found that the predictions have been right for me. I have manually set my goals and it tells me I may drop 300g per week if I stick to my calorie goals, whereas I have dropped more than that in the last 4 weeks.

    If you're not comfortable with losing that quickly, then you can actually set your goals manually, instead of letting it set your number based on your activity level. I did that using my BMR and TDEE information. It will still give you a prediction, so you can set it closer to what you would like.
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
    "I was always under the impression that at my size, one should lose weight at a slower pace."

    Usually the slow pace is recommended for these reasons:
    * The slower you lose, the more likely you're building new habits that will stick, not 'crash dieting' that will end and cause rebound gain.
    * The slower you lose, the more likely you're losing more fat and less lean tissue.
    * And I think the biggie is: If you cut your calories to cause a deficit of more than 1000 calories/day (2 lbs./week), you're likely to dip below levels for adequate nutrition, which are often believed to be 1200 min. calories for women and 1500 for men.

    So I think if you're eating a balanced diet of at least 1200 calories/day, you're fine at whatever rate you lose.

Categories