Why am I loosing more weight than MFP calculated?

blablatruc28
blablatruc28 Posts: 4
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi! I'm still pretty new to all of this, and started just 15 days ago. MFP calculated that I should eat 1280 calories a day if I want to lose 0.5kg (1 pound) a week, and I'm usually close to that number (a few calories up or down). I have very sedentary lifestyle - working from home up to 12 hours a day. I joined pilates class 3 times a week.

Anyway, I've lost 3kg (6 pounds!) in 15 days. That is way more than calculated. Not that I'm complaining, but I'm worried that I'm doing something wrong and that everything will come double back...

Any ideas?

Replies

  • DemoraFairy
    DemoraFairy Posts: 1,806 Member
    When you start you lose a load of water weight; it's not actually fat. You loss will start to slow down soon. You might not always lose the same amount MFP predicts - sometimes you'll lose a bit more, sometimes less, sometimes you'll even gain a bit. The predictions aren't particularly accurate and things other than fat can affect your weight.
  • arrseegee
    arrseegee Posts: 575 Member
    I agree with the water weight comment. If you suddenly drop your calories and/or increase exercise your body's carbohydrate reserves get used up. It's called glycogen and it is attached in your muscles and liver by water. When the energy gets 'harvested' by your body from this it loses the weight from water that was holding it back in. It will come back when you stop eating at a deficit - one day is enough to replenish it. It's a good thing, but can be a bit disheartening if you are thrilled you lost lots of weight quickly and then see it come back on.

    How much are you planning to lose?
  • blablatruc28
    blablatruc28 Posts: 4
    Thank you for replies! I thought that it might be water, but I usually forget to drink enough... Actually, I drink more water now, but still not as much as recommended, so that confuses me.

    I plan to lose about 15kg (that is about 30 pounds I think) and I'm in no hurry, that is, I want to change my lifestyle so I can lose weight and keep it at healthy level with healthy nutrition.
  • arrseegee
    arrseegee Posts: 575 Member
    Re water weight: drinking more water won't replenish this store in your muscles and liver, that only happens when you are not in a calorie deficit. If you drink more water it'll just get filtered out in your kidneys.

    I read on one of the posts here that one way to avoid the inevitable increase in weight from glycogen/water when you get to maintenance is to aim 2kg lower than your goal, that way when you start eating maintenance calories your weight will stabilise at your actual goal weight rather than 2kg over it.

    Good luck with your weight loss! It's an exciting journey.
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
    Everybody's different, and weight loss takes a whole lot of trial & error to find what works for you. Are you eating back your exercise calories? Are you weighing your food? (If not, you may be overestimating your food.)

    Your body releases water & glycogen when you first start, so give it another week then reevaluate. You may be one of the lucky few who can eat more calories while still losing at a reasonable rate. Only time will tell.

    Read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
  • eldamiano
    eldamiano Posts: 2,667 Member
    You arent. You are making it up...
  • kgeyser
    kgeyser Posts: 22,505 Member
    In the beginning it is definitely water weight, however I've found that I lose more than predicted during weeks I exercise (which is every week unless I'm sick). I have it set for a 1 lb loss and I've been losing closer to 2 lbs per week, so I manually changed my calorie goal and added an extra 100 calories per day. I just changed it this week so I have no data yet on what difference it will make, but it should get me back closer to the 1 lb per week loss, maybe 1.5 lbs. Sometimes you have to play around with the calorie goals; MFP gives a decent estimate but everyone's metabolism and daily activities are different, so you have to tweak to find what works for you.
  • Mugiwarah
    Mugiwarah Posts: 40
    Either;

    - Loss of waterweight
    - Your metabolism is higher than what MFP has assigned to you
    - Your daily activity is greater than the one you've set on MFP

    Just some factors, anyways I wouldn't be complaining unless you're loosing more than 2 pounds a week. If that's the case increase your calory intake, I'd say figure out how many calories you need through out the day to maintain your weight, and substract 500 or 1000 from that number to loose weight on a healthy pase.

    Cheers and goodluck
  • blablatruc28
    blablatruc28 Posts: 4
    Thank you all! This water thing makes sense - if I count off 2kg for water, then numbers add up, and I'm right on track. I'll keep doing everything the same for a while longer, and see what happens. I expect that my weight loss rate will slow down now.
  • blablatruc28
    blablatruc28 Posts: 4
    You arent. You are making it up...

    That's ok, everyone is entitled to an opinion. And no reason that you should believe anything that someone said.

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