Unmet goals

slb260
slb260 Posts: 52 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
It's so discouraging when you log in and My Fitness Pal says "if every day was like today, in 5 weeks you would be "x" pounds, and yet you never lose. Very frustrating, and hard to keep going when that happens.

Replies

  • bajoyba
    bajoyba Posts: 1,153 Member
    The 5 week prediction at the end of every diary submission can be a little deceiving. When it says "if every day were like today", it means, "if every day were EXACTLY like today" - meaning you would have to eat that exact number of calories and burn exactly the right amount of calories through activity to actually make that 5 week prediction a reality. Even 10 calories in either direction will change the weight prediction.

    Think of it more as a guideline rather than a goal. :smile:
  • mulecanter
    mulecanter Posts: 1,792 Member
    Agreed. Also, remember there is a big error factor in all the calorie estimates. Allow for that.
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,740 Member
    The 5 week prediction at the end of every diary submission can be a little deceiving. When it says "if every day were like today", it means, "if every day were EXACTLY like today" - meaning you would have to eat that exact number of calories and burn exactly the right amount of calories through activity to actually make that 5 week prediction a reality. Even 10 calories in either direction will change the weight prediction.

    Think of it more as a guideline rather than a goal. :smile:

    +1
  • slb260
    slb260 Posts: 52 Member
    Thanks. So true. I'll just keep plugging away.
  • andielyn
    andielyn Posts: 233 Member
    Yeah, I kinda don't like that feature. My objective is to lose weight, of course, but I find that feature more discouraging than encouraging. I'm trying to be realistic and my goal is to lose at a slow but steady pace and make it stick. Maybe I'll find it more helpful many months from now when I'm getting closer to my ultimate goal.
  • sabianhunter
    sabianhunter Posts: 17 Member
    Just don't close out your day and you don't have to see it! :) MFP will close it for you at midnight
  • slb260
    slb260 Posts: 52 Member
    That's funny! I think I will not close out my day anymore. :) Too discouraging.
  • Nix143
    Nix143 Posts: 522 Member
    I can never remember what it predicted that far in advance anyway!

    Editted to say - somewhere in that sentence my tenses/timeline got seriously mixed up :happy:
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
    It does the opposite for me... it tells me if every day were like today, I'd weigh x amount (x > my current weight) after 5 weeks. I never do though.... it tells me I'll gain even weight when I'm successfully cutting.

    It's just a calculator based on averages. It's not the oracle of Delphi.

    I just ignore it. If you find it demotivating, then don't close your diary at the end of the day, or I think it may be possible to put in your settings so that when you close your diary you don't get the message, you can check that. But personally I don't bother closing my diary at the end of the day.

Categories