"If every day were like today, you'd weigh---"....

It was a relatively accurate projection in my case. I was very consistent...I logged everything...I weighed everything that needed to be weighed and measured everything else...I didn't have cheat meals or cheat days and was consistent in my fitness.

If you set your goals to lose 2 Lbs per week, that is often too aggressive for most people and if you don't have a ton to lose you won't lose that fast...I had a very realistic goal of 1 Lb per week. It doesn't sound like that much of a difference, but it's huge.

I think I might be close to what it said 5 weeks ago. Maybe tonight I'll take whatever it says and note it on my calendar 5 weeks from now, just so I can compare the two.

Mine is hilarious. I'm trying to bulk and have been either maintaining or at a snail's pace gaining and it says "you'll gain 7 lbs in 5 weeks". I hope not! Lol. I just ignore it, anymore. Or have a good laugh

It is not accurate at all. Believing that is like believing a fortune teller at a carnival. It is a simple algorithm that takes the number of calories you ate over or under your estimated burn (based on calculated BMR and any logged exercise) and then projects that out 5 week as if you had that same day every day for 5 weeks. Mine says I'll be 3 lbs heavier because I have a flat calorie amount and don't log exercise. Many things effect weight loss and doing the same thing every day will still produce fluctuations in the amount you weight.

Don't really worry about that much. In a way it can be more confusing than helpful.

Don't say it's not accurate because you're the one who is not being accurate by not logging everything. Don't blame the app for your shortcomings.

It is not accurate at all. Believing that is like believing a fortune teller at a carnival. It is a simple algorithm that takes the number of calories you ate over or under your estimated burn (based on calculated BMR and any logged exercise) and then projects that out 5 week as if you had that same day every day for 5 weeks. Mine says I'll be 3 lbs heavier because I have a flat calorie amount and don't log exercise. Many things effect weight loss and doing the same thing every day will still produce fluctuations in the amount you weight.

Don't really worry about that much. In a way it can be more confusing than helpful.

Don't say it's not accurate because you're the one who is not being accurate by not logging everything. Don't blame the app for your shortcomings.

:drinker: You're funny!!! Actually, I do log rather accurately, when I log, I just don't use the tool as it is designed. That is a big difference. I'm not inaccurate, I'm non-compliant to the tool. I don't cut corners on logging food, I cut corners on logging exercise because the calculations in the database are too far off for my liking. I have spent the better part of close to two years to know my calorie requirements and what influences losses or gains. I use the tool when I see the need and don't when I don't.

In a way I'm wondering what shortcomings you believe I have? Failure to use a software system properly? Failure to follow the "rules of logging"? The projection doesn't accurately project for everyone on this site because not everyone uses it the same way. That is not a shortcoming, it is adaptability. Using a given technology to aid in reaching the goals I have in a manner that may fall outside of the original intent, but still gets the required effect is nowhere near what one could call a shortcoming.

If it works for you because you are on the traditional weight loss path and use the tool in a manner that the algorithm is able to project your weight in 5 weeks within a tolerable allowance for you, great. It won't for everyone and that means that it is not 100% accurate in being able to apply that to the whole of the MFP user population. It works as it is designed and I don't blame a line of code for doing what it was designed to do. Not everyone has to use the system the same way to achieve the same results.

It is not accurate at all. Believing that is like believing a fortune teller at a carnival. It is a simple algorithm that takes the number of calories you ate over or under your estimated burn (based on calculated BMR and any logged exercise) and then projects that out 5 week as if you had that same day every day for 5 weeks. Mine says I'll be 3 lbs heavier because I have a flat calorie amount and don't log exercise. Many things effect weight loss and doing the same thing every day will still produce fluctuations in the amount you weight.

Don't really worry about that much. In a way it can be more confusing than helpful.

Don't say it's not accurate because you're the one who is not being accurate by not logging everything. Don't blame the app for your shortcomings.

:drinker: You're funny!!! Actually, I do log rather accurately, when I log, I just don't use the tool as it is designed. That is a big difference. I'm not inaccurate, I'm non-compliant to the tool. I don't cut corners on logging food, I cut corners on logging exercise because the calculations in the database are too far off for my liking. I have spent the better part of close to two years to know my calorie requirements and what influences losses or gains. I use the tool when I see the need and don't when I don't.

In a way I'm wondering what shortcomings you believe I have? Failure to use a software system properly? Failure to follow the "rules of logging"? The projection doesn't accurately project for everyone on this site because not everyone uses it the same way. That is not a shortcoming, it is adaptability. Using a given technology to aid in reaching the goals I have in a manner that may fall outside of the original intent, but still gets the required effect is nowhere near what one could call a shortcoming.

If it works for you because you are on the traditional weight loss path and use the tool in a manner that the algorithm is able to project your weight in 5 weeks within a tolerable allowance for you, great. It won't for everyone and that means that it is not 100% accurate in being able to apply that to the whole of the MFP user population. It works as it is designed and I don't blame a line of code for doing what it was designed to do. Not everyone has to use the system the same way to achieve the same results.

Excellent reply to someone who was being very snarky. I don't understand why people can't respect each other a little more.

I actually look forward to hitting the "Finished" for the day and to see what It looks like. It was GREAT motivation for me to see that if I stuck to how and what I was eating in combination with exercise how much weight I would lose. Like on one particularly low food intake day coupled with a very strenuous 12 mile hike, the projected loss in weight was around 60lbs. Also, I like that if I overeat the algorithm tells me how much I'd weigh if I kept eating like crap...it basically will call you a pig without calling you a pig.LOL

Mine seemed pretty accurate while losing, and I found it really motivating. Now that I'm maintaining (and bulking some), I still log diligently but I don't complete the daily entry. So I don't see the message anymore.

i think its accurate if you stay in the limits of what your food diary gives you to use . ppl tend to go over all the time :0

So if you are intentionally not using the tool in a way that would have it give you a reasonably accurate answer then why are you telling the OP that the MFP calculator is not accurate? Isn't the real answer that it does not apply to what you are doing? Comparison to a fortune teller in a carnival is not exactly fair now is it. If you want to do the math problem and determine what 2 + 3 + 4 is and you use a calculator but in your "method" you don't ever include the 4 it is not exactly fair to call the calculator inaccurate and akin to a fortune teller when it tells you the answer is 5 now is it?

My apologies for including a gross example of sarcasm and exaggeration into an online post where things need to be clear for those who can't see past it.

I was going to explain myself, but I see no point. Instead, I'm going to concede this argument to those who find the projection useful, it is accurate for those who find it accurate. I did not mean to offend those who like the output they see when they click the button at the end of the day. You are right and I'm just some crazy person who disagrees.

I don't believe I said anything to refer to you as crazy or besmirch your character, I merely pointed out that your logic in what you actually typed out onto this thread did not work. You claimed the MFP calculator was innacurate but your reason did not speak to its inaccuracy. That is not a personal attack it is a criticism of your post. I apologize if you took personal offense.

I disagree that the calculator is inaccurate because it is a calculator, it uses math and what you tell it. If what you tell it does not reflect the reality of your situation then of course the "answer" it provides will not match your experience. That says nothing towards the validity of a calculator. Like any calculator it is only as accurate as its user driven input and user expectation.

I am actually surprised you took this as a personal attack, it was not meant that way and I certainly never refereed to you as crazy. Actually in my post I never refereed to you as a person at all in anyway.