In 5 weeks you'll lose 10lbs... why is it not working?
MireyGal76
Posts: 7,334 Member
When someone signs up for MFP, they are gung ho about losing weight, and want to shed those pounds FAST!
They look at the calculator, enter their stats, and are asked...
What is your lifestyle like... Sedentary? Lightly active?
This is such a subjective question!
Some people are fooling themselves... and think they're very active, when in reality, they work at a desk job, and go home and watch tv for most of the night. But... Sedentary seems bad... And they're not that bad... So they set themselves as very active - fooling themselves into thinking they're able to consume more calories.
Some other people are underestimating themselves, and think they're sedentary, when in reality, they walk to/from work, at lunch, around the office, then get home and chase kids and pets, not sitting down until they fall into bed at the end of the night exhausted. They're burning way more calories than they realize, but they hate themselves, so they pick sedentary. Determined to punish themselves into fitness.
The daily calories expended by the first and the second are dramatically different! And what they pick, can cause pretty significant results...
And then you have...
How many pounds do you want to lose per week?
How many pounds do I want to lose?
I WANNA LOSE EM ALL!!!
How many pounds CAN I LOSE? I can lose up to 2 pounds per week?
This is where the inevitable road to dissatisfaction and potential rage quit begins.
Stick with me...
According to a random website* (hehe), the average height and weight of a woman in America is 5'4" and 168 pounds. (I KNOW - GENERALIZE MUCH?)
According to another random website** (hehe), if they're sedentary, their daily calorie expenditure is 1838.
If that woman joined MFP and decided to lose 2lb a week... She'd be told to eat 1200 cals a day. If she religiously followed that plan, she wouldn't lose 2lb a week. If she's lucky, she'd barely scratch 1 pound a week.
Why?
The minimum calorie expenditure is 1200 cals a day. It's not safe for you to go below this value.
If your goal causes you to dip below that daily rate, then MFP lets you set it, but will reset your min calories to 1200.
There is no way that the average woman can lose at that rate, given the above calculations.
In fact... in order to possibly lose 2lb per week, you'd need to be burning (at maintenance) 2200 cals per day.
My settings currently have me at 2000 cals per day. I am 6'1" and 168 pounds.
I have many tiny friends who won't reach that calorie burn in a day.
Unless you are quite overweight...
TO EXPECT YOURSELF TO BE ABLE TO BURN 2 LBS A WEEK IS CRAZY
It is frustrating.
It is unsustainable.
And it is damaging to your goals.
Calorie counting is a simple concept, but it's fraught with variables...
- are you properly estimating your activity levels?
- are you properly estimating your exercise burns?
- are you correctly weighing, measuring, and logging your food?
If you find that you aren't making progress... start to look at those variables...
If you overestimate your activity levels, overestimate your burns, and underestimate your food... you won't succeed in your goals. All you will do is succeed at frustrating yourself.
What I recommend?
Unless you are obese (and have the help of a doctor), I strongly recommend focusing on the following:
- 0.5 lb to 1lb a week MAXIMUM loss.
- learn to weigh and measure your food. EVERYTHING.
(I suffer slow calorie drain by snacking. I KILL MY CALORIES BY SNACKS... 100 cals here, 200 cals there.. until I have nothing left for supper and then give up and go over )
- If you don't know how active you are... then go sedentary and log all your exercise. LOG IT ALL. (But be honest with yourself in terms of burns... sitting on the couch folding laundry - not the same kind of housework as scrubbing floors)
And be patient with yourself. Give it time and adjust. Adjust.
A D J U S T.
You didn't gain the weight in a week, you won't lose it in as much.
Take your time.
You can do this!
**********************
By all means, I welcome correction by those who know more than me...
* https://www.livestrong.com/article/357769-weight-height-for-the-average-american-woman/
** https://www.shapesense.com/fitness-exercise/calculators/daily-caloric-expenditure-calculator.aspx
**********************
Taken from my blog and reposting in the post below this (based on feedback received
)
They look at the calculator, enter their stats, and are asked...
What is your lifestyle like... Sedentary? Lightly active?
This is such a subjective question!
Some people are fooling themselves... and think they're very active, when in reality, they work at a desk job, and go home and watch tv for most of the night. But... Sedentary seems bad... And they're not that bad... So they set themselves as very active - fooling themselves into thinking they're able to consume more calories.
Some other people are underestimating themselves, and think they're sedentary, when in reality, they walk to/from work, at lunch, around the office, then get home and chase kids and pets, not sitting down until they fall into bed at the end of the night exhausted. They're burning way more calories than they realize, but they hate themselves, so they pick sedentary. Determined to punish themselves into fitness.
The daily calories expended by the first and the second are dramatically different! And what they pick, can cause pretty significant results...
And then you have...
How many pounds do you want to lose per week?
How many pounds do I want to lose?
I WANNA LOSE EM ALL!!!
How many pounds CAN I LOSE? I can lose up to 2 pounds per week?
This is where the inevitable road to dissatisfaction and potential rage quit begins.
Stick with me...
According to a random website* (hehe), the average height and weight of a woman in America is 5'4" and 168 pounds. (I KNOW - GENERALIZE MUCH?)
According to another random website** (hehe), if they're sedentary, their daily calorie expenditure is 1838.
If that woman joined MFP and decided to lose 2lb a week... She'd be told to eat 1200 cals a day. If she religiously followed that plan, she wouldn't lose 2lb a week. If she's lucky, she'd barely scratch 1 pound a week.
Why?
The minimum calorie expenditure is 1200 cals a day. It's not safe for you to go below this value.
If your goal causes you to dip below that daily rate, then MFP lets you set it, but will reset your min calories to 1200.
There is no way that the average woman can lose at that rate, given the above calculations.
In fact... in order to possibly lose 2lb per week, you'd need to be burning (at maintenance) 2200 cals per day.
My settings currently have me at 2000 cals per day. I am 6'1" and 168 pounds.
I have many tiny friends who won't reach that calorie burn in a day.
Unless you are quite overweight...
TO EXPECT YOURSELF TO BE ABLE TO BURN 2 LBS A WEEK IS CRAZY
It is frustrating.
It is unsustainable.
And it is damaging to your goals.
Calorie counting is a simple concept, but it's fraught with variables...
- are you properly estimating your activity levels?
- are you properly estimating your exercise burns?
- are you correctly weighing, measuring, and logging your food?
If you find that you aren't making progress... start to look at those variables...
If you overestimate your activity levels, overestimate your burns, and underestimate your food... you won't succeed in your goals. All you will do is succeed at frustrating yourself.
What I recommend?
Unless you are obese (and have the help of a doctor), I strongly recommend focusing on the following:
- 0.5 lb to 1lb a week MAXIMUM loss.
- learn to weigh and measure your food. EVERYTHING.
(I suffer slow calorie drain by snacking. I KILL MY CALORIES BY SNACKS... 100 cals here, 200 cals there.. until I have nothing left for supper and then give up and go over )
- If you don't know how active you are... then go sedentary and log all your exercise. LOG IT ALL. (But be honest with yourself in terms of burns... sitting on the couch folding laundry - not the same kind of housework as scrubbing floors)
And be patient with yourself. Give it time and adjust. Adjust.
A D J U S T.
You didn't gain the weight in a week, you won't lose it in as much.
Take your time.
You can do this!
**********************
By all means, I welcome correction by those who know more than me...
* https://www.livestrong.com/article/357769-weight-height-for-the-average-american-woman/
** https://www.shapesense.com/fitness-exercise/calculators/daily-caloric-expenditure-calculator.aspx
**********************
Taken from my blog and reposting in the post below this (based on feedback received
)
Tagged:
183
Replies
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I have further geeked out and created the following table/chart
Maintenance Cals is what your calorie intake would be if you were to neither gain or lose weight
Each bar represents targeted weight loss per week (1/2 pound through to 2 pounds)
You will see that if your Maintenance cals are at 1450 or lower....you will struggle to lose 0.5 pounds a week without dipping below 1200 calories.
If you are in this position, then your solution to the problem is to increase your activity levels.
Don't further restrict food, but rather increase activity. More exercise, take the stairs, walk more, play more. Sit less, move more!
This is also why you eat back your exercise calories if you use the MFP formula. You don't want to have too great a deficit - it can be unhealthy for you - both in terms of the habits you form around eating, and the relationship you have with your food.
Remember this, above all.. LIFE IS MEANT TO BE ENJOYED! Don't let this consume your life and destroy the quality of life you have. Your family and friends will remember the person you were... I'd rather have fun with 10 pounds to lose, than be miserable and at goal weight.77 -
Excellent info, girl! So glad you're one of my peeps, so I can glean from you on a daily basis!
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well said Queen!
People say doing the same thing over an over again without results is the definition of insanity...i call it practice.12 -
tagging so it shows up in my feed for all to read.
great post!5 -
Great post!0
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bump0
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Awesome post is awesome post!2
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*bump*
I think that MFP's numbers are generally a little too optimistic for women. Our margin for error is also smaller. An extra 50 or 100 calories might not make much different if your daily burn is 3000 calories. If it's closer to half that, 50 or 100 calories can make a huge dent in your deficit.13 -
:drinker: :drinker: :drinker:0
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BuMp!0
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Well said and thank you.
6 -
This is total truth!0
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This is absolutely perfect, and every person that comes to MFP NEEDS to read this.... Thank you for posting this!0
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helps to see positive reminders like this. thanks, sandy. 0
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How can I change my exercise setting? I have forgotten how much I set it at.0
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Long story short, eat TDEE and if you have under 50 pounds to lose, set goals to 0.5 or 1 lb/wk.3
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You and your facts. I love them! :drinker:2
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Bump0
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taken from my blog (http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/MireyGal76/view/in-5-weeks-you-ll-lose-10lbs-why-s-it-not-working-668182) - reposting in the threads (based on feedback received)
********************
When someone signs up for MFP, they are gung ho about losing weight, and want to shed those pounds FAST!
They look at the calculator, enter their stats and are asked...
What is your lifestyle like... Sedentary? Lightly active?
This is such a subjective question!
Some people are fooling themselves... and think they're very active, when in reality, they work at a desk job, and go home and watch tv for most of the night. But... Sedentary seems bad... And they're not that bad... So they set themselves as very active - fooling themselves into thinking they're able to consume more calories.
Some other people are underestimating themselves, and think they're sedentary, when in reality, they walk to/from work, at lunch, around the office, then get home and chase kids and pets, not sitting down until they fall into bed at the end of the night exhausted. They're burning way more calories than they realize, but they hate themselves, so they pick sedentary. Determined to punish themselves into fitness.
The daily calories expended by the first and the second are dramatically different! And what they pick, can cause pretty significant results....
And then you have...
How many pounds do you want to lose per week?
How many pounds do I want to lose?
I WANNA LOSE EM ALL!!!
How many pounds CAN I LOSE? I can lose up to 2 pounds per week?
This is where the inevitable road to dissatisfaction and potential rage quit begins.
Stick with me...
According to a random website* (hehe) the average height and weight of a woman in america is 5'4" and 168 pounds. (I KNOW - GENERALIZE MUCH?)
According to another random website** (hehe), if they're sedentary, their daily calorie expenditure is 1838.
If that woman joined MFP and decided to lose 2lb a week... She'd be told to eat 1200 cals a day. If she religiously followed that plan, she wouldn't lose 2lb a week. If she's lucky, she'd barely scratch 1 pound a week.
Why?
Minimum calorie expenditure is 1200 cals a day. It's not safe for your to go below this value.
If your goal causes you to dip below that daily rate, then MFP lets you set it, but will reset your min calories to 1200.
There is no way that the average woman can lose at that rate, given the above calculations.
In fact... in order to possibly lose 2lb per week, you'd need to be burning (at maintenance) 2200 cals per day.
My settings currently have me at 2000 cals per day. I am 6'1" and 168 pounds.
I have many tiny friends who won't reach that calorie burn in a day.
Unless you are quite overweight...
TO EXPECT YOURSELF TO BE ABLE TO BURN 2 LBS A WEEK IS CRAZY
It is frustrating.
It is unsustainable.
And it is damaging to your goals.
Calorie counting is a simple concept, but it's fraught with variables...
- are you properly estimating your activity levels?
- are you properly estimating your exercise burns?
- are you correctly weighing, measuring, and logging your food?
If you find that you aren't making progress... start to look at those variables...
If you over estimate your activity levels, overestimate your burns, and under estimate your food... you won't succeed in your goals. All you will do is succeed at frustrating yourself.
What I recommend?
Unless you are obese (and have the help of a doctor), I strongly recommend focusing on the following:
- 0.5 lb to 1lb a week MAXIMUM loss.
- learn to weigh and measure your food. EVERYTHING.
(I suffer slow calorie drain by snacking. I KILL MY CALORIES BY SNACKS... 100 cals here, 200 cals there.. until I have nothing left for supper and then give up and go over )
- If you don't know how active you are... then go sedentary and log all exercise. LOG IT ALL. (But be honest with yourself in terms of burns... sitting on the couch folding laundry - not the same kind of housework as scrubbing floors)
And be patient with yourself. Give it time and adjust. Adjust.
A D J U S T.
You didn't gain the weight in a week, you won't lose it in as much.
Take your time.
You can do this!
**********************
By all means, I welcome correction by those who know more than me...
* http://www.livestrong.com/article/357769-weight-height-for-the-average-american-woman/
** http://www.shapesense.com/fitness-exercise/calculators/daily-caloric-expenditure-calculator.aspx
Just tagging so I can re-read this when it feels like it's not working Thanks for posting! 1 -
Great info... you are awesome!0
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Well said and not sure if this was mentioned but I will also add, the calories burned when exercising for example I run and use les mills programs on the les mills web site it says 55 min class burns 530 I work out hard I am 50 and at my max have only burn 350! So we have to take in the calories our classes say we burn might not be dead on and it might be worth it to invest in a monitor. I also like to mix up my workouts frequently, to cause muscle confusion!!4
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I approve of this message...
totally bookmarking...4 -
Very good info here....and yea, it does shed some light....in life not everything has a "formula" to go by.....for work, I am a salesman, I am on my feet 8 hrs a day...though I do get an hour lunch....I walk to work, 1 walk home from work....for lunch, after lunch.....etc.....but I still put myself as Lightly active....now, I work out for the most part 4-5 days a week.....sometimes 6 if I'm lucky.....
Something I've started doing, since I've noticed the MFP calorie burn numbers get kind of wonky.....I'll take an average of the calorie burn from MFP + my HRM + the elliptical.....I then divide that huge number by 3.....and get the "average" or "mean" number of calories burned......cause yea, I've noticed this too.....some days MFP barks at me for not eating enough, other days I'm eating too much.....etc. according to the formulas...lol.but I take it all with a grain of salt and keep on trekking..5 -
How can I change my exercise setting? I have forgotten how much I set it at.
Click on Settings (link at the top of the page) and click "Update Diet/Fitness Profile"0 -
Thanks from all the newbies on here! It is the experienced and knowledgeable like yourself that will help us with our success.:flowerforyou:1
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I LOVE this post!!!!!!!!!!! 0
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Bravo!!! Well said!0
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Well said and not sure if this was mentioned but I will also add, the calories burned when exercising for example I run and use les mills programs on the les mills web site it says 55 min class burns 530 I work out hard I am 50 and at my max have only burn 350! So we have to take in the calories our classes say we burn might not be dead on and it might be worth it to invest in a monitor. I also like to mix up my workouts frequently, to cause muscle confusion!!
Yes, this can be difficult to manage. In a lot of ways this thing is a lot of art - in that HRMs aren't 100% accurate, and the machines aren't 100% accurate either. There are a pile of threads about HRMs and fitbits and the like.
I have an HRM, and will often use the cals it records less 150 - 200 cals. I've compared that value to what I see on machines, and on a variety of websites, and then picked a reasonable average.
Just be conscious of whether you are being conservative or not. Some days it's really easy for me to fool myself into thinking that I really DID burn 500 calories fast paced walking... because I'm hungry and want a snack... but deep down, I know it was probably more like 300 cals, and I should put the chocolate away.5 -
Bumping the awesomeness
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Very good info here....and yea, it does shed some light....in life not everything has a "formula" to go by.....for work, I am a salesman, I am on my feet 8 hrs a day...though I do get an hour lunch....I walk to work, 1 walk home from work....for lunch, after lunch.....etc.....but I still put myself as Lightly active....now, I work out for the most part 4-5 days a week.....sometimes 6 if I'm lucky.....
Something I've started doing, since I've noticed the MFP calorie burn numbers get kind of wonky.....I'll take an average of the calorie burn from MFP + my HRM + the elliptical.....I then divide that huge number by 3.....and get the "average" or "mean" number of calories burned......cause yea, I've noticed this too.....some days MFP barks at me for not eating enough, other days I'm eating too much.....etc. according to the formulas...lol.but I take it all with a grain of salt and keep on trekking..
This is what I do too! Average out the numbers to get the most reasonable value.
The other thing to remember is that this is not really a daily thing... I tend to look at a few days, sometimes values over a week... I may be a bit over one day, and a bit under the next. my goal is to be around par when I average the week out. If I'm not hungry one day... I let myself go under. If I'm starving, I CONSCIOUSLY CHOOSE to let myself go over, knowing that I need to make that up (if I haven't already). I try to pay attention to what my body is telling me.5
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