Projected weight loss when you are under your calorie limit?

sassmastakass
sassmastakass Posts: 1 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So I'm not necessarily dieting, just trying to eat healthier. I don't count the calories on things like fruits, vegetables, and nuts. However, I do count the calories on things like fries and and cookies and other junk that I know I would be better off not eating. I'm a college student so sometimes the junk is easier and cheaper to buy than the healthy stuff, so I'm trying to steer myself away from all of that. Last week I calculated that my intake of fruits and vegetables is roughly the same amount of calories that I burn each day (I walk around ten miles each day for classes and I exercise five days a week). Obviously I don't want to be eating 1200+ calories of pure junk each day, so I set my calorie limit under that. Now every time I try to complete my entry to see my projected weight loss I get a lecture on not eating enough instead of "In five weeks you would weigh 131.7 pounds" or something. Is there any way to get around this other than logging every fruit, vegetable, etc. I eat?

Replies

  • besaro
    besaro Posts: 1,858 Member
    ignore it? i rarely even notice it these days. its a nice motivating feature if you're on target and losing weight.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    I don't see why, if you're logging food, you don't just log all food? But if you don't want to log stuff just ignore the message MFP gives you or quick add an amount to cover it.

    That being said, nuts are very calorific, so probably worth logging.
  • funchords
    funchords Posts: 413 Member
    Last week I calculated that my intake of fruits and vegetables is roughly the same amount of calories that I burn each day

    On each day, do Tools, Quick Add Calories, and just type in the number that represents these fruits and vegetables.
  • oremus1
    oremus1 Posts: 100 Member
    i ignore it. for normal people, 1200 calories is not much. but for a sedentary shortie, if you want to lose weight you gotta go under that...unless you want to take like a month to lose 1lb
  • MauraKGreene
    MauraKGreene Posts: 1
    I'd suggest that once in a while you input even the healthy stuff that you're eating because as soon as you're eating over 1200 calories, it will tell you the projected weight in 5 weeks. Good luck!
  • VelveteenArabian
    VelveteenArabian Posts: 758 Member
    You should log everything you eat. You can still become overweight on the "healthy" stuff - it still has calories.

    That being said, if you don't want to see the message at the end of the day, don't do the "complete entry" button. Nothing bad happens if you don't do it - I almost always forget to complete my daily entries.
  • pander101
    pander101 Posts: 677 Member
    You could just log it.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    You're not really logging everything you eat (nuts are very calorically dense), therefore you're not really getting this message. Log everything and this post becomes irrelevant.
  • SlimMe37
    SlimMe37 Posts: 133 Member
    I don't understand why you arent logging fruits and nuts. They all have calories. If you want to lose weight then you need to log these foods.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    You need to log everything. Some of those things can add in 100-200 calories at a time.
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
    Don't hit 'complete entry'.

    Or log at Fitbit or LoseIt or some other site. This is the only one with the lecture, that I've seen.

    Oh, but you want the message? It's really going to be wrong for someone not logging all their food. I agree with using 'quick add calories' to just always enter some estimate of your unlogged values.
  • pamcris
    pamcris Posts: 47 Member
    To avoid that message you need to at least log 1000 daily. Anything under that will be unhealthy according to the guidelines of MFP, and therefore the site will lecture you. If you don't log at least 1000 calories the site will take it like you are in starvation mode and wont give you a projection. Solution, just log ALL the calories, healthy and unhealthy, that you consume in the day.
  • ljashley1952
    ljashley1952 Posts: 275 Member
    I thnk it's important to log every single thing you eat. I'm even counting mustard, mayo, butter. It all counts and is important. I know that one can easily under-estimate the amount of food they are eating, especially when snacking on chips or other munchies.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    You do realize that fruit, veg, and nuts have calories right? It doesn't matter that those things are more healthful than fries...they still have calories...a calorie is just a unit of energy...it counts. Also, nut in particular are very calorie dense...a small handful of almonds, 1 measly little ounce, has around 160 calories. Your average banana is going to be around 100 calories. These things have calories.
  • Juliarosemary66
    Juliarosemary66 Posts: 64 Member
    You really need to log it all! Once you have logged something for the first time it comes up in the add food section and all you need to do is tick the box and press add checked .I find being able to review my diary helps if I stall and it helps with knowing the macros in your food. As others have said nuts are calorie dense. I'm a bit OCD with the whole thing and weigh and log everything. I find its' attention to the detail that gets results! Good luck!
  • 999tigger
    999tigger Posts: 5,235 Member
    If you arent logging everything then you miss the point of MFP.
  • oremus1
    oremus1 Posts: 100 Member
    I don't log low cal veggies like broccoli, zucchini, mushrooms, cabbage, cucumber.
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
    I do see the point of not logging some items, if your goal is to keep your non-produce, non-nut calories under a certain amount, or to just minimize them. There are WW plans where you log very little, that have been very successful. But the MFP message won't apply unless you put in some reasonable proxy for a total calories estimate.
  • MrsWashington82
    MrsWashington82 Posts: 50 Member
    Just checking my ticker here....
  • tmauck4472
    tmauck4472 Posts: 1,785 Member
    I never complete my diary. It doesn't mean anything to me since I don't care about what anyone thinks about my day or what MFP thinks will happen. Pushing that tab does nothing nor does it change anything so don't do it.

Categories