MFP... is this thing lying or just not working?
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judilauriat
Posts: 3
Hello all....I have been on MFP for 90+ days. I have lost 10 pounds thus far...I am leaning towards a Paleo/Primal type diet, trying to keep my carbs under 50g each day. I am deep in the throes of menopause, 54 y.o., not very active at this point in my life. I **try** to keep my total calories under 1500 - I am 5'7" and 200 lbs. The weight is moving...at a snail's pace, but moving.
At the end of each day, when I wrap up my daily diary entries, there is this chipper little notation that pops up, saying : If every day was like today, you'd weigh such-and-such in five weeks! ...usually 5-7 lbs less than my last recorded weight. Well, it isn't like that at all...if it were, I'd have lost better than 20 lbs by now. The weight is sloooowwwlllyyy creeping off - I am ok (not thrilled, but ok) with a slow loss...but that chipper little false promise is getting on my nerves. .... Yeah, yeah - it's an automatic little attempt at inspiration and nothing I can do to remove it. Just gotta take it with a LARGE handful of salt...and suck it up. lolol
OK, had to get that off my chest. Sorry to come off as such a crab...just needed to vent.
Thank you. Well, gonna keep plodding my way down this path. One great thing - my son, who started this path alongside me at 320 lbs (6' - 24 y.o.) is down to 295 in that same 90 days! He isn't monitoring on MFP, but is watching his intake and keeping the carbs low...and it is working. I am grateful!
At the end of each day, when I wrap up my daily diary entries, there is this chipper little notation that pops up, saying : If every day was like today, you'd weigh such-and-such in five weeks! ...usually 5-7 lbs less than my last recorded weight. Well, it isn't like that at all...if it were, I'd have lost better than 20 lbs by now. The weight is sloooowwwlllyyy creeping off - I am ok (not thrilled, but ok) with a slow loss...but that chipper little false promise is getting on my nerves. .... Yeah, yeah - it's an automatic little attempt at inspiration and nothing I can do to remove it. Just gotta take it with a LARGE handful of salt...and suck it up. lolol
OK, had to get that off my chest. Sorry to come off as such a crab...just needed to vent.
Thank you. Well, gonna keep plodding my way down this path. One great thing - my son, who started this path alongside me at 320 lbs (6' - 24 y.o.) is down to 295 in that same 90 days! He isn't monitoring on MFP, but is watching his intake and keeping the carbs low...and it is working. I am grateful!
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Replies
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It isn't accurate for almost anyone. What it's saying is if you ate exactly that every day, you'll be at that weight. But that also comes with the assumption that you're logging everything accurately as well. If it's really bothering you, just don't hit the complete diary button.0
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judilauriat wrote: »Hello all....I have been on MFP for 90+ days. I have lost 10 pounds thus far...I am leaning towards a Paleo/Primal type diet, trying to keep my carbs under 50g each day. I am deep in the throes of menopause, 54 y.o., not very active at this point in my life. I **try** to keep my total calories under 1500 - I am 5'7" and 200 lbs. The weight is moving...at a snail's pace, but moving.
At the end of each day, when I wrap up my daily diary entries, there is this chipper little notation that pops up, saying : If every day was like today, you'd weigh such-and-such in five weeks! ...usually 5-7 lbs less than my last recorded weight. Well, it isn't like that at all...if it were, I'd have lost better than 20 lbs by now. The weight is sloooowwwlllyyy creeping off - I am ok (not thrilled, but ok) with a slow loss...but that chipper little false promise is getting on my nerves. .... Yeah, yeah - it's an automatic little attempt at inspiration and nothing I can do to remove it. Just gotta take it with a LARGE handful of salt...and suck it up. lolol
OK, had to get that off my chest. Sorry to come off as such a crab...just needed to vent.
Thank you. Well, gonna keep plodding my way down this path. One great thing - my son, who started this path alongside me at 320 lbs (6' - 24 y.o.) is down to 295 in that same 90 days! He isn't monitoring on MFP, but is watching his intake and keeping the carbs low...and it is working. I am grateful!
That estimate is only as accurate as your logging. It was actually pretty accurate while I was losing (in maintenance now). Are you using a food scale?0 -
Chances are you may be underestimating the fat intake on the foods you're eating which is contributing to a higher caloric intake than you are logging. One of the downsides of eating primal/paleo that includes lots of protein from animal sources, nuts and dairy (if you're including it), the fat amounts can vary greatly on certain cuts when logging, so it adds up quickly, especially if not being weighed or the fat isn't removed from the food through draining or trimming.0
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It isn't accurate for almost anyone. What it's saying is if you ate exactly that every day, you'll be at that weight. But that also comes with the assumption that you're logging everything accurately as well. If it's really bothering you, just don't hit the complete diary button.
It comes not only with the assumption that @malibu927 mentions (boldfaced above), but also with the assumption that you entered your activity level (outside of exercise) accurately when you set up MFP, and that your metabolism is in the middle of the normal range. If any of those assumptions is incorrect, the prediction won't match reality.
There are three things you can do if the prediction doesn't match your results: (1) ignore it, and be happy with what you're achieving; (2) double down on the accuracy of your logging; or (3) figure out the discrepancy between MFP's prediction and your actual results, and set up a manual goal to match your logging and your results. They're not mutually exclusive. I think that #1 and #3 are a lot less stressful than #2; #3 works as long as your logs are consistent, even if they're not accurate.0 -
It is always spot on for me.
I think you are either 1.) underestimating how much you're eating and/or 2.) overestimating how many calories you're burning.
here's a good video....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVjWPclrWVY 0 -
This - yes, I doubt the calculator takes into account the metabolism of a woman in menopause...I am a school bus driver, who lives on the 3rd floor of an apartment building...while I may not be a member of a gym, I am not comatose. But in the past 5 years, things have slowed down - metabolism-wise. I am actually ok with a slow loss (hey - 10 lbs isn't chump change!); I measure my food...just felt cranky at the prediction. Would I actually lose that amount if I ate "exactly" like the day that just finished, for 5 weeks? I doubt it...but I am a realist - I'd go bonkers and blow my calories out of sheer boredom if I had to eat the same thing every day. And I know some days, my body burns either slower or faster(usually the former), my appetite is non-existent or I'm ravenous, or any of a dozen other variables that cannot be predicted or even controlled. What I can control is recording as accurately as possible, inputting EVERY DAY faithfully...keeping myself accountable, and honest. And celebrate any NSV and those small steady movements of the scale.It comes not only with the assumption that @malibu927 mentions (boldfaced above), but also with the assumption that you entered your activity level (outside of exercise) accurately when you set up MFP, and that your metabolism is in the middle of the normal range. If any of those assumptions is incorrect, the prediction won't match reality.0 -
judilauriat wrote: »Hello all....I have been on MFP for 90+ days. I have lost 10 pounds thus far...I am leaning towards a Paleo/Primal type diet, trying to keep my carbs under 50g each day. I am deep in the throes of menopause, 54 y.o., not very active at this point in my life. I **try** to keep my total calories under 1500 - I am 5'7" and 200 lbs. The weight is moving...at a snail's pace, but moving.
At the end of each day, when I wrap up my daily diary entries, there is this chipper little notation that pops up, saying : If every day was like today, you'd weigh such-and-such in five weeks! ...usually 5-7 lbs less than my last recorded weight. Well, it isn't like that at all...if it were, I'd have lost better than 20 lbs by now. The weight is sloooowwwlllyyy creeping off - I am ok (not thrilled, but ok) with a slow loss...but that chipper little false promise is getting on my nerves. .... Yeah, yeah - it's an automatic little attempt at inspiration and nothing I can do to remove it. Just gotta take it with a LARGE handful of salt...and suck it up. lolol
OK, had to get that off my chest. Sorry to come off as such a crab...just needed to vent.
Thank you. Well, gonna keep plodding my way down this path. One great thing - my son, who started this path alongside me at 320 lbs (6' - 24 y.o.) is down to 295 in that same 90 days! He isn't monitoring on MFP, but is watching his intake and keeping the carbs low...and it is working. I am grateful!
Your arithmetic is wrong. You say the prediction is usually 5 to 7 lbs less than your last recorded weight, which means it is saying that based on your logging and MFP's estimate of your daily energy expenditure (which is also based on information you provided to MFP), you are creating a deficit that should lead to a loss of 1 to 1.4 pounds a week. 90 days is 13 weeks. So if it were accurate, you would have lost 13 to 18.2 pounds, not "better than 20 lbs."
It's also not reasonable to expect that MFP's estimate of your daily energy expenditure will be perfectly accurate. It uses a formula that was developed to describe the average energy expenditure of people based on their weight, activity level, height, gender, age -- all those people didn't all have exact same energy expenditure, so the formula has to shoot for the average. There are variations among people, even those who are the same weight, etc. The odds that any particular person (including you) will be spot on average aren't very good. Then think about the value assigned for activity level. There are only four values, I believe (sedentary, lightly active, active, very active), but it's silly to think everybody fits right into one of those levels. It's a continuum, and most people are going to be between two of the preset values.
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blankiefinder wrote: »judilauriat wrote: »Hello all....I have been on MFP for 90+ days. I have lost 10 pounds thus far...I am leaning towards a Paleo/Primal type diet, trying to keep my carbs under 50g each day. I am deep in the throes of menopause, 54 y.o., not very active at this point in my life. I **try** to keep my total calories under 1500 - I am 5'7" and 200 lbs. The weight is moving...at a snail's pace, but moving.
At the end of each day, when I wrap up my daily diary entries, there is this chipper little notation that pops up, saying : If every day was like today, you'd weigh such-and-such in five weeks! ...usually 5-7 lbs less than my last recorded weight. Well, it isn't like that at all...if it were, I'd have lost better than 20 lbs by now. The weight is sloooowwwlllyyy creeping off - I am ok (not thrilled, but ok) with a slow loss...but that chipper little false promise is getting on my nerves. .... Yeah, yeah - it's an automatic little attempt at inspiration and nothing I can do to remove it. Just gotta take it with a LARGE handful of salt...and suck it up. lolol
OK, had to get that off my chest. Sorry to come off as such a crab...just needed to vent.
Thank you. Well, gonna keep plodding my way down this path. One great thing - my son, who started this path alongside me at 320 lbs (6' - 24 y.o.) is down to 295 in that same 90 days! He isn't monitoring on MFP, but is watching his intake and keeping the carbs low...and it is working. I am grateful!
That estimate is only as accurate as your logging. It was actually pretty accurate while I was losing (in maintenance now). Are you using a food scale?
+10 -
You need to move more and build some muscle through progressive weight training because the metabolic slow-down can be reversed with effort it is not de facto, at least not to a significant amount...also being stronger and fitter helps to smooth out the hormonal fluxes
Good luck0 -
blankiefinder wrote: »judilauriat wrote: »Hello all....I have been on MFP for 90+ days. I have lost 10 pounds thus far...I am leaning towards a Paleo/Primal type diet, trying to keep my carbs under 50g each day. I am deep in the throes of menopause, 54 y.o., not very active at this point in my life. I **try** to keep my total calories under 1500 - I am 5'7" and 200 lbs. The weight is moving...at a snail's pace, but moving.
At the end of each day, when I wrap up my daily diary entries, there is this chipper little notation that pops up, saying : If every day was like today, you'd weigh such-and-such in five weeks! ...usually 5-7 lbs less than my last recorded weight. Well, it isn't like that at all...if it were, I'd have lost better than 20 lbs by now. The weight is sloooowwwlllyyy creeping off - I am ok (not thrilled, but ok) with a slow loss...but that chipper little false promise is getting on my nerves. .... Yeah, yeah - it's an automatic little attempt at inspiration and nothing I can do to remove it. Just gotta take it with a LARGE handful of salt...and suck it up. lolol
OK, had to get that off my chest. Sorry to come off as such a crab...just needed to vent.
Thank you. Well, gonna keep plodding my way down this path. One great thing - my son, who started this path alongside me at 320 lbs (6' - 24 y.o.) is down to 295 in that same 90 days! He isn't monitoring on MFP, but is watching his intake and keeping the carbs low...and it is working. I am grateful!
That estimate is only as accurate as your logging. It was actually pretty accurate while I was losing (in maintenance now). Are you using a food scale?
+1
+1. and BTW that stupid message that pops up and says "if everyday were like to today you would weight XXXX" is just non-sense. I am not sure why MFP put that stupid message there and when you go to maintenance that stupid message still pops up..
I personally think MFP can do away with that message on both the phone app and on the website in general.
I would be a toothpick by now or I would be fat on the days I actually went over eating like that everyday.0 -
Its only a simple projection and completely reliant on you input. MFP is just a tool. People have pointed out that its basing things on the accuracy of your logging, It becomes harder to lose weight as you get older, but you can improve your metabolism through exercise.
When he weight doesnt come off as expected I dont blam MFP but look at what I might be doing , which normally means tigetherning logging , eating less and working harder or just being patient.0 -
As mentioned it is an estimate based upon the accuracies of your logging, weight loss is neither linear nor an exact science as your TDEE ((Total Daily Energy Expenditure) will change as you lose weight and also your activity levels will vary as does other contributing factors such as water weight, stomach contents etc
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Patience, my dear... patience.....0
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Thank you for all your input, comments and wisdom. And that last - Patience - a major character flaw on my part is my impatience...something I must constantly work on and increase my awareness. And gia07 - yes, that was the gist of my original post...and I agree - if they were to remove it, I would not mind in the least. Meanwhile, I shall ignore it and keep on keeping on.0
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I ignore it and, keep going...0
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Mine has never been right either. I log food with better than average accuracy (weigh with a food scale and log many foods to the gram, use a HRM 23 hrs. per day for accurate expenditure).
Just figure that MFP is incredibly optimistic, do as @teegoods38 suggests - ignore it. It isn't right and you can't fix it, so don't dwell on the things you can't fix.0
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