MFP was wrong about my caloric recommendation
CaliforniaRower
Posts: 187 Member
The system assigned me 1350 calories a day. I was NEVER hungry. I felt fantastic. It felt like I was eating tons of food. I cut way back on sugar, chocolate and breads. However, over +6 weeks, I didn't drop another ounce.
I got pretty sad about that permanent plateau. I figured I'd try to address the matter when I got back from vacation.
Well, I decided to do 2 things differently: NOT log my exercise, since I think it was being overly generous with how many calories it thinks I'm burning AND to voluntarily cut (for a while, probably not forever) at least 250-350 calories off their recommendation.
I know there are plenty of people out there who will say, "under 1200 calories per day is dangerous..." and I get that. But so far, I feel fine. And I'm not going to do it forever. And I AM losing weight - finally!
Just a hint for anyone else who thinks, "Plateau?!? Fahgeddaboutit!"
My 100% plan is to drop 8-10 lbs per month, whatever it takes, and then - 3 months from now when I am at my goal - to gently allow in more calories until I find my maintenance point.
(P.S. - I totally acknowledge that because I don't literally weigh everything I eat, I could have been eating more calories than I think I am all along.)
I got pretty sad about that permanent plateau. I figured I'd try to address the matter when I got back from vacation.
Well, I decided to do 2 things differently: NOT log my exercise, since I think it was being overly generous with how many calories it thinks I'm burning AND to voluntarily cut (for a while, probably not forever) at least 250-350 calories off their recommendation.
I know there are plenty of people out there who will say, "under 1200 calories per day is dangerous..." and I get that. But so far, I feel fine. And I'm not going to do it forever. And I AM losing weight - finally!
Just a hint for anyone else who thinks, "Plateau?!? Fahgeddaboutit!"
My 100% plan is to drop 8-10 lbs per month, whatever it takes, and then - 3 months from now when I am at my goal - to gently allow in more calories until I find my maintenance point.
(P.S. - I totally acknowledge that because I don't literally weigh everything I eat, I could have been eating more calories than I think I am all along.)
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Replies
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CaliforniaRower wrote: »The system assigned me 1350 calories a day. I was NEVER hungry. I felt fantastic. It felt like I was eating tons of food. I cut way back on sugar, chocolate and breads. However, over +6 weeks, I didn't drop another ounce.
I got pretty sad about that permanent plateau. I figured I'd try to address the matter when I got back from vacation.
Well, I decided to do 2 things differently: NOT log my exercise, since I think it was being overly generous with how many calories it thinks I'm burning AND to voluntarily cut (for a while, probably not forever) at least 250-350 calories off their recommendation.
I know there are plenty of people out there who will say, "under 1200 calories per day is dangerous..." and I get that. But so far, I feel fine. And I'm not going to do it forever. And I AM losing weight - finally!
Just a hint for anyone else who thinks, "Plateau?!? Fahgeddaboutit!"
My 100% plan is to drop 8-10 lbs per month, whatever it takes, and then - 3 months from now when I am at my goal - to gently allow in more calories until I find my maintenance point.
(P.S. - I totally acknowledge that because I don't literally weigh everything I eat, I could have been eating more calories than I think I am all along.)
This.
Perhaps you should have started your thought process with this instead of blaming MFP for your lack of results.0 -
8 to 10 pounds is too much to lose in a month,you'll go into starvation mode and you'll gain it back.1-2 lbs is a safe way to lose weight,and you'll keep it off.0
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mwebster11 wrote: »8 to 10 pounds is too much to lose in a month,you'll go into starvation mode and you'll gain it back.1-2 lbs is a safe way to lose weight,and you'll keep it off.
No. Starvation mode in this sense does not exist.0 -
Sounds a whole lot like your eating more than you think. Maybe fix up this obvious potential cause of your problems.
Open your diary maybe so people can point out problem diary entries.
Maybe also get more realistic or healthy expectations. Sounds like your planning on doing what ever it takes to losing 2 pounds a week. Even when you don't have much to lose.
Doesn't sound healthy to me.
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You answered your own question in you last sentence, OP. No need for anything drastic, just tighten up your logging and give it time.0
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CaliforniaRower wrote: »The system assigned me 1350 calories a day. I was NEVER hungry. I felt fantastic. It felt like I was eating tons of food. I cut way back on sugar, chocolate and breads. However, over +6 weeks, I didn't drop another ounce.
I got pretty sad about that permanent plateau. I figured I'd try to address the matter when I got back from vacation.
Well, I decided to do 2 things differently: NOT log my exercise, since I think it was being overly generous with how many calories it thinks I'm burning AND to voluntarily cut (for a while, probably not forever) at least 250-350 calories off their recommendation.
I know there are plenty of people out there who will say, "under 1200 calories per day is dangerous..." and I get that. But so far, I feel fine. And I'm not going to do it forever. And I AM losing weight - finally!
Just a hint for anyone else who thinks, "Plateau?!? Fahgeddaboutit!"
My 100% plan is to drop 8-10 lbs per month, whatever it takes, and then - 3 months from now when I am at my goal - to gently allow in more calories until I find my maintenance point.
(P.S. - I totally acknowledge that because I don't literally weigh everything I eat, I could have been eating more calories than I think I am all along.)
This ^^ the exercise bit.
MFP overestimates the amount of calories burned when you exercise AND I've seen people here record every little thing they do. They get up and spend 15 min vacuuming, and it gets recorded as exercise. That might work for some, but I find what works better for me is to record only my actual exercise, not every little thing I do in a day, and to ensure that the calorie count is low.
And also ... it is really easy to eat more calories than you might think when you don't track accurately. I was floored by things like cereal. What I consider 1 serving of cereal is more like 4 servings. Also cashews. What I consider 1 serving of cashews is about 5 servings. And with certain foods (like cashews) that's a difference between 100 cal and 500 cal.
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CaliforniaRower wrote: »The system assigned me 1350 calories a day. I was NEVER hungry. I felt fantastic. It felt like I was eating tons of food. I cut way back on sugar, chocolate and breads. However, over +6 weeks, I didn't drop another ounce.
I got pretty sad about that permanent plateau. I figured I'd try to address the matter when I got back from vacation.
Well, I decided to do 2 things differently: NOT log my exercise, since I think it was being overly generous with how many calories it thinks I'm burning AND to voluntarily cut (for a while, probably not forever) at least 250-350 calories off their recommendation.
I know there are plenty of people out there who will say, "under 1200 calories per day is dangerous..." and I get that. But so far, I feel fine. And I'm not going to do it forever. And I AM losing weight - finally!
Just a hint for anyone else who thinks, "Plateau?!? Fahgeddaboutit!"
My 100% plan is to drop 8-10 lbs per month, whatever it takes, and then - 3 months from now when I am at my goal - to gently allow in more calories until I find my maintenance point.
(P.S. - I totally acknowledge that because I don't literally weigh everything I eat, I could have been eating more calories than I think I am all along.)
The problem wasn't that MFP told you the wrong number of calories, the problem was that you were underestimating your intake by not weighing your food. I know that I personally suggested a couple of times to you, that you needed to use a food scale, and only eat back 50% of your exercise calories.0 -
So, you openly admit you didn't even try to do this properly, but somehow it's all MFP's fault? Riiiiiiiiiight...0
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Wut?
It's not MFP's fault. Use a scale. Don't over estimate your calorie burns and stop blaming the man.
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CaliforniaRower wrote: »The system assigned me 1350 calories a day. I was NEVER hungry. I felt fantastic. It felt like I was eating tons of food. I cut way back on sugar, chocolate and breads. However, over +6 weeks, I didn't drop another ounce.
I got pretty sad about that permanent plateau. I figured I'd try to address the matter when I got back from vacation.
Well, I decided to do 2 things differently: NOT log my exercise, since I think it was being overly generous with how many calories it thinks I'm burning AND to voluntarily cut (for a while, probably not forever) at least 250-350 calories off their recommendation.
I know there are plenty of people out there who will say, "under 1200 calories per day is dangerous..." and I get that. But so far, I feel fine. And I'm not going to do it forever. And I AM losing weight - finally!
Just a hint for anyone else who thinks, "Plateau?!? Fahgeddaboutit!"
My 100% plan is to drop 8-10 lbs per month, whatever it takes, and then - 3 months from now when I am at my goal - to gently allow in more calories until I find my maintenance point.
(P.S. - I totally acknowledge that because I don't literally weigh everything I eat, I could have been eating more calories than I think I am all along.)
So, you were eating a random number of calories and logging it as 1350, while in reality it proved to be your maintenance, whatever that is. Now, you are eating another random number of calories, lower than the first. Why are you logging at all, if you know you know it is inaccurate?0 -
You didn't log properly
you had no idea how much you were eating
so by trimming off more "made-up calories" you managed to hit an appropriate calorie defecit
which seems a little ar$e above face to me but h'oh well .. worked for you
so actually MFP not wrong .. you were wrong0 -
You didn't log properly
you had no idea how much you were eating
so by trimming off more "made-up calories" you managed to hit an appropriate calorie defecit
which seems a little ar$e above face to me but h'oh well .. worked for you
so actually MFP not wrong .. you were wrong
x2mwebster11 wrote: »8 to 10 pounds is too much to lose in a month,you'll go into starvation mode and you'll gain it back.1-2 lbs is a safe way to lose weight,and you'll keep it off.
does not exist
As far as the exercise calories go...2 years ago when I joined I ate them all...and still lost 1lb a week...so they don't over estimate for everyone...
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CaliforniaRower wrote: »The system assigned me 1350 calories a day. I was NEVER hungry. I felt fantastic. It felt like I was eating tons of food. I cut way back on sugar, chocolate and breads. However, over +6 weeks, I didn't drop another ounce.
I got pretty sad about that permanent plateau. I figured I'd try to address the matter when I got back from vacation.
Well, I decided to do 2 things differently: NOT log my exercise, since I think it was being overly generous with how many calories it thinks I'm burning AND to voluntarily cut (for a while, probably not forever) at least 250-350 calories off their recommendation.
I know there are plenty of people out there who will say, "under 1200 calories per day is dangerous..." and I get that. But so far, I feel fine. And I'm not going to do it forever. And I AM losing weight - finally!
Just a hint for anyone else who thinks, "Plateau?!? Fahgeddaboutit!"
My 100% plan is to drop 8-10 lbs per month, whatever it takes, and then - 3 months from now when I am at my goal - to gently allow in more calories until I find my maintenance point.
(P.S. - I totally acknowledge that because I don't literally weigh everything I eat, I could have been eating more calories than I think I am all along.)
So your plan is to lose an overly aggressive amount per month for the amount you have to lose overall while inaccurately logging?
Exactly where is MFP wrong in this scenario? It is obvious where you are wrong here, but, that isn't what you claimed in your thread.
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So you didn't log accurately, but it's MFP's fault? Why not purchase a food scale, weigh and log 1350 calories for a few weeks, and see what happens?0
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mwebster11 wrote: »8 to 10 pounds is too much to lose in a month,you'll go into starvation mode and you'll gain it back.1-2 lbs is a safe way to lose weight,and you'll keep it off.
Aside from the starvation mode myth, what maths are you doing that makes 2lb per week better than 8-10lb per month?0 -
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so its MFP's fault that you choose to eat back 100% exercise calories and not use a food scale?
as an FYI the number that MFP or any calculator gives you is just an estimate, you need to figure out the true number through trial and error.
Oh, and if you keep eating under 1200 you are eventually going to run into adaptive thermogenesis and your metabolism will slow down. So you should be netting 1200 at minimum….0 -
So instead of admitting it was user error that was causing your plateau, you blame MFP. Interesting.
I guess when you don't lose as fast as you plan you will blame that on MFP instead of admitting that aiming for 8-10 pounds in a month (with only 20 pounds to lose) is too aggressive.
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mwebster11 wrote: »8 to 10 pounds is too much to lose in a month,you'll go into starvation mode and you'll gain it back.1-2 lbs is a safe way to lose weight,and you'll keep it off.
Nonsense.
There are risks about a low cal diet, especially for the long term but 3 months is a reasonable limit. Keeping weight off has more to do with learning maintenance - not so much the loss process.
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something tells me this thread is not going as OP intended….0
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You know that as your weight gets lower, it becomes increasingly harder to lose at a fast past, right?CaliforniaRower wrote: »My 100% plan is to drop 8-10 lbs per month, whatever it takes, and then - 3 months from now when I am at my goal - to gently allow in more calories until I find my maintenance point.
Don't get frustrated when 8-10LBS a month doesn't keep working.
PS: fuel your body. Always.
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Yeah, I think MFP should be closed down. What a complete scam! <eye-rolly>
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Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »
You know that as your weight gets lower, it becomes increasingly harder to lose at a fast pace, right?CaliforniaRower wrote: »My 100% plan is to drop 8-10 lbs per month, whatever it takes, and then - 3 months from now when I am at my goal - to gently allow in more calories until I find my maintenance point.
Don't get frustrated when 8-10LBS a month doesn't keep working.
PS: fuel your body. Always.
Best and most useful comment by FAR!0 -
something tells me this thread is not going as OP intended….
Someone has already mentioned that they've given the exact same advice a few times before this thread was even started, and the OP has enough posts to have an inkling of how the forums turn out around here, so who knows what she intended?
OP: Weigh your food and get a HRM to track your calorie burns. MFP works wonders if you use it properly.
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You were eating at your maintenance level. That much is true. Since you weren't logging your food accurately, you could have been eating at 2,000 calories net. It also sounds like you were eating all of your exercise calories back, even though you thought it was overestimating them.
Open your dairy. Let us see what you think you're eating and burning. It's extremely dangerous to suggest to the forums that people should eat under 1,200 and that MFP's numbers are wrong. Already there are hundreds of newbies every month posting how they're eating 1,200 calories and not losing weight. Don't validate them because you're not being accurate.0 -
Mischievous_Rascal wrote: »something tells me this thread is not going as OP intended….
Someone has already mentioned that they've given the exact same advice a few times before this thread was even started, and the OP has enough posts to have an inkling of how the forums turn out around here, so who knows what she intended?
OP: Weigh your food and get a HRM to track your calorie burns. MFP works wonders if you use it properly.
Yes, I recall ops previous posts...0 -
Wow! You guys sure do get vicious around here! I wasn't "blaming" the computer system known as MFP for anything. Blaming an inanimate object? Really? I was making the point that I didn't chart anything more than what seemed normal, e.g., "a 6" banana." No, I didn't get out a ruler. It might have been 5.5 or 7. (There are men on this planet who are glad I'm not gifted at estimating length in inches.) And further, I DID carefully log only my "real" exercise - quite precisely, in fact. And I never ate back my entire allotment of exercise calories. But other online sources seem to indicate my preferred exercise causes far less caloric expenditure than MFP credited me for.
The POINT of my original post was not to unleash this insane retribution but to say, "Hey, that didn't work for me, so I made some fixes and now it's working. Maybe this would work for you, too?"
Geesh! Breathe a little, folks!0 -
CaliforniaRower wrote: »The system assigned me 1350 calories a day. I was NEVER hungry. I felt fantastic. It felt like I was eating tons of food. I cut way back on sugar, chocolate and breads. However, over +6 weeks, I didn't drop another ounce.
I got pretty sad about that permanent plateau. I figured I'd try to address the matter when I got back from vacation.
Well, I decided to do 2 things differently: NOT log my exercise, since I think it was being overly generous with how many calories it thinks I'm burning AND to voluntarily cut (for a while, probably not forever) at least 250-350 calories off their recommendation.
I know there are plenty of people out there who will say, "under 1200 calories per day is dangerous..." and I get that. But so far, I feel fine. And I'm not going to do it forever. And I AM losing weight - finally!
Just a hint for anyone else who thinks, "Plateau?!? Fahgeddaboutit!"
My 100% plan is to drop 8-10 lbs per month, whatever it takes, and then - 3 months from now when I am at my goal - to gently allow in more calories until I find my maintenance point.
(P.S. - I totally acknowledge that because I don't literally weigh everything I eat, I could have been eating more calories than I think I am all along.)
This ^^ the exercise bit.
MFP overestimates the amount of calories burned when you exercise AND I've seen people here record every little thing they do. They get up and spend 15 min vacuuming, and it gets recorded as exercise. That might work for some, but I find what works better for me is to record only my actual exercise, not every little thing I do in a day, and to ensure that the calorie count is low.
And also ... it is really easy to eat more calories than you might think when you don't track accurately. I was floored by things like cereal. What I consider 1 serving of cereal is more like 4 servings. Also cashews. What I consider 1 serving of cashews is about 5 servings. And with certain foods (like cashews) that's a difference between 100 cal and 500 cal.
Thank you for this polite and helpful response. Although I am familiar with how much an ounce is, and I suspect I was fairly accurate, it is true that I will not use a food scale - if it got to that level and I had massive weight to lose, I'd opt for bariatric surgery, I suspect. I cannot imagine the inhumanity nor obsessive behavior (it would be that if I did it) of using a scale.
Thank you again. I'm surprised I stirred up such a swarm of hornets. I've learned to stay off the forums from now on!
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So it's inhuman and/or obsessed using a food scale? you know, god forbid you go for accuracy right off the bat rather than wasting weeks not losing because you're just guestimating...
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