MFP Projected Weight

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tabl_23
tabl_23 Posts: 46 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Any idea how MFP comes up with the 5 week projected weight? I stay under my calorie goal every day and excercise everyday ....yet my Projected weight is always different....usually a pound or two higher. I was just curious... I ate basically the same items 2 days in a row....yet my projected weight loss for today is 2 lbs higher than yesterday?

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  • kyrannosaurus
    kyrannosaurus Posts: 350 Member
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    It makes predictions based off your deficit. So if it was two pounds heavier you either ate slightly more or exercised slightly less. Remember it makes the calculation assuming you'd have the exact same deficit as that day for the entire 5 weeks, so even a slight difference from the day before would make a significant difference in the predicted weight.

    You'd be best ignoring it. No one eats the exact same thing every day for 5 weeks so you're pretty much guaranteed not to meet the number it tells you.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
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    A computer does math.

    It may be accurate for some people, but was never accurate for me. Of course, every day wasn't the same, but still.

    Don't trust it.
  • conqueringsquidlette
    conqueringsquidlette Posts: 383 Member
    edited August 2015
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    It's basically useless. Unless you're eating/exercising exactly the same number of calories, it's going to fluctuate day to day.
  • atypicalsmith
    atypicalsmith Posts: 2,742 Member
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    tabl_23 wrote: »
    Any idea how MFP comes up with the 5 week projected weight? I stay under my calorie goal every day and excercise everyday ....yet my Projected weight is always different....usually a pound or two higher. I was just curious... I ate basically the same items 2 days in a row....yet my projected weight loss for today is 2 lbs higher than yesterday?

    Not quite sure why MFP has this, unless it's to inspire you or deflate you, depending if you go over or under your calories and exercise. I just ignore it, as most people do.
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited August 2015
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    Straight math. It's roughly accurate if (a) you eat the same calories and exercise off the same calories every day; (b) MFP's estimate of your maintenance is correct; and (c) your logging is accurate. Most of the time those things aren't true. I never checked to see if any particular estimate was correct (my calories weren't the same every day, nor was my exercise), but on the whole I lost about what MFP predicted I would, or more.
  • Pinnacle_IAO
    Pinnacle_IAO Posts: 608 Member
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    tabl_23 wrote: »
    Any idea how MFP comes up with the 5 week projected weight? I stay under my calorie goal every day and excercise everyday ....yet my Projected weight is always different....usually a pound or two higher. I was just curious... I ate basically the same items 2 days in a row....yet my projected weight loss for today is 2 lbs higher than yesterday?
    You'd need to talk to Carl - he is the MFP weight projector for all members.
    wsurlzejwrpr.gif

    Seriously, it's calculated by computer. There is no Carl... :)


  • Merkavar
    Merkavar Posts: 3,082 Member
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    Take it with a grain of salt, it's just a rough estimate based on one data point.

    Might be more reliable if it was based on the previous 7 days.
  • tabl_23
    tabl_23 Posts: 46 Member
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    Hahaha....okay! Thanks everybody. I was just curious if it actually took nutritional values of your food. I eat roughly the same amount of calories and excercise roughly the same amount daily....just wasn't sure if it took into account other values than the deficiet. I guess a few extra calories could add up over 5 weeks! Thanks everybody. I will try to just ignore it from now on! Lol.
  • bloody88
    bloody88 Posts: 120 Member
    edited August 2015
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    Tbh i have stopped entirely checking my weight with the projected weight feature.
    Most people that start logging on MFP feel obligated to complete their daily entries. It wasn't accurate for me, especially at start. And it was demotivating somewhat. I am checking tho this site. So i will get an estimation of what my progress will be in like X months/weeks from now.
    http://www.losertown.org/eats/cal.php
    Since you are bothered by the projected weight feature, you will probably be interested in it.
  • tabl_23
    tabl_23 Posts: 46 Member
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    bloody88 wrote: »
    Tbh i have stopped entirely checking my weight with the projected weight feature.
    Most people that start logging on MFP feel obligated to complete their daily entries. It wasn't accurate for me, especially at start. And it was demotivating somewhat. I am checking tho this site. So i will get an estimation of what my progress will be in like X months/weeks from now.
    http://www.losertown.org/eats/cal.php
    Since you are bothered by the projected weight feature, you will probably be interested in it.

    Awesome! I will check it out! Thanks!
  • bloody88
    bloody88 Posts: 120 Member
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    Hmm not quite sure why anyone would consider that my post was spam. Oh well.. Glad to see that you liked it at least.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
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    bloody88 wrote: »
    Hmm not quite sure why anyone would consider that my post was spam. Oh well.. Glad to see that you liked it at least.

    Because it had a link, I suspect.

    Not saying I agree (or not), just offering possible explanation...
  • bbontheb
    bbontheb Posts: 718 Member
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    Oh I like that losertown page! Thanks for sharing.

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