MyFitnessPal - are the future predictions correct?

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Just wondering if anyone has followed the calorie targets over time and found the future "If every day was like today, in X weeks you will weigh Y" is somewhat accurate? Thanks!

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  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    no, they're useless.
  • BodyByBex
    BodyByBex Posts: 3,685 Member
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    And there is this:

    *Your projected weight loss is an estimate based on your total net calories for today. Actual results may vary.

    Which is basically the disclaimer saying "This is here just to give you hope and motivation and is in no way true for you or anyone else."
  • Orphia
    Orphia Posts: 7,097 Member
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    I don't pay much attention to them, although they can be a general guide averaged out, if you remember that every day is different and that they're only based on your last weigh-in which could be days or weeks ago.
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 24,840 Member
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    That message isn't useless. It's motivational. It has actually spurred me on to try for a lower weight.

    But I haven't found it to be very accurate. I have written the weight it predicts on the calendar 5 weeks hence, and I have usually hit that weight a week or two earlier than predicted. :)

    Note that it is based on your current weight and your deficit on that particular day. If tomorrow is slightly different for some reason, it will be a different amount.
  • Dutchy_77
    Dutchy_77 Posts: 1,695 Member
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    what machka9 said!
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 17,959 Member
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    Machka9 wrote: »
    That message isn't useless. It's motivational. It has actually spurred me on to try for a lower weight.

    But I haven't found it to be very accurate. I have written the weight it predicts on the calendar 5 weeks hence, and I have usually hit that weight a week or two earlier than predicted. :)

    Note that it is based on your current weight and your deficit on that particular day. If tomorrow is slightly different for some reason, it will be a different amount.

    All this. It's not very accurate because it is based on one day only, but it can be fun and motivational.
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,627 Member
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    no lol
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,134 Member
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    Not for me. It's the reason I stopped closing out my diary.
  • _flawedperfectly_
    _flawedperfectly_ Posts: 34 Member
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    Yeah right. I weigh 218 lbs. It told me last night that in 5 weeks I'll weigh 197. I got a good laugh out of that one. If only it was that easy lol
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,345 Member
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    Nope ..unfortunately!
  • 20yearsyounger
    20yearsyounger Posts: 1,643 Member
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    It really depends on how consistent you are day to day. When I was losing I used the worst day within my last 7 days. It was pretty accurate for me.
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,658 Member
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    It was laughably wrong for me and I ate and exercised pretty consistently.
  • ebouchie
    ebouchie Posts: 124 Member
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    Even though I know it is not accurate I like closing out my diary and seeing the message. It gives me that extra little motivation to say "no more food today". I won't deprive myself if I am truly hungry but I think first when I have closed out my diary
  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
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    Take it with a grain of salt.
  • Sunny_Bunny_
    Sunny_Bunny_ Posts: 7,140 Member
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    I have been tracking it on a daily basis out of curiosity and comparing it to my actual weight 5 weeks later and it's been fairly accurate for me when averaged for an entire week.
    I take one weeks estimates and get the average and compare that to my actual weight during that week.
    For the week ending 8/16 I got an average estimate of 138 and my actual weight on 9/19 was 140. Not too bad, but I also had stalled for a full month before finally achieving that 140.
    Then my avg. ending 8/30 was 138.9 and my actual weight 10/4 was 138.8! That one was pretty impressive!
    Those are the only 2 weeks I have put the info together for so far. I was just curious about this myself and decided to run a little comparison going forward.