You should weigh ***lbs in 5 weeks feature

I've never had much luck with the 5 week predictions but my body likes to hold on to every pound until it's dying breath, and fluctuates every time I sneeze so I don't take it too seriously.

All it tells me is how much I ate that day....

I actually put it in my calendar 5 weeks from now and when that date comes I put in whatever prediction it gives me for 5 weeks later.

So far it's on point. Not sure about this next 5 weeks as its giving me a loss of 10 pounds for 5 weeks but 10 days in I'm only down 1/2 a pound and not even close to having my period...

Its just a guide. It will be in the ballpark, if you are consistent with your input.

AmbsBams wrote: »

How accurate has that "you should weigh this much in x amount of weeks" feature been for you guys. After I log a meal it always says that I should weigh 195lbs in 5 weeks and I am just curious to see how accurate it is.

It is a rough estimate based on what you currently weigh and what you ate that day and what you did for exercise.

Eat slightly more or less tomorrow, and the number will be different.

As for accuracy, during my first 16 weeks here, I was losing much faster than what it was predicting.

Less accurate than the weather forecast for 5 weeks hence.

That thing is a lying <bleep>. Weight loss isn't linear, I don't pay attention to it.

I think it's meant to be more like a bit of encouragement to keep up the good work or make some changes (depending on if you did well or did poorly). It's saying, "If you keep this up, here is where you could be in five weeks. It's up to you if you like that number or not." I've just used it as a guide to know when I'm working in the right direction.

cwolfman13 wrote: »

AmbsBams wrote: »

How accurate has that "you should weigh this much in x amount of weeks" feature been for you guys. After I log a meal it always says that I should weigh 195lbs in 5 weeks and I am just curious to see how accurate it is.

It's a simple little equation that assumes that indeed every single day will be identical to today...calories in identical and calories out identical...personally, I don't know anybody that can actually achieve that...even if you ate the exact same things and did the exact same exercise, you may be doing it at more or less intensity...and also, your just daily activity would have to be exactly the same. It also assumes that 3500 calories = exactly 1 Lb...it's a good general figure, but 3500 calories does =/= exactly 1 Lb. It also assumes you're going to lose exactly the same amount week to week and that's not how weight loss happens.

There is nothing exact about any of this so don't expect exactness. IMO, that is one of the most worthless features on MFP.

Agreed.

I don't think this is worthless, but I also don't treat it as a prediction and expect that I will weigh exactly that much in exactly 5 weeks. In other words, I don't see it as something that is going to be accurate because life doesn't occur exactly the same day to day.

My take on this number is that it's giving me feedback about my day.... it will show me that with an ongoing very low calorie intake I would lose weight faster, but because I'm grown up and have a bit of common sense, I'm going to balance that with the fact that I know I wouldn't be able to sustain that kind of calorie deficit every day and that I'm not going to feel good if I keep this up.
And if I have a day where I eat a whole lot more than my regular cals, it gives me feedback that if I keep up this kind of calorie intake, then my weight will stay the same or increase.