Unrealistic weight loss brags

Konigboy · July 2016

Do any of you see people on your friends list on social media, like Facebook, talking about their weekly weight loss and want to call them out?

I have a few that started the last few months and they posted their first week weight loss, one being 17 lbs another 10 lbs. Great, begining diet flush. Both these individuals have about 40 - 50 lbs to loose. Now they both are posting they are loosing 2 - 3 lbs a day. Of course people are giving them high fives, but I see others posting how they have given up on dieting as it goes so slow. I have been on my journey for years and count my calories and exercise. No way in heck could I lose 2 - 3 lbs a day. One says the only thing different they do is use Thrive products, the other says they just cut out sweets and soda, no other diet changes or exercises. Of course based on pics, not seeing that drastic weight loss they are saying. Lol. I just worry of the false hope they give to others saying you can loose that much weight, so quickly. One even told me they would coach me to get to my goal, since it's taking me so long Lol

cwolfman13 · July 2016

Nah...dudes don't really talk to each other about this stuff...

queenliz99 · July 2016

Why let it bother you?

Need2Exerc1se · July 2016

I do see that sometimes but I just let it slide. How sad is it to need social media validation of something that quite obviously isn't true?

_sacar · July 2016

That is sad. It's not that it bothers me when I see it, but I feel like someone should call them out, only because we need to have more realistic standards and expectations for weight loss. it would encourage more people to stick with it.

That someone won't be me though because I hate confrontation and I don't really care about facebook. lol.

PandoraGreen721 · July 2016

I'm no longer on Facebook..but have witnessed that on more than one occasion..I just ignored it.

People are going to do what they're going to do.

janjunie · July 2016

Glad I don't have Facebook. Really who cares, let the fools be fooled. Fact is even is their drastic weight (water or fat) loss is real, drastic results are usually a result of major restriction. This kind of restriction usually leads to strong cravings and then bingeing and weight gain. Many people here can relate to yoyo dieting. You worry about you.

kshama2001 · July 2016

Konigboy wrote: »

Do any of you see people on your friends list on social media, like Facebook, talking about their weekly weight loss and want to call them out?

I have a few that started the last few months and they posted their first week weight loss, one being 17 lbs another 10 lbs. Great, begining diet flush. Both these individuals have about 40 - 50 lbs to loose. Now they both are posting they are loosing 2 - 3 lbs a day. Of course people are giving them high fives, but I see others posting how they have given up on dieting as it goes so slow. I have been on my journey for years and count my calories and exercise. No way in heck could I lose 2 - 3 lbs a day. One says the only thing different they do is use Thrive products, the other says they just cut out sweets and soda, no other diet changes or exercises. Of course based on pics, not seeing that drastic weight loss they are saying. Lol. I just worry of the false hope they give to others saying you can loose that much weight, so quickly. One even told me they would coach me to get to my goal, since it's taking me so long Lol

I wouldn't want to be barraged with this unhealthiness. I've hidden a few people in my MFP feed with really unhealthy relationships with CICO. My inner social worker wants to fix them, and I know this is inappropriate.

VintageFeline · July 2016

Happens sporadically with various friends. I have sometimes voiced an opinion (usually if they're sad about a "small" loss) but mostly I let it go. Not one of them has maintained their losses over the years.

TrailNurse · July 2016

I have people on my MFP feed that claim that they burn 1,000 calories doing cardio. Whatever!

Lounmoun · July 2016

People on my facebook list post about their vacation, cat pictures and about politics. No one is talking about weight loss at all.

RosieRose7673 · July 2016

TrailNurse wrote: »

I have people on my MFP feed that claim that they burn 1,000 calories doing cardio. Whatever!

Yeah I've seen that too. Oh well!

Seffell · July 2016

I wouldn't care at all. I'm so happy with my weight loss it couldn't be better. I'm losing around 1lbs a week and have lost at that rate 20lbs so far since February out of a total of 35lbs to lose. Meanwhile I've eaten so well (read "much") that I can continue doing this forever and it won't bother me. So I don't give a **** about these people. Obviously if you are 500lbs+, a couple of pounds a day is fine but you said these people had 50lbs or less to lose so I can only imagine what they're doing to themselves to lose 3lbs a day. The only thing I feel for them is pity.

TriShamelessly · July 2016

TrailNurse wrote: »

I have people on my MFP feed that claim that they burn 1,000 calories doing cardio. Whatever!

And why would you think this is not possible or even likely? It's really not that hard to do with sufficient amount of time and effort.

JenHuedy · July 2016

I blocked most of the big fat liars from my newsfeed. Most get a pass for the first couple posts when they get that initial diet whoosh, but anyone who signs up for a MLM is immediately off my newsfeed.

The biggest issue for me right now is a self-proclaimed "Fitness Freak" who I have to deal with in real life. She is constantly talking about how she's "so into fitness!" and always wants me to do the latest "30 Day Challenge!" from Pinterest or try some woo diet fad. Umm, no. You've been 50+ pounds overweight for as long as I've known you. Whatever you're doing isn't working, so why would you think I should do it after you've watched me lose 90 pounds?

The final straw was when I signed up for my first half marathon. I kept getting tons of unwanted suggestions since she has run "a couple" halfs "a few" years ago. When I asked her what her time was, so I could try to figure out which pace group I should start in she told me she averaged 8min/mile her first and 7 her second. Maybe she ran that half with the help of her magic unicorn, because there are pros who would kill for that kind of time. She did shut up when I asked her why she didn't try qualifying for the olympics with times like that. I think she finally realized I could see through her overcompensating BS.

Enjcg5 · July 2016

What gets me is when people screen shot their 1,538 calories burned from zumba class and people giving all sorts of praise.

Sued0nim · July 2016

cwolfman13 wrote: »

Nah...dudes don't really talk to each other about this stuff...

I have decided to be an honorary dude...dya think they'll have me...I drink beer an' everyfink

BarbellzNBrotein · July 2016

TrailNurse wrote: »

I have people on my MFP feed that claim that they burn 1,000 calories doing cardio. Whatever!

That's very possible. Albeit an inefficient means of burning calories.. unless ones goal is geared towards looking like a marathon runner. I'm more HIIT inclined. Each to their own.

Sued0nim · July 2016

queenliz99 wrote: »

Why let it bother you?

I like your avi @queenliz99 That's fair playing with my head

disasterman · July 2016

@TrailNurse - to be fair though, MFP's calorie estimates can be unbelievable. For example, if I log either 64 minutes of fast/vigorous swimming or 71 minutes of elliptical they each show up as over 1000 calories. I'm not buying it and would edit either of those down quite a bit but I'd expect newbies to log it as is and then post a question in about three weeks wondering why they haven't lost a pound.

ETA: I wouldn't be doing 71 minutes of elliptical in the first place but that's a different thread

CincyNeid · July 2016

Nope. I let them go. I lost 100+ pounds in less than one calendar year. Some people can do it. Some people cannot do it. I remember when I first started I would lose 2-3 pounds a day. But they were very few and far between.

or you can pull their bluff and ask for images/video of the scale when they step on it.

But why let it bother you. You're doing it for you...aren't you? Let them lie about it and pull the wool over peoples eyes. They are only making themselves look bad.

TrailNurse wrote: »

I have people on my MFP feed that claim that they burn 1,000 calories doing cardio. Whatever!

Would you like to thumb through my Strava account, or Garmin account. I know of a number of times several times I've burned over 1,000 calories either running or cycling.

Example 1 https://www.strava.com/activities/625718841
Example 2 https://www.strava.com/activities/620330642
Example 3 https://www.strava.com/activities/607028260 - And this one is over 2,000 calories burned.
Example 4 https://www.strava.com/activities/571707700/overview - This one is about 2,700 calories burned.

=================================
Edit

And you also need to keep in mind that BMI plays a huge role on Calories burned during an exercise. When i first started my weight loss journey I could easily burn 1,000 calories in a 10-12 mile bike ride. But now I need to push that distance out much further to get the same calories burned because my BMI is so much lower.

NorthCascades · July 2016

TrailNurse wrote: »

I have people on my MFP feed that claim that they burn 1,000 calories doing cardio. Whatever!

I've burned more than double that no bike rides, many times. It takes several hours and leaves me feeling well spent.

This weekend thousands of people will bike 200+ miles from Seattle to Portland, you don't really think they do it on 50 calories do you?

AllOutof_Bubblegum · July 2016

TriShamelessly wrote: »

TrailNurse wrote: »

I have people on my MFP feed that claim that they burn 1,000 calories doing cardio. Whatever!

And why would you think this is not possible or even likely? It's really not that hard to do with sufficient amount of time and effort.

Actually, it IS extremely difficult to do, unless you are extremely overweight and/or tall (and even then you'd have to be hauling @$$ HARD) or unless you are a professional-level athlete. It's not impossible, but it's KILLER, and you'd have to be at it for at least an hour of REALLY hard, vigorous working out. So I tend to take those claims with a bit of suspicion, unless the claimer has the HRM data to back it up.

kshama2001 · July 2016

TriShamelessly wrote: »

TrailNurse wrote: »

I have people on my MFP feed that claim that they burn 1,000 calories doing cardio. Whatever!

And why would you think this is not possible or even likely? It's really not that hard to do with sufficient amount of time and effort.

Ya, Saturday, I got 611 calories from steps from my Fitbit One. And I went swimming for another 262 calories. If I had also gardened, I would have hit 1,000.

One thing to keep in mind if one is perplexed by big burns is that bigger people get correspondingly bigger burns. Someone just starting their weight loss journey will get bigger burns than someone at goal, especially if that someone is female and not tall.

NorthCascades · July 2016

AllOutof_Bubblegum wrote: »

Actually, it IS extremely difficult to do, unless you are extremely overweight and/or tall (and even then you'd have to be hauling @$$ HARD) or unless you are a professional-level athlete. It's not impossible, but it's KILLER, and you'd have to be at it for at least an hour of REALLY hard, vigorous working out. So I tend to take those claims with a bit of suspicion, unless the claimer has the HRM data to back it up.

To burn 1,000 kCal in 1 hour requires about 270 watts (regardless of body weight) on a bike. That's going to be a very difficult effort for most people, but possible for a fit recreational cyclist or runner, etc. 100 to 200 watts is what a typical, reasonably fit cyclist is generally expected to be capable of.

But why are we limiting this to 1 hour? To burn 1,000 kCal in 4 hours is less than 70 watts, that's a slow recovery pace.

(HR not required.)

disasterman · July 2016

NorthCascades wrote: »

AllOutof_Bubblegum wrote: »

Actually, it IS extremely difficult to do, unless you are extremely overweight and/or tall (and even then you'd have to be hauling @$$ HARD) or unless you are a professional-level athlete. It's not impossible, but it's KILLER, and you'd have to be at it for at least an hour of REALLY hard, vigorous working out. So I tend to take those claims with a bit of suspicion, unless the claimer has the HRM data to back it up.

To burn 1,000 kCal in 1 hour requires about 270 watts (regardless of body weight) on a bike. That's going to be a very difficult effort for most people, but possible for a fit recreational cyclist or runner, etc. 100 to 200 watts is what a typical, reasonably fit cyclist is generally expected to be capable of.

But why are we limiting this to 1 hour? To burn 1,000 kCal in 4 hours is less than 70 watts, that's a slow recovery pace.

(HR not required.)

Seems to me the point isn't so much whether it's possible to burn 1000 calories but whether it's likely that the people OP was referring to actually are.

3dogsrunning · July 2016

AllOutof_Bubblegum wrote: »

TriShamelessly wrote: »

TrailNurse wrote: »

I have people on my MFP feed that claim that they burn 1,000 calories doing cardio. Whatever!

And why would you think this is not possible or even likely? It's really not that hard to do with sufficient amount of time and effort.

Actually, it IS extremely difficult to do, unless you are extremely overweight and/or tall (and even then you'd have to be hauling @$$ HARD) or unless you are a professional-level athlete. It's not impossible, but it's KILLER, and you'd have to be at it for at least an hour of REALLY hard, vigorous working out. So I tend to take those claims with a bit of suspicion, unless the claimer has the HRM data to back it up.

Not really.
A 150 lb person burns about 100 calories per mile. That's a 10 mile run.
The conservative estimate for biking is about 100 calories per 5k. That's a 50 k bike ride.
My weekends often consist of both. During the week two good workouts can total than.
I am neither a professional athlete nor am I extremely overweight.
It does take more than an hour.

I have HRM data to back it up. It almost always gives me higher estimates than this conservative approximations.

sunnybeaches105 · July 2016

Why not just be entertained?

CincyNeid · July 2016

disasterman wrote: »

Seems to me the point isn't so much whether it's possible to burn 1000 calories but whether it's likely that the people OP was referring to actually are.

Yes and no. Most people are using some sort of fitness tracking app these days that are involved in a path to a healthier lifestyle. I would assume that's were they're getting those numbers from.

Heck most people don't know how many calories they're eating much less working off. Without some sort of tracking app. I'd challenge them to post a link to said workout to validate there claims.

3dogsrunning · July 2016

disasterman wrote: »

NorthCascades wrote: »

AllOutof_Bubblegum wrote: »

Actually, it IS extremely difficult to do, unless you are extremely overweight and/or tall (and even then you'd have to be hauling @$$ HARD) or unless you are a professional-level athlete. It's not impossible, but it's KILLER, and you'd have to be at it for at least an hour of REALLY hard, vigorous working out. So I tend to take those claims with a bit of suspicion, unless the claimer has the HRM data to back it up.

To burn 1,000 kCal in 1 hour requires about 270 watts (regardless of body weight) on a bike. That's going to be a very difficult effort for most people, but possible for a fit recreational cyclist or runner, etc. 100 to 200 watts is what a typical, reasonably fit cyclist is generally expected to be capable of.

But why are we limiting this to 1 hour? To burn 1,000 kCal in 4 hours is less than 70 watts, that's a slow recovery pace.

(HR not required.)

Seems to me the point isn't so much whether it's possible to burn 1000 calories but whether it's likely that the people OP was referring to actually are.

The person who posted that made no reference whatsoever to what type of people they were. We have no idea if she has marathon runner/triathletes/cyclists on her feed.

Mentali · July 2016

Guys, I think the person posting about the 1000 calories burned by her friends knows her friends better than you do...no need to get all defensive and titchy because you've burned 1000 calories before and feel attacked.

Unrealistic weight loss brags

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