Ultimate weight loss calculator & predictor

2

Replies

  • Traveler120
    Traveler120 Posts: 712 Member
    The Macro Planner seems a bit dodgy to me.
    Macro Planner

    To lose fat:

    320 calories or 80 grams of carbohydrate per day.
    720 calories or 180 grams of protein per day.
    560 calories or 62 grams of fat per day.

    To maintain:

    640 calories or 160 grams of carbohydrate per day.
    480 calories or 120 grams of protein per day.
    480 calories or 53 grams of fat per day.

    To build muscle:

    800 calories or 200 grams of carbohydrate per day.
    480 calories or 120 grams of protein per day.
    320 calories or 36 grams of fat per day.

    So I'd eat the same 1600 calories in all 3 cases but the macros determine if I'll lose fat, maintain weight or gain muscle? I don't think so! That's 100% false. Macros don't determine if you'll gain or lose, only total calories do.

    On top of that, like @TR0berts said, the protein/day is also ridiculously high. I'm 53.5 kg, I don't need 120g of protein to maintain, that's 2.2g/kg which is almost double what I really need. And that I need even more, 180g or 45% protein to lose fat? But less to build muscle? At the same calorie level? Hmm...

    Other than this highly misleading part, I do like the calculator.
  • TR0berts
    TR0berts Posts: 7,739 Member
    Oh, yeah - I hadn't actually noticed that. Yes, the macro planner total Calories is based upon how many Calories one is planning to eat - not for "clean" bulking or slow (10% or 0.5 lb per week) fat loss.
  • singingflutelady
    singingflutelady Posts: 8,736 Member
    ecg7qoh83ewh.png


    Love my 2lbs/week calorie limit lol. Sucks being basically BMI 20 and sedentary (I'm not attempting this btw).
  • WickedPineapple
    WickedPineapple Posts: 698 Member
    Neat calculator. I like the zig zag planner. It looks good until I get to the macros.

    It recommends 169 grams of protein per day to lose fat and 113 grams to maintain or gain muscle. I'm 124.2 lbs... That's way too much protein (at least for the fat loss). Why more protein to lose fat than to gain muscle (and why are maintenance and gaining the same)? Why the low carb (75 g) to lose fat?

    If the calories are all the same, at a deficit, you will lose fat no matter your macros. The categories saying "to maintain" and "to gain muscle" are misleading. You're not going to be doing either in a calorie deficit.
  • olyrose
    olyrose Posts: 569 Member
    This is great - Especially appreciate the Zig-Zag and macro features!
  • firefoxxie
    firefoxxie Posts: 381 Member
    I don't see where you can choose zigzag. I always default to 5:2
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    It worked great for me, and the estimations are pretty much the same as what Trendweight predicts. So, it's a winner OP :+1:
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
    And i particularly like the comment "I wish i had a time machine too" when I accidentally put in last year as my finish date. Very good :laugh:
  • melissa6771
    melissa6771 Posts: 894 Member
    I like it! It's not giving me a zig zag plan though. Just calories and then the 5:2 option.
  • firefoxxie
    firefoxxie Posts: 381 Member
    melissa6771 wrote: »
    I like it! It's not giving me a zig zag plan though. Just calories and then the 5:2 option.

    I added intended intake and goal weight it gave me zig zag
  • JeromeBarry1
    JeromeBarry1 Posts: 10,179 Member
    I put numbers in some of the "extra" fields but not all. The results of the calculations included several of "On invalid date you will weigh NaN pounds", which is not useful.
  • melissa6771
    melissa6771 Posts: 894 Member
    firefoxxie wrote: »
    melissa6771 wrote: »
    I like it! It's not giving me a zig zag plan though. Just calories and then the 5:2 option.

    I added intended intake and goal weight it gave me zig zag

    Ahhhh, ok. Will do that.
  • firefoxxie
    firefoxxie Posts: 381 Member
    JeromeBarry1 wrote: »
    I put numbers in some of the "extra" fields but not all. The results of the calculations included several of "On invalid date you will weigh NaN pounds", which is not useful.

    It was meant to do calculations given a provided date. However, you most likely did not put in that finish date. Hence no calculations and the NaN
  • thejadegirl
    thejadegirl Posts: 59 Member
    Just did this and it said an ideal weight for me would be 91-120something.

    I'm 5'2". If I go by BMI, my "healthy" weight range is 101-134. Just wondering where this "ideal" weight range comes from.
  • amy_kee
    amy_kee Posts: 694 Member
    I just used your online calculator and all worked out just fine.

    I'm really proud of you for doing this. It takes, mathematical ability, programming skill, and know how on setting up a web page. Cool... It's real interesting too.
    Amy
  • amy_kee
    amy_kee Posts: 694 Member
    Curious, did you use Java? I used to use COBOL and C++
  • leanjogreen18
    leanjogreen18 Posts: 2,492 Member
    On the iPhone it didn't give me the date for goal weight. Otherwise I like it.

    I zig zag and this is a nice feature you have.
  • 141622mfp
    141622mfp Posts: 29 Member
    Hey everyone! Thank you SO MUCH for your feedback - I was hoping to fix some of the issues today but I'm on a deadline with work so didn't get round to it, but I'm going to implement the improvements you've recommended as soon as I get a chance and will update here :) Thanks again! In the meantime if anyone has any other thoughts please do say.

    @amy_kee that's so nice of you to say! I'm very much an amateur still but I've been learning online, I hope to work in software at some point in the future. It's all javascript :)
  • 141622mfp
    141622mfp Posts: 29 Member
    TR0berts wrote: »
    141622mfp wrote: »
    TR0berts wrote: »
    The "extra" fields don't seem to do anything. I get the same results whether I fill them in or not.

    Hmm ok, that's odd. Are you filling in all of the optional fields or just some of them? Some of the calculations require more than one optional field in order to work, so if you're only filling in one or two of the optional fields, there may not be enough data to run the additional calculations.

    Ok, that's better. But, I'd suggest not needing to fill in all of the optional fields. I originally entered a Goal Weight and Finish Date (not the Intended Intake or Goal BMI, as I'm not overly concerned with BMI and didn't feel like guessing a Calorie goal - that's what the calculator is for! ;) ) and didn't get anything extra. The estimated Calorie intake seems like it still should have worked.

    In addition, I'm not sure how you calculate macros, but my fat loss protein goal is quite high - CW 186, GW 180 and fat loss protein goal of 225 g.

    Fixed! You can now just put in a goal weight and finish date, and it should work fine.
  • 141622mfp
    141622mfp Posts: 29 Member
    amusedmonkey wrote: »
    Great work. A couple of things, though. If some of the optional fields are left empty, it would be a good idea to not print their results because some people may find "NaN" confusing.

    Some numbers also need rounding (I'm using a PC):

    t5b3czzg29mw.png


    Fixed both things - it should now round the numbers, and won't display the optional results unless the fields are filled :)
  • 141622mfp
    141622mfp Posts: 29 Member
    hellobaconplease wrote: »
    No kilojoule option sucks. Not everyone uses calories. Looks cool apart from that!

    I'll put it on my to do list :)
  • 141622mfp
    141622mfp Posts: 29 Member
    JeromeBarry1 wrote: »
    I put numbers in some of the "extra" fields but not all. The results of the calculations included several of "On invalid date you will weigh NaN pounds", which is not useful.

    Fixed now, sorry about that! Thanks for the feedback :)
  • 141622mfp
    141622mfp Posts: 29 Member
    thejadegirl wrote: »
    Just did this and it said an ideal weight for me would be 91-120something.

    I'm 5'2". If I go by BMI, my "healthy" weight range is 101-134. Just wondering where this "ideal" weight range comes from.

    Did you adjust the frame size option? If so, (I'm guessing you put 'small' frame) the BMI results are adjusted by 10%. I've explained the feature in detail here: http://www.weightloss-calculator.net/important-info/

    If you didn't adjust the frame size option, something went wrong! Could you take a screenshot for me so I can figure out the problem?
  • 141622mfp
    141622mfp Posts: 29 Member
    Hello again! I've been working hard on the calculator today and I *think* that everything should be working fine now! :#

    I have fixed the NaN issue, changed the optional fields so that you still get some results even if you don't fill them all in, adjusted the layout a bit so it should work better on mobile, added some error checking, made sure all the results are rounded....lots of improvements! If you have a moment please do check it out and help me find any last bugs. I also want to say a HUGE thank you to everyone who took the time to try it out and give feedback, especially everyone who sent screenshots to help me fix things!

    @Traveler120 @WickedPineapple

    Thanks for your input on the macro feature - I’ve had a lot of very mixed feedback on this part, and in retrospect I think it does come across as misleading. The calorie amounts are calculated based on the user’s intended daily calorie intake, so it leaves the responsibility with the user to input a calorie deficit if they aim to lose weight, but I think this is unclear. I calculated the ratios based on a popular bodybuilding site - could be why the protein seems too high?

    Anyway, for now I’ve removed it, as I’m not sure of the best way to approach it. If anyone has any input on how to offer the macro calculation I’d @WickedPineapple
  • Krismarie247
    Krismarie247 Posts: 19 Member
    Fast and simple, I like it!
    141622mfp wrote: »

    I’d really love to hear if there’s anything that needs improving, any additional features you’d like to see and of course, if you come across any bugs![/b]

  • daniwilford
    daniwilford Posts: 1,030 Member
    Interesting, but I would never use it. I would like to adjust my weekly loss goal as I go along so that I am losing at maximum 1% of body weight as I go along. For example: the first month I would lose ten pounds and the last month 1 pound.
  • donjtomasco
    donjtomasco Posts: 790 Member
    Can I come up with a program to make money and use the MFP community to fix all the bugs in mine too? Seems like if we all are helpful in guiding someone through the process of having a great program that will make them money, that we should all get a little piece of the profits. Just saying.....

    Doesn't seem like anyone here cares about this (not the getting a piece of the pie part, but the part of using us to make money) but hey, to each their own.
  • daniwilford
    daniwilford Posts: 1,030 Member
    donjtomasco wrote: »
    Can I come up with a program to make money and use the MFP community to fix all the bugs in mine too? Seems like if we all are helpful in guiding someone through the process of having a great program that will make them money, that we should all get a little piece of the profits. Just saying.....

    Doesn't seem like anyone here cares about this (not the getting a piece of the pie part, but the part of using us to make money) but hey, to each their own.
    It is called friendship. In exchange for the help, you do get information. That information is available from other "free" sites as well.

  • donjtomasco
    donjtomasco Posts: 790 Member
    Uh, Okay Dani! Will you be my friend?
  • daniwilford
    daniwilford Posts: 1,030 Member
    donjtomasco wrote: »
    Uh, Okay Dani! Will you be my friend?
    To the best of my limited ability, yes.



This discussion has been closed.

Categories