So how accurate

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Trex5009
Trex5009 Posts: 171 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Is the Calories suggested by MFP? It tells me to eat 2460 cals for maintenance based on my activity level. Also one more question, has anyone here who has followed the recommended amount of calories to eat... reach the weight that it tells you after you "finish" your diary for the day? Like how it tells you you'll be X amount of weight in 5 weeks or something. Just curious.

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  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    I have found the calorie suggestions to be very accurate. It will all depend on how accurate you are when entering your stats and activity level.

    Most people disregard the predictions. It's based on the assumption that every day will be like the day you just finished, but that's not how weight loss works. We eat different things, we do different things, we don't lose at a constant and predictable rate.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
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    It’s as accurate as you make it. Some may find they have to eat more or less than stated, but for the majority the number works. Everything is an estimate anyway.

    Ignore the 5 week projection. It’s only based off of that particular day if you eat that exact number of calories for the next 35 days, and it doesn’t account for fluctuations.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    Trex5009 wrote: »
    Is the Calories suggested by MFP? It tells me to eat 2460 cals for maintenance based on my activity level. Also one more question, has anyone here who has followed the recommended amount of calories to eat... reach the weight that it tells you after you "finish" your diary for the day? Like how it tells you you'll be X amount of weight in 5 weeks or something. Just curious.

    Any calculator like this is going to give you an estimate based on population statistics and slightly varying algorithms. It's just provides for a reasonably good jumping off point...it's up to you to make adjustments as per your real world results. I was initially losing faster than I wanted to lose with MFP's number so I customized and upped my target by about 200-300 calories.

    As far as the you'll weigh XXX in 5 weeks goes, it's an overly simplistic math formula that assumes that everyday will in fact be exactly the same...which is impossible...even if you ate the same exact calories every day, your expenditure is always going to vary. It also doesn't account for natural body weight fluctuations and that show on the scale and mask fat loss and assumes that weight loss is going to be a linear function...which it's not. Ignore it.
  • Trex5009
    Trex5009 Posts: 171 Member
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    janejellyroll wrote: »
    I have found the calorie suggestions to be very accurate. It will all depend on how accurate you are when entering your stats and activity level.

    Most people disregard the predictions. It's based on the assumption that every day will be like the day you just finished, but that's not how weight loss works. We eat different things, we do different things, we don't lose at a constant and predictable rate.
    malibu927 wrote: »
    It’s as accurate as you make it. Some may find they have to eat more or less than stated, but for the majority the number works. Everything is an estimate anyway.

    Ignore the 5 week projection. It’s only based off of that particular day if you eat that exact number of calories for the next 35 days, and it doesn’t account for fluctuations.
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    Trex5009 wrote: »
    Is the Calories suggested by MFP? It tells me to eat 2460 cals for maintenance based on my activity level. Also one more question, has anyone here who has followed the recommended amount of calories to eat... reach the weight that it tells you after you "finish" your diary for the day? Like how it tells you you'll be X amount of weight in 5 weeks or something. Just curious.

    Any calculator like this is going to give you an estimate based on population statistics and slightly varying algorithms. It's just provides for a reasonably good jumping off point...it's up to you to make adjustments as per your real world results. I was initially losing faster than I wanted to lose with MFP's number so I customized and upped my target by about 200-300 calories.

    As far as the you'll weigh XXX in 5 weeks goes, it's an overly simplistic math formula that assumes that everyday will in fact be exactly the same...which is impossible...even if you ate the same exact calories every day, your expenditure is always going to vary. It also doesn't account for natural body weight fluctuations and that show on the scale and mask fat loss and assumes that weight loss is going to be a linear function...which it's not. Ignore it.

    Makes sense, thanks guys!

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