Trust the Process?

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gooz71
gooz71 Posts: 97 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Why can't I just trust the process? Now that I am using MFP of course I am reading about health coaches, fitness trainers, etc. who disagree with MFP and say the calorie amount (calculation) they give to a person is way too low. They don't agree with MFP calculations for people.

Can someone who has lost a good amount of weight on here please tell me they have always followed the calories given to them on MFP and they continue to lose and they trust the numbers?
I need reassurance. :|

Thank you so much.
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Replies

  • amyepdx
    amyepdx Posts: 750 Member
    edited January 2018
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    Same here! Lost 95 lbs started at 1760 (1 lb a week deficit) - now at 1325 (3/4 lb a week deficit). 25 lbs to go!
  • wisemagick1
    wisemagick1 Posts: 15 Member
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    http://myfitnesspal.desk.com/customer/portal/articles/1375583-a-message-about-myfitnesspal-s-updated-nutrition-goals

    This is how the calories are calculated. Plenty of people use the calories given to them on MFP and lose weight and trust the numbers
  • LivingtheLeanDream
    LivingtheLeanDream Posts: 13,342 Member
    edited January 2018
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    MFP works. It doesn't matter what 'diet' you choose to do its all about calories in/calories out.
    I've lost almost 30lbs since I started on MFP in 2012 and have kept them off successfully.

    You can trust the process.
  • Rickster1967
    Rickster1967 Posts: 485 Member
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    Lost 63lbs in 52 days, reversed Metabolic Syndrome (hypertension, fatty liver and type II diabetes) using the app, logging daily, eating pretty much bang on the calorie target every day
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    edited January 2018
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    MFP appears low because it doesn't take exercise into account. If you use it like you're supposed to and add exercise calories, it's just math, so yes, it works (as long as you're accurate in your logging).
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    edited January 2018
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    gooz71 wrote: »
    Why can't I just trust the process? Now that I am using MFP of course I am reading about health coaches, fitness trainers, etc. who disagree with MFP and say the calorie amount (calculation) they give to a person is way too low. They don't agree with MFP calculations for people.

    Can someone who has lost a good amount of weight on here please tell me they have always followed the calories given to them on MFP and they continue to lose and they trust the numbers?
    I need reassurance. :|

    Thank you so much.

    People lose weight in a calorie deficit, even if the calories were too low in MFP, this would not prevent a person from losing weight.

    The calorie goal you get when you setup MFP with your stats and rate of loss does not include EAT of TDEE. Losing weight is about energy balance otherwise known as Calorie in Calories Out.

    Also if you visit the Success Stories section of MFP, there are plenty of amazing transformations that have occurred doing MFP's method to lose weight.


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  • kristen8000
    kristen8000 Posts: 747 Member
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    MFP works. I'm proof. When I log, weigh food and eat at a certain calorie level, I lose. When I don't, I slowly gain. I've never following a "certain eating plan" or "diet". I eat what I want within a calorie level and like magic, I lose weight at the rate I've specified when I signed up for MFP.
  • Rickster1967
    Rickster1967 Posts: 485 Member
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    Rickster1967 wrote: »
    Lost 63lbs in 52 days, reversed Metabolic Syndrome (hypertension, fatty liver and type II diabetes) using the app, logging daily, eating pretty much bang on the calorie target every day

    152 days
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    I lost the majority of my 95 lbs using MFP's calorie calculations PLUS exercise, which is how MFP is intended to be used. I eventually switched to the TDEE method for the final 20 or so, but it was essentially the same number I was getting using MFP + exercise.

    People who think MFP is too low either forget you are supposed to eat exercise calories back or forget that the user decides whether to always ask for 2 lbs (TDEE calculators generally have a less aggressive loss rate).
  • gooz71
    gooz71 Posts: 97 Member
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    WinoGelato wrote: »
    OP you started a thread the other day about carbs vs calories which seemed to suggest you were under the impression that eating too many carbs would prevent you from losing weight.

    Wherever you are getting this kind of info, about carbs, that MFP calorie targets are too low, I suggest you find some better sources. Have you taken time to read the stickied most helpful forum posts at the top of the getting started section?

    To answer your question - MFP sets a goal based on information that users enter and rates of loss they select. It's also based on NEAT, meaning your exercise isn't factored in and you're supposed to eat those calories back. It's a net goal. Can some people lose weight eating more than the initial goal MFP provides? Sure, I'm one of them. But you should start with a goal from MFP, track your calorie intake as accurately as possible, and monitor results for several weeks and then adjust if you are losing faster than desired. Because that's what would happen if your calorie goal was too low.

    I have done weight watchers for many years so I am just getting used to calories/carbs, etc.
  • newheavensearth
    newheavensearth Posts: 870 Member
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    gooz71 wrote: »
    WinoGelato wrote: »
    OP you started a thread the other day about carbs vs calories which seemed to suggest you were under the impression that eating too many carbs would prevent you from losing weight.

    Wherever you are getting this kind of info, about carbs, that MFP calorie targets are too low, I suggest you find some better sources. Have you taken time to read the stickied most helpful forum posts at the top of the getting started section?

    To answer your question - MFP sets a goal based on information that users enter and rates of loss they select. It's also based on NEAT, meaning your exercise isn't factored in and you're supposed to eat those calories back. It's a net goal. Can some people lose weight eating more than the initial goal MFP provides? Sure, I'm one of them. But you should start with a goal from MFP, track your calorie intake as accurately as possible, and monitor results for several weeks and then adjust if you are losing faster than desired. Because that's what would happen if your calorie goal was too low.

    I have done weight watchers for many years so I am just getting used to calories/carbs, etc.

    I remember you from the Freestyle thread. I understand that switching from WW to MFP involves a new way of counting, tracking, measuring, and looking at food. I was there. It's an adjustment. But in making that adjustment do you feel overloaded with info, and are therefore hesitant to trust a "new" process? Trust me and everyone else who responded. The process works. Be patient, be persistent. It works.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,874 Member
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    gooz71 wrote: »
    Why can't I just trust the process? Now that I am using MFP of course I am reading about health coaches, fitness trainers, etc. who disagree with MFP and say the calorie amount (calculation) they give to a person is way too low. They don't agree with MFP calculations for people.

    Can someone who has lost a good amount of weight on here please tell me they have always followed the calories given to them on MFP and they continue to lose and they trust the numbers?
    I need reassurance. :|

    Thank you so much.

    The calories aren't too low if you're using this tool the way it is designed to be used. The calorie targets are too low if you're doing a bunch of exercise on top of your deficit and not eating additional calories to account for that...ie, you're on 1200 calories and then go burn 600 calories and only netting 600 calories coming in...that's too low and that isn't good...if you're eating 1200 and then exercising 600 and eating back 600 and netting your 1200, you're fine because you'd be grossing 1,800 calories.

    A lot of people, including fitness coaches and whatnot do not really understand how this tool works...if you're eating back exercise calories like you're supposed to, the calories are just fine.
  • MegaMooseEsq
    MegaMooseEsq Posts: 3,118 Member
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    tinkerbellang83 wrote: »
    The process itself is just fine, the problem lies with some user's understanding of the process.

    Many new users automatically choose the highest rate of loss - 2lbs per week which creates a 1000 calorie deficit, however that's only a suitable rate if you've a lot to lose. A safe and healthy rate of loss is around 1% of your bodyweight and the closer to your healthy weight range the slower the loss will be.

    For example we have a user, who is say
    • Sedentary Female
    • 30 years old
    • Current Weight: 150lbs
    • Goal Weight: 135lbs
    • Approximate maintenance intake 1730 before any intentional exercise

    If they were to choose 2lbs per week loss that would require a calorie intake of 730 calories, but for safety reasons MFP bottoms out at 1200 calories.

    The more suitable rate of loss for someone who has that small of an amount to lose is 0.5-1lbs per week which would be a 250-500 calorie deficit and would give them a net allowance of 1230-1480 calories.

    If our example lady decides to start exercising, say a 30 minute workout which burns 200 calories 3 times per week, then using MFP as intended she should be eating those calories in addition to her normal intake and would have a new allowance of 1430-1680 calories on those days.


    Providing you've chosen the correct rate of loss for your own circumstances, then there is no reason not to trust the process.

    Quoted for truth. I'd like it if MFP's set-up defaulted to a percentage body weight rather than the x pound a week thing, or provided more recommendations on rate of loss based on starting weight, but I suppose they want to keep it simple.
  • ladyhusker39
    ladyhusker39 Posts: 1,406 Member
    edited January 2018
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    ahoy_m8 wrote: »
    MFP provides a calorie goal BEFORE exercise. If you exercise, you get more calories. Are the critics comparing pre-exercise and post-exercise calorie targets?

    I suspect it's partly this and partly (or perhaps hopefully) that any decent fitness "expert" is going to see when a client has set too aggressive a weight loss goal, usually 2 lbs/wk which often gives them 1200 calories (before exercise).

    It's not MFP. It's user error or more accurately that so many people try using MFP without bothering to learn how it works. Or to understand why the most aggressive weight loss strategy is almost always an unwise choice that will not be effective in the long run, particularly at keeping the weight off.

    It's easier to blame the tool rather than the user.

    Another thought is that sometimes it's probably because they view MFP as competition to their business in some way or other which may or may not be true depending on the actual value the fitness expert brings to the table.

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