How heavily do you rely on "you will ___ in 5 weeks!"?

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wittlelacey
wittlelacey Posts: 412 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Ah, typo! *you will weigh... (:

I'm asking this out of complete curiosity :) I don't pay too much attention to it, but I notice that there are some people who write it in their notes everyday after they finish their food and exercise log. How about you?

Five weeks seems too far away, and I never really tested its accuracy. However! I stumbled across this site that gives you the same information week to week, short term and long term :)

I might start paying closer attention to that, seeing as how I can see what I would weigh in one week with a specific meal/exercise plan.

Thoughts, comments, concerns (:

website: http://www.losertown.org/eats/cal.php
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Replies

  • alyson820
    alyson820 Posts: 448 Member
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    I totally ignore it, honestly. Maybe I'll start writing it down to see.
  • kindscan
    kindscan Posts: 2
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    i think it's a pretty great motivator. i have a long ways to go yet (50 pounds) so it's nice to see where my hard work will take me.
  • wittlelacey
    wittlelacey Posts: 412 Member
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    i think it's a pretty great motivator. i have a long ways to go yet (50 pounds) so it's nice to see where my hard work will take me.
    I agree with this :) Although I don't fully appreciate the number, it definitely makes me want to do as best I can all the time!
  • gaylecw
    gaylecw Posts: 34
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    I glance at it but that's about it!
  • madisons_mummy
    madisons_mummy Posts: 169 Member
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    I don't think it would actually work unless you did EVERYTHING the same everyday for 5 weeks. I have written it in my diary just to see though. Got about 2 more weeks to loose 5kgs LOL
  • George1567
    George1567 Posts: 107
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    I wrote it down once, and in five weeks it was within 1 pound of being correct.
  • firesoforion
    firesoforion Posts: 1,017 Member
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    I totally ignore it.
  • atjays
    atjays Posts: 798 Member
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    In most cases you're not going to be anywhere close to that number. In a perfect world if the human body made sense that may work, all its doing is totalling the calorie deficit . Sadly though the body takes months if not years to adjust and actually get to that number. All you'll lose in 5 weeks is some water weight
  • skinny91bum
    skinny91bum Posts: 37
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    Pretty much just glance, makes me feel a little better about myself

    S x
  • jobelle217
    jobelle217 Posts: 41 Member
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    I look at it every time! It's only going to be accurate if consume/burn the same number of calories from that day, every day of course. But, it really motivates me to attempt to eat the same way every day because I see that potential.
  • MrDude_1
    MrDude_1 Posts: 2,510 Member
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    i hit it for giggles all the time, but its never close to accurate for me.

    I do track my weight and calores with excel and i can tell you with fairly good accuracy where I am going, where im at, and where ive been... but thats all nerdy stuff. lol.
  • llkilgore
    llkilgore Posts: 1,169 Member
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    I copied and pasted the info to the notes box for later use in tweaking the percentage of exercise calories I ate back. I only did it on days when I hit my calorie target, though, or at least came close. The prediction will be off on the days you over or under eat.
  • wittlelacey
    wittlelacey Posts: 412 Member
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    i hit it for giggles all the time, but its never close to accurate for me.

    I do track my weight and calores with excel and i can tell you with fairly good accuracy where I am going, where im at, and where ive been... but thats all nerdy stuff. lol.
    hahaha i should start tracking on excel!
    except i hate excel, so nevermind ;)
  • wittlelacey
    wittlelacey Posts: 412 Member
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    I wrote it down once, and in five weeks it was within 1 pound of being correct.
    well that's awesome!
  • IvoryParchment
    IvoryParchment Posts: 651 Member
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    My activity level appears to be higher than the "sedentary" I entered, so I always lose weight faster than predicted. I ignore it.
  • privatetime
    privatetime Posts: 118
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    I asked this exact question yesterday.

    I'm new to MFP, and I was hoping my diet and exercise entries would mean the app. could project my weight loss over time. But that 5-week thing is a joke. Twice now it projected a 5-week loss that I met within a day or two. It ALWAYS projects my 5-week loss at 1-5lbs, even though I'm on the 2lb/week schedule and HAVE been losing 2.5lbs/week, on average, for a couple of months now.

    As such, that 5-week thing is very discouraging. It's obviously just plain wrong, in my case. The only time it predicted a 2lb/week loss was when I clicked the "complete" button when I still had severl hundred calories remainng in the day.

    If I'm under my daily calories, it says I'll miss my goal by 30-50%. if I'm over my daily calories, it says I'll miss my goal by 40-80%. Pish, posh!

    So, I'm just going to ignore those silly projections. They're so far from accurate for me (and never in a motivational way) that they have zero meaning, and may even be detrimental to my continued enthusiasm.
  • giantsfaninvt
    giantsfaninvt Posts: 26 Member
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    I asked this exact question yesterday.

    I'm new to MFP, and I was hoping my diet and exercise entries would mean the app. could project my weight loss over time. But that 5-week thing is a joke. Twice now it projected a 5-week loss that I met within a day or two. It ALWAYS projects my 5-week loss at 1-5lbs, even though I'm on the 2lb/week schedule and HAVE been losing 2.5lbs/week, on average, for a couple of months now.

    As such, that 5-week thing is very discouraging. It's obviously just plain wrong, in my case. The only time it predicted a 2lb/week loss was when I clicked the "complete" button when I still had severl hundred calories remainng in the day.

    If I'm under my daily calories, it says I'll miss my goal by 30-50%. if I'm over my daily calories, it says I'll miss my goal by 40-80%. Pish, posh!

    So, I'm just going to ignore those silly projections. They're so far from accurate for me (and never in a motivational way) that they have zero meaning, and may even be detrimental to my continued enthusiasm.

    I noticed this too, and figured out that in order for me to lose 2 pounds a week by the MFP projections, my calories would actually have to be below 1200. Since my calories were set at the minimum 1200, I actually can't lose quite that much even though that is what I tried to do with my settings. So, I set it at 1.5 pounds and just went with it (allows me to eat a little more and the difference on the scale is negligible).
  • sharleengc
    sharleengc Posts: 792 Member
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    I don't pay attention to it at all. Mainly because I don't always "complete" my diary to see it. I put things in my diary but when I do complete it, its not until I go to bed and sometimes I just don't log back in to hit that button. Usually my only thought when I see that is "hey, that'd be cool" but I don't think I've every been the weight it said I would in 5 weeks.
  • doonesbury
    doonesbury Posts: 281 Member
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    I joined MFP approx 5 weeks ago. I am 1.5 lbs more today than my first day prediction! Not bad odds, I say!
  • KrazyAsianNic
    KrazyAsianNic Posts: 1,227 Member
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    I don't take it to heart. I look at it and think that if I do keep up a good day like it says, then I could be coming up to that weight.

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