Don't understand something...

I don't even use the 5 week thing. I feel like it's judging me! :laugh: I only go by my alloted calories for the day. I suggest you ignore the 5 week button and just follow your calorie plan for the next week or two and see what happens. Make your adjustments that way.

And welcome! You'll have fun here.

I used to eat every single one of my exercise calories, because that is what I read you are suppose to do. Then I realized that I wasn't losing a single pound this way :mad:

So now I eat some of my exercise calories (about 40% of them). I don't want to deprive my body of what it needs, but I am in this to LOSE the weight...not keep at my current (disgusting) weight.

As for eating less than 1200 calories a day, sorry I love to eat and can't even picture that :laugh: :blushing:

Eating your exercise calories does not need to be regarded as a "food reward." It is simply providing your body with the extra fuel it needs. It should not be used as an excuse to eat someting unhealthy. If you burn a significant amount of calories during a workout you should definitely eat at least some of them back. How much really does vary from person to person so it can take some time to find out what is optimal for your body.

Initially, if you have too high of a calorie defict you will lose weight, but as your body adapts your metabolism will slow down and so will the rate of weightloss. And if you stop working out or increase your calories, you will likely start to regain the weight, since your metabolism is still low and you are not using the calories as efficiently.

I have had a trainer and he advocated eating more on my workout days, not as a reward but as a necessity. In particular I eat fruit before my workout (sometime also a granola bar) and protein shortly after.

The weight loss tracker really only adds the calorie deficit and equate that to pounds. So if you had a 500 calorie deficit today the tracker would assume a 500 calorie deficit every day for 5 weeks and say that you will lose 5 pounds.

No matter what, if you burn more than you eat, you'll lose weight . But there is a diminishing return. Weight loss isn't as linear as a mathematical formula. There are factors that impact it: including your health, nutrition, metobalic rate, water weight, time of the month, etc. Even hormones can affect weight loss and weight gain.

If you eat too few calories you can slow your metabolism and you will begin to burn less calories while doing the same activities. Which means that you are losing less weight than the math indicates. Extreme calorie deficits over a period of time can trigger starvation mode which can cause your body to store fat and burn muscle and organs. The tracker does not take that into account.

Bottom line, you need to eat enough to get proper nutrition and to fuel your body. You will have to find the right balance between a caloric deficit that is low enough to allow you to lose weight but not so low that it slows your metabolism or pushes your body into starvation mode. When it comes to weight loss you'll find that slow and steady wins this race.

Additionally, studies have shown that people who lose weight quickly are more likely to put it back on (plus about 10% more) while people who lose weight slowly are more likely to maintain that loss.

The best post on this is the one about 700 calories a day and not losing weight.

OH--about eating your exercise calories.....

Remember that all of these numbers are estimates based on averages. The numbers don't account for age, body composition or fitness level. As we get older our metabolism slows, muscle burns calories but fat doesn't and , as you become more fit, your body becomes more efficient and burns less calories on the same exercises.

It seems to be human nature to overestimate the calories we burn in exercise and underestimate the calories eaten. Most of us tend to overestimate our exertion levels as well. You do need to eat your exercise calories. The trick is in getting an accurate estimate. If you were eating all your exercise calories and not losing weight then it is more than likely that your estimates were too high for how many calories you were burning and potentially too low for how many calories you were eating.

Use the numbers as a guideline and then use proper nutrition goals as a double check. (And, no...vitamens and supplements to not make a good substitute for eating right).

I play around with it sometimes I eat some of them sometimes I eat all of them back. When I am not losing I change it up. It has worked so far? Good luck!

I feel stupid , but I don't know what you all are talking about with this 5 week gizmo. Where is that? I haven't found that yet ...

I have another question. I just realized that I never "complete today's entry." Does that make a difference?

On the "My Home" tab, when you click "Complete Today's Entry" it will show you what you will weigh in 5 weeks...theoretically.

No, you don't have to click that button.