Following MFP daily food log, has it been accurate for u?

Yes.
Yes.
And yes.

I lost nearly 50 pounds last year eating at around what MFP suggested for 1/2 - 1 pound/week loss. Usually somewhere in-between these two numbers, I'm not interested in depriving myself, anything under 1400 net calories a day and I'm seriously grumpy!

I found that if I consistently ate around these numbers (not too far above or below) then the 5 week prediction was fairly close.

I put a few kg back on because i started eating too much junk (ie. chocolate) again but now I'm back to eating well and I'm staying around the same weight/losing slowly eating at a very small deficit. Just as you would expect.

There is nothing magic to it - just a moderate deficit sustained over a long time. In my opinion persistence is the key to success.

Mine's not.

I set my goal to .5 lbs/week loss. I eat those calories plus all my exercise calories and lose about 1.5 lbs/week at that level... for at least 5 consecutive weeks.

I have been on MFP since February, and yes... have lost the weight steadily, and reflecting in the quidelines.

I eat within my calorie level, and within my carb/fat/sugar etc settings. I increased my fibre setting in the custom goal area, as it now reflects a better daily amount as recommended by nutritionists - 30g/day.
I am especially aware of the carb/fat amount I eat balanced with the protein.

The thing MFP has taught me is the ability to eat a healthy balanced diet, and recognise that my portion sizes were totally out of whack.
The other thing I have been doing is eating my main meal at lunch (approx 500 cal max), as I know that I burn it off during the day steadily, and don't feel overfull or bloated in the evenings anymore.
I enjoy being able to balance and maintain eating the foods I love - including the 'treats'

I do not eat into my exercise calories as I see those as 'bonus' loss, and often don't feel that hungry to fill up any more.

MFP was fairly accurate for me. My key thing was making sure I logged every last morsel.

It's worth trusting in and it does work, even the calorie burned estimates aren't way off the mark. I would still be a porker if it wasn't for this site. xx

I don't expect it to be accurate but it helps immensely.

I have found for the most part, it is accurate. I think the exercise estimations are off; I go to a gym and log in my weight and other personal information; the calories burned that I log in are from my gym and not MFP, because the same exercise at the same amount of time was way higher on MFP than at my gym. For exercises that aren't gym related (i.e. cleaning, moving, etc.) I will use MFP estimates, but keep in mind they are probably too high, and try to leave a little room for error.
I do know I would not have lost the weight I have lost if not for this site, so I give it an A. :bigsmile:

Hey, girl!

With the exception of the last month or so (end of the school year is incredibly hectic), I've been on MFP consistently for about a year. I've found it to be an excellent tool. Sometimes, you have to look at several entries in the food log because some aren't accurate, but you pick it up pretty quickly. I also find it helpful to take the time to enter certain recipes that I make all the time and save them in My Recipes. I've lost a little over 100 lbs., and I've got about 50 lbs. to go. My best friend/cousin has been on MFP since September, and she's nearing 100 lb. lost as well.

One of the most valuable things about this site - for me anyway - is the support I receive from the friends I have made here. They lift you up when you're down and encourage you like nobody's business. I'm so proud of you for your progress so far.

Remember two things:

#1 - Each day is a new beginning, so don't worry about it if you have a rough day nutritionally speaking or if you can't complete the exercise goal you set for yourself that day. Try again tomorrow.

#2 - Love yourself enough to do it, and you WILL succeed. It's about time we gave as much love to ourselves as we do to others.

Talk to you soon!

I love that I can plan in advance so know what calories I need, I'm out for a meal on Saturday so I can log in advance and at least know where I'm at and it will probably ensure I get out for a decent run on the morning to give me some spare cals to play with.

I think that's probably what I like best, too.

I use the phone app and scan products, this MFP is the best easy system available right now. If you have issues purchase the $99 clip on thingy to sort even more data. Short of wearing BP, HR and GPS monitors I think you'll get results from this easy system.

I've found it to be reasonably accurate except for two things: 1) user entered foods in the data base are sometimes not accurate. Sometimes the calories will be right and I won't catch the other mistakes until later when my macros don't add up right. 2) the number of calories it says I burn doing exercise is INSANE! Sometimes I will check it with other sites or if I use the #s on the machines at the gym and a few of the calorie burns MFP reports are TWICE what I think is accurate. I always use the #s from the gym when I exercise there. I don't know if that's correct, but it seems to be closer. I have my MFP set for 2 pounds a week and if I eat 1/2 my exercise calories and stay near goal, I lose about 2 to 2.5 a week. What I don't understand at all though is that if I eat close to what MFP says would be maintenance, or even 500 under, I often plateau or gain. The math doesn't add up. However, if I follow the guide for losing 2 a week and put in my own calorie burn on exercise, it comes out just about right.

I have been losing very slowly (about 1/2 lb per week). I adjusted my calorie goal to account for breastfeeding so at the end of the day when I complete my food diary for the day, the estimated weight it gives me is actually more than what I currently weigh. If you ever increase your calorie goal for whatever reason, keep that in mind. I don't even pay attention to what that number is anymore.

Ms. Big Mack, So am I understanding correctly? You are losing 1 lb more each week than anticipated?

That is correct.

And I am as meticulous as they get. If I eat it, it goes in my diary... and the exact brand when possible, and by weight... I use a food scale for everything. I also log every exercise calorie with my Garmin Forerunner 410, which has one of the best HRMs on the market.

The difference, I think, is that at my height, weight and age (5'7", 168 lbs and 36 years old) I have more lean muscle mass than MFP assumes I do (I have more than the average for my height and age: 120 lbs) so I burn more calories than MFP thinks I do.

Remember two things:

#1 - Each day is a new beginning, so don't worry about it if you have a rough day nutritionally speaking or if you can't complete the exercise goal you set for yourself that day. Try again tomorrow.

#2 - Love yourself enough to do it, and you WILL succeed. It's about time we gave as much love to ourselves as we do to others.

Talk to you soon!

^^This. I've been doing MFP since February and it seems pretty accurate. The one thing I try to catch is that I underestimate the calories burned by 10 calories, and I shoot to net 1100 calories to make sure I'm not overestimating anything.