Am I to simple for the MFP system?

I think it is that simple but people get thrown off by all the 'info' they read here... Starvation mode, 'sweet spot' for weight loss, water intake, sodium, protein, 'eating back', etc., etc.

No, I treat MFP in pretty much exactly the same way.

MFP is my weight loss journal and helps me with counting calories...something i've never been able to do using a book....too much effort required...

all i do is try to eat less and exercise oh and wait...the waiting is the hardest part for me....it takes time for the pounds to come off....

you're not to simple....not in my eyes anyway...

but then i'm busy waiting....i'm looking ahead to the fall...and being 40 pounds lighter...

Nah. I'm on the exact same boat as you. MFP isn't about being strict. It's about giving you information you can use to successfully lose weight and get healthy. It's not a diet system.

Nope, not simple at all.
Sometimes I feel like you need a science degree to figure out what people are talking about.

I am a believer of eating clean un-processed foods.
if I go over my calories on a given day I am not worried as long as I didn't put junk in my body.

Maybe people make it complicated so they have an excuse?
I mean if you haven't done the correct math to subtract your TDEE from your BMR and mulitply it by your BMI and divide by your body fat percentage then it's not your fault.

I use MFP as a journal and to connect with other people.

Nope.

I only use MFP for the journal and the socialization. I use my TDEE.

I sometimes snicker at people who believe MFP as gospel. Well, did they all forget that MFP was really just written by some guy (no offense to Mike...but he is not a nutritionist, doctor or elite trainer that I know of)?

I always say - do your own research. Read and discover and learn. Each person is different so what works for you may not work for someone else.

Good luck!

Many people don't know how many calories to consume to maintain. MFP gives many of them a starting point on learning about counting calories and proper nutrition. Over time, most people adjust to the same system you're using but in the beginning, it's a lot harder to know maintenance calories if you've never been on maintenance anywhere close to your goal weight.

I may be being dumb but there are lots of people wanting to make weight loss more complicated that in seems to be.

I came into this and figured out how many calories I'm eating a day and maintaining a steady weight, by logging for a few days.

I saw how low MFP said I could go on Calories and I laughed that I wouldn't eat that little.

So now I use MFP to log what I am eating and ensure it is 500 calories or more per day under what I used to eat to maintain a steady weight, added in some regular exercise and water and the weight comes off.

(I know this will get me flamed but...) Why do so many people treat the generic-ness of the MFP calorie count as gospel and force themselves to fit that mold?

MFP really helps track but, Calories In needs to be less than calories out, healthy food is better than junk food, more regular exercise is better than couch time..........

Or am I really just being too simple?

Excellent way of doing it.

But most people by merely logging make better choices, if they really remember everything, so they really don't know what they used to eat originally, to take the deficit from.

So good for you doing it that way. As long as your daily routine now matches that level of eating then, you've got the right system figured out.

Now, to keep lowering your goal down the road, since you will eat less when you weigh less, you might do this simple thing.

What you found as your avg daily eating level that maintained weight (TDEE) / the weight then = multiplier.

So if you say ate 2000 / weight 160 = 12.5 multiplier.

Now when you weigh 150 x 12.5 = 1875 TDEE

Then you take your deficit off that new figure. Probably could do it every 5 lbs lost of course, but now you'll keep the same deficit.

Of course, if workout routine increases massively, that little method doesn't work, but should still get you close.

So was it curiosity that made you log previous eating level before you made changes, or suggestion?

I like the simple way when it comes to "dieting". I've tried complicated and it doesn't work for me. Like a lot of people on here, I use MFP as a food journal and way to conect with people who are trying to lose weight as well. Simple is good

I know what you mean - I thought I knew quite a lot about weight loss, having had various dieting attempts over the past 3 decades (my main problem has always been putting the theory into practice!) - but since joining this site, I have been totally bamboozled at times by some of the stuff I've been reading! :noway: I agree that some people seem to make it more complicated than it needs to be.

But I still really like the site, as I have found some very supportive friends on here!

Anyway, stick with what you're doing - you sound like you have the right idea to me

I use MFP as a food journal. It helps me keep track of what I'm eating so that I have a clue how many calories are going in. As far as figuring out how many calories should go in, it's been an experiment for me to see what I can live with taking into consideration what has worked for me in the past, and I took MFP's recommendation into consideration but it is just that, a recommendation. It's based on an equation that doesn't take my personal life and lifestyle into consideration. You can get really complicated about things or you can just eat what you like and stop when it gets to a certain level.

I think you've got it right and people who make it more complicated than that maybe just like for it to be complicated. Someone else said it before, maybe it's so they have an excuse when it doesn't work out.

I have increased my activity level so much since I started this process that I'm constantly trying to figure out how much I should be eating in order to maintain my metabolism, eat enough to not feel deprived, and eating little enough to see pounds come off. I don't freak out if I go over one day because I know that in the end one day where I ate a couple hundred more calories isn't going to derail my entire lifestyle. Life happens, you have to be flexible enough to adjust to it.

Simple is always better in my book. My co-workers keep asking me what my secret is and they always look so discouraged when I say, the "secret" is to eat less food and burn more calories than you take in. They just can't wrap their brains around the idea that it's really that simple.

I love this post and thought I'd respond before the idiots asking for peer reviewed clinical papers etc come and abuse the poor OP who has made a wonderful point.


I use MFP just as a tracker. I don't care about the Macros ( save for protein, being that I am vegetarian), I try and eat my BMR calories, run whenever I can and eat sensibly.

If im hungry, i'll eat more. if I want chips..I'll eat some.

if I think ive been too liberal with junk food, I'll be sure to make it up.

I am at the most comfortable weight I have been at in over 20 years and happy in my own skin.

I'll eat whatever I want, when i want, but I'll do it sensibly and manage my portions. I refuse to go hungry.

As long as I continue running 4-5 times a week and eating in moderation, i know I'll be fine when it comes to my weight.

Nope, not simple at all.
Sometimes I feel like you need a science degree to figure out what people are talking about.

I am a believer of eating clean un-processed foods.
if I go over my calories on a given day I am not worried as long as I didn't put junk in my body.

Maybe people make it complicated so they have an excuse?
I mean if you haven't done the correct math to subtract your TDEE from your BMR and mulitply it by your BMI and divide by your body fat percentage then it's not your fault.

I use MFP as a journal and to connect with other people.

UMMM I really don't like math. It counts my calories and my carbs (kinda low carbing to be a good example for my diabetic husband)

If it works and people see result, everything sounds "simple" just like how you feel now. But when it isn't working as expected or plateaued...that's when people start searching in the books and come up with all possible reasonings.