Success with calorie counting

[Sittingduck]

It's as much about motivation to continue eating sensible, as anything else. By having to be accountable to a daily target, I found I was able to keep up the regime and it soon became a habit. The first 2 or 3 weeks were key (for me), as this was the time it took to become normal day-to-day way of doing things or habit, rather than 'dieting'.

Doubtless there will be folk who think it's ridiculous to have to use a counter or app to be motivated to continue but if it works for me, that's all that really matters

 

[Sittingduck]

Has anyone used this app long enough to notice any increase in metabolism?

Yes. I have been logging every day since 25th October. I tend to eat much more frequently now and smaller snacks a-plenty. My sleep has improved a lot and according to the personal trainer who did my gym induction when I joined, I have turned into a calorie burning machine I think this is true, to a degree. Seem to be at the stage now of eating near on 3000 cals per day and still dropping weight.

 

[Glover Fan]

The only aspect of diet which has affected metabolism for me was the introduction of a proper breakfast and not skipping this very important meal.

 

[dongo]

I used it as accurately as reasonably possible for about 18 months, I used the information I gained from the 1st 6 months to tweak the exercise calories a bit and to get a more accurate idea of what calories I needed to eat to maintain. I lost over 4 stone and the averages weight loss over the final 12 months was pretty much what mfp said it should be. I now don't count all the time but weight myself pretty regularly if the weight creeps up over my upper limit for more than a few days then I go back to MFP and log everything until it drops back.

I found that once I got used to logging it didn't take more than a few minutes after each meal but was onerous if I left it to the end of the day. Being web based with phone apps I just got into the habit of updating wherever I was. It remembers what you eat regularly as well and even with a varied diet I find things like apples and bananas and crisps that I eat regularly are always easy to pick from the "favourites" list.

 

[Philtofit]

Having read this thread, I have just downloaded the MFP app to try it out. I need to re-focus on controlling my weight.

 

[redcard]

Been using MFP just over a week and have lost 4 pounds.
My net calorie intake is around 2000 per day (2800 less 800 for my commute), and have lost a bit more than I anticipated. Possibly my scales are a bit dodgy. Will give it another couple of weeks and see how the numbers are working out.

One thing I will say is that it's a great motivational tool to get you out at the weekend, knowing I have that extra 800-900 calories if I get out on the bike for an hour

 

[Sittingduck]

Been using MFP just over a week and have lost 4 pounds.
My net calorie intake is around 2000 per day (2800 less 800 for my commute), and have lost a bit more than I anticipated. Possibly my scales are a bit dodgy. Will give it another couple of weeks and see how the numbers are working out.

One thing I will say is that it's a great motivational tool to get you out at the weekend, knowing I have that extra 800-900 calories if I get out on the bike for an hour

It'll level out in a cpl of weeks. It's water weight at the beginning. Sounds like you will be in deficit of around 500cals / day to me (I'm guessing your maintenance figure is about 2500). Should work out to 1lb / week, in theory.

 

[Becs]

I've been using it since the end of March and have lost 20 pounds. Prior to that I have used it intermittently but I didn't find I lost anything if I ate my "exercise calories" - I think it over estimates these wildly, particularly for cycling. I now log all my cycling as "under 10mph" even though my average when commuting is almost 14 and only ever eat a maximum of half of what it says (unless it's just one of those days when I fall off the wagon!). I think it's really good for helping control portion sizes and for me making me realise how many calories there are in alcohol! Now if I want to go out drinking I do half an hour on the treadmill first and then stick to clear spirits! I find the scanning/entering stuff is a small price to pay for the benefits you get from a free app!

 

[redcard]

Yeah, I don't think I'm burning 800 calories in 65 minutes; Endomondo says its more like 500. I usually end the day 100-300 calories short of my goal, so that's probably helping balance things out a bit.

 

[Sittingduck]

In my experience I would say that MFP does over-estimate cals burned cycling but not by as much as you may think (at least for me). The speed zones also play a part, eg. if your avg for the ride was 14.2mph, log it in the 14-16 zone but perhaps take a look at the same time for 12 - 14 and see how similar the numbers are. A 40min ride at 12 - 14 may say 600 in the higer band and 450 in the lower band. Perhaps put in 500, if it's only just inside the 14-16 zone.

I ride with a HRM (yes, I know it's not totally accurate either) when I go on weekend rides and did a few commutes a while ago, with the HRM on. Estimated calorie burns via MFP were a little higher than the HRM figures, probably to the tune of 20 - 25%. For this reason I always aimed to finish each week with plenty of 'exercise cals' in the bank. Infact I used to come in with thousands leftover, in the early weeks/months and this was reflected to a degree in my loss rates. Whereas MFP will allow upto 2lb / week loss tracking, I was dropping 4 - 4.5 lb per week for months on end.

Lately, I reduced my deficits as I am nearly at goal and the predicted loss rates from MFP are actually quite accurate. I still aim to have calories in the bank each week, however. I would try it for a while (a month +) and see how it works out for you. You will soon get a feel for how accurate or otherwise the estimated calorie burn is. It is at least as important to accurately record consumption. Invest £10 in an electronic food scale and be religious with logging everything you have eaten / drunk. You'll soon get into the swing of it and it becomes less tiresome to log food when you have all of your regularly used items in your favourites / recent lists.

 

[redcard]

I don't find the logging a problem. I quite enjoy sticking all my ingredients in there and seeing exactly how much I'm eating, and I make sure everything is getting recorded. About 80% of my meals can be scanned by barcode anyway, so it's a few minutes each day.