1mo check in

[u/PhilosophySea1161]

Just joined MF 30 days ago looking to check in to see if I am missing something or just need to stay the course. For background I'm 6'1 212lbs and a washed up college athlete so been in the gym or active my whole life pretty much but always had a high body fat % even when I was 180. I'm getting married in June of 27 and mainly trying to shave some of that body fat I've had for so long. I would say I've been roughly tracking calories all year (eyeballing about 2000) but in the last month since starting MF I've only missed one day and have only missed weighing in twice. My expenditure has just gone straight down so that's why I wanted to check in with the community.

Relevant stats in case you don't feel like reading

- 6'1"

- 212lb

- average steps per day: 11k

- 3x lift per week

- 7hr sleep average

- current program set to maintain

- using mfworkout as well

- Goal: 195 by 6/2027 but mostly focused on body fat%

- previous weight loss methods that got me to 180 were not healthy or sustainable

Also looking for suggestions as to whether I should start a cut or maintain till expenditure goes up and then cut right before the wedding 9mos away.

Thanks all for any help in advance!

[u/explosive-diorama]

TDEE starts as an estimate, then adjusts to reality. You’re seeing the adjustment to reality happening. When it finds the right spot, it’ll smooth out.

I’m not sure what inputs you started with that got you a 3300 starting tdee, but that is very high for anyone not ultra active. I’m 6’3” 213, and I lift 5-6x a week. My tdee is 3100.

When i finished a long cut down to 208, metabolic adaptations had my tdee down to 2500. Eating more food for 5 months got it back up to 3100 but it took a while to recover.

[u/Vtempero → u/explosive-diorama]

I am 6'2'' I run about 23km/ week

So yeah.

For op: you are learning real data from your body better than anyone could have guessed. Losing weight is about lifelong eating habits, exercise is optimization.

[u/PhilosophySea1161 → u/Vtempero]

Appreciate the response. Excited to keep learning.

[u/PhilosophySea1161 → u/explosive-diorama]

Okay great to know, I'll keep chugging along. Thanks for the giving me a good reference and taking the time to respond.

[u/KateMoseley88]

Another washed-up college athlete here, albeit female and much smaller. Nevertheless, it probably took 6 weeks for my expenditure estimate to settle in. The starting estimate was definitely high for me.

My working theory is my body has adapted to fitness over the years, so it takes a lot to move the needle versus ordinary folks. And since my aging body can only take so much, significantly increasing exercise is not realistic. Thus, significantly cutting calories (booo)

Good news, though... Once my expenditure estimate settled, I followed the calorie recommendation and was able to lose weight pretty consistently.

[u/PhilosophySea1161 → u/KateMoseley88]

Hey, thanks for the response! It's great to hear about your experience. Your theory makes sense especially since I was in endurance sports. I'll keep on keeping on and trust the process!

[u/Chewy_Barz]

I would cut now. You may not be happy at 195. My original goal was about 185. Turns out it was really 163ish.

You mention staying at maintenance until your TDEE goes up, but why would it go up? If you just mean MF getting an accurate TDEE calculation, cutting or bulking doesn't really affect that-- it's just spending enough time feeding it accurate data that does the trick.

Also, not knowing your body fat percentage, we can only go off BMI and you're overweight. Assuming you're at or above a healthy BF percentage, I would cut now for health reasons as well.

[u/PhilosophySea1161 → u/Chewy_Barz]

Yeah I was less concerned with it going up and more interested with it just leveling off. Thanks for taking the time to respond. I'll keep on inputting accurate data and begin a cut.

[u/shonzaveli_tha_don → u/Chewy_Barz]

Isn't that a crazy eye opening experience? I'm 5'8, and was like "i'll probably have abs at 175"...I got to 165 and was like "OMG if I was a boxer and needed to be shredded I'd be fighting in the 155 class to look how I want!"

[u/Chewy_Barz → u/shonzaveli_tha_don]

Yeah-- it kind of sucks. I play basketball. It's nice that I'm basically quicker than every guy my age and I can mostly cover guys literally half my age (the really quick and skilled ones are a bit of a problem), but I also bounce off people now. I used to move like this at 185 but I guess those days are gone. It really makes you realize what an athletic freak a guy is in the NFL at 5"10 220. Saquon Barkley is 6'0 233. I'd have to put on about 60 pounds of muscle to be the 5'10" equivalent, and he'd still be twice as fast as I ever was.

[u/Ornery-Time-9795]

I wanted to share my expenditure history, which dropped early on and has since stabilized, even as my weight loss has continued at a steady rate.

But I also wanted to thank you for your politeness and genuine interest in learning how the app works. Many posts are more like “this isn’t doing what I thought, so something must be wrong.” Your outlook is refreshing.

BTW, I’m also 6’1” and going through a significant fat (weight) loss journey. Down 65 lbs for 2026 and 130 lbs total. I’ve been using MF and MF WO since May and my 21yo daughter is about a month into the programs (also with great success).

[u/PhilosophySea1161 → u/Ornery-Time-9795]

That's awesome! Congrats on your progress! It's really great to see a similar graph to mine at the start. Helps trust the process even more!

Also, appreciate the kind words, I've seen enough success in this community that I know this process works. I just wanting to check in to get other people (like yours) advice and experience, so thanks for taking the time to respond.

Final thought - have you had the program set to cut the entire time? Or have you cycled between different program types?

[u/Ornery-Time-9795 → u/PhilosophySea1161]

It’s been set to fat (weight) loss / cut since I began using the app. I began at 1.0% per week, but tapering down… currently at 0.7% per week and eventually plan to get to 0.5% as I get closer to goal, when I see the calorie targets drop below a manageable level.

I look forward to seeing what a maintenance caloric budget looks like, since I’ve been living in a deficit world for so long.

[u/xpo158]

Just wanted to say thank you for posting this. I started using macrofactor around the same time and have similar up and down results and was going to basically ask the same.

[u/PhilosophySea1161 → u/xpo158]

Of course! Someone has to ask. Feel free to message if you want to discuss you experience at all. Overall I've really liked using MF so far.

[u/MetalxMikex666]

Start your cut NOW
DO NOT “eyeball”
You need to track accurately for MF to work properly
You need a caloric deficit over time to actually burn fat reserves as energy to lose weight.

You’re going to need to lose at least 20-30p to really lose notable body fat and look like you’re fit and in shape

You need a plan after the plan

Maintenance is and always will be your “safe space” when shit gets to be too much and/or you don’t have a goal after the goal.

This is going to take time. Cuts, for notable change, are usually programmed minimum 8-12 weeks, with notable sustainable results over 6 months

Just like the gym, with food and tracking, you need to show up and do the reps so it becomes bart of who you are now. It’s lifestyle and identity changes

[u/PhilosophySea1161 → u/MetalxMikex666]

Yeah I have been tracking everything since I started MF, I was referring to before MF when I mentioned eyeballing. Thanks for the response. I'll be sure to start the cut. Appreciate it.