Which burned calories do you count?

doctorsookie

Okay, now the way I see it is a calorie burned is a calorie burned. I use the calories I burn from all the activities I do including sleeping, driving, and reading a book. I cant do a lot of exercise except my physical therapy and very short walks (I learned last week not to overdo that) since I am still recovering from a hip laberal tear and a displaced SI joint in my back. I am currently struggling with what the doctors tell me is likrly a rotator cuff injury. Any way my question is is it fair to list all ghese burned calories. I by no means attempt to "eat them back" and have been losing but I feel like I am "cheating" when my total burned calories add up so over a thousand. There is a website I use toz average the calories I burn. Whzt do you guys think?

3dogsrunning

Those calories you burn while sleeping, brushing your teeth, moving about the house, reading a book, even your job are accounted for already. That is part of the calorie goal MFP gives you.

CyberEd312

No I would not count those calories... Only calories I count are those burn (per my Polar FT60 heart rate monitor) during my cardio exercise..... Best of Luck

KReduced

How do you know how many calories you burn while you are driving? working? What are you using to keep track of this? I would suggest investing in a fitbit or HRM for any exercise. Also, are you doing the tdee method? There is a lot that goes in to answering this question.

For myself,
I have MFP set to 1200 calories, and own both a fitbit and HRM. They all sync together so it changes my daily limit intake as I move more, while still keeping me at a deficit overall. Sometimes I eat all of them, sometimes I eat non. It depends on the day.

doctorsookie

@K I use a website and enter the minutes I do each activity.

How doe MFP know howclong I sleep or how much I drive? It varies daily.

Shadowcub

How doe MFP know howclong I sleep or how much I drive? It varies daily.

Well, MFP doesn't. However when you enter your height, weight, and gender it uses some formulas to derive what your BML is most likely to be. (BML is Basal Metabolic Rate, or what you would burn if you basically didn't move all day, not even sit up once, chew, eliminate, or anything else. NOTHING! Thick, in a coma for 24 hours.)

From your BML and what you set as your activity level (Sedentary, Lightly Active, Active, or Very Active) MFP calculates your baseline TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure, or approximately how many calories you burn on an average day NOT doing anything special, like going to the gym. But it DOES include normal activities like brushing teeth, driving to/from work, the walking you do AT work, sitting up at the table to eat, etc.).

From there MFP takes your weight loss goal and subtracts if from your TDEE to calculate your goal calories, and from their your macros and other nutrient goals. (For example, subtracting 250 calories per day should result in 1/2 pound of weight loss per week.)

To stay on that goal, you should log any specific exercise you do: walking the dog, going to the gym, working out to a DVD, etc. MFP uses these "Exercise Calories" to update your goals for the day. There is some debate about "eating back" exercise calories, but I tend to try to on the theory that I'm already set to lose about 1-1/2 pounds per week and that's enough. I usually fall a bit short of eating my total calories, so my scale is reporting closer to 2 pounds a week, the upper end of what is generally considered a) safe and b) sustainable.

But MFP is flexible. Use what is here that works for you and ignore the rest if that's what you want to do.

doctorsookie

Thanks Shadow