How to figure how many calories burned?

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VirtualMellie
VirtualMellie Posts: 68 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm a total noob, and feel silly for asking.. but I'm wondering how to start counting how many calories I burn for certain exercises? Does my BMR factor into this or no?

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  • rosebarnalice
    rosebarnalice Posts: 3,488 Member
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    I would start by just looking under the "exercise" tab, and finding your exercise, and log it

    If you have entered your stats (height, weight, etc.) in your profile, then if you log "walking-brisk pace 3.5 mph" for 30 minutes, MFP will calculate the calories burned for you. If you then drop 3 lbs and enter the same exercise for the same time, it will adjust the calories burned based on your new stats.

    Some people find that the calories burned calculations aren't accurate for them, but they're close enough to get you in the ballpark . . so over time you might need to tweak things a bit
  • BusyRaeNOTBusty
    BusyRaeNOTBusty Posts: 7,166 Member
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    Your BMR should factor into your base MFP calories, not really anything added for exercise.

    The first step is to use MFP's estimates for each activity. These aren't great, but they are something.

    The second step is to get a good heart rate monitor, which will convert your heart rate into calories burned but only works for aerobic activity.

    The third step is to log accurately for a significant period of time and see if your weight loss is what you are expecting. If it's more, you are burning more than you thought, either through exercise or daily activity.
  • Spliner1969
    Spliner1969 Posts: 3,233 Member
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    I use an app, makes it easy. If you have a smartphone take a look, there are MANY available, most have free modes and paid modes. The one I like the most is Endomondo. You simply select the exercise you're going to do, hit play, and exercise. Hit stop when done, it'll calculate calories burned. Most of these apps are more accurate if you pair a heart rate monitor with them, but you don't have to. Just figure on all estimates being over inflated a bit, so if you plan to eat back those calories (and you likely should) start at 50% of those exercise calories and adjust over time to see what's accurate for you.

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