looking for honest users

MercuryBlue

I log every bite, good or bad, and my fitbit tracks all my exercise (and I've never gone near 800 Cals a day burning wise). MFP over exaggerates exercises so much. I have people on my friends list burning 1500 a day... like seriously? That's BS.

But whatever, people wanna lie to themselves, it's not my place to say. They are just screwing themselves up in the end.

I don't know why people assume that these people are lying to themselves. On days that I exercise, I regularly burn between 800-1500 additional calories. I do a morning workout that's about 500 calories, and then another workout just before dinner. On top of that, I take long walks with my mother, all around the neighbourhood, every evening. These walks can burn anywhere between 300-600 calories. I use a HRM, so I know these numbers are fairly accurate. Or, at least, a lot more accurate than they would be if I had MFP "guess" for me.

I think I'd be really irritated if someone assumed I was "lying to myself", or that I was exaggerating, if they saw me posting my calories burned for the day. It's definitely not "BS". I agree with the OP that 3500 per day, just about every day, sounds a little excessive; however, I'll also say that it's not uncommon for obese people to burn a huge amount of calories in a workout, partially because of the additional weight they're carrying. A 300 lb woman could easily burn double the amount of calories in an hour that I do, doing the same exercise.

debbiecutajar

i am all new to this so i really have no idea what im doing. Just to do any exercise is hard but i guess i will start slow on my treadmill and see how i go

whitebalance

OMG I hate that! It's like, you walked for 6 hours? What? Who is benefiting from these things?

I volunteer on political campaigns. During the election season, it's not uncommon for me to spend 6-8 hours walking on a Saturday. People with walking desks could log those hours too, albeit at a fairly slow pace.

melindasuefritz

why would people cheat them selves..........wow

melindasuefritz

how do you know they are lying
that's only three hours so......................

melindasuefritz

some people exercise all d ay like 8 hours

melindasuefritz

i do 60 - 80 minutes of cardio a day

Connie366

I have noticed that when I enter something like Tae Bo for 45 minutes, it calculates as 1100+ calories burned. I use a heart rate monitor so I know I only burned 347. Maybe people that don't have a monitor don't really know and are just going with what's there.

KelleyFran28

I agree with your assessment on the honesty. It really doesn't hurt anyone but the person who posts ridiculous burns. Just makes me more determined to input correct calories eaten and expended, myself. Friends who know me would surely wonder why I've not lost more if they saw those kind of numbers on my board.

angelasmithhenderson

omg! i just posted about this 30 seconds ago. I think the calories burned are greatly inflated also

Dollfun1

If people are inflating their exercise burn it is a real shame, but in the end they are only hurting themselves. I for one only want to surround myself with those being truthful. One can not advance in life if they are not truth with themselves and others. I need to have respect for those I look to for inspiration and advice.

Reading through these post I see some making light of those who log every thing (even folding laundry).... This is my first week on MFP and I log EVERYTHING (maybe not folding laundry, but cleaning the house yes) because I want to know where I am with food and exercise (due to some major surgeries due to cancer I have had a hard time finding the right exercise program/routine), then I know where I need to improve. If I'm not doing good on something I use the note box on my food log to remind myself of what I need to be cautious of and work to change my problem areas (drinking more water is just one of my problem areas and getting more exercise is another).

I'm very appreciative of the post I've read, I have learned some really good things ~ thanks!

Wishing everyone the best

Christine

I don't put cleaning house or chores as some do. I even had someone once log 15 calories for driving to work. My theory is I wasn't losing weight before when I was doing these things so I won't log it now. I just think of those as a little bit extra calories but never log them.

As I said I just started and many of the people I have become friends with are also just starting out: I guess some of us just need a starting place to know where we were at so we can move forward with an exercise routine that will burn more calories than we did before. I had no idea what type of calories I was burning until I logged certain things. So, now I have a starting point and I can now set my goals accordingly. Those logging driving I find a little funny, but maybe they were just wanting to see what type of calories they were burning. Just because you see it logged once or twice does not mean it will be an everyday thing, some of us are just curious.

3foldchord

I almost never log calorie burns. I use my TDEE with activity level figured in already. I only log exercise calories when I go over 4 hours of exercise a week. Which for me, doesn't happen very often.

Ljvalsan

Ok, it seems that there is a lot of confusion in what I was trying to say. Calories are usually something really hard to burn. USUALLY. What I am talking about is a girl that posted she walked for 8 hours at a 4mph pace because her job kept her busy. What kind of job makes you walk for 8 hours? Or the guy that burnt 290 cal on 8 min of a stationary bike. If you really burn all of this and eat what you say you eat on your diary, why are you 160 pound overweight? Like I have heard before, people tend to underestimate what they eat overestimate what they burn.
I went to a class about metabolism a few days ago and they told us that exercise is only 10% of daily calorie burn, 20% is lifestyle and 70% net cal burn, which is what your body burns naturally to function.
Machines, MFP are never gonna be accurate because we are all different. Even HRM are not 100% accurate but they are the closest thing to perfect. And as far as I know only muscle is responsible for burning calories, fat is just energy stored in your body, that is why it is easier to stay in shape than to get in shape.

ereck44

If people are inflating their exercise burn it is a real shame, but in the end they are only hurting themselves. I for one only want to surround myself with those being truthful. One can not advance in life if they are not truth with themselves and others. I need to have respect for those I look to for inspiration and advice.

Reading through these post I see some making light of those who log every thing (even folding laundry).... This is my first week on MFP and I log EVERYTHING (maybe not folding laundry, but cleaning the house yes) because I want to know where I am with food and exercise (due to some major surgeries due to cancer I have had a hard time finding the right exercise program/routine), then I know where I need to improve. If I'm not doing good on something I use the note box on my food log to remind myself of what I need to be cautious of and work to change my problem areas (drinking more water is just one of my problem areas and getting more exercise is another).



I'm very appreciative of the post I've read, I have learned some really good things ~ thanks!

Wishing everyone the best

Christine

I don't put cleaning house or chores as some do. I even had someone once log 15 calories for driving to work. My theory is I wasn't losing weight before when I was doing these things so I won't log it now. I just think of those as a little bit extra calories but never log them.

As I said I just started and many of the people I have become friends with are also just starting out: I guess some of us just need a starting place to know where we were at so we can move forward with an exercise routine that will burn more calories than we did before. I had no idea what type of calories I was burning until I logged certain things. So, now I have a starting point and I can now set my goals accordingly. Those logging driving I find a little funny, but maybe they were just wanting to see what type of calories they were burning. Just because you see it logged once or twice does not mean it will be an everyday thing, some of us are just curious.

When I started using a heart rate monitor, probably only able to burn 300 or 400 on a good day. Now I know how to rev my heart rate to get the best fat burn and usually aim for 50-60 minutes in the fat burning zone. I have been steadily losing, albeit slowly. I only plateaued when mfp decreased my daily calories to 1430. It was torture to try to get under it. I changed my settings to lose 1/2 pound per week. After all, my goal is to keep it off--am not in any rush to lose it as long as it stays permanently off. I have become very fit and it takes 5-15 minutes to get into fat burning mode, which is both good and bad. Last Thursday, I burned more than 800 calories and have been very sore since then. I can't believe someone is consistently burning 3500 per day--suspect it is a fabrication or exaggeration. My personal trainer often logs calories burned at the 1000 and over,but he is built like a body builder straight off a Muscle and Fitness mag.

slim4health56

I take long walks with my mother, all around the neighbourhood, every evening. These walks can burn anywhere between 300-600 calories. I use a HRM, so I know these numbers are fairly accurate. Or, at least, a lot more accurate than they would be if I had MFP "guess" for me.

You're amazing! I walk on my treadmill for an hour at a 12% incline at 3.5 mph and burn just over 300 calories. You and your mom must be quite the team. Good for you!

Mel072292

I have met about 4 people so far that tend to post outrageous amounts of exercises when they log in. There is no way, unless you are a professional athlete, which you are not cause then you would not be trying to lose 80 pounds, that you burn 3500 calories a day doing 325 minutes of cardio. Even if you are always active in your job it is impossible to burn this much. The most i have seen is 5200 with about 5 hours of walking. Be honest people. I am not saying that nobody can do this, cause some people can. But if you can it is obviously noticeable.

How's it going hooah! Please feel free to add me; all of my post are 100% true and I would love to help you as long as you help me stay motivated. We all need that push every now and then. Being in the military, we burn more calories then others so I don't normally log anything I do while I'm working on here. I do keep track of what I eat though. I'm a Marine so we can sure relate to things.

MyChocolateDiet

I understand the ridiculousness, but when MFP users lie on their diaries, they only to themselves. It doesn't affect you really, does it?

It can be discouraging to some.

^^^...I have had 2 friends get very down on themselves, and email me when I remarked that they have been "quiet lately", and their response....."I get depressed seeing all the exercise, and I can't compete"...."My weight-loss is so slow, and when I see others knockin it out of the park I get upset with myself", I have kids, and a job, I can't keep up with so many others I see here"....I have seen this in the feed, on emails, and it is discouraging...and quite unbelievable some times....

:ohwell: :frown: that sucks

MyChocolateDiet

Ok, it seems that there is a lot of confusion in what I was trying to say. Calories are usually something really hard to burn. USUALLY. What I am talking about is a girl that posted she walked for 8 hours at a 4mph pace because her job kept her busy. What kind of job makes you walk for 8 hours? Or the guy that burnt 290 cal on 8 min of a stationary bike. If you really burn all of this and eat what you say you eat on your diary, why are you 160 pound overweight? Like I have heard before, people tend to underestimate what they eat overestimate what they burn.
I went to a class about metabolism a few days ago and they told us that exercise is only 10% of daily calorie burn, 20% is lifestyle and 70% net cal burn, which is what your body burns naturally to function.
Machines, MFP are never gonna be accurate because we are all different. Even HRM are not 100% accurate but they are the closest thing to perfect. And as far as I know only muscle is responsible for burning calories, fat is just energy stored in your body, that is why it is easier to stay in shape than to get in shape.

I wish you didn't look so smug in your pic it'd be easier to talk to you, but then look at mine so what the heck. I think you are talking about TDEE stuff and also that you are having a strange subset of friends who log kind of strangely. Keep bouncing around and listen to what people are saying in general and then FR those who seem to "get it" according to your understanding. I think you are more likely to get more out of this site that way. Good luck :flowerforyou:

whierd

Oh no! The Calorie Burn Police!

wannabeadancer27

I'm new here, so I haven't noticed any kind of absurd calorie counts yet, and even if I did, I would just ignore it because it's not my life. Who would come onto a site like this and try and lie anyway? Who are you trying to impress? This is about supporting each other and reaching our own personal goals.