Fit bit is giving me 1427 exercise calories?!

24

Replies

  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    Muana1005 wrote: »
    I mostly eat back my fitbit calories and am still losing 1kg a week.

    Fitbit works on intensity of the steps, not just how many steps you've done. So if you did 8k steps really quickly you will burn more calories than if you slow ambled them across the whole day.

    that's not true. you burn the same amount of calories for the same distance regardless of how fast you got there.

    That's untrue. How many calories you burn is based off your heart rate.

    Nope, heart rate is only an indicator of work being done.

    Think about it this way, you weigh x and you go x distance. Regardless of the variable of time, the amount of energy required for both is the same.

    Now running is mechanically different than walking, that in and of itself will require more energy, but not by much.


    So if you and I are the exact same person for examples sake. Same gender, lean mass, fat mass, weight, everything. You're super fit, marathon runner, and I'm just a regular guy that trains a couple times a week. We go out on a run together, keeping the same pace. My heart rate is hanging out at 170-175 the entire time and yours is staying at 145-150 the entire time, we burn the same amount of calories in a 5 mile run? That's ridiculous.

    Nope, that's science.



    Find something that says regardless of heart rate, your body will burn the equivalent amount of calories at a given distance.

    That's like saying running 4 x 400m sprints and running a mile, you burn the same amount of calories. It's crazy the false information that gets passed around and people believe it to be true.

    The only one spreading misinformation right now is you. :(

    I'll link to more information for you since you still don't think it's true. Sec.
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
    I'm 5'3 and when I was at 145, I ate close to 2000 calories to lose weight. Doesn't seem that unreasonable to me.

    Make sure you have the same goal settings in MFP and Fitbit. Then try eating half of what Fitbit gives you and see what happens for at least 3 weeks.

    Do not just ignore your Fitbit calories. Losing weight too fast isn't good for you! You're being somewhat aggressive already aiming for 1lb a week at your weight (I was doing .5lbs a week). Losing too quickly will cause you to lose a higher percentage of muscle than losing slowly.

    All of this.
    And I agree that OP needs to provide more information including...

    1. How long have you had your FitBit and how long have you had it synced with MFP?
    2. Do you have negative calorie adjustments enabled?
    3. In the example provided where you said that it gave you 1427 cals from 8300 steps, is that the adjustment, or is that the total amount of calories you have remaining, suggesting that the adjustment is around 210 calories?
    4. What does FitBit say that your total calories burned is - on average, for the last week, month, etc.

    In general with posts like this, especially from new users of the FitBit/MFP combination - I think a lot of the issue comes from not really understanding what FitBit is measuring and how it syncs with MFP. FitBit isn't just measuring your exercise burn, it is providing an estimate of your total calorie burn all day long. And MFP has an estimate in mind, based on the info you provided during set up. If you entered stats and an activity level of sedentary, and MFP calculates your NEAT burn to be 1700 for example, but then you are actually more active than that and burning more calories than MFP expected, then you would see a larger adjustment in order to "true up" the two numbers.

    For what it's worth, I'm 5'2, started about 153, and have an office job. I lost my weight eating 1600-1900 cals and now maintaining around 118 lbs with a TDEE of 2200.

    It's possible that you have something set up incorrectly in one system or the other - but it's also possible that you burn more calories than you think and that it is possible for you to lose weight eating more calories than you were expecting.
  • Rammer123
    Rammer123 Posts: 679 Member

    rainbowbow wrote: »
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    Muana1005 wrote: »
    I mostly eat back my fitbit calories and am still losing 1kg a week.

    Fitbit works on intensity of the steps, not just how many steps you've done. So if you did 8k steps really quickly you will burn more calories than if you slow ambled them across the whole day.

    that's not true. you burn the same amount of calories for the same distance regardless of how fast you got there.

    That's untrue. How many calories you burn is based off your heart rate.

    Nope, heart rate is only an indicator of work being done.

    Think about it this way, you weigh x and you go x distance. Regardless of the variable of time, the amount of energy required for both is the same.

    Now running is mechanically different than walking, that in and of itself will require more energy, but not by much.


    So if you and I are the exact same person for examples sake. Same gender, lean mass, fat mass, weight, everything. You're super fit, marathon runner, and I'm just a regular guy that trains a couple times a week. We go out on a run together, keeping the same pace. My heart rate is hanging out at 170-175 the entire time and yours is staying at 145-150 the entire time, we burn the same amount of calories in a 5 mile run? That's ridiculous. Your heart rate determines how many calories you burn, not the distance you've covered, just because a treadmill gives you more calories for going farther doesn't mean that's what causes you to burn more calories. If you wear a heart rate strap, it doesn't need to know how far you've gone, what you've done. It just needs to know your basic information, your height, weight, gender, etc. as well as your heart rate.

    Heart rate determines calories burned.

    No, metabolic efficiency determines calories burned.

    You can't compare apples (a marathoner) to oranges (an unfit person) that just doesn't make sense.

    You'd have to compare the SAME PERSON doing both. HR is an indicator of effort, yes, but that doesn't mean you burned more calories for the same amount of work. Read my example above for the logic behind that.

    I would (for your own sake) understand that HR is not how one determines energy used. ;) If you want to get serious about determining calories burned you would need to know precisely your VO2 MAX.


    Why would you not be able to compare different people?

    But we'll go with that, if I am training today and I am feeling good, feeling fresh, go on a 5 mile run and my heart rate is 165 the whole time. I burn X amount of calories. Finish the run feeling decent, tired but not dead.

    The next day, I am feeling a little sore and tired, so naturally my heart rate will be a bit higher as I am under recovered and don't run often. I go on another 5 mile run, and my heart rate is at 175 for the 5 miles this time. Finish the run, exhausted and pretty tired.

    Same calorie burn? No.
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,727 Member
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    Muana1005 wrote: »
    I mostly eat back my fitbit calories and am still losing 1kg a week.

    Fitbit works on intensity of the steps, not just how many steps you've done. So if you did 8k steps really quickly you will burn more calories than if you slow ambled them across the whole day.

    that's not true. you burn the same amount of calories for the same distance regardless of how fast you got there.

    That's untrue. How many calories you burn is based off your heart rate.

    Nope, heart rate is only an indicator of work being done.

    Think about it this way, you weigh x and you go x distance. Regardless of the variable of time, the amount of energy required for both is the same.

    Now running is mechanically different than walking, that in and of itself will require more energy, but not by much.


    So if you and I are the exact same person for examples sake. Same gender, lean mass, fat mass, weight, everything. You're super fit, marathon runner, and I'm just a regular guy that trains a couple times a week. We go out on a run together, keeping the same pace. My heart rate is hanging out at 170-175 the entire time and yours is staying at 145-150 the entire time, we burn the same amount of calories in a 5 mile run? That's ridiculous.

    Nope, that's science.



    Find something that says regardless of heart rate, your body will burn the equivalent amount of calories at a given distance.

    That's like saying running 4 x 400m sprints and running a mile, you burn the same amount of calories. It's crazy the false information that gets passed around and people believe it to be true.

    It is crazy, especially since you didn't read the source you've already been given.

  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,727 Member
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    Muana1005 wrote: »
    I mostly eat back my fitbit calories and am still losing 1kg a week.

    Fitbit works on intensity of the steps, not just how many steps you've done. So if you did 8k steps really quickly you will burn more calories than if you slow ambled them across the whole day.

    that's not true. you burn the same amount of calories for the same distance regardless of how fast you got there.

    That's untrue. How many calories you burn is based off your heart rate.

    Nope, heart rate is only an indicator of work being done.

    Think about it this way, you weigh x and you go x distance. Regardless of the variable of time, the amount of energy required for both is the same.

    Now running is mechanically different than walking, that in and of itself will require more energy, but not by much.


    So if you and I are the exact same person for examples sake. Same gender, lean mass, fat mass, weight, everything. You're super fit, marathon runner, and I'm just a regular guy that trains a couple times a week. We go out on a run together, keeping the same pace. My heart rate is hanging out at 170-175 the entire time and yours is staying at 145-150 the entire time, we burn the same amount of calories in a 5 mile run? That's ridiculous. Your heart rate determines how many calories you burn, not the distance you've covered, just because a treadmill gives you more calories for going farther doesn't mean that's what causes you to burn more calories. If you wear a heart rate strap, it doesn't need to know how far you've gone, what you've done. It just needs to know your basic information, your height, weight, gender, etc. as well as your heart rate.

    Heart rate determines calories burned.

    No, metabolic efficiency determines calories burned.

    You can't compare apples (a marathoner) to oranges (an unfit person) that just doesn't make sense.

    You'd have to compare the SAME PERSON doing both. HR is an indicator of effort, yes, but that doesn't mean you burned more calories for the same amount of work. Read my example above for the logic behind that.

    I would (for your own sake) understand that HR is not how one determines energy used. ;) If you want to get serious about determining calories burned you would need to know precisely your VO2 MAX.


    Why would you not be able to compare different people?

    But we'll go with that, if I am training today and I am feeling good, feeling fresh, go on a 5 mile run and my heart rate is 165 the whole time. I burn X amount of calories. Finish the run feeling decent, tired but not dead.

    The next day, I am feeling a little sore and tired, so naturally my heart rate will be a bit higher as I am under recovered and don't run often. I go on another 5 mile run, and my heart rate is at 175 for the 5 miles this time. Finish the run, exhausted and pretty tired.

    Same calorie burn? No.

    Yes... The same calorie burn.
  • Rammer123
    Rammer123 Posts: 679 Member
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    Muana1005 wrote: »
    I mostly eat back my fitbit calories and am still losing 1kg a week.

    Fitbit works on intensity of the steps, not just how many steps you've done. So if you did 8k steps really quickly you will burn more calories than if you slow ambled them across the whole day.

    that's not true. you burn the same amount of calories for the same distance regardless of how fast you got there.

    That's untrue. How many calories you burn is based off your heart rate.

    Nope, heart rate is only an indicator of work being done.

    Think about it this way, you weigh x and you go x distance. Regardless of the variable of time, the amount of energy required for both is the same.

    Now running is mechanically different than walking, that in and of itself will require more energy, but not by much.


    So if you and I are the exact same person for examples sake. Same gender, lean mass, fat mass, weight, everything. You're super fit, marathon runner, and I'm just a regular guy that trains a couple times a week. We go out on a run together, keeping the same pace. My heart rate is hanging out at 170-175 the entire time and yours is staying at 145-150 the entire time, we burn the same amount of calories in a 5 mile run? That's ridiculous. Your heart rate determines how many calories you burn, not the distance you've covered, just because a treadmill gives you more calories for going farther doesn't mean that's what causes you to burn more calories. If you wear a heart rate strap, it doesn't need to know how far you've gone, what you've done. It just needs to know your basic information, your height, weight, gender, etc. as well as your heart rate.

    Heart rate determines calories burned.

    I would (for your own sake) understand that HR is not how one determines energy used. ;) If you want to get serious about determining calories burned you would need to know precisely your VO2 MAX.

    Right, and heart rate follows oxygen consumption.
  • Rammer123
    Rammer123 Posts: 679 Member
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    Muana1005 wrote: »
    I mostly eat back my fitbit calories and am still losing 1kg a week.

    Fitbit works on intensity of the steps, not just how many steps you've done. So if you did 8k steps really quickly you will burn more calories than if you slow ambled them across the whole day.

    that's not true. you burn the same amount of calories for the same distance regardless of how fast you got there.

    That's untrue. How many calories you burn is based off your heart rate.

    Nope, heart rate is only an indicator of work being done.

    Think about it this way, you weigh x and you go x distance. Regardless of the variable of time, the amount of energy required for both is the same.

    Now running is mechanically different than walking, that in and of itself will require more energy, but not by much.


    So if you and I are the exact same person for examples sake. Same gender, lean mass, fat mass, weight, everything. You're super fit, marathon runner, and I'm just a regular guy that trains a couple times a week. We go out on a run together, keeping the same pace. My heart rate is hanging out at 170-175 the entire time and yours is staying at 145-150 the entire time, we burn the same amount of calories in a 5 mile run? That's ridiculous. Your heart rate determines how many calories you burn, not the distance you've covered, just because a treadmill gives you more calories for going farther doesn't mean that's what causes you to burn more calories. If you wear a heart rate strap, it doesn't need to know how far you've gone, what you've done. It just needs to know your basic information, your height, weight, gender, etc. as well as your heart rate.

    Heart rate determines calories burned.

    No, metabolic efficiency determines calories burned.

    You can't compare apples (a marathoner) to oranges (an unfit person) that just doesn't make sense.

    You'd have to compare the SAME PERSON doing both. HR is an indicator of effort, yes, but that doesn't mean you burned more calories for the same amount of work. Read my example above for the logic behind that.

    I would (for your own sake) understand that HR is not how one determines energy used. ;) If you want to get serious about determining calories burned you would need to know precisely your VO2 MAX.


    Why would you not be able to compare different people?

    But we'll go with that, if I am training today and I am feeling good, feeling fresh, go on a 5 mile run and my heart rate is 165 the whole time. I burn X amount of calories. Finish the run feeling decent, tired but not dead.

    The next day, I am feeling a little sore and tired, so naturally my heart rate will be a bit higher as I am under recovered and don't run often. I go on another 5 mile run, and my heart rate is at 175 for the 5 miles this time. Finish the run, exhausted and pretty tired.

    Same calorie burn? No.

    Yes... The same calorie burn.


    And so if I do that run now, and then take 6 months get a lot fitter and keep all the muscle mass I have, run the same 5 miles and my heart rate is at 150 the whole time, still burn the same amount of calories?
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,727 Member
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    Muana1005 wrote: »
    I mostly eat back my fitbit calories and am still losing 1kg a week.

    Fitbit works on intensity of the steps, not just how many steps you've done. So if you did 8k steps really quickly you will burn more calories than if you slow ambled them across the whole day.

    that's not true. you burn the same amount of calories for the same distance regardless of how fast you got there.

    That's untrue. How many calories you burn is based off your heart rate.

    Nope, heart rate is only an indicator of work being done.

    Think about it this way, you weigh x and you go x distance. Regardless of the variable of time, the amount of energy required for both is the same.

    Now running is mechanically different than walking, that in and of itself will require more energy, but not by much.


    So if you and I are the exact same person for examples sake. Same gender, lean mass, fat mass, weight, everything. You're super fit, marathon runner, and I'm just a regular guy that trains a couple times a week. We go out on a run together, keeping the same pace. My heart rate is hanging out at 170-175 the entire time and yours is staying at 145-150 the entire time, we burn the same amount of calories in a 5 mile run? That's ridiculous. Your heart rate determines how many calories you burn, not the distance you've covered, just because a treadmill gives you more calories for going farther doesn't mean that's what causes you to burn more calories. If you wear a heart rate strap, it doesn't need to know how far you've gone, what you've done. It just needs to know your basic information, your height, weight, gender, etc. as well as your heart rate.

    Heart rate determines calories burned.

    No, metabolic efficiency determines calories burned.

    You can't compare apples (a marathoner) to oranges (an unfit person) that just doesn't make sense.

    You'd have to compare the SAME PERSON doing both. HR is an indicator of effort, yes, but that doesn't mean you burned more calories for the same amount of work. Read my example above for the logic behind that.

    I would (for your own sake) understand that HR is not how one determines energy used. ;) If you want to get serious about determining calories burned you would need to know precisely your VO2 MAX.


    Why would you not be able to compare different people?

    But we'll go with that, if I am training today and I am feeling good, feeling fresh, go on a 5 mile run and my heart rate is 165 the whole time. I burn X amount of calories. Finish the run feeling decent, tired but not dead.

    The next day, I am feeling a little sore and tired, so naturally my heart rate will be a bit higher as I am under recovered and don't run often. I go on another 5 mile run, and my heart rate is at 175 for the 5 miles this time. Finish the run, exhausted and pretty tired.

    Same calorie burn? No.

    Yes... The same calorie burn.


    And so if I do that run now, and then take 6 months get a lot fitter and keep all the muscle mass I have, run the same 5 miles and my heart rate is at 150 the whole time, still burn the same amount of calories?

    YES!!!!

    It hasn't changed since you changed your profile picture and display name and you were presented with this information last week... and the week before.
  • Rammer123
    Rammer123 Posts: 679 Member
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    Muana1005 wrote: »
    I mostly eat back my fitbit calories and am still losing 1kg a week.

    Fitbit works on intensity of the steps, not just how many steps you've done. So if you did 8k steps really quickly you will burn more calories than if you slow ambled them across the whole day.

    that's not true. you burn the same amount of calories for the same distance regardless of how fast you got there.

    That's untrue. How many calories you burn is based off your heart rate.

    Nope, heart rate is only an indicator of work being done.

    Think about it this way, you weigh x and you go x distance. Regardless of the variable of time, the amount of energy required for both is the same.

    Now running is mechanically different than walking, that in and of itself will require more energy, but not by much.


    So if you and I are the exact same person for examples sake. Same gender, lean mass, fat mass, weight, everything. You're super fit, marathon runner, and I'm just a regular guy that trains a couple times a week. We go out on a run together, keeping the same pace. My heart rate is hanging out at 170-175 the entire time and yours is staying at 145-150 the entire time, we burn the same amount of calories in a 5 mile run? That's ridiculous. Your heart rate determines how many calories you burn, not the distance you've covered, just because a treadmill gives you more calories for going farther doesn't mean that's what causes you to burn more calories. If you wear a heart rate strap, it doesn't need to know how far you've gone, what you've done. It just needs to know your basic information, your height, weight, gender, etc. as well as your heart rate.

    Heart rate determines calories burned.

    No, metabolic efficiency determines calories burned.

    You can't compare apples (a marathoner) to oranges (an unfit person) that just doesn't make sense.

    You'd have to compare the SAME PERSON doing both. HR is an indicator of effort, yes, but that doesn't mean you burned more calories for the same amount of work. Read my example above for the logic behind that.

    I would (for your own sake) understand that HR is not how one determines energy used. ;) If you want to get serious about determining calories burned you would need to know precisely your VO2 MAX.


    Why would you not be able to compare different people?

    But we'll go with that, if I am training today and I am feeling good, feeling fresh, go on a 5 mile run and my heart rate is 165 the whole time. I burn X amount of calories. Finish the run feeling decent, tired but not dead.

    The next day, I am feeling a little sore and tired, so naturally my heart rate will be a bit higher as I am under recovered and don't run often. I go on another 5 mile run, and my heart rate is at 175 for the 5 miles this time. Finish the run, exhausted and pretty tired.

    Same calorie burn? No.

    Yes... The same calorie burn.


    And so if I do that run now, and then take 6 months get a lot fitter and keep all the muscle mass I have, run the same 5 miles and my heart rate is at 150 the whole time, still burn the same amount of calories?

    YES!!!!

    It hasn't changed since you changed your profile picture and display name and you were presented with this information last week... and the week before.

    So you and rainbowbow are saying different things. She said it's based on metabolic efficiency, and you're saying its just based off the distance covered.
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    edited June 2017
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    Muana1005 wrote: »
    I mostly eat back my fitbit calories and am still losing 1kg a week.

    Fitbit works on intensity of the steps, not just how many steps you've done. So if you did 8k steps really quickly you will burn more calories than if you slow ambled them across the whole day.

    that's not true. you burn the same amount of calories for the same distance regardless of how fast you got there.

    That's untrue. How many calories you burn is based off your heart rate.

    Nope, heart rate is only an indicator of work being done.

    Think about it this way, you weigh x and you go x distance. Regardless of the variable of time, the amount of energy required for both is the same.

    Now running is mechanically different than walking, that in and of itself will require more energy, but not by much.


    So if you and I are the exact same person for examples sake. Same gender, lean mass, fat mass, weight, everything. You're super fit, marathon runner, and I'm just a regular guy that trains a couple times a week. We go out on a run together, keeping the same pace. My heart rate is hanging out at 170-175 the entire time and yours is staying at 145-150 the entire time, we burn the same amount of calories in a 5 mile run? That's ridiculous. Your heart rate determines how many calories you burn, not the distance you've covered, just because a treadmill gives you more calories for going farther doesn't mean that's what causes you to burn more calories. If you wear a heart rate strap, it doesn't need to know how far you've gone, what you've done. It just needs to know your basic information, your height, weight, gender, etc. as well as your heart rate.

    Heart rate determines calories burned.

    No, metabolic efficiency determines calories burned.

    You can't compare apples (a marathoner) to oranges (an unfit person) that just doesn't make sense.

    You'd have to compare the SAME PERSON doing both. HR is an indicator of effort, yes, but that doesn't mean you burned more calories for the same amount of work. Read my example above for the logic behind that.

    I would (for your own sake) understand that HR is not how one determines energy used. ;) If you want to get serious about determining calories burned you would need to know precisely your VO2 MAX.


    Why would you not be able to compare different people?

    But we'll go with that, if I am training today and I am feeling good, feeling fresh, go on a 5 mile run and my heart rate is 165 the whole time. I burn X amount of calories. Finish the run feeling decent, tired but not dead.

    The next day, I am feeling a little sore and tired, so naturally my heart rate will be a bit higher as I am under recovered and don't run often. I go on another 5 mile run, and my heart rate is at 175 for the 5 miles this time. Finish the run, exhausted and pretty tired.

    Same calorie burn? No.

    I don't know how else to say that it takes the same amount of work regardless of heart rate....

    For now i'll focus on the presumption that you think HR determines calories burned. It does not.
    Read more here:
    https://www.firstbeat.com/app/uploads/2015/10/white_paper_vo2_estimation.pdf

    Measuring oxygen consumption is the only way to accurately determine calories burned. This is generally done in a clinical setting with a v02 MAX test, or an RMR test which measures how much carbon dioxide you exhale.
    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2650235/

    Heart rate is *related* to VO2 max, but is NOT totally correlated as heart rate make take time to recover while you're sitting on your butt doing nothing. This is why HRMs are so innacurate for weight lifting and other non-steady state exercises. Heart rate is especially inaccurate in determining calories burned in fit individuals, when working out at low-intensity, working in intervals or non-steady states, etc.

    Regardless, think about the analogy i made earlier. Calories burned in the same metabolically efficient individual will be the same for distance regardless of time.

    edit: I forgot, HRMs are also innacurate in determining calories burned when using a lot of upper body movements.
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    Muana1005 wrote: »
    I mostly eat back my fitbit calories and am still losing 1kg a week.

    Fitbit works on intensity of the steps, not just how many steps you've done. So if you did 8k steps really quickly you will burn more calories than if you slow ambled them across the whole day.

    that's not true. you burn the same amount of calories for the same distance regardless of how fast you got there.

    That's untrue. How many calories you burn is based off your heart rate.

    Nope, heart rate is only an indicator of work being done.

    Think about it this way, you weigh x and you go x distance. Regardless of the variable of time, the amount of energy required for both is the same.

    Now running is mechanically different than walking, that in and of itself will require more energy, but not by much.


    So if you and I are the exact same person for examples sake. Same gender, lean mass, fat mass, weight, everything. You're super fit, marathon runner, and I'm just a regular guy that trains a couple times a week. We go out on a run together, keeping the same pace. My heart rate is hanging out at 170-175 the entire time and yours is staying at 145-150 the entire time, we burn the same amount of calories in a 5 mile run? That's ridiculous. Your heart rate determines how many calories you burn, not the distance you've covered, just because a treadmill gives you more calories for going farther doesn't mean that's what causes you to burn more calories. If you wear a heart rate strap, it doesn't need to know how far you've gone, what you've done. It just needs to know your basic information, your height, weight, gender, etc. as well as your heart rate.

    Heart rate determines calories burned.

    No, metabolic efficiency determines calories burned.

    You can't compare apples (a marathoner) to oranges (an unfit person) that just doesn't make sense.

    You'd have to compare the SAME PERSON doing both. HR is an indicator of effort, yes, but that doesn't mean you burned more calories for the same amount of work. Read my example above for the logic behind that.

    I would (for your own sake) understand that HR is not how one determines energy used. ;) If you want to get serious about determining calories burned you would need to know precisely your VO2 MAX.


    Why would you not be able to compare different people?

    But we'll go with that, if I am training today and I am feeling good, feeling fresh, go on a 5 mile run and my heart rate is 165 the whole time. I burn X amount of calories. Finish the run feeling decent, tired but not dead.

    The next day, I am feeling a little sore and tired, so naturally my heart rate will be a bit higher as I am under recovered and don't run often. I go on another 5 mile run, and my heart rate is at 175 for the 5 miles this time. Finish the run, exhausted and pretty tired.

    Same calorie burn? No.

    Yes... The same calorie burn.


    And so if I do that run now, and then take 6 months get a lot fitter and keep all the muscle mass I have, run the same 5 miles and my heart rate is at 150 the whole time, still burn the same amount of calories?

    YES!!!!

    It hasn't changed since you changed your profile picture and display name and you were presented with this information last week... and the week before.

    So you and rainbowbow are saying different things. She said it's based on metabolic efficiency, and you're saying its just based off the distance covered.

    No, we're saying the same thing. I was pointing out that you can't compare apples to oranges.
  • Rammer123
    Rammer123 Posts: 679 Member
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    Muana1005 wrote: »
    I mostly eat back my fitbit calories and am still losing 1kg a week.

    Fitbit works on intensity of the steps, not just how many steps you've done. So if you did 8k steps really quickly you will burn more calories than if you slow ambled them across the whole day.

    that's not true. you burn the same amount of calories for the same distance regardless of how fast you got there.

    That's untrue. How many calories you burn is based off your heart rate.

    Nope, heart rate is only an indicator of work being done.

    Think about it this way, you weigh x and you go x distance. Regardless of the variable of time, the amount of energy required for both is the same.

    Now running is mechanically different than walking, that in and of itself will require more energy, but not by much.


    So if you and I are the exact same person for examples sake. Same gender, lean mass, fat mass, weight, everything. You're super fit, marathon runner, and I'm just a regular guy that trains a couple times a week. We go out on a run together, keeping the same pace. My heart rate is hanging out at 170-175 the entire time and yours is staying at 145-150 the entire time, we burn the same amount of calories in a 5 mile run? That's ridiculous. Your heart rate determines how many calories you burn, not the distance you've covered, just because a treadmill gives you more calories for going farther doesn't mean that's what causes you to burn more calories. If you wear a heart rate strap, it doesn't need to know how far you've gone, what you've done. It just needs to know your basic information, your height, weight, gender, etc. as well as your heart rate.

    Heart rate determines calories burned.

    No, metabolic efficiency determines calories burned.

    You can't compare apples (a marathoner) to oranges (an unfit person) that just doesn't make sense.

    You'd have to compare the SAME PERSON doing both. HR is an indicator of effort, yes, but that doesn't mean you burned more calories for the same amount of work. Read my example above for the logic behind that.

    I would (for your own sake) understand that HR is not how one determines energy used. ;) If you want to get serious about determining calories burned you would need to know precisely your VO2 MAX.


    Why would you not be able to compare different people?

    But we'll go with that, if I am training today and I am feeling good, feeling fresh, go on a 5 mile run and my heart rate is 165 the whole time. I burn X amount of calories. Finish the run feeling decent, tired but not dead.

    The next day, I am feeling a little sore and tired, so naturally my heart rate will be a bit higher as I am under recovered and don't run often. I go on another 5 mile run, and my heart rate is at 175 for the 5 miles this time. Finish the run, exhausted and pretty tired.

    Same calorie burn? No.

    Yes... The same calorie burn.


    And so if I do that run now, and then take 6 months get a lot fitter and keep all the muscle mass I have, run the same 5 miles and my heart rate is at 150 the whole time, still burn the same amount of calories?

    YES!!!!

    It hasn't changed since you changed your profile picture and display name and you were presented with this information last week... and the week before.

    So you and rainbowbow are saying different things. She said it's based on metabolic efficiency, and you're saying its just based off the distance covered.

    No, we're saying the same thing. I was pointing out that you can't compare apples to oranges.


    You said it's based off metabolic efficiency. He just said if I became more metabolically efficient, I'd burn the same amount of calories.
  • Rammer123
    Rammer123 Posts: 679 Member
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    Muana1005 wrote: »
    I mostly eat back my fitbit calories and am still losing 1kg a week.

    Fitbit works on intensity of the steps, not just how many steps you've done. So if you did 8k steps really quickly you will burn more calories than if you slow ambled them across the whole day.

    that's not true. you burn the same amount of calories for the same distance regardless of how fast you got there.

    That's untrue. How many calories you burn is based off your heart rate.

    Nope, heart rate is only an indicator of work being done.

    Think about it this way, you weigh x and you go x distance. Regardless of the variable of time, the amount of energy required for both is the same.

    Now running is mechanically different than walking, that in and of itself will require more energy, but not by much.


    So if you and I are the exact same person for examples sake. Same gender, lean mass, fat mass, weight, everything. You're super fit, marathon runner, and I'm just a regular guy that trains a couple times a week. We go out on a run together, keeping the same pace. My heart rate is hanging out at 170-175 the entire time and yours is staying at 145-150 the entire time, we burn the same amount of calories in a 5 mile run? That's ridiculous. Your heart rate determines how many calories you burn, not the distance you've covered, just because a treadmill gives you more calories for going farther doesn't mean that's what causes you to burn more calories. If you wear a heart rate strap, it doesn't need to know how far you've gone, what you've done. It just needs to know your basic information, your height, weight, gender, etc. as well as your heart rate.

    Heart rate determines calories burned.

    No, metabolic efficiency determines calories burned.

    You can't compare apples (a marathoner) to oranges (an unfit person) that just doesn't make sense.

    You'd have to compare the SAME PERSON doing both. HR is an indicator of effort, yes, but that doesn't mean you burned more calories for the same amount of work. Read my example above for the logic behind that.

    I would (for your own sake) understand that HR is not how one determines energy used. ;) If you want to get serious about determining calories burned you would need to know precisely your VO2 MAX.


    Why would you not be able to compare different people?

    But we'll go with that, if I am training today and I am feeling good, feeling fresh, go on a 5 mile run and my heart rate is 165 the whole time. I burn X amount of calories. Finish the run feeling decent, tired but not dead.

    The next day, I am feeling a little sore and tired, so naturally my heart rate will be a bit higher as I am under recovered and don't run often. I go on another 5 mile run, and my heart rate is at 175 for the 5 miles this time. Finish the run, exhausted and pretty tired.

    Same calorie burn? No.

    I don't know how else to say that it takes the same amount of work regardless of heart rate....

    For now i'll focus on the presumption that you think HR determines calories burned. It does not.
    Read more here:
    https://www.firstbeat.com/app/uploads/2015/10/white_paper_vo2_estimation.pdf

    Measuring oxygen consumption is the only way to accurately determine calories burned. This is generally done in a clinical setting with a v02 MAX test, or an RMR test which measures how much carbon dioxide you exhale.
    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2650235/

    Heart rate is *related* to VO2 max, but is NOT totally correlated as heart rate make take time to recover while you're sitting on your butt doing nothing. This is why HRMs are so innacurate for weight lifting and other non-steady state exercises. Heart rate is especially inaccurate in determining calories burned in fit individuals, when working out at low-intensity, working in intervals or non-steady states, etc.

    Regardless, think about the analogy i made earlier. Calories burned in the same metabolically efficient individual will be the same for distance regardless of time.

    edit: I forgot, HRMs are also innacurate in determining calories burned when using a lot of upper body movements.


    When your heart rate is higher, oxygen consumption is increased, meaning an increase in calories burned.
    When your heart rate is lower, oxygen consumption is decreased, meaning a decrease in calories burned.

    Nothing in either of those mentioned anything about the more "work"/"distance" covered, leads to more calories burned which is what you are arguing.

    And yes, I know how metabolic assessments work, I used to perform them.
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,727 Member
    3 Hypothetical runners all 200 lbs
    1. Marathoner 5'10 runs 6 minute mile for reps
    2. Regular fit guy 5'7 runs 9 minute mile
    3. Bag o donuts 5'4 runs 11 minute mile

    Predicted calorie burn for 1 mile=150 calories. +/- 10%

    1 burns 138 calories in 6 minutes
    2 burns 152 calories in 9 minutes
    3 burns 147 calories in 11 minutes

    So, metabolic efficiency means that 1 burns more calories per half hour than 2 and 2 burns more per half hour than 3.

    But the burn per mile is consistent to within the margin of error of the estimate.

    The improvements in efficiency lead to higher calorie burn per hour... which is exactly the opposite of what your theory.... higher heart rate=higher calorie burn.. would suggest.

    http://www.runnersworld.com/peak-performance/running-v-walking-how-many-calories-will-you-burn
    There's the link again.
  • cgrout78
    cgrout78 Posts: 1,628 Member
    But with the afterburn effect, you'll burn more calories running the mile than walking it, even though the actual steps themselves burn the same amount of calories.

    http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/health-fitness/exercise/why-running-a-mile-burns-more-calories-than-walking
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    Muana1005 wrote: »
    I mostly eat back my fitbit calories and am still losing 1kg a week.

    Fitbit works on intensity of the steps, not just how many steps you've done. So if you did 8k steps really quickly you will burn more calories than if you slow ambled them across the whole day.

    that's not true. you burn the same amount of calories for the same distance regardless of how fast you got there.

    That's untrue. How many calories you burn is based off your heart rate.

    Nope, heart rate is only an indicator of work being done.

    Think about it this way, you weigh x and you go x distance. Regardless of the variable of time, the amount of energy required for both is the same.

    Now running is mechanically different than walking, that in and of itself will require more energy, but not by much.


    So if you and I are the exact same person for examples sake. Same gender, lean mass, fat mass, weight, everything. You're super fit, marathon runner, and I'm just a regular guy that trains a couple times a week. We go out on a run together, keeping the same pace. My heart rate is hanging out at 170-175 the entire time and yours is staying at 145-150 the entire time, we burn the same amount of calories in a 5 mile run? That's ridiculous. Your heart rate determines how many calories you burn, not the distance you've covered, just because a treadmill gives you more calories for going farther doesn't mean that's what causes you to burn more calories. If you wear a heart rate strap, it doesn't need to know how far you've gone, what you've done. It just needs to know your basic information, your height, weight, gender, etc. as well as your heart rate.

    Heart rate determines calories burned.

    No, metabolic efficiency determines calories burned.

    You can't compare apples (a marathoner) to oranges (an unfit person) that just doesn't make sense.

    You'd have to compare the SAME PERSON doing both. HR is an indicator of effort, yes, but that doesn't mean you burned more calories for the same amount of work. Read my example above for the logic behind that.

    I would (for your own sake) understand that HR is not how one determines energy used. ;) If you want to get serious about determining calories burned you would need to know precisely your VO2 MAX.


    Why would you not be able to compare different people?

    But we'll go with that, if I am training today and I am feeling good, feeling fresh, go on a 5 mile run and my heart rate is 165 the whole time. I burn X amount of calories. Finish the run feeling decent, tired but not dead.

    The next day, I am feeling a little sore and tired, so naturally my heart rate will be a bit higher as I am under recovered and don't run often. I go on another 5 mile run, and my heart rate is at 175 for the 5 miles this time. Finish the run, exhausted and pretty tired.

    Same calorie burn? No.

    I don't know how else to say that it takes the same amount of work regardless of heart rate....

    For now i'll focus on the presumption that you think HR determines calories burned. It does not.
    Read more here:
    https://www.firstbeat.com/app/uploads/2015/10/white_paper_vo2_estimation.pdf

    Measuring oxygen consumption is the only way to accurately determine calories burned. This is generally done in a clinical setting with a v02 MAX test, or an RMR test which measures how much carbon dioxide you exhale.
    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2650235/

    Heart rate is *related* to VO2 max, but is NOT totally correlated as heart rate make take time to recover while you're sitting on your butt doing nothing. This is why HRMs are so innacurate for weight lifting and other non-steady state exercises. Heart rate is especially inaccurate in determining calories burned in fit individuals, when working out at low-intensity, working in intervals or non-steady states, etc.

    Regardless, think about the analogy i made earlier. Calories burned in the same metabolically efficient individual will be the same for distance regardless of time.

    edit: I forgot, HRMs are also innacurate in determining calories burned when using a lot of upper body movements.


    When your heart rate is higher, oxygen consumption is increased, meaning an increase in calories burned.
    When your heart rate is lower, oxygen consumption is decreased, meaning a decrease in calories burned.


    Nothing in either of those mentioned anything about the more "work"/"distance" covered, leads to more calories burned which is what you are arguing.

    And yes, I know how metabolic assessments work, I used to perform them.

    I would go ahead and re-read those articles i posted if that's your take away.

    Listen, I'm not going to waste any more of my time trying to convince you of the facts. It isn't related to OP and her problem. Please do some further research on the matter. You can start here:

    http://running.competitor.com/2015/03/training/many-calories-running-burn_123951

    It echoes exactly what i said earlier. Running is mechanically different than walking and that in and of itself burns more calories, but not by much. The more metabolically efficient you are the less it takes for you to recover and the lower afterburn you have, but on the flip side the more efficient you are the more exercise you can do before coming to exhaustion. It's all a toss up.

    If the same fit person were to do the same amount of work (like travelling x distance) the energy burned would assuredly be the same.
  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
    edited June 2017
    Two points.

    1st if you have a typical car -which uses gas as its fuel source- then you must drive it faster in order to complete X distance in 10 minutes instead of 20. You'll use more gas per mile. If you're exerting more effort, you'll burn more calories per minute.

    2nd - there is consideration for what happens in the time difference? If you walk X distance in 10 minutes instead of 20, what are you doing in your 'saved' 10 minutes? Whatever that is, you're using energy to do it. That burns calories also.
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    Muana1005 wrote: »
    I mostly eat back my fitbit calories and am still losing 1kg a week.

    Fitbit works on intensity of the steps, not just how many steps you've done. So if you did 8k steps really quickly you will burn more calories than if you slow ambled them across the whole day.

    that's not true. you burn the same amount of calories for the same distance regardless of how fast you got there.

    That's untrue. How many calories you burn is based off your heart rate.

    Nope, heart rate is only an indicator of work being done.

    Think about it this way, you weigh x and you go x distance. Regardless of the variable of time, the amount of energy required for both is the same. Edit: Imagine you're driving a car 10 miles. You drive at 60 MPH and complete this in 10 minutes. Then you drive at 30 miles per hour and complete it in 20 minutes. Do you need more energy to go 10 minutes at 60 or 20 minutes at 30? The answer is it takes the same amount of energy to do the work regardless of speed.

    Now running is mechanically different than walking, that in and of itself will require more energy, but not by much.

  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,727 Member
    cgrout78 wrote: »
    But with the afterburn effect, you'll burn more calories running the mile than walking it, even though the actual steps themselves burn the same amount of calories.

    http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/health-fitness/exercise/why-running-a-mile-burns-more-calories-than-walking

    Actually, running burns more calories inherently and has a higher afterburn.

    However, afterburn has a cap depending on what your activity is(somewhere in the 20-30 minute range). So whether you run for 2 miles or 6 miles you'll get the same afterburn.

    Different activities have different afterburn.

    Running
    Walking
    Strength training heavy(1-5 rep)
    Strength training light(8-12 rep)

    Etc.
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    edited June 2017
    Two points.

    1st if you have a typical car -which uses gas as its fuel source- then you must drive it faster in order to complete X distance in 10 minutes instead of 20. You'll use more gas per mile.

    2nd - there is consideration for what happens in the time difference? If you walk X distance in 10 minutes instead of 20, what are you doing in your 'saved' 10 minutes? Whatever that is, you're using energy to do it. That burns calories also.
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    Muana1005 wrote: »
    I mostly eat back my fitbit calories and am still losing 1kg a week.

    Fitbit works on intensity of the steps, not just how many steps you've done. So if you did 8k steps really quickly you will burn more calories than if you slow ambled them across the whole day.

    that's not true. you burn the same amount of calories for the same distance regardless of how fast you got there.

    That's untrue. How many calories you burn is based off your heart rate.

    Nope, heart rate is only an indicator of work being done.

    Think about it this way, you weigh x and you go x distance. Regardless of the variable of time, the amount of energy required for both is the same. Edit: Imagine you're driving a car 10 miles. You drive at 60 MPH and complete this in 10 minutes. Then you drive at 30 miles per hour and complete it in 20 minutes. Do you need more energy to go 10 minutes at 60 or 20 minutes at 30? The answer is it takes the same amount of energy to do the work regardless of speed.

    Now running is mechanically different than walking, that in and of itself will require more energy, but not by much.

    To the first point, no it doesn't that's my point. You use the same amount of energy to go the same distance, regardless of time.

    To the second, yes, of course. And depending on the intensity of the exercise, or your physical fitness, you will burn additional calories in after-burn.

    My initial point was that regardless, doing the same amount of work requires the same amount of energy, regardless of time.


    Here's some info:
    https://www.mansfieldct.org/Schools/MMS/staff/hand/work=fxd.htm
    • "
    • Work = Force x Distance
    • Which of the following will result in more work? Running straight up hill, or taking a zigzag path up the hill?
    • The work will be the same for both paths. The direct path requires more force, but less distance, while the zigzag path requires less force but more distance.
    • Work = Mass * Gravity * Height
    • The equation above shows how to calculate the work done. As you can see, your work will be the same – no matter which path you take - because your mass doesn’t change during the trip. Gravity doesn’t change. The final height is the same. Therefore, work is the same.
    • Energy is defined as the ability to do work. If you can measure how much work an object does, or how much heat is exchanged, you can determine the amount of energy that is in a system. "
  • BlueberryJoghurt
    BlueberryJoghurt Posts: 67 Member
    @rainbowbow Im really just trying to wrap my head around the whole thing of HR not having as much impact as I thought and I read through the first research paper about Vo2max you posted.
    But as far as I understand it, it just states that vo2max is the most accurate method, which is repeated in the paper Ill link but (afaiu) HR is still a better method of estimating than just applying raw templates on an individual. Like any formula that would suggest that 2 people get the same result for the same excercise, with different activity/health/HR levels?

    https://www.firstbeat.com/app/uploads/2015/10/white_paper_energy_expenditure_estimation.pdf
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    @rainbowbow Im really just trying to wrap my head around the whole thing of HR not having as much impact as I thought and I read through the first research paper about Vo2max you posted.
    But as far as I understand it, it just states that vo2max is the most accurate method, which is repeated in the paper Ill link but (afaiu) HR is still a better method of estimating than just applying raw templates on an individual. Like any formula that would suggest that 2 people get the same result for the same excercise, with different activity/health/HR levels?

    https://www.firstbeat.com/app/uploads/2015/10/white_paper_energy_expenditure_estimation.pdf

    Yes, i'm certainly not saying HR is *complete* trash, simply that it has it's limitations. If you're trying to estimate calories burned, using a heart rate monitor can be helpful. But only if you're:
    1. Performing steady state cardiorespiratory activity: this means no intervals, no low-intensity exercise like walking, no heavy weight lifting, nothing where heart rate is known to be an inaccurate correlation with vo2 max.

    I would also mention that like i said, if you're very physically fit or very physically unfit its likely your HRM will estimate calories burned inaccurately. This is why it's suggested that HRM's are much much better if you've had them calibrated with your accurate vo2 max. Some Polar products and Garmin products (that i know of anyway) have the option to input your vo2 max so that it can more accurately estimate calories burned. Again though, like i said it's only really accurate with the above scenerio.
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,727 Member
    @rainbowbow Im really just trying to wrap my head around the whole thing of HR not having as much impact as I thought and I read through the first research paper about Vo2max you posted.
    But as far as I understand it, it just states that vo2max is the most accurate method, which is repeated in the paper Ill link but (afaiu) HR is still a better method of estimating than just applying raw templates on an individual. Like any formula that would suggest that 2 people get the same result for the same excercise, with different activity/health/HR levels?

    https://www.firstbeat.com/app/uploads/2015/10/white_paper_energy_expenditure_estimation.pdf


    HR is great for estimating, if you already know what your HR burn is for a given activity family..

    Lets say you run 1 mile in 8 minutes at 160 bpm. your calorie burn for 8 minutes is 136 calories.

    You do jazzercise for 16 minutes at 160 bpm. A reasonable estimated calorie burn for jazzercise is 270 calories.


  • fitmom4lifemfp
    fitmom4lifemfp Posts: 1,572 Member
    edited June 2017
    rainbowbow wrote: »


    No, metabolic efficiency determines calories burned.

    You can't compare apples (a marathoner) to oranges (an unfit person) that just doesn't make sense.

    You'd have to compare the SAME PERSON doing both. HR is an indicator of effort, yes, but that doesn't mean you burned more calories for the same amount of work. Read my example above for the logic behind that.

    I would (for your own sake) understand that HR is not how one determines energy used. ;) If you want to get serious about determining calories burned you would need to know precisely your VO2 MAX.

    I've tracked calories burned on my HRM for a 3 mile run vs a 3 mile brisk walk. The run burns more calories, every single time. Not a lot, only 50 or so, but it's always more for me, when I run. But I think that using a 100 cal per mile is a good general rule-of-thumb.
  • BlueberryJoghurt
    BlueberryJoghurt Posts: 67 Member
    edited June 2017
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    @rainbowbow Im really just trying to wrap my head around the whole thing of HR not having as much impact as I thought and I read through the first research paper about Vo2max you posted.
    But as far as I understand it, it just states that vo2max is the most accurate method, which is repeated in the paper Ill link but (afaiu) HR is still a better method of estimating than just applying raw templates on an individual. Like any formula that would suggest that 2 people get the same result for the same excercise, with different activity/health/HR levels?

    https://www.firstbeat.com/app/uploads/2015/10/white_paper_energy_expenditure_estimation.pdf

    Yes, i'm certainly not saying HR is *complete* trash, simply that it has it's limitations. If you're trying to estimate calories burned, using a heart rate monitor can be helpful. But only if you're:
    1. Performing steady state cardiorespiratory activity: this means no intervals, no low-intensity exercise like walking, no heavy weight lifting, nothing where heart rate is known to be an inaccurate correlation with vo2 max.

    I would also mention that like i said, if you're very physically fit or very physically unfit its likely your HRM will estimate calories burned inaccurately. This is why it's suggested that HRM's are much much better if you've had them calibrated with your accurate vo2 max. Some Polar products and Garmin products (that i know of anyway) have the option to input your vo2 max so that it can more accurately estimate calories burned. Again though, like i said it's only really accurate with the above scenerio.

    But this contradicts your earlier statement that calories burned regardless of HR will be the same for any given distance walked? And the axample made of a good and bad day.

    My actual real life example would be, Im taking a walk on every day off. Always the same distance but depending on my shape on that day and the weather conditions, Ill walk slower/faster. Today was quite hot and thus it actually felt a bit harder to keep up my pace and my HR was averaging 130bpm instead of the usual 120bpm, time it took me for the walk almost the same.

    So the calories burned would be the same or as the assumption of the hr device suggests, todays walk burned more cals?

    Edit: refering to HR as I cannot track vo2max but considering its correlation - as for talking about the walk considering that you stated the corelation for a walk is innacurate, would the burn then be different for a run?
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    @rainbowbow Im really just trying to wrap my head around the whole thing of HR not having as much impact as I thought and I read through the first research paper about Vo2max you posted.
    But as far as I understand it, it just states that vo2max is the most accurate method, which is repeated in the paper Ill link but (afaiu) HR is still a better method of estimating than just applying raw templates on an individual. Like any formula that would suggest that 2 people get the same result for the same excercise, with different activity/health/HR levels?

    https://www.firstbeat.com/app/uploads/2015/10/white_paper_energy_expenditure_estimation.pdf

    Yes, i'm certainly not saying HR is *complete* trash, simply that it has it's limitations. If you're trying to estimate calories burned, using a heart rate monitor can be helpful. But only if you're:
    1. Performing steady state cardiorespiratory activity: this means no intervals, no low-intensity exercise like walking, no heavy weight lifting, nothing where heart rate is known to be an inaccurate correlation with vo2 max.

    I would also mention that like i said, if you're very physically fit or very physically unfit its likely your HRM will estimate calories burned inaccurately. This is why it's suggested that HRM's are much much better if you've had them calibrated with your accurate vo2 max. Some Polar products and Garmin products (that i know of anyway) have the option to input your vo2 max so that it can more accurately estimate calories burned. Again though, like i said it's only really accurate with the above scenerio.

    But this contradicts your earlier statement that calories burned regardless of HR will be the same for any given distance walked? And the axample made of a good and bad day.

    My actual real life example would be, Im taking a walk on every day off. Always the same distance but depending on my shape on that day and the weather conditions, Ill walk slower/faster. Today was quite hot and thus it actually felt a bit harder to keep up my pace and my HR was averaging 130bpm instead of the usual 120bpm, time it took me for the walk almost the same.

    So the calories burned would be the same or as the assumption of the hr device suggests, todays walk burned more cals?

    calories would be the same. Although, like i said, HRMs are notoriously innacurate for low-intensity activity (like walking).

    Can you comment further on how that contradicts anything? I dont understand your first statement.
  • JeepHair77
    JeepHair77 Posts: 1,291 Member
    edited June 2017
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    @rainbowbow Im really just trying to wrap my head around the whole thing of HR not having as much impact as I thought and I read through the first research paper about Vo2max you posted.
    But as far as I understand it, it just states that vo2max is the most accurate method, which is repeated in the paper Ill link but (afaiu) HR is still a better method of estimating than just applying raw templates on an individual. Like any formula that would suggest that 2 people get the same result for the same excercise, with different activity/health/HR levels?

    https://www.firstbeat.com/app/uploads/2015/10/white_paper_energy_expenditure_estimation.pdf

    Yes, i'm certainly not saying HR is *complete* trash, simply that it has it's limitations. If you're trying to estimate calories burned, using a heart rate monitor can be helpful. But only if you're:
    1. Performing steady state cardiorespiratory activity: this means no intervals, no low-intensity exercise like walking, no heavy weight lifting, nothing where heart rate is known to be an inaccurate correlation with vo2 max.

    I would also mention that like i said, if you're very physically fit or very physically unfit its likely your HRM will estimate calories burned inaccurately. This is why it's suggested that HRM's are much much better if you've had them calibrated with your accurate vo2 max. Some Polar products and Garmin products (that i know of anyway) have the option to input your vo2 max so that it can more accurately estimate calories burned. Again though, like i said it's only really accurate with the above scenerio.

    But this contradicts your earlier statement that calories burned regardless of HR will be the same for any given distance walked? And the axample made of a good and bad day.

    My actual real life example would be, Im taking a walk on every day off. Always the same distance but depending on my shape on that day and the weather conditions, Ill walk slower/faster. Today was quite hot and thus it actually felt a bit harder to keep up my pace and my HR was averaging 130bpm instead of the usual 120bpm, time it took me for the walk almost the same.

    So the calories burned would be the same or as the assumption of the hr device suggests, todays walk burned more cals?

    Edit: refering to HR as I cannot track vo2max but considering its correlation - as for talking about the walk considering that you stated the corelation for a walk is innacurate, would the burn then be different for a run?

    You don't burn more calories when you're hot. It's more uncomfortable, but discomfort doesn't use more biomechanical effort.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    Molly_234 wrote: »
    Goal is 1210 calories and I've gotten 8300 steps. I am 5'2 amd 145 pounds. I have mfp set to sedentary since I work in an office. I ride my bike about 10 mins back and fourth to work everyday. My calorie adjustment is 1427 just from 8300 steps. There's no way that I should have over 2000 calories with a 1lb a week goal. I would be gaining weight?! ( I have my goal set to 1200 a day because I often go over on the weekends by going out to eat or drink)

    Have you logged any food? If you haven't logged any food, it would make sense that it would say 1427 remaining which would only be an adjustment of a couple hundred calories to reflect the fact that you're doing a bit more than being sedentary.
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,727 Member
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    @rainbowbow Im really just trying to wrap my head around the whole thing of HR not having as much impact as I thought and I read through the first research paper about Vo2max you posted.
    But as far as I understand it, it just states that vo2max is the most accurate method, which is repeated in the paper Ill link but (afaiu) HR is still a better method of estimating than just applying raw templates on an individual. Like any formula that would suggest that 2 people get the same result for the same excercise, with different activity/health/HR levels?

    https://www.firstbeat.com/app/uploads/2015/10/white_paper_energy_expenditure_estimation.pdf

    Yes, i'm certainly not saying HR is *complete* trash, simply that it has it's limitations. If you're trying to estimate calories burned, using a heart rate monitor can be helpful. But only if you're:
    1. Performing steady state cardiorespiratory activity: this means no intervals, no low-intensity exercise like walking, no heavy weight lifting, nothing where heart rate is known to be an inaccurate correlation with vo2 max.

    I would also mention that like i said, if you're very physically fit or very physically unfit its likely your HRM will estimate calories burned inaccurately. This is why it's suggested that HRM's are much much better if you've had them calibrated with your accurate vo2 max. Some Polar products and Garmin products (that i know of anyway) have the option to input your vo2 max so that it can more accurately estimate calories burned. Again though, like i said it's only really accurate with the above scenerio.

    But this contradicts your earlier statement that calories burned regardless of HR will be the same for any given distance walked? And the axample made of a good and bad day.

    My actual real life example would be, Im taking a walk on every day off. Always the same distance but depending on my shape on that day and the weather conditions, Ill walk slower/faster. Today was quite hot and thus it actually felt a bit harder to keep up my pace and my HR was averaging 130bpm instead of the usual 120bpm, time it took me for the walk almost the same.

    So the calories burned would be the same or as the assumption of the hr device suggests, todays walk burned more cals?

    Edit: refering to HR as I cannot track vo2max but considering its correlation - as for talking about the walk considering that you stated the corelation for a walk is innacurate, would the burn then be different for a run?

    You might get a small, but not statistically significant increase in burn and afterburn. But it would be just that... not statistically significant....
  • Psychgrrl
    Psychgrrl Posts: 3,177 Member
    cgrout78 wrote: »
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    Muana1005 wrote: »
    I mostly eat back my fitbit calories and am still losing 1kg a week.

    Fitbit works on intensity of the steps, not just how many steps you've done. So if you did 8k steps really quickly you will burn more calories than if you slow ambled them across the whole day.

    that's not true. you burn the same amount of calories for the same distance regardless of how fast you got there.

    yes and no...depends on the type of fitbit you have. If you have an HR you'll get more calories back for having a higher heart rate.

    Yep, especially with the bike ride to and from work.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    Muana1005 wrote: »
    I mostly eat back my fitbit calories and am still losing 1kg a week.

    Fitbit works on intensity of the steps, not just how many steps you've done. So if you did 8k steps really quickly you will burn more calories than if you slow ambled them across the whole day.

    that's not true. you burn the same amount of calories for the same distance regardless of how fast you got there.

    That's untrue. How many calories you burn is based off your heart rate.

    @RAD_Fitness

    Sorry but that is utter nonsense - please educate yourself because you are spreading misinformation that will confuse people.

    I've seen three people all producing the same power output (that's a true measure of energy) on exercise bikes with HRs of 130, 150 and 180 bpm.

    HR is a proxy for oxygen uptake but actual HR (min, max and exercise HR) is enormously variable from person to person. Some of it due to different stroke volume and pumping efficiency.
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