did you really burn that many calories?

angelasmithhenderson

Does anyone else find that some of the numbers for calories burned seems inflated? I see people posting that they burned 700 calories running 3 miles. Well, the general rule of thumb is that you burn 100 calories per mile ran. Or I'll see a post that someone burned 1200 calories cleaning. I wouldn't even count cleaning. But maybe i'm not giving myself enough credit for my exercise. thoughts.

ladynocturne

Those numbers are generally inflated. If you know roughly how much you burn walking 3.0mph for 30 mins, you can tell when something seems "off" about logged exercise.

It's pretty difficult for the vast majority of people to burn 1000 calories doing any type of activity. You'd have to be extremely tall and very over weight. OR you'd have to be able to do an exercise for hours on end at the same pace.

For example, I'd have to walk for 4 hours at 3.0mph to burn close to 1000 calories. I don't think cleaning for a hour burns that much.

I think if you spend like 3 hours deep cleaning the bathroom on your hands and knees, it's probably okay to log cleaning moderate for 1 hr.

Mokey41

I don't worry too much if other people want to delude themselves about their exercise. Just sit back and wait for their post saying they're doing everything right but they aren't losing any weight. Most often those who post those huge burns are only looking for a way to justify overeating.

ElaineRN100

For me - I like seeing the big numbers, inflated or not. It's very motivating for me. Weird - who knows. I don't eat my exercise calories back so it doesn't matter it MFP says I burned 10 or 1000 calories while walking. If you are truly interested in knowing a more exact science about calories burned during any said workout, there are other websites, example Livestrong or wear a HRM (heart rate monitor).

MidgeN27

I don't eat back the calories I burn...but I like logging my exercise.

ashandloggiesmom

NO. I don't really trust the calorie burns that are listed on here. It says for me an hour of Zumba is 800 calories, uhh I'm sweaty but I doubt I've burned close to that. This is why I try not to eat back my exercise calories, otherwise I do believe I would be going over what I'm supposed to eat!

omma_to_3

My first 5K I burned 600 calories according to my HRM. 100 calories per mile is an often repeated myth.

I do t worry about what others post. It doesn't affect me. If they ask ill offer an opinion.

Commander_Keen

I run 3x times a day for no more than 30min. Goal is to burn 300+ calories per session. I can increase or decrease my speed to accomplish my goal. I can also increase or decrease my incline for more burn.

melindasuefritz

u are the second person today who has said the exercising calories seem high
I checked mine with livestrong.com so mine are pretty close

I don't do running though

BeachIron

I burned eleventy million eating pie

KathrynAlex

I rely on my HRM. MFP and exercise machines are usually overly generous with calories burned compared to my HRM. The difference can be as much as 200-300 calories depending on the activity and duration.

Livingdeadnurse

I do notice that MFP only picks one exercise and shows, for example, cleaning 75mins. When really I did 15mins of cleaning and the rest was running. It clumps all of your exercises under one exercise. I have never done 1000 calories but I am closer to my goal weight than some. Others I have talked to have a little more weight on them. So I would assume that it could be possible. I know a walked for me when I started (at heaviest) was around 350 calories burned and now I might burn 200. So height an weight are a factor.

agdyl

I know the calories are over-inflated on MFP, but I want a log of what I actually did. My only other option would be to cut my exercise times/distances in half to get a more accurate amount, but I choose to log what I did and then only eat back half the calories or less (generally closer to 1/3). That seems to work for me.

benol1

I rely on my HRM. MFP and exercise machines are usually overly generous with calories burned compared to my HRM. The difference can be as much as 200-300 calories depending on the activity and duration.

The same. I rely on my HRM exclusively.

Missjulesdid

First of all... if you see 1200 calories burned from cleaning, it's usually "from activities including cleaning" does not mean that cleaning burned all those calories.

Second, The amount you weigh makes a huge difference in how many calories you burn.. I used to regularly burn 1200 calories from exercise when I was 360 pounds...... Now I burn around 900... I'm sure when I lose another hundred pounds I'll burn even less.

Livingdeadnurse

I use my fitbit and turn on the neg count. So if MFP over inflates my calories it fixes it.

rodneyderrick

Calories burned increases with intensity, duration, and weight; therefore, a bigger person putting a lot of intensity in an aerobic activity will burn more calories. A person doing high intensity aerobic activity can achieve a calorie burn of 700 within 40 to 45 minutes.

pinkraynedropjacki

What does it matter? If it's not making you gain or lose...and if it's working for the person posting that much then why worry? Focus on your own calories, don't worry about what people post. BTW I can easily burn 600 cals in under an hour. I walk all day & burn way over 1000 cals every day.

be_patient

I burned eleventy million eating pie

you just got me so confused with "eleventy" there...

aquarabbit

I rely on my HRM. MFP and exercise machines are usually overly generous with calories burned compared to my HRM. The difference can be as much as 200-300 calories depending on the activity and duration.

The same. I rely on my HRM exclusively.

Third that!

Changing_Charity

100 calories per mile? thats not true...everyone burns different amounts of calories depending on their own body, weight and muscle play a factor as well. for example someone who weighs more is going to burn more calories because their body has to work harder to perform the task. mfp does over exaggerate on calories burned so its smart to use a heart rate monitor to get a more accurate burn.

heybales

If you match exactly the speed in the description that MFP uses for walking or jogging (about the only ones with good descriptions) and doing so flat no incline, then the formula's for that estimate of burn or more accurate than HRM calculated estimate is actually.

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/774337-how-to-test-hrm-for-how-accurate-calorie-burn-is

And no, 100 per mile is not always correct.

http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/WalkRunMETs.html

http://www.exrx.net/Aerobic/WalkCalExp.html

Tiffa0909

I never burned thousands but I also don't run , I brisk walk 4 to 5.5 miles so according to mfp I burn from 440 to 660 calories. I usually eat 50% of them back and when I'm not retaining water I have found that the calories burned have been correct for me after I calculated my caloric deficit for the week and compare it to the weigh loss for the week.

I think if instead of walking I was running my numbers would be closer to a thousand considering my size.

Pixi_Rex

I don't even know how many calories I burn. My BMF syncs with MFP gives me a number and that's the end of my logging.

oOxXxOo

I take all my calories burned from my HRM and I always change the personal data within it to ensure I am getting the most accurate reading possible. I also take a glance every now and then at the cardio equipment numbers to check we are all in the same ball park... though I find the equipment usually is higher. I never use the MFP pre loaded calories for adding an exercise, I always use why my HRM says.
Also its probably worth noting I never add things I do in a regular day.. so no housework, I dont add that I walked the kids to school, I dont log that I walked to the shops for a salad sanger. I only log intentional exercise.

BrainyBurro

I burned eleventy million eating pie

HRM confirmed?

flitabout

I do add my cleaning calories because I have my diary set to sedentary. But I will be honest I know darn well there is no way in heck I burned stupid high amounts of calories gardening. When I am out there I am usually weeding and well my hands get a real workout! I get way more out of cleaning. I can break one heck of a sweat when I really get going! But I try not to eat all those calories that are listed back. I mean come on 1 day it said I burned like 2000 calories because I did a massive clean out and worked all day but it still seemed like way to many. I think you just need to use your common sense when you look at some of these. I add them so I can see how much and how long I have been moving rather than calories burned. Although there are days that I have on there where I spent 90 minutes at the gym a couple of hours walking my dogs mowing my lawn with a push mower cleaning and doing heavy work in the garden. But you can feel those days for days! They are the exception rather than the rule.

bk2hpy

i have had the same thought. i took a bike ride tonight for 40 mins (light) it told me i burned 308 cals .. i"ll tell you that bike ride was way easier than the 25 mins of elliptical yesterday which the machine told me was 160 cals and the app told me was over 200. not sure what to think. but really i am taking the whole app with a grain of salt. the exact numbers dont mean much but logging everything encourages me to make better choices

wilsoje74

My first 5K I burned 600 calories according to my HRM. 100 calories per mile is an often repeated myth.

I do t worry about what others post. It doesn't affect me. If they ask ill offer an opinion.

That's almost impossible. Maybe in a 10k but a 5k is probably 200-300 unless you are majorly overweight or super big person.

kckBxer396

My diary is set to sedentary,but I quit counting cleaning, cooking, or any daily activities. When I do, I am more likely to neglect actual exercise. When I do log my workout, I always log less than my actual workout and more than what I have eaten as an attempt to make up for inflated numbers.

HollisGrant

I don't eat all my exercise calories back, only if I'm genuinely hungry. This works for me. I figure the exercise numbers are mostly inflated. I have no idea what I've really burned. One of these days I'll buy a HRM.