How to determine number of calories burned?

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elizabethbettycooper
elizabethbettycooper Posts: 38 Member
edited November 2017 in Health and Weight Loss
So someone mentioned in another post of mine that gym equipment or fitbits can inflate the number of calories you're burning. So I'm just wondering how to properly determine the estimated number of calories burned without basing it off of either of those two?

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  • toxikon
    toxikon Posts: 2,384 Member
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    That must've been my comment!

    You'll find that most of us eat back only 50-75% of the calories that Fitbits/machines/MFP tells us we've burned, just to be on the safe side. Of course, if you find yourself still hungry afterwards, eating a bit more may be advisable.
  • elizabethbettycooper
    elizabethbettycooper Posts: 38 Member
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    @toxikon hahahahaha it was! Didn't see ur reply here so I asked u the same question on the other thread and well, my bad!
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    Like @toxikon said, many people start back eating just a portion of exercise calories and then make adjustments based on their real life results. Any number you get for calorie burn is going to be an estimate -- you can just pick something to start with and then tweak as necessary.

    My example: I started by eating back 50% of my calories and found that I was losing way too quickly. I began adding more and eventually found that *for me* my Fitbit does an almost perfect adjustment and I can eat back all my activity calories. Other people have found that the Fitbit can over- or even under-estimate their calorie burn, so they've made plans to account for that.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,344 Member
    edited November 2017
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    zoekravitz wrote: »
    So someone mentioned in another post of mine that gym equipment or fitbits can inflate the number of calories you're burning. So I'm just wondering how to properly determine the estimated number of calories burned without basing it off of either of those two?

    The only accurate way is to go to a metabolic ward and be hooked up to machines 24 hours a day.

    Gym equipment and HRM/fitness trackers work off algorithms, which produce an uneducated to somewhat educated guess (based upon the sophistication of the device and the algorithms used). When such devices are used for anything other than steady state cardio (which is what the algorithms are based off of), the accuracy degrades even further.

    Here's an article @Azdak wrote some time back which explains it in detail: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/Azdak/view/the-real-facts-about-hrms-and-calories-what-you-need-to-know-before-purchasing-an-hrm-or-using-one-21472
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,970 Member
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    What type of exercise?
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,627 Member
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    per hour of cardio, i only allow 200 MAYBE 300 to eat back.

    personally, i try to stick to the 200 because it gives me a little more leeway in logging inaccuracies.
  • leggup
    leggup Posts: 2,942 Member
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    I have used a heart rate monitor. I used that calculation, plus my known calorie intake to learn that I burn about 325 cals to do my 3.1 mile (5k) loop outside. It takes me about 45-50 minutes. I don't eat back 100% of exercise calories in order to account for error. Using GPS (with my weight/stats), I will eat back 75-90%. With a machine, 50-75%.
  • 93pear93
    93pear93 Posts: 48 Member
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    Why would you determine how many kcal have you burnt ?
    There is no need to do that, all this machines calculating calories how much you burn are *kitten* and no accurate at all.
    You just giving headache to yourself of thinking about that.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    93pear93 wrote: »
    Why would you determine how many kcal have you burnt ?
    There is no need to do that, all this machines calculating calories how much you burn are *kitten* and no accurate at all.
    You just giving headache to yourself of thinking about that.

    People generally want an estimate of how many calories their body is using so they can determine how many calories to consume.

  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
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    If you are attempting to determine how many calories you burn because you want to know how many calories to consume, eat at a specific calorie level for four weeks and then adjust your intake based on how your weight has changed.
  • Nikion901
    Nikion901 Posts: 2,467 Member
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    I'm another one who just doesn't understand why so many people are looking at gadgets to figure out how many calories they have used up and then trying to eat up to that limit in order to stay the same weight, lose weight, gain weight .... Those numbers are estimates. Whatever happened to the idea of just eat less and move more ... moderately .. to lose weight and to eat a bit more to gain weight?
  • stanmann571
    stanmann571 Posts: 5,728 Member
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    NorthCascades wrote: »
    What type of exercise?

    It largely depends on the activity. Some activities have abundant experimental data, others much less so.

    Walking/running. You can get within a few % points of correct if you know your distance and speed and weight.

    Take me, a 240 lb man

    Hypothetical 4 mile walk at 4 mph.

    Using the Distance calculator gives 547 Calories
    Time calculator give 432 calories. So my burn is no more than 547+10% or 600 calories and no less than 432-10% or 390 calories. Yes, that's a wide range, but I can "safely" eat back 390 of those calories without hurting my weight loss, assuming all of my other logging and estimates are within the margin of error for the estimation method

    Interestingly, With a 4 mile run at a 12 minute pace,

    The distance calculator gives me 691 calories and the time calculator gives me 806 flip flopping the error/calculus. But again, I have an upper and a lower estimate to work from so 630-890.

    Math comes from the article below which is based on several good studies.

    Alternately, you could average the numbers and use the midpoint. It's not advisable to use the upper number as it's likely an overestimate.

    But given 4-6 weeks of rigorous monitoring and you'll know where on the estimation line you will fall.

    https://www.runnersworld.com/peak-performance/running-v-walking-how-many-calories-will-you-burn
  • 93pear93
    93pear93 Posts: 48 Member
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    Less complicated option is to observe your weight and body in mirror, than calculating burnt calories.
    If nothing has changed over 7-10 days simply add 10-15min to your cardio session, add another session or cut carbs and observe again!:)
    Do not forget about counting calories.
    Get to know your body.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    Nikion901 wrote: »
    I'm another one who just doesn't understand why so many people are looking at gadgets to figure out how many calories they have used up and then trying to eat up to that limit in order to stay the same weight, lose weight, gain weight .... Those numbers are estimates. Whatever happened to the idea of just eat less and move more ... moderately .. to lose weight and to eat a bit more to gain weight?

    For me "eat less" and "eat more" are harder to implement than "eat [x] calories." I do better with more specific guidelines. OP may be the same way and would prefer to have a specific calorie goal.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    93pear93 wrote: »
    Less complicated option is to observe your weight and body in mirror, than calculating burnt calories.
    If nothing has changed over 7-10 days simply add 10-15min to your cardio session, add another session or cut carbs and observe again!:)
    Do not forget about counting calories.
    Get to know your body.

    Since I'm a menstruating female, water weight gain can be an impractical period on which to base adjustments. Temporary water weight gain or loss can mask what might actually be happening in terms of actual weight change during that period.

    Not everyone has the time or the inclination to consistently add time to cardio sessions if they aren't seeing the results that they desire. Not everyone wants to cut carbohydrates either.

    For me, understanding how to estimate how many calories my body uses each day is an essential part of getting to know my body.

    It may not be the approach for everyone, some people may prefer your method.

    But for me, and many others here, estimating how many calories one is burning and choosing how much to eat based on that number is a perfectly valid method of managing one's weight.

  • MegaMooseEsq
    MegaMooseEsq Posts: 3,118 Member
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    Nikion901 wrote: »
    I'm another one who just doesn't understand why so many people are looking at gadgets to figure out how many calories they have used up and then trying to eat up to that limit in order to stay the same weight, lose weight, gain weight .... Those numbers are estimates. Whatever happened to the idea of just eat less and move more ... moderately .. to lose weight and to eat a bit more to gain weight?

    I suspect many people who are attracted to calorie counting are the types to appreciate precision. The trick is to strive for precision while acknowledging that you will absolutely never get all the way there.
  • Maxxitt
    Maxxitt Posts: 1,281 Member
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    Nikion901 wrote: »
    I'm another one who just doesn't understand why so many people are looking at gadgets to figure out how many calories they have used up and then trying to eat up to that limit in order to stay the same weight, lose weight, gain weight .... Those numbers are estimates. Whatever happened to the idea of just eat less and move more ... moderately .. to lose weight and to eat a bit more to gain weight?

    That, of course, is the goal folks who are working to lose weight aim for. Having estimates of CICO, moderating ones activity and consumption accordingly, gathering subsequent actual data and acting on it more consistently leads to the desired destination. It's like planning a road trip from Boston, say, to LA. Just getting into the car and heading more or less west may not get you there.
  • WhereIsPJSoles
    WhereIsPJSoles Posts: 622 Member
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    I want to eat more than 1320 calories so I gotta exercise. The choices are either completely guess at my burn, having some method of estimation, or not eating any exercise calories back at all. I'm taking the estimation - and the most accurate one I can get within my means. I have a heart rate monitor and have compared it with an elliptical's estimate (way too high) and MFP's estimate (10 calories higher than HRM) and so I use MFP's estimate for every day stuff.

    I don't really want to spend a year losing 10 lbs so the whole guessing game thing isn't for me.

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