Exercise Calorie Accuracy

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tmac022480
tmac022480 Posts: 4 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi,

I've gotten back into MFP for a month now and have just started to add exercise into my daily routine. I did a Tae Bo cardio workout for 35 minutes and when I log it, it says I burned 751 calories. That seems SUPER high to me. I don't know how reliable MFP's exercise calorie calculation is so was hoping to get some input how much I can trust it.

Thanks.

Replies

  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,565 Member
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    What did you log that as?

    Many find the burns spot on, others see overestimation and will only eat back 50-75% of the number.
  • jjpptt2
    jjpptt2 Posts: 5,650 Member
    edited March 2018
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    All these numbers are just estimates. You have to start somewhere, so either trust them or don't, but be consistent with what you do so you can more easily track things over the long term and make the appropriate adjustments as necessary.

    For me, MFP's numbers have always been pretty reliable. For you... 751 cals for a 35 minute workout does seem pretty high. Many people suggest only using half of what MFP calculates - this seems reasonable for you/here.
  • HoneyBadger302
    HoneyBadger302 Posts: 2,000 Member
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    I haven't tried the MFP tracker (I track on a different app/site), but I found their numbers relatively accurate compared to what I get using my chest HR monitor and app - if anything, most of the time they estimated under, BUT I do tend to push myself pretty hard in a workout and harder than most other people I've worked out with, so that would make sense from that perspective.

    Really it comes down to a numbers game, but yes, 751kcal in 35 minutes, I don't care what you're doing, seems really really high.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
    edited March 2018
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    That's an incredible (as in unbelievable) number for 35 minutes.
    What colour medal did you get at the last Olympics? (Yes I'm joking!)

    The database doesn't have one level of accuracy or inaccuracy, there's some exercises where it's low, some reasonable, some high and some ridiculously high. So different people will find their exercise selections good/bad/indifferent/a mixture.

    Maybe pick one of the aerobics categories instead of logging under Tae Bo?
    At least then you can choose an approximate intensity level.
  • tmac022480
    tmac022480 Posts: 4 Member
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    sijomial wrote: »
    That's an incredible (as in unbelievable) number for 35 minutes.
    What colour medal did you get at the last Olympics? (Yes I'm joking!)

    The database doesn't have one level of accuracy or inaccuracy, there's some exercises where it's low, some reasonable, some high and some ridiculously high. So different people will find their exercise selections good/bad/indifferent/a mixture.

    Maybe pick one of the aerobics categories instead of logging under Tae Bo?
    At least then you can choose an approximate intensity level.

    Using the aerobics category is a great idea. You can choose intensity level and I'm guessing it's a more widely used category which makes me trust the calories more.

    Thanks all for the input.

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