Calories burned doing Massage

stressremovers

I added a routine of simply doing stretches: Lats & traps 20 min, shoulder 1 min, hamstrings 2 min & chest 1 min. Shows I would burn 247 calories. That is simple stretches.
Someone commented that massaging doesn't count as an exercise. My comment to them is: I never do the exact same massage for every person. I walk around the massage table several times, use numerous pressure points (approx. 10 lbs of pressure) with thumbs or more pressure with elbows, elbow pressure requires bending over (Which I do quite a lot) & stretching lats & traps & essentially all back muscles plus pecs, I do a manual stretch for the neck which requires holding up a head averaging 10 lbs a person, stretching clients limbs also weighing quite a bit depending on how much muscle mass, some times doing tapotement (Karate chops) all up & down the back & legs, basically I am always moving except when doing pressure points (Which is like resistive exercise using 10 or more lbs of pressure). I do also sit and stand at different times depending on what I am working on, so I get up and down a lot.

Now I would like to know why someone can count just walking or stretching as an exercise, but someone out there thinks massaging someone does not count for burning calories?

I would bet for every 1 hour massage I do I burn at the very least 280 calories.

Retroguy2000

24 mins of stretching for 247 calories?

60 mins massage for 280 calories?

I do an hour of lifting weights, for which I add 250 calories to my diary. But you're burning 3x that many just from stretching? Hmmm.

mtaratoot

The Compendium of Physical Activities does not list massage as one of its entries in the occupational categories. It does list:

• Hair stylist is 1.8 MET
• Standing work like welding working on an assembly line, repairing heavy parts, doing auto repair, or nursing/patient care is 3.0 MET
• Baking is 2.0 to 4.0 MET

A MET is a metabolic equivalent. An activity that is 1 MET expends 1 kcal (what we affectionately call a "calorie" around here) per Kg per hour. A 150 pound (68 Kg) would burn 68 calorie doing a 1 MET activity for one hour. If that person were working an assembly line, they would burn 204 calories. I'm not a LMT, but I used to live with one for several years. I don't think the work she did was as vigorous as assembly line work. Your estimate of 280 calories might be high, but it is for sure not zero. If I had to guess, I'd say that it's mostly a 2.0 "ish" MET activity. When I've had a 60-minute massage, the actual massage portion is less than an hour.

I am also dubious of 247 calories for 20 minutes of stretching. I expend about 100 calories per mile of walking. I don't walk 2.5 miles in 20 minutes. Walking 2.5 mph on level ground is a 2.5 MET activity, and walking 3.0 mph on level ground is a 3.5 MET activity.

Retroguy2000

^ Bearing in mind to subtract at least 1 MET to avoid double counting in MFP.

mtaratoot

Retroguy2000 wrote: »

^ Bearing in mind to subtract at least 1 MET to avoid double counting in MFP.

I think I follow what you're suggesting. We oxidize 1 MET just being alive. I think, but am not sure, that the Compendium takes that into account. It lists "lying quietly and watching television" as 1 MET, so I don't know that you have to subtract that.

Retroguy2000

I mean MFP assumes your base activity level is Sedentary, Very Active, etc., which are 1.2 MET, 1.4 MET, something like that. While you may have burned a total of Y calories doing some exercise for an hour, a little more than 1 MET is already included in MFP's daily calorie goal (assuming maintenance chosen). To add Y would be double counting some of Y.

Anyone looking at that compendium and adding it manually to MFP should subtract about 1-1.6 MET first, depending on the MFP activity level chosen. What remains are the additional calories burned by that exercise.

tomcustombuilder

It won’t burn much so don’t over estimate. You can do whatever you want on your calculations however logging in a certain amount doesn’t mean your calculations will be valid. The proof of your accuracy or inaccuracy will be evident on your progress or lack of it.

If you’re just looking for an excuse to eat more, overestimating calories burned is a bad idea.

AnnPT77

mtaratoot wrote: »

Retroguy2000 wrote: »

^ Bearing in mind to subtract at least 1 MET to avoid double counting in MFP.

I think I follow what you're suggesting. We oxidize 1 MET just being alive. I think, but am not sure, that the Compendium takes that into account. It lists "lying quietly and watching television" as 1 MET, so I don't know that you have to subtract that.

I suspect you do need to subtract it. "Lying quietly" is pretty close to the definition of RMR, I would think. I don't think watching TV adds much, so I wouldn't log that as 1 MET of exercise on top of the MFP base calorie estimate. BMR/RMR is already in the base calories.

mtaratoot

Thanks y'all.

I don't ever do my own calculations for things that aren't already in the database. I agree with @tomcustombuilder that just entering something in the diary doesn't make it so. For sure take the time to follow up and make sure results match expectations and then, if needed, update the expectations.

mtaratoot

For grins, I looked in the MFP exercise database. It says a 150 pound person (68 Kg) would expend 224 calories walking 3.0 mph for 60 minutes. It would be 204 calories at 2.5 mph

The compendium says walking 3.0 mph is a 3.5 MET activity. One hour at 3.5 MET x 68 Kg is 238 calories. That is without subtracting 1 MET. If walking at 2.5 mph is a 2.5 MET activity, it suggests an expenditure of 170 calories - considerably less than the 204 in the MFP database, and again that's without subtracting 1 MET.

Looking at something more vigorous - swimming laps, freestyle, front crawl, slow, light or moderate effort. The compendium says it's a 5.8 MET activity. An hour for that hypothetical person would be 394 calories per hour, and the database says 476 calories. The compendium shows a lower burn even without subtracting a MET.

So maybe don't subtract one if you're making up a new exercise?

I also realized I actually HAVE made up some exercises in the past. At my current weight, I have an exercise, "Eating a really delicious poppy seed bagel with lox, cream cheese, onion, and cucumber." It burns about one calorie per minute. Well, gross burn. Eating that bagel adds some calories...

Sitting in the dentist's chair burns a little more than 20 calories per hour if you believe me.

My annual chore of cleaning my raft, I said at some point, burns just under 200 calories per hour at my current weight. And it's a fairly vigorous chore - more so than massage therapy.

I also was thinking that different massage styles might expend different amounts of energy. Performing a Swedish massage likely is less energetic than Rolfing.

Has any of this helped you @stressremovers?

mtaratoot

I wonder...

Maybe MFP is smart enough to subtract the 1 MET on its own. You log the number of minutes AND the start time, so maybe it takes care of itself.