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Gross vs. net calorie burn

grandpoobah12
grandpoobah12 Posts: 138
edited February 6 in Fitness and Exercise
Hi, there are a lot of apps out there to track your run or exercise. I recently found the gross vs. net calorie calculator. It subtracts the normal calories you`d burn from BMR from the extra calories burned from exercise.

Is MFP gross or net calorie burn?

does anyone use Endomondo and do you have any idea if that is gross vs. net. ?

a recent 60 min leisurely bike ride was 424 cal on endomondo and 189 cal on the net calorie burn calculator.

I don`t want to eat back too many exercise cal. But I`d like to be able to eat some!

Replies

  • meerkat70
    meerkat70 Posts: 4,605 Member
    both use gross - so you need to subtract resting cals.

    both wildly overestimate so i typically take about a third of my cals off.
  • jillianbeeee
    jillianbeeee Posts: 345 Member
    both use gross - so you need to subtract resting cals.

    both wildly overestimate so i typically take about a third of my cals off.

    good advice! Shes lost 77 lbs (congrats) I would listen to her! :)
  • grandpoobah12
    grandpoobah12 Posts: 138
    oh thanks ladies, this must have been slowing my weight loss down. Good to know.
  • RunBrew
    RunBrew Posts: 220 Member
    I wouldn't say that Endomondo 'wildly overestimate' calories burned. I've used this app for more than six months, both with and without HRM support and it's been pretty accurate on all accounts. If anything it underestimates the total calories burned.

    For me it estimates about 110 cal/mile based on my weight and the distance I've run.
    If I wear a HRM, and actually input that data into the workout summary, the calories usually jump up by 15-20% running 6-10 miles at a average HR of 170-175.

    This actually leads me to believe that:
    1) Endomondo believes I'm running in the 'fat burning' zone- 60% Max HR (when no HR data is supplied) instead of the 'cardio' zone- 80%
    or
    2) Is predicting 75-80% intensity and making a good estimate of net calories burned vs the gross cal burn figured by my HRM.

    Although, I could argue that my HRM makes an effort to calculate net calories as well, based on the tests I've run where I wore the device for 4-5 hours (when I first got it and wanted to play with it) while working at a desk and it registered 14 calories burned in that whole time.

    I see no reason not to trust that it's reasonably accurate regardless of which method you use.

    Eat back what you feel comfortable with but don't short-change yourself. I typically eat back about 75-80% of what I burn if I enter no HR data.

    Edited to add, I've trusted the claimed Endomondo calorie burns the whole time and averaged just over 1lb/week for the entire 44-45 lbs I've lost before entering maintenance 4 weeks ago. I still use them as a guideline and haven't gained more than 0.5 lb in the last month. SItting pretty steady at 144-145 lbs.
  • Chevy_Quest
    Chevy_Quest Posts: 2,012 Member
    I am really aware of not logging more than I really feel I burn.

    1. --- I rely on this one although the web interface is "clunky"
    http://www.shapesense.com/fitness-exercise/calculators/heart-rate-based-calorie-burn-calculator.aspx

    2. --- It will state:

    Note: This calculator provides gross calorie burn estimates. If you want to convert the estimate to net calorie burn, memorize the number and click here. If you want to learn more about net and gross calorie burn, read the Net Versus Gross Calorie Burn article.

    3. -- Then I go to this link and plug in my numbers

    http://www.shapesense.com/fitness-exercise/calculators/net-versus-gross-calorie-burn-conversion-calculator.aspx
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