MFP overstating exercise calories question

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BigVeggieDream
BigVeggieDream Posts: 1,101 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I'm fairly new here, 1 month, and recently I've found several people saying that MFP overstates calories burned. I've done search on the boards, and couldn't find a answer. How much is MFP overstating by? I don't want to be eating back more calories than I should.

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  • blueyz374
    blueyz374 Posts: 3 Member
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    I use the calculators on shapesense.com or on selfcom. I like shapesense.com for when I use the treadmill it allows me to input my distance/time and incline. Hope this helps you a bit!
  • editorgrrl
    editorgrrl Posts: 7,060 Member
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    Everybody's different, and weight loss takes a whole lot of trial & error to find what works for you. Always try to find the maximum number of calories at which you lose weight—never the minimum.

    So eat back all your exercise calories for a few weeks. If you don't lose, start eating back half your calories.

    Read this: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
  • neveragain84
    neveragain84 Posts: 534 Member
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    Your best bet would be to invest in a heart rate monitor. That way you have a *close to* exact calculation of your calories burned.:smile:
  • SephiraRose
    SephiraRose Posts: 775 Member
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    I recently started using a Polar FT7 HRM to monitor my cardio, comparing my calories burned to MFP there's are 50 - 60 percent higher.
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
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    I'm fairly new here, 1 month, and recently I've found several people saying that MFP overstates calories burned. I've done search on the boards, and couldn't find a answer. How much is MFP overstating by? I don't want to be eating back more calories than I should.

    Rough guidelines...

    Running -> multiply by 0.7
    Walking -> multiply by 0.5
    Circuit-training/calisthenics/aerobics/etc -> multiply by 0.25
  • kj26boys
    kj26boys Posts: 73 Member
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    MFP overstates A LOT!!! I use my HRM (polar FT4) and was SHOCKED the first workout I did. In fact, I thought there was something defective with it. The frustrating part is that all the other websites (self.com, etc) also overstated them. For instance. The elliptical was saying I burned 389 cals, my HRM watch said 259. I was upset. Zumba, said I burned something like 460 cals, HRM said 208 or something low like that. I will say the app I use when walking was dead on, only like 2 cals different. I seriously would either A) invest in a HRM to be accurate, or B) just don't eat back either any or very little cals. Hope this helps!
  • meca85
    meca85 Posts: 81 Member
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    Invest in a HRM.
    That's all you can really do to get as close to accurate numbers.
    Even if I do the same workout depending on how I feel that fay and my effort, the workout could fluctuate about 30/60 calories.
    Sometimes MFP and other sites have over estimated and sometimes underestimated certain workouts.
  • omma_to_3
    omma_to_3 Posts: 3,265 Member
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    I used MFP calories exclusively for the first 6 months and then purchased a heart rate monitor. What I found was that MFP was underestimating my calories when I was obese and significantly overweight. When I became more fit and much closer to a "normal" weight (still not actually there) MFP was much closer and then gradually swung to overestimating, but not by a significant amount. I would say, if you're a woman over 170 or 180 lbs, you can safely use MFP numbers for walking and running (selecting the appropriate speed). Once you are closer to your goal weight, MFP numbers should be reduced a bit. I don't really have any opinion on other activities aside from walking and running, though I hear a lot of people really complaining about the elliptical numbers being overestimated. I have found cycling numbers to be overestimated by about 10-15%, but I don't think that's a terribly significant number.
  • victoria_1024
    victoria_1024 Posts: 915 Member
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    I eat back half of the exercise calories that MFP gives me. I actually think I've been losing weight a little more quickly than I would like (averaging 2 lbs a week) and have thought about eating back slightly more. I'm still about 50 pounds overweight and have a ways to go, I don't want to lose too quickly, especially since i'm breastfeeding too. MFP usually tells me I burn between 400-600 calories in an hour, depending on what activity I'm doing. So I will eat back between 200-300 of those.
  • kanitap
    kanitap Posts: 8 Member
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    Very helpful. .and makes sense to me! Thank you
  • BigVeggieDream
    BigVeggieDream Posts: 1,101 Member
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    Thanks everyone, that was very helpful.

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