to all the runners out there

hannaawh
hannaawh Posts: 51
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi, so I've been running 5-6 times per week now for a while, but I could never quite figure out how many calories I burn. Since I usually just try to go for distance, I am running pretty slow, probably around 4 miles per hour, and my weight is 152 lbs at 5'7''.
So when I try to log that in MFP always give me a ridiculously high number, so I usually go to other websites, but there the calorie burn also varies sooooo much.
Like for 50 minutes of running at 4 mph, one site says I burned 182 calories at my weight, another says I burned 342. How does it come they vary so much? And how do I know what I actually burned?

Replies

  • JTick
    JTick Posts: 2,131 Member
    Pick a site to use, it doesn't matter which one but be consistent. Eat back, say 50% of the calories. Do this for a few weeks. Look at results. Adjust accordingly. If you're losing too fast, eat more of them. If you're not losing at expected pace, eat fewer of them.
  • hannaawh
    hannaawh Posts: 51
    Thankyou! But I would like to know how many calories I actually burned, it helps me stay motivated, but I can never quite figure it out :/
  • ThickMcRunFast
    ThickMcRunFast Posts: 22,511 Member
    A good general formula is

    your weight x miles ran x 0.63

    It won't be exact, none of these methods will, but its an ok ballpark
  • holliebevineau
    holliebevineau Posts: 441 Member
    I wear a heart rate monitor when I run. I am 5'9" and 173lbs. If I run for 30 min It normally puts me at 300plus calories burned. I run close to an 11 min mile. Give of take 5 min:laugh:
  • hannaawh
    hannaawh Posts: 51
    That gives me a huge number, 387 calories burned for 48 minutes. One site even told me it was 182, that's less than half ot that. Maybe I should invest in a heart monitor too or join a gym.
  • JTick
    JTick Posts: 2,131 Member
    Unfortunately, nothing about counting calories is accurate. The best method truly is to just look at results. Even heart monitors aren't completely accurate, especially when you vary from steady state cardio.
  • Followingsea
    Followingsea Posts: 407 Member
    I have a Fitbit, and it seems to be pretty much on target for what I burn running.
  • ThickMcRunFast
    ThickMcRunFast Posts: 22,511 Member
    That gives me a huge number, 387 calories burned for 48 minutes. One site even told me it was 182, that's less than half ot that. Maybe I should invest in a heart monitor too or join a gym.

    I mean, how many miles did you run? 100 cals/mile is the estimate that most people use, so if you're running 4 miles at a slow pace, 387 isn't very far off.
  • mbilling
    mbilling Posts: 30 Member
    Based on my HRM, it doesn't seem to matter what my weight is or how fast I'm running, I will avg about 100 calories/mile. I don't even wear my HRM anymore for running because it's been so consistent.
  • runnergrlfl
    runnergrlfl Posts: 82 Member
    Based on my HRM, it doesn't seem to matter what my weight is or how fast I'm running, I will avg about 100 calories/mile. I don't even wear my HRM anymore for running because it's been so consistent.

    This, exactly in my experience as well.
  • stefanieanne14
    stefanieanne14 Posts: 119 Member
    100 cals/mile is a pretty good guestimate. No one here will be able to give you an exact number; I'd highly recommend getting a heart rate monitor if you're wanting more exact numbers :)
  • hannaawh
    hannaawh Posts: 51
    That gives me a huge number, 387 calories burned for 48 minutes. One site even told me it was 182, that's less than half ot that. Maybe I should invest in a heart monitor too or join a gym.

    I mean, how many miles did you run? 100 cals/mile is the estimate that most people use, so if you're running 4 miles at a slow pace, 387 isn't very far off.

    I have no idea actually, since I was running around corn fields, but it was quite a distance. I think I will just go by 350 calories. :) Thanks!
  • Christi132
    Christi132 Posts: 67 Member
    I agree with the 100 calories per mile. I wear a fitbit and it counts my steps and automatically adds exercise calories to MyFitnessPal. If you run with your smartphone, download an app (many of them are free) and it will basically do the same thing. MyFitnessPal partners with many. Just go to the "APPS" link on top of the page.
  • mulecanter
    mulecanter Posts: 1,792 Member
    I use the free Runtastic app on my iPhone. It uses GPS and allows you to enter your weight so I think the calorie calculations are a little better (not sure how they compare with other tools).. Only bad part is running with a phone in your pocket--baggy shorts don't work well. It uploads automatically to MFP so that part is sweet.

    https://www.runtastic.com/
  • ManjeetBhatia
    ManjeetBhatia Posts: 16 Member
    Short of a HRM, I found the Runkeeper app to be the "best guess". It will also sync the calories burned to MFP automatically. Give it a try.
  • rhoule76
    rhoule76 Posts: 217 Member
    Get a Heart Rate Monitor if you truly want a more "accurate" calorie burn.
  • hannaawh
    hannaawh Posts: 51
    I will download the runtastic app for now, I'm curious to know how far I actually run and then I'll just go with the 100calories per mile. Thankyou all!
  • MinnieInMaine
    MinnieInMaine Posts: 6,400 Member
    That gives me a huge number, 387 calories burned for 48 minutes. One site even told me it was 182, that's less than half ot that. Maybe I should invest in a heart monitor too or join a gym.

    I mean, how many miles did you run? 100 cals/mile is the estimate that most people use, so if you're running 4 miles at a slow pace, 387 isn't very far off.

    I have no idea actually, since I was running around corn fields, but it was quite a distance. I think I will just go by 350 calories. :) Thanks!

    If you were running at a pace of 4mph, you would've gone about 3.2 miles in 48 minutes

    If you go with the guesstimate of 100 cal per mile, that's 320 calories.

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