The calories burned counter on here looks overly optimistic

bexcobham

Does anyone else think so?

It says I have burned 900 cals today from 40 mins of brisk walking and 95 minutes of circuit training. I'm a 5'3" 133 pound woman. I don't think this stacks up.

TrailNurse

I think all exercise is overestimated here. I hope everyone is not eating their exercise calories back!

simbersea

I usually split the number in half. It feels closer to the truth, and I'd rather underestimate than over

CA_Underdog

If you exercise frequently enough that accuracy matters, invest in a heart rate monitor.

wonderwoman234

It does overestimate calories burned. Plus there is the whole law of diminishing returns thing - whereby the more you do the same exercise and get fitter, you burn fewer calories because it becomes easier to do.

I switched from using the MFP calorie plus exercise formula to the TDEE which many folks on here recommend. You don't eat back ANY exercise calories because they are factored into your daily calorie allotment already. I find it is working well and I no longer have to focus on how much I am burning/eating.

Here is the link if you want to check it out: http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

mebepiglet123

Best advice. Invest in a heart rate monitor

bexcobham

It does overestimate calories burned. Plus there is the whole law of diminishing returns thing - whereby the more you do the same exercise and get fitter, you burn fewer calories because it becomes easier to do.

I switched from using the MFP calorie plus exercise formula to the TDEE which many folks on here recommend. You don't eat back ANY exercise calories because they are factored into your daily calorie allotment already. I find it is working well and I no longer have to focus on how much I am burning/eating.

Here is the link if you want to check it out: http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

Wow, so according to this my TDEE is 1841 calories when I exercise 5 times a week. If I only exercised 4 time a week, it would be 1786 calories. So, the fact that a woman needs 2000 calories a day is wrong, which I have suspected for ages.

no wonder so many people are overweight.

If I did no exercise my TDEE would only be 1510, so eating the recommended 2000 cals would soon see me packing on pounds. I wonder if this is the reason so many people gain weight as they get older?

I might get a heart rate monitor, but don't want to spend a fortune. Any suggestions?

DavPul

900 calories for 2+ hours of exercise seems fairly reasonable to be. If it's big, it's not crazy high

1500 non exercise TDEE for a woman does not seem reasonable to me unless you're in a coma for 75% of the day

bexcobham

I dunno DavPul. I'm not sure whether the theory of somatotypes is just bro science from the olden days, but I fit the description of an endomorph and I would definitely gain weight if I ate over 1500 cals a day doing no exercise. The only way I can keep it off is to exercise long and hard, go light on the carbs and watch my food intake like a hawk.

Do you really think 900 cals is possible with two hours of exercise? It seems like a lot.

MyChocolateDiet

135 minutes? That's 2 hours and 15 minutes of exercise in one day.

Unsure if you plan to continue to workout at that level but it's not really necessary.

Now you are trying to convince yourself with the support of others that the cals MFP is giving you are too much. I'm guessing so that you can have permission to cut your calories further.

You seemed to like it when the answer for your TDEE was lower than what you had heard 2,000.

Re read that TDEE calculator and pay special attention to the exercise part. Is it specifying how many hours of daily exercise or not? I kind of doubt it is using 2.25 daily exercise housrs as a premise in it's calculations. Because most people don't exercise for that much during one session. So that may actually be a low estimate if you plan to exercise that much regularly.

I'm not sure how you'd correct for that level of activity but I think it behooves you to find out.

bexcobham

I don't do that every day, but sometimes I do if I'm feeling particularly keen. I will probably do a couple of 30 to 40 min workouts and then have a hardcore day. The overreaching shocks you body and makes it stronger.

I was intrested to find out that I only need around 1800 a day (according to the TDEE calculator) with my current exercise levels. As I said before, I gain fat as soon as I take my eyes off the ball. The description of an endomorph fits me down to a tee.

Btw, I am always pleased to find that 'experts' have it wrong. I don't know why.

MyChocolateDiet

I don't do that every day, but sometimes I do if I'm feeling particularly keen. I will probably do a couple of 30 to 40 min workouts and then have a hardcore day. The overreaching shocks you body and makes it stronger.

I was intrested to find out that I only need around 1800 a day (according to the TDEE calculator) with my current exercise levels. As I said before, I gain fat as soon as I take my eyes off the ball. The description of an endomorph fits me down to a tee.

Can you please stop talking about endomorphs I don't beleive in that stuff and don't even know what it means anyways and won't read to find out. If you describe it here I won't bother either but will just exit the thread.

So far if you other days are regular workouts I'd just count this one as two days for your tdee calculator so if you told it you workout 4 days go back and do it with 5.

that tricking the body business is just tricking yourself. you are playing a LOT of mind games with yourself that are unnecessary and crazy making. also a waste of your time. you don't need to have one super crazy day of workout and you don't need to cling to a title for yourself or be hyper vigilant b/c FOR YOU the wieght comes on real fast if you take your eye off the ball.

Dewymorning

It does overestimate calories burned. Plus there is the whole law of diminishing returns thing - whereby the more you do the same exercise and get fitter, you burn fewer calories because it becomes easier to do.

I switched from using the MFP calorie plus exercise formula to the TDEE which many folks on here recommend. You don't eat back ANY exercise calories because they are factored into your daily calorie allotment already. I find it is working well and I no longer have to focus on how much I am burning/eating.

Here is the link if you want to check it out: http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

Wow, so according to this my TDEE is 1841 calories when I exercise 5 times a week. If I only exercised 4 time a week, it would be 1786 calories. So, the fact that a woman needs 2000 calories a day is wrong, which I have suspected for ages.

no wonder so many people are overweight.

If I did no exercise my TDEE would only be 1510, so eating the recommended 2000 cals would soon see me packing on pounds. I wonder if this is the reason so many people gain weight as they get older?

I might get a heart rate monitor, but don't want to spend a fortune. Any suggestions?

2000 calories in an average. My TDEE is between 2,000 and 2,300 calories depending on how active I am. I have estimated this value from actual weight loss compared to how much I am eating. If I eat on average below 2,000 calories I lose weight.

TDEE depends on a variety of factors which include gender, but also age, height, weight, activity level, and other stuff that just vary from person to person.

Calculators are only estimates, and it is important to track what you are doing and adjust accordingly.

Actually calories depends on

bexcobham

My old Muay Thai teacher was the one who told me about overreaching. He suggested we all stay for a double lesson, which amounted to 2 hours (didn't cost us more as we paid monthly), so we could shock our bodies and make real progress in our fitness. He had been teaching it for years and had trained and fought in Thailand, so I reckon he knew what he was talking about. No mind games there.

triton64

Btw, I am always pleased to find that 'experts' have it wrong. I don't know why.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_projection

amwbox

Ya, I don't know what formulas they use, but I don't believe any of it for a second. I just take whatever they tell me and divide it by 2. Probably more realistic.

bexcobham

No, I'm not sure how they work it out. It's probably impossible to say unless you have someone qualified to run tests on you and who can afford that, or even has time for it?

How about eat when you are hungry and stay within your healthy BMI range. I'm within my healthy range and so far that's worked for me. I enjoy working out like a crazy woman once a week. I don't see why that has got some people's kinckers in a twist?

amwbox

Can you please stop talking about endomorphs I don't beleive in that stuff and don't even know what it means anyways and won't read to find out. If you describe it here I won't bother either but will just exit the thread.

Oh wtf.

Translation: "I don't believe in something, but I don't know what it is, and I refuse to find out. If you try to explain it to me I'll plug my ears and sing songs in my head!"

That is amazing. lol.

amwbox

No, I'm not sure how they work it out. It's probably impossible to say unless you have someone qualified to run tests on you and who can afford that, or even has time for it?

How about eat when you are hungry and stay within your healthy BMI range. I'm within my healthy range and so far that's worked for me. I enjoy working out like a crazy woman once a week. I don't see why that has got some people's kinckers in a twist?

The problem is that people are using the calories burned as part of the calculation about how many calories they should be eating. Its a legit concern.

If the calories burned is overestimated, the calories consumed can be made too high as a result.

MyChocolateDiet

No, I'm not sure how they work it out. It's probably impossible to say unless you have someone qualified to run tests on you and who can afford that, or even has time for it?

How about eat when you are hungry and stay within your healthy BMI range. I'm within my healthy range and so far that's worked for me. I enjoy working out like a crazy woman once a week. I don't see why that has got some people's kinckers in a twist?

it put my kinkers in a twist (knickers?) b/c I just came from a thread where a woman is crapping blood from doing something unnecessary to herself and that 2+ hour workout you claim "tricks the body" is not necessary and could be dangerous for another person it could lead to injury or heat exhaustion but if someone felt "it works" they might force themselves to do it in spite of it not being healthy OR EVEN NECESSARY.

That's why.

Keep being glib though.

bexcobham

I am not sure it matters unless you have very specific weight goals or want to get down to a certain body fat %.

Overweight people seem to lose weight really quickly when they start dieting and exercising. This slows down as you approach you healthy weight. If you are already within your healthy BMI range it starts to get trickier. Besides, once you are within your healthy weight range, anything else is just vanity pounds. ;-)

I know people say not to go by the BMI because some people are more muscular, but that applies to people who are packing serious muscle, or elite athletes, which most of us are not.