does it annoy you that MFP doesn't ...

sweetscreams
sweetscreams Posts: 4
in Fitness and Exercise
Hiya,

I'm just wondering if anyone else gets slightly annoyed that the strength exercises don't deduct calories off your food intake?

I prefer strength training to aerobic, i love crossfit and anything to do with weightlifting, kettlebells and focusing on body movements. I know that i will definitely be burning calories but i dont have a clue how many and how much extra food i need to fuel my body. I'm worried that i might not be eating enough which might make my metabolism sluggish and hold on to fat or something ... i get the general jist of things but i'm not an expert.

I've only started back on here so have only got 2 days on my food diary but i generally eat around 1200 calories a day. I don't exercise every day (especially recently due to back injury) but i generally work out 3 times a week and that includes sit ups, push ups, lunges, plank, reps on kettle bell, assisted pull ups, snatches on the bar followed by a 400 metre run (i hate running) and box jumps etc .. you get the picture its pretty full on!

Would a calorie counter thingy gadget work and count calories when doing exercise such as the above and do you think it is an idea to invest so i can judge it all abit better in the future??

Your comments are all gratefully received ... thank you so much for listening to me waffle on :happy:

Replies

  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    use the strength training entry under cardio- it's more accurate.
  • anewlife4me8610
    anewlife4me8610 Posts: 91 Member
    true true!!! specially since I need strength training a lot more then cardio!!!!
  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
    use the strength training entry under cardio- it's more accurate.

    ^^ That's what I do.
  • fanceegirl75
    fanceegirl75 Posts: 620 Member
    Yes lol! I learned early on just to enter them under my cardio. Especially since I was using an HRM and accurately tracking my cals burned.
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  • kjm3579
    kjm3579 Posts: 3,974 Member
    Adjust your settings using the TDEE method and you can just set all of your exercises to 1 calorie -- it seems like it works much better for me. http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/
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  • _runnerbean_
    _runnerbean_ Posts: 640 Member
    You could also log it under circuit training in Cardio. I agree that things like kettlebells do give a calorie burn as well as strength so you can add something to your daily calorie burn.
  • BlueBombers
    BlueBombers Posts: 4,064 Member
    use the strength training entry under cardio- it's more accurate.

    ^ This
  • Laurenloveswaffles
    Laurenloveswaffles Posts: 535 Member
    use the strength training entry under cardio- it's more accurate.
    Adjust your settings using the TDEE method and you can just set all of your exercises to 1 calorie -- it seems like it works much better for me. http://scoobysworkshop.com/calorie-calculator/
    Either one of these ^^
  • wkwebby
    wkwebby Posts: 807 Member
    Yes lol! I learned early on just to enter them under my cardio. Especially since I was using an HRM and accurately tracking my cals burned.

    You can't track strength training calories with an HRM. Well, you can, but you will get inaccurate results.

    Everything I've read suggests this. I have a Jawbone UP and it is always off on the days that I weight train. I kind of just accept it and move on. I try not to eat back all the calories and as long as I feel good, I don't worry too much. Even though UP doesn't log my weight training accurately either, it will do some and I just bump the final number up maybe 100 calories. Essentially, I'm staying within the margin of error on MFP as well as my UP.

    Listen to your body. If your body is ok with how much you're eating back, then it should be good. If not (sluggish, or always hungry), try adding some cals back in.
  • AlyssamR6712
    AlyssamR6712 Posts: 114 Member
    i use my heart rate monitor during my workouts to see how much calories i am burning, then i just log it under cardio
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
    Yes lol! I learned early on just to enter them under my cardio. Especially since I was using an HRM and accurately tracking my cals burned.

    You can't track strength training calories with an HRM. Well, you can, but you will get inaccurate results.

    This!^

    HRMs are designed for steady state cardio.
  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
    i use my heart rate monitor during my workouts to see how much calories i am burning, then i just log it under cardio

    Heart rate monitors won't work with strength training.
  • AlyssamR6712
    AlyssamR6712 Posts: 114 Member
    how do you figure? your heart rate still goes up when lifting? i feel like a lot of people use it for this reason
  • Laurenloveswaffles
    Laurenloveswaffles Posts: 535 Member
    how do you figure? your heart rate still goes up when lifting? i feel like a lot of people use it for this reason
    Read this.
    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/871955-heart-rate-monitors-strength-training
  • AlyssamR6712
    AlyssamR6712 Posts: 114 Member
    ahhhhh i just did some research, that is super interesting! Well learn something new every day! I think i probably will still wear it, i like knowing what my heart rate is and see the calories "burned" gives me motivation, but good to know thanks!
  • JosieRawr
    JosieRawr Posts: 788 Member
    Yes lol! I learned early on just to enter them under my cardio. Especially since I was using an HRM and accurately tracking my cals burned.

    You can't track strength training calories with an HRM. Well, you can, but you will get inaccurate results.

    This!^

    HRMs are designed for steady state cardio.


    All of this^^ minus the accurately tracking strength training with a hrm..
  • MissHolidayGolightly
    MissHolidayGolightly Posts: 857 Member

    ...I know that i will definitely be burning calories but i dont have a clue how many and how much extra food i need to fuel my body. I'm worried that i might not be eating enough which might make my metabolism sluggish and hold on to fat or something ...

    ...I've only started back on here so have only got 2 days on my food diary but i generally eat around 1200 calories a day.

    I don't know your stats but you probably need more than 1200 calories to fuel your body, regardless of exercise.
  • sweetscreams
    sweetscreams Posts: 4
    Thanks for the above guys, i'll have a look into it. I know it says i've been on here 2 years but i signed up forever ago but never really used it so a bit of a newbie.

    "don't know your stats but you probably need more than 1200 calories to fuel your body, regardless of exercise."

    I am 5ft7 and 11stone 8lbs. Last time i checked i was still in the healthy stage on bmi but i dont feel healthy. I struggle to eat more calories because eat salads ALOT.

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