Can exercise calories really differ so much?

sweetd6

I've noticed exercise calories in other people's diaries, and they earn so much more than I do, it seems for less effort. Could a difference in weight make so much difference? For instance, I'll see someone's post say they earned 500 plus calories for walking at a leisurely (2.5 mph or so) pace for 40 minutes. I do 30 minutes at 3.8 mph on a treadmill with all hills - no flat walking at all - and the machine gives me 165 calories. The machine does ask for my weight but not my gender or age, so I sometimes think even that might be too high because it doesn't know I'm old, lol. Does your weight matter that much? I always knew it mattered some, didn't know it was that much disparity.

vegkitten

I've always believed that weight matters because you're moving that much weight with you. The less you weigh theortically it's less effort to do the same exercise as someone moving more weight than you.

brianpperkins

Weight is a major factor in caloric burn. That said, most walking estimates posted here are gross burns (exercise + BMR) rather than net burn (exercise only) in addition to being inflated.

Runner's World reported on a study that contained the formula of .3 x weight in pounds X distance in miles for NET calories burned from walking ... or 60 calories per mile for a 200 pound person.


Another reality is that the ups and downs of most real world runs and walks largely negate each other and most people don't traverse such steep slopes that the numbers drastically change from flat.

fivethreeone

If a larger person and a smaller person travel the same distance, the larger person will burn more calories. Weight makes a big difference, as does how far you go, but many calorie burns listed here are quite overinflated.

This is one reason I prefer the TDEE method, as it removes guesswork from the question of calories burned per workout

meshashesha2012

MFP overestimates calorie burns

and age, weight, gender also make a difference

ChantalGG

add some ankle or had weights ot increase that burn if you can.

brianpperkins

add some ankle or had weights ot increase that burn if you can.

Those couple of pounds will not produce significant caloric differences unless one travels a great distance.

MKEgal

Could a difference in weight make so much difference?

Yes.
Even as I drop a couple pounds week by week, MFP drops calories from what it thinks I've burned, about 2 cal per lb.
Doing the same 30 min on the elliptical:
Today (225) it gave me 459.
01JUN (247) it gave me 504. That's 45 cal difference for 22 lb.
09MAR (264) it gave me 539. 80 different for 39 lb.

For instance, I'll see someone's post say they earned 500 plus calories for walking at a leisurely (2.5 mph or so) pace for 40 minutes.
I do 30 minutes at 3.8 mph on a treadmill with all hills - no flat walking at all - and the machine gives me 165 calories.

You have different weights & speeds, and my math skills aren't up to comparing those. :frown:
Also, what the machine is estimating differs from what MFP estimates, and they're both probably overestimating. (But I think the machine is closer.)

sweetd6

Thanks for all the info! Very helpful.

sympha01

Not for nothing, but maybe don't spend your energy thinking too much about and judging what other people record for their burns?

Yes, I have a few people on my feed who are fooling themselves {shrug}. I used to fool myself, too. I feel much better about everything now that I do a TDEE minus method instead of trying to accurately count and eat back daily exercise calories. As a formerly super-obese person who has exercised daily consistently and progressively more intensively over the past year+, I'm very aware not only that MFP over-estimates calorie burns, but also that most standard weight-based formulas for calculating calorie burn are too generous for people who have higher bodyfat and lower LBM %. Yes, it takes much more energy to move a larger mass around, but that ::should:: probably be tempered somewhat by the fact that those of us who are obese typically have a higher percentage of body mass that is relatively less metabolically active: i.e. body fat.

But for anyone who's struggling -- particularly someone who has a lot more to lose -- anything that motivates them to not feel discouraged, to keep moving, and to not give up prematurely is all to the good. It's damned hard to move when you weigh a lot and are out of shape. I work out a lot more intensely than I used to, and yet I strongly suspect I'm not PUSHING MYSELF to the limit as much as I did when I was just starting out and much bigger.

sweetd6

Wow, awesome weight loss Sympha. I actually did think of that - that the inflated calorie burn numbers might motivate someone to keep moving. Whatever works, as you say. It's damn hard to try to think of "how I'm going to fit in exercise today", day after day after day. Any motivation is welcome. I only worry about people actually eating back all their inflated exercise calories, because then it might affect their weight loss, and that can be de-motivating too.

kimmijo88

MFP overestimates calorie burns

and age, weight, gender also make a difference

Second this... i believe that MFP overestimates calorie burn too! This is based on what a heart rate monitor tells me, compared to what MFP estimates my burn to be..... so i always have to put in on here that ive done less time, to makesure that its accurate
So if you going by what the machine is telling you, and then seeing what people have put on here in their diarys then there is bound to be a difference.

SrMaggalicious

This is why I don't use the calorie burn estimate/calculation for exercise on here. I just calculate my daily calories to my TDEE minus 20% to lose weight. As I get toward, my goal, I'll increase cals for maintenance. I do too many variations of exercise to be consistent throughout the week and puttting it into play w/my total calorie expenditures. (and I suck at math..) one number to think about is enough.

cheripugh1

Yep your weight, height and age even sex matter for calories burned. personally I google what I am doing, and go with the common answer via respectable organizations like medical links. I go with those numbers, right or wrong they are MY numbers and I stick with them, for me it's how much I have burnt, and gives me numbers to try to increase.

As for the comment "MFP overestimates calorie burns" that is not correct, MFP is not entering those numbers, members are and often they are way off. One thing I always keep to is - I never eat back calories burnt, not even 1! Some argue that you can and should but that is not right for everyone and because the numbers vary for how much you burn, and also how many calories you consume varies if you go with members entries, so I guess IF you feel you need to eat back, I'd highly suggest not eating more than half back.