I Do Not Think My Calories Burned Is Correct..Need Advice

binterla

I am new to MFP...but not new to losing weight. Over the period of 2011-2013 I lost 160lbs. I started gaining weight back when I was sick last year ..then Christmas...then I was just out of control. So I gained 36lbs. That is when I found MFP. I have been tracking my food and exercise for 11 days. I lost 4 lbs in 5 days. Then today I got on the scale and I was up to my beginning weight which is 236. I am 53 and disabled but I stay very busy in mornings on the weekdays. I take silver sneakers classes at my local JCC. On Mon I take 3 hour long classes...chair yoga...we only sit for 5 min. at the beginning and the end. Then I take a strength and resistance class where we do cardio...resistance bands and weights. Next I take tai chi. On Tues. and Thurs. I take stretch class and water aerobics classes...both 1 hour long. Wed. are like Mon. Minus the tai chi. Fri is like Mon. minus the chair yoga. I have just begun to use the gym on the weekends. I ride the bike and walk on the treadmill. But the gym equipment shows I only burn around 150 calories..where the MFP data base says around 500 calories burned. I have stayed under my 1610 allowed calories every day except for yesterday. So am I eating too much? I am not running...doing crossfit classes..or doing anything else I see other people doing..I can't. I have physical limitations. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Liftng4Lis

Go with the lower as far as calories burned and make sure you only eat half back. Remember weigh loss comes from the caloric deficit so you want to weigh and measure all food.

oksanatkachuk

Difficult one.. I d suggest to pick up cal goal, eat that for 2 weeks and see how it do. On that adjust plus or minus.

binterla

Thanks..what I was thinking

binterla

So I should add calories?

olivia_june

Are you weighing and measuring your food? It's very easy to drastically underestimate portion sizes. I would eat 1600 and not worry about how many calories you may burn....MFP ALWAYS overestimates exercise calories so it's important not to take them as gospel.

ChildrenCryinNCoffee

Just FYI MOST gym equipment (treadmills, etc.) have the "projected caloric burn" default set for a 5'2" 150 lbs woman.

Wear a HR monitor for best results.

Onderwoman

Can't really tell from what you wrote if you are eating too much because you didn't give us a baseline and if you added and which calories you added from working out. I'd add what the machine says, MFP is over estimated by a lot usually.

jacqui1612

Get a heart rate monitor (HRM) . I had the same thing when I started. Get a HRM, I have a Polar. They are really great. You might, if you do some research, find one that is water resistant so you can wear it for your water classes as well.

stephe1987

Weigh/measure your food.
Drink lots of water.
Only eat back half of your exercise calories just in case (calories burned was lower than it said, calories eaten is higher than you thought).

intangiblemango

A Polar FT4 Heart Rate Monitor is only $60 on Amazon (or another heart rate monitor, that's just what I have and I like it) and it will help you get much better estimates about how many calories you are burning.

KrazyKenny1967

I dont trust the "calories burned" numbers here or on gym equipment.

oremus1

I dont trust the "calories burned" numbers here or on gym equipment.

me too. the mfp calorie burn rates seem very very high

cookiealbright

I'm 58 and I try to eat 1200 calories a day. I eat back half of the calories I burn and sometimes don't eat them back at all. When you get older it's harder to lose weight so I think you may be eating too much. Good luck to ya! :flowerforyou:

records1138

I have a rule of thumb to never eat the calories that MFP claims I burned off during exercise. Instead, I just eat within my 1600 calories for the day, and take the burned amount as a bonus. If you're just going to turn around and eat the calories you just burned off by working out, then what's the point of working out? You can eat the same amount without bothering to work out.

bumblebreezy91

This drove me crazy, too. I ended up buying a heart rate monitor (Polar FT4 HRM, specifically). MFP overestimates calories burned and machines, even with my entered stats (age and weight), seem to underestimate calories burned compared to my HRM. I avoided eating back my exercise calories and tried to go with the lowest reasonable number, but not knowing still drove me nuts. I weigh and measure my food and take my HRM with me to the gym. I still avoid eating back calories burned. I initially stayed away from the idea of getting a HRM because I thought they were just for hardcore gym-goers only (and I'm just a treadmill/light weight machine user so I felt like it was unnecessary) but I'm glad I caved.

alska

Hi, It's best to get a Heart Rate Monitor and wear it while you exercise. It will show you how many calories you burned. I burn only half of what MFP says. I had no idea I was over eating because of it I also bought a scale to weigh my food so that I am not guessing anymore.

formerfatboy1

Heart monitors are accurate and are a good investment if you want to keep track of calories burned. I never eat back the calories burned and honestly wouldn't want to cause my body fat percentage will become stagnant and weight loss as well. calories burned are calories burned.

itsbasschick

the HRM i've owned also give a higher burn. in fact, every calculator and device i own gives inaccurate burn. i suggest you eat back exercise calories if you're hungry, and especially if you get dizzy, weak or lightheaded (hopefully you wouldn't wait that long). for me, i usually eat back around half my exercise calories (usually as protein - greek yogurt or protein powder), depending on the workout intensity, but on a regular walking day may not eat back any. your results may differ, so you may need to experiment a little.

samc0ker

I use a heart rate monitor that you wear around your chest and I find that my calorie burn is always more than MFP app tells me it is. I wouldn't trust the equipment at the gym unless you know they calibrate the heart rate sensor because the treadmill I use at work will tell me my HR is like 70 but my watch is reading 150. You can buy one at stores like Best Buy and I wouldn't go back to working our without it.

TeaBea

I'm 58 and I try to eat 1200 calories a day. I eat back half of the calories I burn and sometimes don't eat them back at all. When you get older it's harder to lose weight so I think you may be eating too much. Good luck to ya! :flowerforyou:

1200 is MFP's lowest default minimum. I'm 53 and wouldn't go there unless I had to (5'5" = >1,200). As we age, we lose lean muscle mass unless we take steps to prevent it (strength train, eat lots of proteins and a MODEST deficit).

OP - find your TDEE and your BMR. TDEE should include exercise....this is maintenance. BMR is the number of calories you would use if you stayed in bed all day. If you are obese you can take a larger deficit (less than BMR even) & not worry about lean muscle....but as you get closer to goal eating enough (at least BMR) is more important to maintain muscle mass. It's not the one-size-fits-all 1200 approach.

http://iifym.com/tdee-calculator/

sloth3toes

I have been tracking my food and exercise for 11 days. I lost 4 lbs in 5 days. Then today I got on the scale and I was up to my beginning weight

Wow, are you ever active!

The snipped quote is what I'd focus on. 11 days.... you lost 4 lbs in 5 days. The 4 lbs in 5 days would have been some kind of immediate, noob, water loss thing.... that wasn't a true indication of the rate you could expect. But, you knew that. So, the fact that it jumped back up isn't a huge shock, either. If you've suddenly added all that exercise, the common theory is that your muscles retain water for repair.

I think, aside from being as accurate as you can with your logging, and either getting a HRM, or going with the lower estimated burns from the equipment, or eating less than the calories burned back..... that you should change nothing for another couple of weeks. Wait until you have a reasonable period of time to accumulate data, and then reassess. If you're doing things right, by that time, you'll have a legitimate loss.

fitfabforties

it's hard to figure this all out sometimes.....my HRM watch always says that I've burned more calories than MFP does....for instance....I walked briskly for 10 minutes this morning to work and my watch said 162....MFP says 39!!!...I entered the 39 calories and I probably won't eat them back.....last night I did 30 minutes of Brazil Butt Lift Sculpt....my watch said 531!!!! WTF??...MFP says about 200....I entered the MFP amount....my general rule is enter the MFP amount or about half of what my watch says, whatever one is lower and then eat back only a few of those entered.....good luck!!!

20yearsyounger

Just FYI MOST gym equipment (treadmills, etc.) have the "projected caloric burn" default set for a 5'2" 150 lbs woman.

Wear a HR monitor for best results.

+1 Those things lie all the time. HR monitor is the way to go.

However, How fast can you go on a treadmill? My experiences in the past with the treadmill going at least 3.3 mph worked just fine for a good burn and the calories calculated on MFP were close enough

TeaBea

I have a rule of thumb to never eat the calories that MFP claims I burned off during exercise. Instead, I just eat within my 1600 calories for the day, and take the burned amount as a bonus. If you're just going to turn around and eat the calories you just burned off by working out, then what's the point of working out? You can eat the same amount without bothering to work out.

MFP as designed gives you a calorie deficit BEFORE exercise. Eating back exercise calories keeps the "original" deficit. If you are obese a large deficit is fine. Closer to goal a really large deficit ensures fat+muscle loss. Most people want to minimize muscle loss, so they eat more. You need to fuel workouts to minimize muscle loss.

The "point of working out" is fitness. Yes, it burns some calories (especially cardio) but a well rounded program includes strength training which helps you keep lean muscle while eating at a deficit.

landiekate

I'd just buy a HRM, I've had mine for about 3 years now, and never plan on letting it go. Just now, I've had to replace the batteries.
I never really trusted the exercise-burning-calculations on here.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

11 days isn't enough time to know whether or not you're eating too much. 5 lbs is well within the range of normal fluctuations, especially if you had some extra sodium or did an usual amount of exercise. Be patient. Wait 4-6 weeks before you start tweaking things.

uconnwinsnc1

Lots of trial and error when you first start out to try and find what is right for you.

Mike_III

I'm having the same issue, but it's been almost two months. I lost 12 pounds and I'm not sure how to log my weight training. I've looked online at several calculations and it seams that MFP is always low. I haven't lost anything in two weeks. I weight train 3 days a week full body workout and I've been able to increase my weight last week. I don't know maybe its because I'm adding muscle?

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

I'm having the same issue, but it's been almost two months. I lost 12 pounds and I'm not sure how to long my weight training. I've looked online at several calculations and it seams that MFP is always low. I having lost anything in two weeks. I weight train 3 days a week full body workout and I've been able to increase weight my last week. I don't know maybe its because I'm adding muscle?

Not in two weeks, no. You're likely retaining water for muscle repair. It usually lasts 4-6 weeks.

Mike_III

I understand the retaining water, but I've been at this for 36 days not two weeks. I've been under goal and log everything. My weight loss goal I want is 2 pounds a week.