Overestimating Calories Burned

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  • jewelzz
    jewelzz Posts: 326 Member
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    This post really bothers me.I also use an HRM and track my Hr and calories burned.I know how much effort I put into my workouts,I usually burn anywhere from 500 to 1,000 in 1hour to 1 1/2 hours depending in intensity and incline and speed,plus my strength training.Of course it now takes me longer to get there since my fitness level is much greater and i have to push harder than before but I'm pretty confident this is what my burn is.
  • ErinMarie25
    ErinMarie25 Posts: 733 Member
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    I think it depends. A larger and/or a taller personal burns more than someone short and fairly skinny. Also people who are generally out of shape burn more. But yes, I do agree and think some HRM's overestimate which is why I say not to go cheap on them. Get a GOOD one and spend the money for something that will last longer most likely and is a lot more accurate.

    And this is also why I bought a BodyBugg. With 30 minutes of cardio, I burn about 230-ish calories. 30 minutes of weight lifting? About 120. But that's fine with me! Because I burn about 2.8 calories a minute throughout the day after exercise. Only about 1.6-ish if I didn't exercise.
  • ashley0616
    ashley0616 Posts: 579 Member
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    However, small people and big people burn different amounts of energy/calories doing the same exact thing. My husband and I take the same hour long 4 mile walk, but he burn almost 1/3 more calories....

    When I weighed 40 pounds more than I do right now, I burned more calories walking/ climbing stairs/ doing yoga than I do now that I'm more fit.

    I was hoping someone would point this out. The more you have to lose, the more you have to work with and ultimately you burn more calories per minute than a smaller person. Just take a peek at this chart: http://www.positivehealthsteps.com/calories-burned.shtml

    There's a HUGE difference whether you are 130lbs or 180lbs, or 250lbs. It does depend on how hard you work, how long you work at it, etc, but your size also counts.

    I do think MFP overestimates a bit. But I also think that it's not ridiculous to think that a 250lb person could burn 700-1000 calories an hour doing intense working out. I also think that there is no reason not to believe your HRMs, isn't that the reason you spend so much money on them? Even if you do subtract what you burned just being alive, I don't imagine it would be enough to significantly hinder your weight loss.
  • tiarra77
    tiarra77 Posts: 39
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    I think it's funny how wrapped up into the numbers people get. People swear you must you count calories and eat exercise calories. And people swear wearing a HRM helps. I know plenty of people who do little to none of that stuff (including me) and they lose weight just fine.

    Eat healthy, and working hard in the gym, and you will lose weight! Who cares what people put as their exercise calorie burn. If it works for them, great! If not, they will learn to adjust it.

    I love this quote! It is what it is and I think and *pray* that my hard work will be beneficial. I will stop focusing so much on the numbers -- none are completely accurate. But that pants size I wanna be in will damn sure be !!
  • gagaboo
    gagaboo Posts: 8 Member
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    I've wondered about zumba too - I do it a a lot and the instructors (as well as lots of websites) say you burn 400-700 calories an hour doing it. I go hard too. But back in the day when I wore my bodybugg, it never read more than 400 calories. I'm figuring more like 550 to 600 is realistic.

    The absolute best information I got about what I actually burn, and my resting metabolic rate, was when I did dunk tank bodyfat testing. This is the most accurate way of knowing how much lean body mass you have, which will tell you how much you actually burn by doing nothing all day. I keep that number in my head all day, adding in exercise, and trying to keep 500 calories below the total.

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