Normal people.......

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cat3nv
cat3nv Posts: 389 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I know the reason I have been stuck at 30lbs lost for a month.

I finally got a HRM.

MFP calculates the calories you burn based on normal people. I am not normal people. I have low blood pressure. I have been turned away when trying to donate blood because "the bottom number needs to be over 50".

So I began using my heart rate monitor today, and for work MFP says I burned almost 200 calories it says I burned 118. Hmmmm.... how do I compensate for this? Today I am doing yard work and a lot of it. I wonder how different it will be for walking, running, and Zumba.

I do not always eat back all my exercise calories, but on days I do I now know I am eating too much.

Replies

  • TNAJackson
    TNAJackson Posts: 686 Member
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    Now that you've got the HRM, you can record EXACTLY how many calories you burned and will definately be able to see a difference, I'm sure! Good for you for figuring it out! :smile:
  • Shutterpillar
    Shutterpillar Posts: 208
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    main reason why I want to get myself one of those.

    good luck.
  • AngelsKisses75
    AngelsKisses75 Posts: 595 Member
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    I had hoped to find the definition of normal in here. :ohwell:

    I too found that my HRM didn't agree with what MFP calculated. Except my cardio was much higher, and my yoga much lower. So make sure your HRM is adjusted to meet your low and high rates, as well as your other personal information, your chest strap (if you have one) fits snugly, and mine works best if the sensors are dampened when I first put it on. :drinker:
  • khrys1
    khrys1 Posts: 444 Member
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    Yes, just "override" the system by typing in the number of calories your HRM says you burned, then you'll see how many calories you've got left, etc. That's good to know- I should check into one of those!
  • AZKristi
    AZKristi Posts: 1,801 Member
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    I don't think it has anything to do with your blood pressure... fitness pal overestimates calorie burn for everything.
  • Cytherea
    Cytherea Posts: 515 Member
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    Don't forget that what you will also need to do to insure accuracy and not eat back too much is calculate how many calories you would have burned anyways, without the exercise, and subtract it from the total burned. Wear your HRM for 10 minutes while you are just lounging around and doing nothing and see how many calories you burned. Every time you work out, calculate how many calories you would have burned in that time from those numbers, and subtract that from the total amount of calories you burned during your workout. I like to add the total burned that my HRM gives me, and then do the "quick add calories" to subtract how many I would have burned normally so that I can clearly see all of the numbers on my page.
  • kennie2
    kennie2 Posts: 1,171 Member
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    my blood pressure is around 50 :/ perhaps i have this problem too
  • SiltyPigeon
    SiltyPigeon Posts: 920 Member
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    Wow! I really need to get one! Thanks for this info!
  • Artemis726
    Artemis726 Posts: 587 Member
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    MFP also overestimated my burn by quite a bit according to my Bodybugg. Now I just enter what I really burn and have a better overall picture. :) Good luck!
  • elinsofie
    elinsofie Posts: 69 Member
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    Don't forget that what you will also need to do to insure accuracy and not eat back too much is calculate how many calories you would have burned anyways, without the exercise, and subtract it from the total burned. Wear your HRM for 10 minutes while you are just lounging around and doing nothing and see how many calories you burned. Every time you work out, calculate how many calories you would have burned in that time from those numbers, and subtract that from the total amount of calories you burned during your workout. I like to add the total burned that my HRM gives me, and then do the "quick add calories" to subtract how many I would have burned normally so that I can clearly see all of the numbers on my page.

    I don't really get that. Isn't the lounging around already built into the MFP system? When I use the BMR calculator it says that my estimated BMR (what I burn when I'm doing absolutely nothing) is 1406. If I look at my fitness profile (under "Goals" in the menu) MFP estimates that I burn 1760 from daily activity (sedentary). That is the 1406 from doing absolutely nothing and 354 from daily activity (lounging around). Then it subtracts the 500 calorie deficit from that. So if I exercise and then subtract lounging about, wouldn't that be subtracting the lounging twice?
  • robertf57
    robertf57 Posts: 560 Member
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    Also remember that the estimates from the HRM are for exercise only. They aren't accurate for low level normal day activity. That's what your baseline estimates from MFP are for.
  • schobert101
    schobert101 Posts: 218 Member
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    Now that you've got the HRM, you can record EXACTLY how many calories you burned and will definately be able to see a difference, I'm sure! Good for you for figuring it out! :smile:

    Just want to comment on this...........HRM do NOT measure calorie burn.............they measure heart rate and use a formula to estimate your calorie burn. So don't be fooled that a HRM will record exactly how many calories you burned. If for example you are on medications like beta blockers that slow your heart rate the calorie estimate will be inaccurate, or if a person puts in the wrong data etc. That being said its still more accurate than the usual charts etc. Just don't want people to think that using a HRM is an exact science either.
  • helenium
    helenium Posts: 546 Member
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    Also remember that the estimates from the HRM are for exercise only. They aren't accurate for low level normal day activity. That's what your baseline estimates from MFP are for.

    This.
    Just want to comment on this...........HRM do NOT measure calorie burn.............they measure heart rate and use a formula to estimate your calorie burn. So don't be fooled that a HRM will record exactly how many calories you burned. If for example you are on medications like beta blockers that slow your heart rate the calorie estimate will be inaccurate, or if a person puts in the wrong data etc. That being said its still more accurate than the usual charts etc. Just don't want people to think that using a HRM is an exact science either.

    And this.
  • ChChCharlie
    ChChCharlie Posts: 67
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    You have answered a question I was going to ask!
    My resting heart beat is 50 BPM so I was going to post to see if this would mean I need to work harder than 'normal' to burn more calories. And obviously yes it does.
    I have just ordered a HRM myself and glad I have, will be easier to track what I've burned.
    Low blood pressure / low resting heart rate is healthier in the long run but frustrating when trying to burn calories!
  • Cytherea
    Cytherea Posts: 515 Member
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    Don't forget that what you will also need to do to insure accuracy and not eat back too much is calculate how many calories you would have burned anyways, without the exercise, and subtract it from the total burned. Wear your HRM for 10 minutes while you are just lounging around and doing nothing and see how many calories you burned. Every time you work out, calculate how many calories you would have burned in that time from those numbers, and subtract that from the total amount of calories you burned during your workout. I like to add the total burned that my HRM gives me, and then do the "quick add calories" to subtract how many I would have burned normally so that I can clearly see all of the numbers on my page.

    I don't really get that. Isn't the lounging around already built into the MFP system? When I use the BMR calculator it says that my estimated BMR (what I burn when I'm doing absolutely nothing) is 1406. If I look at my fitness profile (under "Goals" in the menu) MFP estimates that I burn 1760 from daily activity (sedentary). That is the 1406 from doing absolutely nothing and 354 from daily activity (lounging around). Then it subtracts the 500 calorie deficit from that. So if I exercise and then subtract lounging about, wouldn't that be subtracting the lounging twice?

    This post explains it pretty well:

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/117726-eating-exercise-cals-slowing-your-weight-loss-read-this

    Your daily calorie goals are set by MFP including lounging around, yes. But your HRM calculates simply how many calories you burned in that time period- some of which, MFP has ALREADY included in their calculations. So if you just add the calories burned that your HRM tells you, some of those have been already factored in by MFP, and if you eat back all of them, you WILL be overeating. The HRM does NOT take into consideration your lounging around calories.
  • cat3nv
    cat3nv Posts: 389 Member
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    Lots of good info to read! Thanks everyone. I am just stopping to see if there were any comments and then back to my yard work. I will reply to you soon.

    Thanks!
  • MassiveDelta
    MassiveDelta Posts: 3,311 Member
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    I don't think it has anything to do with your blood pressure... fitness pal overestimates calorie burn for everything.

    It doesnt overestimate for me. Its usually with in 25 calories of what my HRM says
  • Noctuary
    Noctuary Posts: 255
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    I have stopped using my exercise as an excuse to eat more. I work out 4 times a week doing swimming. I enter 300 calories (half of what it says I burn) no matter what. Then I eat my regular meal after as normal. I do the exercise to lower my bg, but I've obviously been losing weight. This way I don't worry about not eating enough or eating too much. 300 calories doesn't hurt me on the low or high end.
  • jmgj27
    jmgj27 Posts: 531 Member
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    I've found it pretty accurate for my exercise cals- if anything it comes up slightly light but I find it gets slightly less accurate the faster I run oddly! My BMR is supposed to be in the 1600s but I don't believe that for a second. To lose weight I need to net far lower than they suggest though. On the basis of my food and exercise diaries it says the weight should be falling off but it's only grudgingly shifting- 4lbs in 4 weeks. Sucks.
  • hillview2
    hillview2 Posts: 212 Member
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    Humm I have the opposite problem. I have a high resting HR and so the HRM shows about 33% increase in calorie burn vs the MFP rate. That said, I am losing weight and not consuming all my workout calories so something is working :)

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