Confused with MFP exercises

sarahavery

So ive been with MFP for about a month and Ive been looging what i eat and any exercise Ive done (which hasnt been alot but is improving)

So this morning Ive been for a bike ride to the park. My new HRM says i burned 243 calories, yet i search for cycling in MFP and it says ive burned almost a 1000!!!! :noway:

Now i dont think i burned anywhere near a 1000, so whats going on??
Anyone out there who can help answer this for me???

Cheers xx


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Angela4Health

MFP is just guessing based on your weight, so it can seriously underestimate some things and seriously overestimate others. Does your new HRM come with a chest strap?

RunningAddict

Go by the number that your HRM says. MFP can only estimate what you may have burned. A HRM is much more accurate. When biking like running it all depends on speed, intensity, resistance, and aside from that if you are used to this exercise you will burn less because your body is adjusted.

anna_lisa

i found this odd too. My exercise bike says I burn 150 but MFP will say 450. that is a huge difference. so I don't logg my exercise in cause I don't want to over estimate exercise and eat back tons of calories

sarahavery

My new HRM (Ive only had it 2 days) is a POLAR FT 4 which has the chest strap, Ive been told these are uber accurate so do you think it'll be right and mfp over?


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sshap21712

I had the same experience when I bought my HRM. The numbers on the HRM are the most accurate.

sarahavery

MFP is just guessing based on your weight, so it can seriously underestimate some things and seriously overestimate others. Does your new HRM come with a chest strap?

Its a polar ft4 with a chest strap.


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robin52077

There are many different "cycling" entries. Which did you choose?

There's
Bicycling, <10 mph, leisure (cycling, biking, bike riding)
Bicycling, >20 mph, racing (cycling, biking, bike riding)
Bicycling, 10-12 mph, light (cycling, biking, bike riding)
Bicycling, 12-14 mph, moderate (cycling, biking, bike riding)
Bicycling, 14-16 mph, vigorous (cycling, biking, bike riding)
Bicycling, 16-20 mph, very fast (cycling, biking, bike riding)
Bicycling, BMX or mountain (cycling, biking, bike riding)
Stationary bike, general (bicycling, cycling, biking)
Stationary bike, light effort (bicycling, cycling, biking)
Stationary bike, moderate effort (bicycling, cycling, biking)
Stationary bike, very light effort (bicycling, cycling, biking)
Stationary bike, very vigorous effort (bicycling, cycling, biking)
Stationary bike, vigorous effort (bicycling, cycling, biking)

try the first one, it's most likely right for a "trip to the park"

plus MFP is high on almost everything I've looked up.

And only put in the minutes your HR was up, not from the time you left the house till you got home, if you stopped riding at ALL.

Plus you have to subtract some for what your body would have burned naturally even if you were lying on the couch, approx 1 per minute.
So if you were gone from the house for an hour, and stopped at the park for ten minutes, assuming it took a few minutes for your HR to get up, I would log it as leisurely for 45 minutes, then subtract about 60 from it for normal base burn.


Or just go with what your HRM says, since it is the most accurate, IF it has a chest strap. If it is just a watch it is useless.

Angela4Health

MFP is just guessing based on your weight, so it can seriously underestimate some things and seriously overestimate others. Does your new HRM come with a chest strap?

Its a polar ft4 with a chest strap.


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Go with your HRM, it's much more accurate.

robin52077

My new HRM (Ive only had it 2 days) is a POLAR FT 4 which has the chest strap, Ive been told these are uber accurate so do you think it'll be right and mfp over?


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Polar is awesome. Use those numbers to eat back.

GaveUp

My new HRM (Ive only had it 2 days) is a POLAR FT 4 which has the chest strap, Ive been told these are uber accurate so do you think it'll be right and mfp over?


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I recently got a Polar Ft4 too. I noticed when I made the chest strap tight my heart rate went up. MFP is always way over for me. Go with the HRM

sarahavery

My new HRM (Ive only had it 2 days) is a POLAR FT 4 which has the chest strap, Ive been told these are uber accurate so do you think it'll be right and mfp over?


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Polar is awesome. Use those numbers to eat back.

Thanks for all the help guys. What do you mean when you say Use those numbers to eat back. CAn someone explain? MFP has calcuated that i should eat 1780 calories a day. if i exercise another 200 should i eat 1980? or just stick with 1780?

GaveUp

My new HRM (Ive only had it 2 days) is a POLAR FT 4 which has the chest strap, Ive been told these are uber accurate so do you think it'll be right and mfp over?


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I set my goal to sedentary, and add how many calories I want to burn daily or weekly. I gave me 1220 and then any calories you burn after that with your HRM you can eat back. That's how I do it.
Polar is awesome. Use those numbers to eat back.

Thanks for all the help guys. What do you mean when you say Use those numbers to eat back. CAn someone explain? MFP has calcuated that i should eat 1780 calories a day. if i exercise another 200 should i eat 1980? or just stick with 1780?

robin52077

your daily goal is based on your lifestyle without exercise, and it already includes a deficit to lose weight.
If you exercise, you increase that deficit (possibly too far, to the point of being undernourished that day).

So in order to keep the SAME INTENDED deficit, you need to EAT the calories expended during a workout.
That's why they are added to your diary.

You're not working out to "burn more" or to "lose faster", you're working out to be healthier, faster, stronger, etc, which in turn will increase your metabolism in the long run and WILL help you to lose faster, but only if you FUEL those workouts properly to prevent underfeeding...

sarahavery

Thanks xxx