I'm not burning that much!

pleasepleaseno

I see people's stuff with like "So-And-So burned 650 calories doing blah blah" and i'm like woah! I'm burning like 300 per day MAX! Am I the only one?

ChantalGG

300 is good! i burn anywhere from 100 to 800 calories a day. and i have stopped working out everyday.

colorfulcupcakes

I have to purposely work hard and long in the gym to burn that much (over an on a cardio machine). RIght now I have the time but when I get back into the swing of things at school it'll probably go back down to around 300.

LittleMissAlx

Don't forget calories burned relates to weight, therefore heavier people will burn more doing the same amount of exercise

mikeyken

Just want to mention the more you weigh, the more you burn. You are at a point where you're not carting around as much wt. That is excellent. A lot of the higher calories burned may be from people with higher wts. Or they may be counting normal parts of their day as exercise, such as housework. Don't stress about comparing your calories burned to others.

pleasepleaseno

But are these people tracking EVERYTHING? Because to burn like 800 calories I'd have to run like 8 miles everyday. Are they also putting like, say, trips to the grocery store and stuff? Or do you think they're really burning that much just working out? Why aren't they sore?

GreenSkinnyJeans

in the start i burned around 300 calories.
But then i discovered step aerobics. And combine that with kick boxing and dance practice i now rank in around 1,000 a day.
Which is awesome.
And i hope I can at least keep that up for a couple days when school starts.

sarahsmom1

I depends on what you weigh. If you 130 pds you will burn a lot less than someone who weighs 300 pds if that's you in the picture you don't look like you have a lot to lose. Also there is a difference if you use HRM or MFP calories

ChantalGG

I found swimming, Zumba, running, baseball, ultimate frisbe, and badminton/tennis are all great fro burning a lot of calories quickly and by just having fun.

MissbusyLizzie

Time. I put the time in for big burns. UCSB Alumna here; hope you have fun!!

BeeHummingbird

Me too if I was to burn that much I would have to workout all day. I only burn about 240 up to maybe 300 in the 40 min to 60 min workout.
I have asked that question also and the answer I got back is it all depends on what to starting weight is.
I even find the MFP is way off.....
I use a polar watch with a monitor for the best reading

taurie

A spinning class burns about 500 calories, then since I ride my bike to the train station and walk from train station to work, and walk some more during my lunch I can burn about 800 calories.

On weekends, I'll take a class and explore the city by foot or on a bike so that takes me well over 800 calories.

I have a desk job so I try to fit in as much as possible wherever I can.

Just wanted to add:

My weight is 119 lbs
I wear a HRM to track calories I burn for gym workouts.
Outside the gym I use MFP calorie burn data. I use the lower end to be safe (e.g. slow bike ride, leisure walking pace)
When I do my gym workout I keep my heart rate between 135 and 165.

NotGoddess

But are these people tracking EVERYTHING? Because to burn like 800 calories I'd have to run like 8 miles everyday. Are they also putting like, say, trips to the grocery store and stuff? Or do you think they're really burning that much just working out? Why aren't they sore?

I burned 653 calories doing 110 minutes of c25k, walking/jogging roughly 5 miles today. Measured with a HRM and adjusted to take out sedentary burn. Non-adjusted it was 774 calories. So yeah it can be done, but that was almost 2 hours of exercise with my heart rate peaking during the runs. And yeah, I'm a little sore, but this was 2 sessions (lunch and late night) and I made sure I did a proper cool down each time so it won't get too bad.

kr3851

I'm noticing as I lose that I have to spend more time in the gym to get the burns that I got at the start. I use a HRM so I know that it's more accurate than the machines and MFP. I've only lost 10 or so kilos this time, but I'm noticing already that I have to stay a little bit longer to hit my magic number... (I like 300 or 500 calories, cos I'm OCD like that)

km5dx

Calories burned by exercise is a function mostly of your weight and heart rate... The more you weigh the more you burn for a given activity. The less you weigh and the more fit you are the less calories you burn. Interval training burns more calories in less time but I find it make me more hungry later in the day. For me the best diet exercise is a long (2hr or more), moderate (heart rate 125 or so), steady bike ride. At my weight it burns 1100 calories or so and I can do it 6 days a week without being too tired. I find that I eat less than if I don't exercise but that is likely more a mental / needing comfort food thing. Getting out in the woods on a bike really clears my mind and helps me face the challenges of the day.

I guess my point is that you have to find something that you enjoy doing, that you actually look forward to doing for hours a day, if you want to burn the higher calorie numbers. It is hard to burn more than a few hundred calories on a treadmill or stationary bike. To me there is nothing more boring and as a result it just isn't something I can sustain.

sarahsmom1

But are these people tracking EVERYTHING? Because to burn like 800 calories I'd have to run like 8 miles everyday. Are they also putting like, say, trips to the grocery store and stuff? Or do you think they're really burning that much just working out? Why aren't they sore?

not necessarily My sister-in-law and i burn about the same calories and she is fit and runs 7 miles on the beach or 15 miles on flat surface road and i walk 2 1/2 on the tread mill we both burn about 550 calories she weights about 115 and I weigh 333 and that is all we track. My daughter is a weightlifter and when they train they burn an average of 7500 per training session twice a day ( 15,000). 5 days a week and once time on their 6th day(7500). So it really depends on your size how hard you train, what type of exercise you do , you state of fitness etc you can not compare yourself to anyone else when it comes to how many calories you burn every body's (body) is different so please don't feel like you are not doing as much as someone else

carloP90X

If they are doing Insanity I believe what they claim. My P90X burned calories range from 221-611 depending on the P90X workout but my Insanity burned calories range from 706 to 1229. The HRM I use is Timex Ironman Road Trainer.

Shalimarmandy

When I do an average aerobic workout I burn like you around 200-300 BUT when I want to kick it up a notch I to a full hour of something like zumba where at times I feel like my heart is about to pump right out of my chest (in a good way - not the bad I'm about to have a heart attack way ). I obviously weigh significantly more than you which is why I can burn almost 600 in an hour but I do understand what you mean I have seen some pretty thin people say they have burned 1000 calories and I just don't see how BUT they must be kicking @$$ and for many hours at a time. But to answer your basic question I don't put in anything extra like walking around the block. I strictly just add in the calories burned during exercise times...

@ NOTGODDESS - how are you determining what to adjust your exercise calories (removing the basic seditary ones)? Are you simply taking your daily count and dividing it out to figure out how much you would have burned normally or do you have a specific program you use that helps with that? I have thought of that before but didn't want to make the math more difficult for myself. I was just putting in the calories burned without making an adjustments but I figured that since your metabolism picks up for hours after exercise burning more than your normally would it would all even out in the end.

ninerbuff

But are these people tracking EVERYTHING? Because to burn like 800 calories I'd have to run like 8 miles everyday. Are they also putting like, say, trips to the grocery store and stuff? Or do you think they're really burning that much just working out? Why aren't they sore?

Well it also depends on intensity. A good kickboxing class with high intensity will burn 450-800 calories in an hour dependent on your weight.

taso42_DELETED

I see people's stuff with like "So-And-So burned 650 calories doing blah blah" and i'm like woah! I'm burning like 300 per day MAX! Am I the only one?

That's about what I burn on a typical day, 250-350.

stevemcknight

yeah - the "burns" here are often insanely too high. I don't know if people are trying to impress, lying to themselves or wishful thinking.... I dunno.


that being said.... I track my lifting workouts as 1400 calories burned, because that's the surplus I eat on lifting days in order to have my diary look right.

Maybe others are doing this too, but I don't think that's often the case.

Shawnalee0703

There are MANY factors which effect your burn: weight, age, intensity, time and HR. Today in an easy-moderate intensity spin class I did 550 cal in 65 minutes. I am 175lbs.

If you want a higher burn you have to PUSH to get it, but yes, if you are smaller and in great cardiovascular health it may be more difficult to get a higher burn and keep your HR up.

Mix it up and keep putting forth the effort.
With an hour ish of a workout I usually do 400-700 calories. I do high intensity intervals or circuit training and really push it.

Since there are a lot of things that effect a burn, likely most people will NOT get the same burn for doing similar things. I love having a heartrate monitor so I can push myself one step further.

rachmaree

I wonder if some people don't take off the calories they burn at rest... I sometimes burn 400-600, but that's usually if I've gone to the gym twice, or done some outdoor exercise in addition to a workout at the gym. Don't forget, the more weight you're carrying, the higher the burn.

CatGrooms66

I burn 720 on the Cybex Arc trainer in 60 minutes, Eliptical is around 550, Treadmill around 550. I am 5'8" and weigh 122. that's what the machine is telling me after entering in my stats. MFP says slightly less. I subtract 10% for machine accuracy. I don't have a heart rate monitor to tell me otherwise. Also though, my trainer says the more your body gets used to the type of exercise your doing you won't burn as many calories so I try and switch it up. I'm also really pulling in a sweat, no easy level 1's. Hope that helps.

TavistockToad

I burn around 200-250, but then i only work out for about 25-40 mins each time.

MissTomGettingThin

Using a HRM and using MFP give very different numbers too - this needs to be considered.
I recorded a 400 burn yesterday using a HRM which I stopped everytime I did.
If I used the database on here it's double that!

stormieweather

According to my Fitbit, I don't burn anywhere near what the machines and MFP claimed I was, when I used them to log my exercise calories. I would do the elliptical on max level, hill intervals, for 45 minutes, making it harder by clasping my hands behind my back or neck, and it would say I burned 500 calories. Really, I burn about 300.

And this is 1/2 the reason I wasn't losing weight until I bought the Fitbit.

The only thing that comes close is running - I burn 100kc per mile, and that is close to what MFP says. But then you have to remove the normal calories I would have burned if I'd done nothing, and my actual burn isn't that much.

NotGoddess

@Shalimarmandy - MFP puts my daily burn (TDEE) at 1640. I just took that, divided by 24, then again by 60 to get the burn/minute of 1.1. It's not exact, but it's a good guess and an easy number to subtract.

wendybird2

If you are aerobically fit, you'll burn fewer calories, even for high effort activities. I know I do! I've been a distance runner at high altitude for most of my life, and I have a really low resting heart rate. When I first put on my HRM before a workout, I'm usually at about 50 bpm. I can top out an intense workout like Insanity at 150-160, but the second I stop moving, my heartrate drops down below 100 (I hear that's a sign I'm in great aerobic shape--whoo!). Unfortunately, my calorie burns are just painfully low.
Month 1 Insanity workout: I'm happy to break 200 calories, and I'm sweating like crazy
45 min spinning workout: just barely break 300 calories if I really work it
This past weekend I ran 10 miles and didn't even break 500 calories. So either my HRM is waaaay off (it has me burning half as much as MFP) or my body just loves holding onto calories. So you're not the only one!!

lucky1304

I started using the HRM that goes with my Garmin because I thought the MFP were insanely high. However, for running, they seem to be fairly accurate, with some big exceptions. I wonder if that's because you can get so specific about pace? Anyhow, I'm training for a half-marathon, so on days I do my long run, I'll log an 800-calorie burn. But most regular days, I get more like 300 to 400 calories, depending on how far/long I run.

From my experience, it seems to just be a matter of what you're doing and how long you're doing it. I also think that the MFP calculations tend to skew high, depending on the activity. For instance, it gives me an insane number of calories for my long runs and is off by 100 or 200 calories compared to my HRM.

lucky1304

This past weekend I ran 10 miles and didn't even break 500 calories. So either my HRM is waaaay off (it has me burning half as much as MFP) or my body just loves holding onto calories. So you're not the only one!!

Wow! I seem to be burning about 100 calories per 10 minutes of running (per Garmin). How long does it take you to run 10 miles? I do wonder how accurate the HRMs are. My friend's Runkeeper app told her she burned 153 calories for the same three-mile run that my Garmin had me at 391 for. But if your HRM is giving you what seems like an accurate reading for your heart rate, I'd assume that your calorie burn is correct too? I really have no idea.