How Do You Burn So Many Calories?

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Replies

  • significance
    significance Posts: 436 Member
    I'm under 18 so I can't go to a gym, and I'm a stay at home mum to 2 kids so riding/walking/jogging outside are not options. (Yes I know, 17 with 2 kids - wow).

    Any chance you could get a bike trailer for the kids or a jogging stroller/pram? Or if they are a bit older, take them down to the playground and run laps around the playground while they play?
  • arc918
    arc918 Posts: 2,037 Member
    Here are some tricks:

    1) be heavy - the more you weigh the more you burn
    2) run far
    3) run fast (not necessary, but it helps)
  • daffodilsoup
    daffodilsoup Posts: 1,972 Member
    I don't have kids so I'm not really sure how doable this is, but do you live near your parents or family at all? Any way you could ask someone to watch the kiddos for 30-60 minutes so you can work out - go for a run, bike ride, whatever, uninterrupted? Not meant to be snarky or stupid at all, just worth a shot :)
  • mmk137
    mmk137 Posts: 833 Member
    200 cals for 30 day shred is pretty spot on. I know, because that's what it tells me via my hrm.

    It's all about making choices. and not using your kids as an excuse. Because they will pick that up (down the track cause obviously they are still little), and then use that as an excuse too.

    my kids know when i'm doing exercise, it doesn't bother them, at first it did but now they don't care.
  • I was thinking the same thing @ the gym tday !!! I checked what mfp says I burn and compared it to what the machines say I burn. Sometimes mfp gives me double what the machines say !!! So I go with the machines. I think the crazy numbers u see come from mfp and aren't very accurate. Also remember the heavier u are the more cals u burn
  • Rachiepie6
    Rachiepie6 Posts: 423 Member
    I was thinking the same thing @ the gym tday !!! I checked what mfp says I burn and compared it to what the machines say I burn. Sometimes mfp gives me double what the machines say !!! So I go with the machines. I think the crazy numbers u see come from mfp and aren't very accurate. Also remember the heavier u are the more cals u burn

    Agreed!!
  • Ant_M76
    Ant_M76 Posts: 534 Member
    MFP definitely over-estimates Cals burned, by cycling. I ride 45 mins at around 14-15mph (rolling avg) and weigh a LOT. Even so, MFP tells me that I burn something like 800+ Cals for each trip. I would think the correct amount is more like half of that! I log my cycling here at a lower speed bracket (10-12mph) to help compensate but I know that my Cals burned by exercise are still over inflated. So I just aim to come in a few hundred under my target each day. Seems to be working OK so far :)

    I also have a cheap HRM that I generally don't wear on the my regular rides but I have been wearing it down the gym and in the spinning class on Friday it tried to suggest I had burned something like 1300. I mean this can't be right, even though I was at high intensity for most of the session (avg 163, max 181). I am 35 and weigh 283 (down from 289, this time last week ;-) )
  • maemiller
    maemiller Posts: 439 Member
    It also varies greatly based on weight. I weigh about 110 so running for 30 minutes may only burn about 250 calories for me, but for someone that's 200 pounds it could burn closer to 400.

    I agree. A heavier person has to work their heart twice as hard vs. someone that weighs less. Also if you want to burn more calories, keep your heart rate at 75%-85% of your maximum rate. For myself, my max heart rate is 175, so i need need to keep my heart rate between 131-148. Using a HRM will help you tremendously in keeping track of your calories
  • Finding a workout program that incorporates some high intensity training (you still can do this low impact style) will not only rev up your metabolism but will burn the most amount of calories even when you are at rest many hours later. I love mine and it is an adreneline rush!

    Feel free to friend me ya'll for some calorie free positive food for thought daily on my posts, have a fit day! Colleen
  • I havent read the previous comments so sorry if I repeat anything. But, my personal experience is that I started on the bike at the gym, and i'd burn maybe 150 - 200.. then i tried the elliptical and I burned double in shorter time! Now I only use the bike if I want a short/easier work out. I do the elliptical for about 40 minutes and burn about 500 calories. I jog on the treadmill for 20 minutes and burn about 250 calories. so in an hour i burn 750 calories and I usually always do some kind of weight training whether it focus' on full body or abs, i change it up. I dont account for that on MFP because i havent figure out how to! but I can surely see results!
  • ArroganceInStep
    ArroganceInStep Posts: 6,239 Member
    It seems that all my friends on here burn SO many more calories than I do. I will bust my *kitten* pushing myself for 30mins on my stationary bike for example, and only burn 200cals. Whereas other people will burn double or more than that.

    I am getting this number from the bike itself so that may be the problem, but I really can't afford a HRM right now. Just wondering why I might be burning so much less or is it just a dodgy number off the bike?

    Weight plays into it a lot. I weigh almost twice what you do. Throw 60 kilos in a backpack and schlep it on the treadmill, you'll burn what I do.
  • I'm lucky (I guess) in that I cycle to and from work each day. I track the rides with Runkeeper - but I felt that the calorie burn in that was waaay too high (for example: 19 minutes = 559 cals. WHAT?). So I entered the average speed into MFP and got an estimate that /felt/ better (264 calories) because I know how I cycle (like a bat out of hell... AND I have to climb a 150m hill). So I figured that's close enough for me.

    Because I'm also cycling on gym days, my daily burns can add up;
    Cycle to work: 264
    Cycle from work: 320 (slightly different route, up a bigger hill too)
    Cycle to gym: 145
    Stationary bike at gym: 400-ish
    An hour of weightlifting: 320
    Cycle home from gym: 145 (hardest trip ever after working your legs!!)
    ~ 1500 calories burnt.

    So I think take EVERY opportunity to exercise if you can. Burn those calories down. :D
  • foremant86
    foremant86 Posts: 1,115 Member
    MFP definitely over-estimates Cals burned, by cycling. I ride 45 mins at around 14-15mph (rolling avg) and weigh a LOT. Even so, MFP tells me that I burn something like 800+ Cals for each trip. I would think the correct amount is more like half of that! I log my cycling here at a lower speed bracket (10-12mph) to help compensate but I know that my Cals burned by exercise are still over inflated. So I just aim to come in a few hundred under my target each day. Seems to be working OK so far :)

    I also have a cheap HRM that I generally don't wear on the my regular rides but I have been wearing it down the gym and in the spinning class on Friday it tried to suggest I had burned something like 1300. I mean this can't be right, even though I was at high intensity for most of the session (avg 163, max 181). I am 35 and weigh 283 (down from 289, this time last week ;-) )

    see i've never understood this logic. People think "i can't possibly be burning that many calories" but why not? What exactly is the logic behind that?

    Cycling at 14-15mph for 45 minutes is a lot of work and burning 800 calories in that time frame isn't absurd at all especially if you are quite a bit overweight.

    I mean my BMR is around 1700. so if i was in a coma all day my body burns that much just to stay alive, why is it suddenly so crazy to think your body wouldn't burn 800 calories riding a bike for 45 minutes at a fairly decent speed??

    Am I saying MFP is 100% accurate? No, but it's not necessarily so off track like some people believe.
  • sofaking6
    sofaking6 Posts: 4,589 Member
    I was thinking the same thing @ the gym tday !!! I checked what mfp says I burn and compared it to what the machines say I burn. Sometimes mfp gives me double what the machines say !!! So I go with the machines. I think the crazy numbers u see come from mfp and aren't very accurate. Also remember the heavier u are the more cals u burn

    You just can't go by how many calories someone else burned doing the same activity. You don't know their weight, height, fitness level or level of effort so there's no way to compare to yourself.
  • Joj43
    Joj43 Posts: 54
    A HRM with a chest strap is a must-have. It not only gives you an accurate calorie burn but it is really motivating...keeps you on track. I do interval training on the stationary bike. So I warm-up for 3 minutes then go as fast as I can for 30 seconds, then slow it down for a minute before amping it up for another 30 seconds and so on. It is a great way to get your heart rate up and keep it in a fat burning zone for the duration of work-out. So 3 minute work-out, 20 mins of interval training and then a 2 minute cool-down. Hope this helps :smile:
  • Shelby814
    Shelby814 Posts: 273 Member
    I work out 1-2x/day & do various activities, usually a combination of 2, including strength training with weights, the elyptical machine, walk 3-4 miles at 4mph &/or the treadmill at 3.8/3.2mph (alternating every other minute) at 6% incline. You've got to get your heart rate up. Interval training (taking your HR up & odwn) will burn more calories. Also, doing exercises that involve mutiple muscle groups will burn more. I typically burn 600-1100 calories/day exercising. I don't count the calories I burn during normal activities of daily living. Mix it up. Good luck!
  • Ant_M76
    Ant_M76 Posts: 534 Member
    I wore my HRM on the cycle commute this morning, as an experiment - to see how many cals it estimated Vs MFP. I was quite surprised by the results, in that it told me I burned something like 1300 cals! The ride was 10.47 miles in 42:14 mins at 14.87 mph (rolling avg). Avg HR was 132, max was 169.
  • agentscully514
    agentscully514 Posts: 616 Member
    Folks - the calorie counts on the machines at the gym are NOT accurate. In fact studies have shown that they are inflated.
  • Rachiepie6
    Rachiepie6 Posts: 423 Member
    I take back all previous statements, I'm sure my old HRM gave me lower numbers than my new polar ft60