Adjusted Exercise Calories

akeding

Hi there,

While trying to loose weight, I have started to do quite a bit of exercise and got myself a heart rate monitor to track exactly what I am burning. So far so good.

But what I am wondering is whether I should deduct the calories that I would have burned anyway just resting in that time. So if I burned 600 cals running for an hour, should I take 100 off (I checked, this is about my resting consumption)? This is the difference between having or not having one choclate treat, so it is important to me.

Does anyone else do this?

Ada

witrixie2011

Interesting question!! I'd love to hear what other people think since I have no idea.

barbersj

If you really crave that treat try setting aside one day a week. On that day have that chocolate treat or maybe that dip or fast food. Dont do all of them lol but this gives you something to look fwd to each week and keeps you from having a sweet everyday. You want your workout to go as far as it can and not hamper it with junk. BUT a small piece of dark chocolate and a teaspoon of orgainic peanut butter is great way to indulge and not be unhealthy!

mrpurdy

I always deduct my "resting burn." Mine is more like 1 calorie per minute, which makes it easy. So if my Bodybugg reads 400 calories for my 60-minute Zumba workout, I log 340 calories on MFP.

MaximalLife

Hi there,

While trying to loose weight, I have started to do quite a bit of exercise and got myself a heart rate monitor to track exactly what I am burning. So far so good.

But what I am wondering is whether I should deduct the calories that I would have burned anyway just resting in that time. So if I burned 600 cals running for an hour, should I take 100 off (I checked, this is about my resting consumption)? This is the difference between having or not having one choclate treat, so it is important to me.

Does anyone else do this?

Ada

It's funny you bring this up.
I absolutely subtract the resting consumption from the principle exercise burn.
That's what worked for me to find my zone where all this worked.

I never even mentioned it, but if you notice my exercise posts, they're always a bit low for what I did.
Anyway, I never dreamed anybody else would even think of this.

Nice topic!

CarolynB38

I wouldn't deduct anything because you will be burning calories at a higher rate than normal for a while after you finish exercising too, so it probably balances out.

That's what works for me anyway :happy:

twanthe1

Good idea - wouldn't want to over post what we burn and set up false expectations based on our workouts.

stormieweather

I highly recommend that you do exactly that. I generally eat no more than half of my exercise calories to compensate for naturally burned calories and errors in calculation. Works better for me (and many people).

b757

I do not count the time resting between sets when doing strength training, but I do count 1 min for each set. So I multiply for each 1 set x 1 of each exercise and that is how I come up with the total mins.

NovemberJune

I wouldn't deduct anything because you will be burning calories at a higher rate than normal for a while after you finish exercising too, so it probably balances out.

That's what works for me anyway :happy:

That's why I decided not to deduct out the calories I'd burn anyway. But I also don't eat back all of my exercise calories, just because I assume any packaged foods I eat have under estimated calories by about 10% Because they're allowed to be off by about that much. So, if I eat something that says 100, it could be 110, etc. And it adds up.

halhix

I agree with stefaniee83. I don't ever figure that I will ever be able to add up all my calories down to the last one that I consume (did I eat 5 grapes or 6). You should also figure that the HRM isn't going to be exact either when providing the calories you burned. I understand that they could be off as much as 20% or more in either direction based on the brand of watch and how intense your workouts are. I use the HRM as a tool to make sure that I don't overdo it on my heart rate and give me a general idea of the calories that I am burning.


Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Free Weight Loss Tools

akeding

Thanks everyone, this has been very helpful. The comments have convinced me that some adjustment is indeed sensible to avoid consistent bias, even though we can never know exactly what goes in and out.

Thanks again!

dad106

HRM's when set up properly(with all info, correct max heart rate and Vo2max) are only about 80% accurate.

I've been using an HRM since about May, and have never subtracted out my resting calories. I also eat back most to all of my exercise calories and have never had a issue losing weight.

mcrowe1016

I subtract out my resting calories usually. However, I eat a lot, so I am still netting well over 1200 calories.

As long as you are eating a decent amount of food, it is better to underestimate than overestimate.