Tracking calories burned... And eating them back.

luvmybaby333

So I'm new here. I'm also new to this whole fitness game. I've been reading through the forums and trying my best to figure all of this out. I think I have most of it down (in theory), but I have a question about tracking calories.

Right now my main forms of exercise are walking and 'working out' on our Wii Fit. I've been using this calculator: ( http://www.healthstatus.com/calculate/cbc ) to figure out how many calories I've burned doing various activities. The Wii Fit (as I'm sure everyone knows) gives you an estimate of the calories you've burned during those workouts.

Now, on to my question:

When I started estimating the calories using the calculator, something dawned on me. Your body burns calories no matter what-- hat's what all the random options on the calculator are meant to show. You burn calories sitting in a chair or taking a shower. So when I log that I've "exercised", and I put in the time and calories that I estimate to have burned, should I be subtracting from that number the amount of calories I would have burned in that time span anyway? For example, if I walked for 50 minutes and burned approximately 300 calories in that time span, should I subtract the amount of calories I would have burned just "existing" for 50 minutes (which would be around 100)? When the Wii Fit estimates calories burned, do you think they do that ahead of time, or should I be doing that myself? I ask because I've been reading a lot about eating back calories burned, and it makes sense to me. I do want to keep exercising for my health, but I don't want to lose weight faster than I should. Plus, it helps motivate me to know that I could exercise a little more one day and spend that surplus on the calories for an extra food item. (Embarrassing, but true.) But I'm afraid that I have been logging my exercise calories wrong and that I'll be eating back more than I should. I guess that's kinda the danger, though, huh? I don't have a heart-rate monitor yet, so my actual calories burned could always be less than I'm estimating. But I feel like I would have a better chance at "guessing" correctly, if I knew how the heck everyone else was doing it. LOL

jigadee

Hey There! That's a question that I am definately looking for an answer to as well. If anyone can comment please let us know...Thanks

gatecityradio

MFP takes into account the average amount of calories you burn in a day when it asks how active you are during the set-up. All you have to do is put in the calories burned while working out in the diary.

Pebble321

It's a good question and one that pops up pretty often.

Opinion seems to be divided - some people say you need to subtract the cals you would have burnt just hanging around anyway - which you probably should if you want to be really accurate.

Others (like me) say that all of these numbers are an estimate anyway and that the numbers aren't enough to be really significant.
I have never bothered to subtract the cals, and I've lost weight just fine - 20kg lost very steadily in 7 months and 2 more since then while I'm maintaining (and yes, I do eat those exercise cals!)

I think the only way to know if anything works is to pick one way and stick to it for a month or so. After this time you will be able to see if you are losing weight at the rate you expect - if not you can change things around after this time.

Showgirlbody

No, I don't think you have to subtract anything. If you look at your goals it will show you how many calories you burn in your everyday life. That is dependent on what you put your lifestyle as: sedentary, active, lightly active, etc. Your lifestyle is based on a regular day at work or whatever you normally do. I'm a massage therapist so spend a good deal of the day moving around so I put "active". They calculate how much of a deficit I need to lose weight based on what I already burn. So if I exercise in addition to my daily activity, those are extra calories to eat. MFP already has a deficit worked in for you based on your goals without exercising, just doing daily activity. Without a HRM, I don't always eat them all because like you, I worry that it is overestimating. I just use what is generated on MFP for elliptical, dance, walking etc but if it seems too high at the end of the day, I won't eat every last one of them.
It isn't as complicated as you having to do the math yourself. Do your logging and it will tell you what you have earned and what you can eat. As long as you eat less calories than your daily activity calories, you will lose weight, it just depends on how many lbs per week you put to lose in regards to how long it will take. So, even if you ate more than your allotted calories, you may still lose if it's less than your activity calories, it will just take longer. Under your "home" tab, look at your "Goals" tab and it will show you your numbers.

beautyreaps

For example, if I walked for 50 minutes and burned approximately 300 calories in that time span, should I subtract the amount of calories I would have burned just "existing" for 50 minutes (which would be around 100)?

No, you shouldn't subtract the hypothetical "existing" calories. Those calories are already accounted for under your activity level burn; which you've already set on MFP (sedentary, active, lightly active, etc). That's like how some people here track how much they burned walking at work; that should be your activity burn.

What'll really mess with your counts is relying on a site generated or Wii estimated caloric burn. You may burn a lot less or more than the estimate and it should be taken as just that, an estimate. So, I wouldn't advise you eat back all those calories (70-80%) would be more fair; a margin for error.

I would simply recommend you do invest in an HRM. One that allows you to enter your age, height, weight and has continuous count of your heart rate when exercising. Just so you can get down what you're really burning and not estimating. Estimating your calorie burn is as ineffective as estimating your food intake.

jake48864

Caloric requirements and burn rates are all estimates anyways, some studies show that an average person requires 14kcal/pound of body weight just to maintain their weight. For some this may be to much, for others too little.

Really you can track it by what they give you its all an estimate, what you need to do is track your body weight and adjust your caloric needs based on your activities and caloric intake to meet your healthy weight loss goal.

Obviously this may take a little bit of work, but if 1-2 pounds per week is good for you, you will just need to practice trial and error until you get it right. This is a lot of the reason that diets begin to plateau with time. This plateau could be caused by either by too few calories for your goal or too many.

Really you just have to take the time to work with what you have, in the beginning weight loss will be dramatic just from the change in habits, after a few weeks you should adjust your calories to fit your needs better. if you increase your intake and gain weight then you may consider reducing intake.

There isn't a perfect way of determining your needs, just consider what they give you an average amount and watch your own personal habits to fit your goals.

Pebble321

For example, if I walked for 50 minutes and burned approximately 300 calories in that time span, should I subtract the amount of calories I would have burned just "existing" for 50 minutes (which would be around 100)?

No, you shouldn't subtract the hypothetical "existing" calories. Those calories are already accounted for under your activity level burn; which you've already set on MFP (sedentary, active, lightly active, etc). That's like how some people here track how much they burned walking at work; that should be your activity burn.

What'll really mess with your counts is relying on a site generated or Wii estimated caloric burn. You may burn a lot less or more than the estimate and it should be taken as just that, an estimate. So, I wouldn't advise you eat back all those calories (70-80%) would be more fair; a margin for error.

I would simply recommend you do invest in an HRM. One that allows you to enter your age, height, weight and has continuous count of your heart rate when exercising. Just so you can get down what you're really burning and not estimating. Estimating your calorie burn is as ineffective as estimating your food intake.

While I agree that HRM's are a pretty handy tool, they aren't essential. I've never had one (until Christmas and the one I have is a GPS/HRM which doesn't use my HR to calculate calories, so it is just another estimate).
Estimating food and exercise has worked out just fine for me!

jellybaby84

Yes, I would definitely subtract the calories you would be burning anyway.

luvmybaby333

Thanks guys! So the answer is a clear definite maybe. LOL.

Up until now I've been logging exactly what the Wii Fit says, but I've been subtracting the "resting" calories from the estimate I get from the calculator. I guess I might try logging everything that's estimated, and just not eat everything back. I'm pretty overweight, so I don't suppose it would hurt anything if I don't eat every single calorie that's suggested. Boo.