exercise calories.. how acurate?

rachey2012

hey there guys just wondering if anyone knows how accurate the cal burned are when you enter an exercise in, does it go by an individual weight etc.... its just that ive just done an hour breaststroke at the pool ,, came back entered it in and it seemed rather a lot... im not intending to eat back any of the cals but am just interested to know how close to the actual amount burnt it is... hope im making sense.. ???

twinmom01

hey there guys just wondering if anyone knows how accurate the cal burned are when you enter an exercise in, does it go by an individual weight etc.... its just that ive just done an hour breaststroke at the pool ,, came back entered it in and it seemed rather a lot... im not intending to eat back any of the cals but am just interested to know how close to the actual amount burnt it is... hope im making sense.. ???

DO NOT USE MFP values - I have found they are way way off...your best bet is to get a Heart Rate Monitor (some can be used in water)...

I have used my HRM enough doing various things I have a pretty good idea of my calorie burn. For example when I do am ellipitcal for 35 minutes I have a HRM burn of about 300 calories...the machine will say 360 and MFP will give me a value like 450...

I don't eat back my exercise calories as a rule - will usually go over my basic calories for the day (not including workout calories) when I do work out but don't make it a point to eat back the calories so using an good guesstimate works for me...

nevaeh1984

I agree with twinmon01

The results on MFP depend on god knows what. What you actually burn will depend on how much effort you have put into your workout, your weight, height, etc. The same applies to machines at the gym that just "guess" the average.

I use a heart rate monitor to keep track...

If you don't have one and don't want one/can't afford one, I would suggest you count minutes and type of exercise rather than calories. Personally I burn 130 calories an hour doing Hatha Yoga and almost 500 an hour doing hyped up Zumba.

dianacannon89

I agree with the PP's as well After I got my polar device I was shocked and pissed that I was actually eating back 4 times the amount of actual calories burned :noway: Not accurate AT ALL!!!

kjensen15

I agree with everyone else. The biggest discrepencies I've found is the calories is calculates for lifting weights. There is a substantial difference in the calories I burn when I lift my legs then when I lift my upper body. I also typically do super sets when lifting in order to get my workout completed quicker, so I don't have much rest and my heart rate stays elevated. I would definitely suggest getting a heart rate monitor, but even those can be inaccurate.

rachey2012

thanks ladies, im gonna carry on with the exercise as normal but not log it on here,,, until i can get a waterproof hrm thingy.... i have been told by my mother .. why eat back your calories .. isnt the idea of exercise to burn them off not go and put them back on again .. so as i say im gonna workout as normal and forget about the cals......

CyberEd312

I might rethink the not eating them back mentality. i have neen eating mine back because my deficit has always been figured into my weightloss. My exercise calories are the fuel for my workouts and the exercise is for all around better health. I have a Polar FT60 hrm and love it..

twinmom01

thanks ladies, im gonna carry on with the exercise as normal but not log it on here,,, until i can get a waterproof hrm thingy.... i have been told by my mother .. why eat back your calories .. isnt the idea of exercise to burn them off not go and put them back on again .. so as i say im gonna workout as normal and forget about the cals......

I don't eat my calories back as a rule I know some people will say - oh you have to to loose weight or else you are starving your body....my body has reserves it can pull from...maybe once I get down to a lower body fat % but until then...I have asked a few different helth field related people about this topic and was told...the basic science is to create a deficit...what purpose does it serve to exercise to create a deficit only to eat the deficit...that being said if you are only eating a minimum number of calories in any given day (say 1200) and then burning off 600 in a day then yes it can be detrimental to your system...for me on any given workout day I eat about 1350-1500 and maybe burn 250-350 depending on what i am doing that day...If I am not hungry I dont' eat if find myself hungry I eat something - simple as that...I also eat a clean diet so I get plenty of nutrients my body needs from the food i am eating - which I think makes an overall difference

I sort of plan my eating based on what my exercise is that day...if I am exercising I will eat more during the day and will actually eat things with higher carbs (I usually eat a diet under 85 gams a day) knowing I will be working out and using the sugar sources that day...

Something to think about too - I do strength training/weight lifting...while the calorie burn isn't going to be as high for an hour of that as when I do a kickboxing class (lots of HITT in that class) the overall results are better for me because I am actively engaging my muscles (breaking them down and building them back up) - which helps with a leaner look in the long run
even if the scale doesn't show big numbers...

I think sometimes people get focused on the number of calories burned vs what the exercise is doing for your body...I know for me personally I would rather do an hour of strength training and have a lower calorie burn then spend an hour on an elliptical - overall for my personal body strength training is better for me than straight cardio (for someone else cardio may be better)

Swimming is one of the overall better exercises to do because you are getting a good cardio along with some great strength workout since you are actively engaging pretty much all muscle groups while doing it + add in water resistance...just make sure you drink lots of water after I have found you can easy get dehyrated since you are swimming you can't guage how much you are sweating out....

RunHardBeStrong

thanks ladies, im gonna carry on with the exercise as normal but not log it on here,,, until i can get a waterproof hrm thingy.... i have been told by my mother .. why eat back your calories .. isnt the idea of exercise to burn them off not go and put them back on again .. so as i say im gonna workout as normal and forget about the cals......

I don't eat my calories back as a rule I know some people will say - oh you have to to loose weight or else you are starving your body....my body has reserves it can pull from...maybe once I get down to a lower body fat % but until then...I have asked a few different helth field related people about this topic and was told...the basic science is to create a deficit...what purpose does it serve to exercise to create a deficit only to eat the deficit...that being said if you are only eating a minimum number of calories then yes it can be detrimental to your system...

I sort of plan my eating based on what my exercise is that day...if I am exercising I will eat more during the day and will actually eat things with higher carbs (I usually eat a diet under 85 gams a day) knowing I will be working out and using the sugar sources that day...

Something to think about too - I do strength training/weight lifting...while the calorie burn isn't going to be as high for an hour of that as when I do a kickboxing class (lots of HITT in that class) the overall results are better for me because I am actively engaging my muscles (breaking them down and building them back up) - which helps with a leaner look inthe long run...

I think sometimes people get focused on the number of calories burned vs what the exercise is doing for your body...I know for me personally I would rather do an hour of strength training and have a lower calorie burn then spend an hour on an elliptical - overall for my personal body strength training is better for me than straight cardio (for someone else cardio may be better)

Swimming is one of the overall better exercises to do because you are getting a good cardio along with some great strength workout since you are actively engaging pretty much all muscle groups while doing it + add in water resistance...just make sure you drink lots of water after I have found you can easy get dehyrated since you are swimming you can't guage how much you are sweating out....

I completely understand this way of thinking, I use to think that way as well. But did you tell the health professionals that MFP is set up different than most every other program as in it already a deficit built in so that you can lose weight without doing an ounce of exercise then when you exercise it makes that deficit even larger? When you make the deficit too big sure you pull from stores but you're not just pulling fat stores you're also pulling from muscle and pretty much all tissues, lowering your BMR even more. I'm not bashing at all, I'm just saying a lot of people don't know/understand this, we've been taught that low cal is the only way to lose but it's really detrimental to losing pure fat. I eat 1800+ cals/day (I NET 1300-1400). I have lost 104 lbs. Still losing 1/week on average even though I'm getting close to goal, I lift and I lift HEAVY plus I do cardio, I'm maintain muscle, gain strength and lose inches like crazy. I fuel myself to push myself hard and lose fat not precious muscle.

twinmom01

thanks ladies, im gonna carry on with the exercise as normal but not log it on here,,, until i can get a waterproof hrm thingy.... i have been told by my mother .. why eat back your calories .. isnt the idea of exercise to burn them off not go and put them back on again .. so as i say im gonna workout as normal and forget about the cals......

I don't eat my calories back as a rule I know some people will say - oh you have to to loose weight or else you are starving your body....my body has reserves it can pull from...maybe once I get down to a lower body fat % but until then...I have asked a few different helth field related people about this topic and was told...the basic science is to create a deficit...what purpose does it serve to exercise to create a deficit only to eat the deficit...that being said if you are only eating a minimum number of calories then yes it can be detrimental to your system...

I sort of plan my eating based on what my exercise is that day...if I am exercising I will eat more during the day and will actually eat things with higher carbs (I usually eat a diet under 85 gams a day) knowing I will be working out and using the sugar sources that day...

Something to think about too - I do strength training/weight lifting...while the calorie burn isn't going to be as high for an hour of that as when I do a kickboxing class (lots of HITT in that class) the overall results are better for me because I am actively engaging my muscles (breaking them down and building them back up) - which helps with a leaner look inthe long run...

I think sometimes people get focused on the number of calories burned vs what the exercise is doing for your body...I know for me personally I would rather do an hour of strength training and have a lower calorie burn then spend an hour on an elliptical - overall for my personal body strength training is better for me than straight cardio (for someone else cardio may be better)

Swimming is one of the overall better exercises to do because you are getting a good cardio along with some great strength workout since you are actively engaging pretty much all muscle groups while doing it + add in water resistance...just make sure you drink lots of water after I have found you can easy get dehyrated since you are swimming you can't guage how much you are sweating out....

I completely understand this way of thinking, I use to think that way as well. But did you tell the health professionals that MFP is set up different than most every other program as in it already a deficit built in so that you can lose weight without doing an ounce of exercise then when you exercise it makes that deficit even larger? When you make the deficit too big sure you pull from stores but you're not just pulling fat stores you're also pulling from muscle and pretty much all tissues, lowering your BMR even more. I'm not bashing at all, I'm just saying a lot of people don't know/understand this, we've been taught that low cal is the only way to lose but it's really detrimental to losing pure fat. I eat 1800+ cals/day (I NET 1300-1400). I have lost 104 lbs. Still losing 1/week on average even though I'm getting close to goal, I lift and I lift HEAVY plus I do cardio, I'm maintain muscle, gain strength and lose inches like crazy. I fuel myself to push myself hard and lose fat not precious muscle.

Yes but the issue with MFP is it uses a mathmatical calculation to get your BMR...which can be accurate or wildly not....hence why some people can do everything by the book and still not loose weight or instead of loosing the 1 lb a week they have it set at they loose 2 lb a week - because their ACTUAL BMR is lower or higher than what MFP calculates...

I have talked with my nutrionist about this very fact and unless I want to shell out big $$ for metabolic testing to get my real BMR I sort of had to figure it out for myself...her take (based on 6 weeks of me journaling diet (clean) and exercise(I lift heavy and do kickboxing)) is that my BMR is lower than what MFP calculates so for me to eat back my exercise calories doesn't work for me because overall I am looking for a deficit. Now I will say there may be other factors at play within myself that is causing a lower BMR (actually going in for a whole blood test panel next week).

A lot depends on what you are doing, what your calorie burn is and your muscle/fat ratio...like I said above if you are burning a large number of calories and eating minimums you most definately want to eat some back...if you are eating a decent calorie range (and I will put it out there - I firmly believe WHAT you eat is important) and burning a few hundred then not eating back your exercise calories may not be detrimental....BUT every person is different...if I only ate 1200 calories and then spent 90 minutes on an elliptical and burned 600 calories then I would say yes you need to eat some more...but for myself who will eat 1350-1500 and then burn maybe 200 calories doing lifts with some rowing...no need to eat back those calories (especially since I already eat a good amount of protien and fats for my muscles) if I am not hungry...

I fully agree with you that some people get fixated and barely eat and then work out like crazy and wonder why they aren't loosing weight...because their body does need fuel and it isn't getting enough

RunHardBeStrong

thanks ladies, im gonna carry on with the exercise as normal but not log it on here,,, until i can get a waterproof hrm thingy.... i have been told by my mother .. why eat back your calories .. isnt the idea of exercise to burn them off not go and put them back on again .. so as i say im gonna workout as normal and forget about the cals......

I don't eat my calories back as a rule I know some people will say - oh you have to to loose weight or else you are starving your body....my body has reserves it can pull from...maybe once I get down to a lower body fat % but until then...I have asked a few different helth field related people about this topic and was told...the basic science is to create a deficit...what purpose does it serve to exercise to create a deficit only to eat the deficit...that being said if you are only eating a minimum number of calories then yes it can be detrimental to your system...

I sort of plan my eating based on what my exercise is that day...if I am exercising I will eat more during the day and will actually eat things with higher carbs (I usually eat a diet under 85 gams a day) knowing I will be working out and using the sugar sources that day...

Something to think about too - I do strength training/weight lifting...while the calorie burn isn't going to be as high for an hour of that as when I do a kickboxing class (lots of HITT in that class) the overall results are better for me because I am actively engaging my muscles (breaking them down and building them back up) - which helps with a leaner look inthe long run...

I think sometimes people get focused on the number of calories burned vs what the exercise is doing for your body...I know for me personally I would rather do an hour of strength training and have a lower calorie burn then spend an hour on an elliptical - overall for my personal body strength training is better for me than straight cardio (for someone else cardio may be better)

Swimming is one of the overall better exercises to do because you are getting a good cardio along with some great strength workout since you are actively engaging pretty much all muscle groups while doing it + add in water resistance...just make sure you drink lots of water after I have found you can easy get dehyrated since you are swimming you can't guage how much you are sweating out....

I completely understand this way of thinking, I use to think that way as well. But did you tell the health professionals that MFP is set up different than most every other program as in it already a deficit built in so that you can lose weight without doing an ounce of exercise then when you exercise it makes that deficit even larger? When you make the deficit too big sure you pull from stores but you're not just pulling fat stores you're also pulling from muscle and pretty much all tissues, lowering your BMR even more. I'm not bashing at all, I'm just saying a lot of people don't know/understand this, we've been taught that low cal is the only way to lose but it's really detrimental to losing pure fat. I eat 1800+ cals/day (I NET 1300-1400). I have lost 104 lbs. Still losing 1/week on average even though I'm getting close to goal, I lift and I lift HEAVY plus I do cardio, I'm maintain muscle, gain strength and lose inches like crazy. I fuel myself to push myself hard and lose fat not precious muscle.

Yes but the issue with MFP is it uses a mathmatical calculation to get your BMR...which can be accurate or wildly not....hence why some people can do everything by the book and still not loose weight or instead of loosing the 1 lb a week they have it set at they loose 2 lb a week - because their ACTUAL BMR is lower or higher than what MFP calculates...

I have talked with my nutrionist about this very fact and unless I want to shell out big $$ for metabolic testing to get my real BMR I sort of had to figure it out for myself...her take (based on 6 weeks of me journaling diet (clean) and exercise(I lift heavy and do kickboxing)) is that my BMR is lower than what MFP calculates so for me to eat back my exercise calories doesn't work for me because overall I am looking for a deficit. Now I will say there may be other factors at play within myself that is causing a lower BMR (actually going in for a whole blood test panel next week).

A lot depends on what you are doing, what your calorie burn is and your muscle/fat ratio...like I said above if you are burning a large number of calories and eating minimums you most definately want to eat some back...if you are eating a decent calorie range (and I will put it out there - I firmly believe WHAT you eat is important) and burning a few hundred then not eating back your exercise calories may not be detrimental....BUT every person is different...if I only ate 1200 calories and then spent 90 minutes on an elliptical and burned 600 calories then I would say yes you need to eat some more...but for myself who will eat 1350-1500 and then burn maybe 200 calories doing lifts with some rowing...no need to eat back those calories (especially since I already eat a good amount of protien and fats for my muscles) if I am not hungry...

I fully agree with you that some people get fixated and barely eat and then work out like crazy and wonder why they aren't loosing weight...because their body does need fuel and it isn't getting enough

When you put it that way it makes complete sense. I wasn't trying to single you out. I just wish more women understood this and how vital fuel is. In the end everyone has to do what works for them but if you aren't seeing results you really need to look at things and going even lower in calories isn't always the answer. I'm also use to having 600-800 calorie burns at least 5 days a week and most of my friends that I have surrounded myself with have the same goals. It is truly my bad for assuming everyone has those kind of burns. I forget not everyone can or wants to train like that! Yes if my burn for the day was 200-300 I wouldn't eat those calories unless I was hungry. I'm with you it really does make a difference in what you eat. I also agree that the numbers on MFP aren't alway the best to go by. I would suggest to anyone wondering if they should up their numbers to calculate your TDEE on a reliable site (which is still an estimate) and go by that number then play with it if needed to get the reults wanted.

laurenwarwick

your deficit is already built in to your daily calorie goal... by not eating your calories back, you are only increasing your deficit and putting your body into starvation mode.