Buring Calories- Odd question

Mamahulk
Mamahulk Posts: 5
in Fitness and Exercise
I am not trying to be judgemental here, just trying to figure something out with addng excericise and seeing how mnay calories I burn. When I add my exercise I cant always find in the category exactly what I do- often I have to moderate, like if I do Turbo fire- I cant find it so I put it in a high cardio category or something and it looks like I bruned less calories then someone who could somehow add turbo fire and appeared to burn more calories. Plus if I run I only burn 230 calories but someone else can move boxes, or clean house and burn 330 calories? Why does it seem I work out so hard and looks like I am burning so little calories/ Please tell me I have not figured out the category right and am burning as many calories as I feel I am?????

Replies

  • 12by311
    12by311 Posts: 1,716 Member
    Get a HRM and you will have a much more accurate reading of calls burned.
  • CarlydogsMom
    CarlydogsMom Posts: 645 Member
    I found you can change the calorie figures in the exercises, so I change mine to reflect my pedometer's readings (I don't have an HRM which would really be better, but...), so I am trying to be as accurate as possible. Maybe those other people are just using what the site suggests by default. But it shouldn't be an issue to you, what others put down for their exercise--who cares, really. They'll eventually (probably/maybe???) realize that they're over-estimating their calories at some point and figure out they may need to change those numbers.

    I always thought the elliptical numbers were really high; I can't imaging burning 400-odd calories for a half-hour or whatever. Whenever I use the elliptical, I always put a different figure in there, generally well under the given number. I'd rather lowball my exercise calories then overestimate them.
  • PayneAS
    PayneAS Posts: 669 Member
    Get a HRM and you will have a much more accurate reading of calls burned.

    That's what I ended up doing. I did a lot of exercises that just weren't in the database and I got tired of wondering how accurate the cal count was by using a different category. HRMs are pretty cheap nowadays and a great investment in your health! (I suggest Polar).
  • StrongerByTheMiles
    StrongerByTheMiles Posts: 60
    It has alot to do with your body height/weight. Myfitnesspal is smart enough to calculate all of that in. Age and gender are also factors. I understand your frustration. I am petite, but I work out to stay that way and to build muscle. I see others burn more calories in a 2 mile walk than I burn in a 5 mile run. Know what a good number of calories for you to burn each day to measure your workouts and try to ignore the high counts others have. I know it can be tough!
  • gpstrucker
    gpstrucker Posts: 930 Member
    It has alot to do with your body height/weight. Myfitnesspal is smart enough to calculate all of that in. Age and gender are also factors. I understand your frustration. I am petite, but I work out to stay that way and to build muscle. I see others burn more calories in a 2 mile walk than I burn in a 5 mile run. Know what a good number of calories for you to burn each day to measure your workouts and try to ignore the high counts others have. I know it can be tough!

    This ^^^^

    A heavier person will burn more calories doing the same activity as a lighter person.

    I agree about the HRM, it does help track the calorie burn estimations.
  • whimsey22
    whimsey22 Posts: 2
    So true - weight, height and other things factor what you burn. I have a friend that is heavier than I am and it is frusterating to see her burn more calories doing the exact same excercise!
  • busywaterbending
    busywaterbending Posts: 844 Member
    mommahulk,

    get a heart rate monitor, soleus running has Flashfor $55. perfect.

    put your chest strap on, set the watch to Chrono for your exercise duration and note what your average heart rate is.

    use an calorie burn calculator to determine your calories by entering the exercise duration and your average heart rate:

    http://www.shapesense.com/fitness-exercise/calculators/heart-rate-based-calorie-burn-calculator.aspx
  • chenrytc2
    chenrytc2 Posts: 48
    I know you don'twant to hear this, but everyone's body is different. We can all do the exact same workout and all have different results. As the previous person said, get a Heart Rate Monitor. The only thing I would add to that is get a quality monitor. Youcan do some research online. Please keep in mind HRM's are only a guide and provide approximate numbers.

    Also, YOU HAVE TO DO BETTER WITH YOUR FOOD JOURNAL! I went through it and saw a lot of missing meals. Keeping track of your food intake is the most important thing you can do. You work out 24/7/365 and still gain weight and be fat if you eat like crap. However, you can eat healthy and lose weight without doing a single exercise.

    Also, be cautious with using the database on this site. I found numerous errors with food calories and exercise calories. For instance, if you are eating the salad with the dressing you need to add 100 calories.

    Also, you are not getting enough calories so you are storing fat and burning muscle. Your nody is going into starvation mode.

    I know it is difficult with four boys at home and running the house, just find some "you" time. Like your profile says, "No Excuses"!

    Best wishes on your continued success.
  • XxXHillaryXxX
    XxXHillaryXxX Posts: 32 Member
    Also, something to think about, I've noticed in my news feed that it will say somthting like "Mr. X burned 780 calories doing 110 minutes of exercise that included cleaning house" but what it doesn't tell you is that person burned 680 calories running and lifting weights and only 100 calories cleaning house so it's deceptive. It doesn't always list every activity that person did so the burn might sound high for cleaning house but that wasn't what caused the high burn, if that makes sense. Mine always show up that way too. And I always have to change the calories burned because according to my treadmill the numbers are way off. Then when I run outside I compare that workout to the treadmill and record based on what I feel is a similar intensity.
  • jennkain97
    jennkain97 Posts: 290 Member
    It has alot to do with your body height/weight. Myfitnesspal is smart enough to calculate all of that in. Age and gender are also factors. I understand your frustration. I am petite, but I work out to stay that way and to build muscle. I see others burn more calories in a 2 mile walk than I burn in a 5 mile run. Know what a good number of calories for you to burn each day to measure your workouts and try to ignore the high counts others have. I know it can be tough!

    Exactly. Also, since most things in the database have been input by another user, they may have just over-estimated their calorie burn. For example, treadmills and other equipment estimate calorie burn, but are notorious for being 25% (or more) over actual burn. Definitely get a good HRM if you are concerned.
  • rockann16
    rockann16 Posts: 885 Member
    I agree...get a HRM. Before I got mine I was always wondering if MFP was figuring my calorie burn accurately. Also as others have said height/weight/age/gender also play a factor in calorie burn. I walk with a good friend but she's a runner and weighs about 60-70 lbs less than I do. I always burn anywhere from 150-250 more calories than her. It frustrates her too sometimes. But if we are both walking at the same pace and I'm pushing more weight I should be burning more calories. Since there are so many factors that you are unaware of just by looking at what what is posted I wouldn't get too frustrated. Just make the most of your workouts and enjoy being fit! :smile:
  • devonette
    devonette Posts: 263 Member
    So true - weight, height and other things factor what you burn. I have a friend that is heavier than I am and it is frusterating to see her burn more calories doing the exact same excercise!

    My 6'2" husband and I (5'4") go out walking together every evening. The figures in MFP show him burning over 200 calories for 40 minutes, but show me burning 150, and the calcs are based on our height, weight and age, I think. We just got a heart rate monitor, so once we figure out how it works, I'll see what that says I'm buring.
  • jenmsu83
    jenmsu83 Posts: 185 Member
    mommahulk,

    get a heart rate monitor, soleus running has Flashfor $55. perfect.

    put your chest strap on, set the watch to Chrono for your exercise duration and note what your average heart rate is.

    use an calorie burn calculator to determine your calories by entering the exercise duration and your average heart rate:

    http://www.shapesense.com/fitness-exercise/calculators/heart-rate-based-calorie-burn-calculator.aspx

    Thank you so much for posting this! I went to the website to calculate my actual NET calorie burn. I have always wondered about that....of course my HRM tells me how many cals I burn during exercise, but that takes into account cals you would have ALREADY burnt not exercising, just by being alive. Makes so much sense!
  • JLove2Zumba
    JLove2Zumba Posts: 54
    I wear the Polar Ft4 Heartrate monitor so I know exactly what I am burning.. Everything else is just an estimate.. I talked my sister into getting one and she is so glad she did, She was not giving herself credit for nearly the calories she was actually burning.. She does Tae Bo and there is not really a category for it, Its a great investment, and then you can be confident in what your "person" is burning

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