Which calories should I record? iRun Vs MFP

MehiraDeOro
MehiraDeOro Posts: 117 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So I use the iRun app on my phone and it's pretty generous with the calories it says I've lost for example today, I jogged/walked on and off for 55 minutes and it's saying I burned 523 calories. Myfitnesspal is recording it at about 276 calories.

I'm leaning towards just using the MFP recording since it seems more accurate, but I also feel i worked harder than only that amount.

Should I use the MFP recording, or should I add extra calories burned?

Replies

  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
    Generally, I take the lower of the two options if I can't tell- one thing that makes it confusing is if your BMR calories are included in the burn. Say, for example, that your BMR is 1200 calories. That means for every hour, your body is using 50 calories to perform life-sustaining functions. It's very difficult to tell in most calorie burn estimates if those 50 calories are included or excluded. Since MFP adds exercise on top of your regular calories, accurate burns added to your total should exclude BMR calories.

    As far as running/walking, a flat mile should take a 150lb person about 100 calories no matter how fast or slow you do it. So if you know your mileage you can use that to judge if the estimate is in the ballpark of correctness. If there's a lot of hills on your route, it gets a bit more complicated. MFP estimates assume a flat route, if you're on a hilly route, and iRun considers elevation changes, iRun might be the more correct one. If you use the iRun calories, I would still suggest leaving a buffer of calories out of the estimate when you eat back your cals such as [iRun calories - (MFP goal/24) = calories to eat back]

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