Do you think I'm over-estimating?

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  • melonclarinet
    melonclarinet Posts: 163 Member
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    You're probably overestimating the amount of calories you burn. I got both a HRM and a FitBit and have found that I burn A LOT less calories than MFP says I would and even less than the cardio machines tell me. For instance, my workout today MFP would have said I burned 1200 calories or so but my FitBit and HRM said I burned 700 and 800 prospectively. You can see that would be a HUGE difference in calorie burn and in weight if I was eating them all back. That's a 1 pound difference a week.

    I agree with others here; find a way to get a HRM (one with a chest strap) or a FitBit if possible. I like the FitBit because it tells me how active I am throughout the day but the HRM is supposed to be more accurate.

    Good luck, keep working at it and if nothing else, you are getting healthier!
  • v6ikelind
    v6ikelind Posts: 14
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    Thank you to everyone who commented by the by! You were more help than you know, or maybe you do :))
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    You'll start losing weight again when the load being put on your body by the exercise no longer needs improvement that is causing weight gain.

    So adding glucose stores can add about 3 lbs max, so fat drop while that is added for this cardio stuff is a balance.

    Muscles actually added while on a steep deficit about impossible since you aren't lifting heavy. That's them getting stronger, not more of them. And filled with glucose/water for what you are doing to them, which is great.

    Keep at it, know the tape is the thing now, not the scale. As soon as the workouts seem easy, the weight can drop.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
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    Oh, to the calorie count thing. You can do some tests that will show you really well what you are burning, and even better than HRM estimate.

    Walking level between 2-4 mph has calculated calorie burn that is more accurate than a HRM can give.
    It literally takes so much energy to move so much mass so fast. Unless you have a club foot or such and your efficiency at walking is way off.
    So the difference in HR at that level is merely reflecting how fit you are and if you are burning more fat (low HR) or more carbs (high HR). But the amount of energy expended moving you doesn't change.

    Even the treadmill calcs at incline are more accurate, as long as you don't go above walking 4mph. Jogging has changes associated with personal efficiency and calcs will start losing accuracy.

    So here's what you do before your next class for 15 min. 5 min warmup, 10 min test.
    Treadmill set to 4mph, and in first 5 min, keep increasing the incline until you feel the same level of effort as you do during the class. Same breathing, same beating heart, ect.
    Do that for 10 min adjusting as needed.
    When finished, note the incline you had it at.

    Now take your stats here, and see how many calories you burned for that 10 min at whatever incline. Divide calories by 10, there's your cal/min burn rate. To be applied to classes that feel the same way. Use the NET value for how much to eat back. Gross is like what a HRM or MFP would report back.

    http://www.exrx.net/Calculators/WalkRunMETs.html

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